Rethinking Video Delivery in Sports Bars and Commercial Venues
In sports bars especially, TVs are central to the guest experience, this is where friends gather to watch the big game while enjoying food and drinks. The quality and timing of the stream matters because it’s the main source of entertainment. Many commercial video systems still rely on coax or set-top boxes – infrastructure that’s widely deployed and supported. However, they often fall short when it comes to modern demands like screen sync and workflow simplicity. The problem? Each screen is independently decoding its own stream, whether from a set-top box or an IP source, and those small differences in timing add up. Adaptive streaming, buffering, and hardware delays all contribute to TVs falling out of sync, even when they’re tuned to the
same game.
Picture this: one screen is showing the game-winning play and the crowd erupts, but just a few feet away another TV is still a full play behind. That kind of delay breaks the moment and frustrates viewers.
Operators face two major challenges: video screens falling out of sync and having to maintain separate workflows for residential and commercial delivery.
One solution is ABR reception, an approach that repurposes adaptive bitrate streams already used in residential networks. By leveraging this existing workflow, operators can efficiently serve both home and business customers while solving the screen sync issue through conversion to QAM or multicast IP. That’s why ABR video gateways are essential. WISI’s ABR reception solution is a purpose-built ABR video gateway that bridges this gap. It keeps screens in perfect sync, reduces bandwidth,and works with the coax or IP networks already in place, using the same ABR streams already delivered to residential subscribers.
What is an ABR Video Gateway?
Also called ABR reception, it’s a single device that converts ABR streams to QAM or IP multicast—enabling perfectly synced playback across every screen. It also helps maintain existing infrastructure and end devices at the property, making deployment simpler and more cost-effective.
Why ABR Video Gateways?
- Free up RF bandwidth from the headend – reduce QAM load to enable broadband and DOCSIS upgrades
- Cut satellite costs – shift to internet-based delivery and simplify site operations
- Reuse existing ABR workflows – leverage your residential CDN infrastructure
Fix the Fragmentation, Sync the Experience
Traditional approaches to multi-TV video distribution often fall short. Televisions showing the same live event may be seconds out of sync, creating a jarring viewer experience. Staff are forced to manage multiple remotes and inputs. Systems depend on fragmented or duplicated workflows, and legacy delivery methods can strain limited bandwidth.
Meanwhile, operators waste bandwidth delivering full channel lineups to each site, even when experience shows that only a fraction of that content is actually being watched at any given time.
WISI’s ABR Video Gateway eliminates these headaches. With a simplified, low-maintenance gateway and centralized app control, it’s purpose-built to meet the needs of today’s networks and modern environments.
- Perfectly synced playback – Converts ABR to QAM or IP multicast for screen-to-screen alignment
- Reduce headend-to-venue bandwidth – Active Channel Streaming ensures only the content in use is streamed, freeing up capacity for broadband and high-bitrate feeds
- Enable better viewing experiences – Saved bandwidth allows higher-bitrate ABR streams for Pay-Per-View and premium sports content
- Simple control for staff – Assign and manage channels from a phone or tablet, no remotes required
- Operator-friendly management – Remote monitoring and API-based control reduce complexity and eliminate truck rolls
- Reliable and cost-effective – Built on WISI’s modular Tangram platform for carrier-grade reliability at scale.
Stop Wasting Bandwidth on Unwatched Content
Smarter delivery with Active Channel Streaming
Traditional systems push the entire channel lineup to every site, even when only a few streams are in use. WISI’s ABR Video Gateway does it differently.With Active Channel Streaming, the system only pulls and delivers the content that’s actually being watched.
This means:
- Less bandwidth consumption – Only active streams are sent, freeing up valuable capacity
- Faster channel changes and load times – No delay from bloated stream delivery
- More room for high-speed broadband – Reclaim spectrum for DOCSIS and internet
Simplifying Screen Management While Saving Bandwidth
One tap does it all
Venue staff can assign content to any TV or group of TVs using a phone or tablet interface. No remotes. No guessing.
EPG-based channel selection
Staff can browse a live program guide showing now/next content across all available channels, including pay-per-view options.
What makes it unique is its seamless workflow:
- Select what’s playing on each TV using a simple app
- Only selected ABR streams are downloaded
- Content is converted, protected, and output as QAM or IP
Launch with WISI
