Russian video provider Tricolor TV and Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL) are collaborating to deploy the first network in Russia to use SmartBeam, Eutelsat's new multiscreen video delivery solution. The service is intended to provide universal coverage of wide regions of Russia with guaranteed quality of service.
Based on standard technologies and protocols, SmartBeam is designed to be compatible with all common portable devices as well as smart TVs. It uses a small, low-cost satellite receiver that acts as a local content delivery network (CDN) receiving TV channels and VOD content via satellite, and serves it locally to mobile phones and tablets over a WiFi network. It is also designed to support encryption with DRM and non-linear TV like catchup TV and push VOD.
On the transmit side, native IP content is received at a satellite teleport. The IP streams are converted from unicast to multicast then encapsulated over a DVB transport stream and broadcast via satellite in a standard DVB-S2 transmission platform.
On the receive side, content is received via a standard satellite dish connected to a compatible satellite receiver. The receiver decodes the DVB-S2 transport stream, extracts the original IP packets and delivers them to smartphones, tablets or other IP native devices through a regular WiFi access point or home router. Live content is served on the fly, while VOD content is stored for later access.