Why is Mpeg4 compression over the transatlantic Easynet Global IP network such a breakthrough?
It means that we can compress pictures and transmit quality events in HD. This is what we did with the Obama inauguration.
It's better than comparable technology because IP is bi-directional. So if you have a correspondent in the field and the anchor is showing graphics to support the story, the correspondent can also see them.
How does it save money in delivering live events?
With IP you can use the existing infrastructure. There's no need for new equipment. We have bureaux all over the world but we only need one installation of IP. This means we can use SD and HD with no upgrade costs but also run our normal applications such as email.
Will we see a lot more of this kind of content delivery?
Absolutely. Multi-protocol label switching [the network protocol used] is so much more flexible than point-to-point. We can run an event in Washington DC and use the London office to transmit it.
Will delivering high-quality content cost more?
The network is more about cost savings for the broadcaster. What we're getting is bandwidth; we're not paying so much to get a larger pipe.
Any other benefits?
If we can deploy an IP network into a location, we don't have to bring a satellite truck with all the equipment and engineers. It makes our products better - we can use interactive graphics, for example. And we can move quicker when we're at locations because we don't need the equipment.
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