Adobe saved my wallet

As I write this with the third day of the London 2012 Olympics in full swing I have to say (without endorsement of the company or the products involved) a big thank you to Adobe for the fact that I don’t have to invest in satellite television and recorder.

My eldest daughter is an avid equestrian fan and was insistent that so she could catch up with the events she would miss whilst working, we needed to move on from what I consider to be a perfectly satisfactory Freeview service.

She was very persistent, but I held out, recognising that this would mean she would inevitably monopolise our main TV for the duration, and more relevantly having noted the announcement by the BBC in April that it would be video streaming  24 HD channels simultaneously to multiple devices, with the ability to replay as required
On the day before the open ceremony it was confirmed that the BBC would use Adobe’s Project Primetime to deliver both the live steaming and to create a video on demand (VOD) package for catch up. 
In Project Primetime, Adobe has assembled a video technology platform which aims to deliver seamless viewing of live and recorded video content across multiple devices. The components that make up the Primetime platform include Adobe’s Access, Auditude, Digital Marketing Suite, Media Server, and Pass products with the addition of Primetime Highlights to rapidly generate VOD.

Besides desktops and SmartTVs, Primetime will also support all major mobile platforms including Android and iOS. Whilst designed for TV supported by paid advertising, the licence fee funded BBC is the first broadcaster to use the platform.
Although the live streaming is impressive, even in our rural village, with its relatively low bandwidth and high contention, it is the Primetime Highlights that have caught my eye. The product enables the BBC to create and deliver VOD coverage of the live events in real time, meaning that it is immediately available for replay.

So what was the opinion of the Davis household after day two of London 2012 and the BBC’s use of the Primetime Platform? My daughter with her usual eloquence and enthusiasm “It’s not bad”, her father (and his bank balance) was breathing a sigh of relief.