ORS presents TV transmission
innovation at Mobile World Congress 2023
Mag. Michael Wagenhofer, ORS Managing Director, Florian Tursky, State Secretary for Digitalization, Dr. Harald Kräuter, Technical Director ORF and Dr. Johann Mika, CINO ORS at the presentation of the first 5G Broadcast-enabled market applications at MWC 2023 in Barcelona. @ ORS
After the successful presentation of the first 5G broadcast-enabled smartphones last year, ORS was once again present at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. This time, it presented its latest project "Nakolos", which represents the next milestone in the further development of the 5G Broadcast ecosystem.
5G Broadcast meets Broadband
By combining it with broadband, 5G Broadcast enables innovation in the UHF band and creates new applications that specialize in joint distribution of content across both distribution channels. With the new technology standard, ORS is creating the first market-ready solutions for combining 5G Broadcast and broadband on mobile devices.
At MWC 2023, ORS Chief Innovation Officer Johann Mika demonstrated the latest "5G Broadcast meets Broadband" innovations in several live showcases, in the presence of Florian Tursky, State Secretary for Digitalization. Specifically, the ORS booth featured demos of "seamless switching", "broadcast-on-demand" and "low latency" via 5G Broadcast on 5G Broadcast-enabled prototype smartphones. The innovative applications could be tested by interested visitors themselves.
Nakolos develops innovative solutions based on 5G Broadcast
Nakolos was initiated by ORS and Bitstem GmbH to support video providers, broadcasters and broadcast network operators in the distribution of content via 5G Broadcast. Specifically, products and solutions are being developed to enable seamless switching between Internet streaming and 5G broadcast on the viewer's cell phone.
The unpredictable number of viewers simultaneously streaming live content via mobile devices results in high CDN bandwidth that needs to be reserved for possible peak periods. Reserving this bandwidth entails high costs for content and broadcast providers without knowing exactly if and when it will be needed. With Nakolos' Broadcast-on-Demand solution, high, unpredictable CDN costs are a thing of the past.
Best transmission quality for unlimited number of viewers
"Since 2019, ORS and its R&D team have been playing a pioneering role internationally in defining, testing and establishing 5G Broadcast. The deployment of this innovative broadcasting technology shows that Austria can take a leading role in shaping a new TV era. Nakolos is our contribution to the international development of one of the most promising use cases for 5G Broadcast, namely the CDN offloading application," explains ORS CEO Michael Wagenhofer.
Nakolos automatically offloads CDN traffic by sending only one stream to all viewers via 5G Broadcast, unlike distribution via a CDN. This can reduce distribution costs. So it doesn't matter how many people are watching the stream, Nakolos guarantees the best quality for a large number of viewers.
Preservation of data volume through "seamless switchting"
Seamless switching refers to the ability to seamlessly transition between Internet streaming and 5G Broadcast on a user's mobile device. With this functionality, users can enjoy uninterrupted viewing experiences, no matter where they are.
When users move beyond cellular coverage and 5G Broadcast becomes available, the Nakolos middleware seamlessly switches the stream to the 5G Broadcast network without interrupting the user's experience. Similarly, when users move back into cellular coverage, the system seamlessly switches back to streaming over the Internet. This process happens smoothly and seamlessly, without the user even noticing the transition.