

It’s encapsulated within video on demand (VOD), subscription video on demand (SVOD), transactional video on demand (TVOD) and advertising-based video on demand (AVOD). In other words, non-linear playout covers the content that isn’t delivered as part of a pre-planned schedule. You’re dependent on the program guide, and commercial breaks are largely generic to cater towards large, undifferentiated audiences.Īs you might have guessed, the term ‘non-linear’ concerns the non-sequential processes. This makes up the television that we’ve known for all of our lives – tuning in at 8pm sharp every wednesday to watch that show you’re hooked on. To understand linear playout, we can picture a sequential line of content being distributed as a pre-planned schedule. Linear and non-linear playoutĪ loose definition of the term ‘linear’ is as follows: arranging something in a sequential, straight line. In these cases, the playout service provider will handle the transmission of content schedules and sequences to the platforms required by the broadcaster – minimising the on-site infrastructure and hardware expenditure of the broadcaster. Playout can also be handled through playout centres and managed playout services. As time goes on, with the advancement of virtualisation and cloud & hybrid-cloud technologies, bulky and expensive specialist hardware is becoming less of an obstacle. This makes sense for capital-intensive and scaled up operations, and often requires specialist hardware. In broadcasting, playout softwarecan be handled centrally as part of a master control room. Playout has come to mean various different things as technology and broadcasting has progressed – whether it’s a DVD player or a complex network of TV channel automation systems, it’s all made possible because of playout. Playout covers the broadcastingprocesses, equipment and software required to convert and play source media and channel content to an external on-air environment. Stick around and take a journey into the history and future of a crucially important aspect of the broadcasting world. In this guide, we’ll cover the history of playout, where we’re at with playout technology currently, and where we might see playout go in the future. To this day, depending on your industry, the exact definition can vary pretty widely.

Playout– the term has faced continuous evolution over time.
