Each year when the Eurovision Song Contest is broadcast, people in 43 participating countries gather around their television to root for their favourite artists. An increasing number of viewers follow the show and the nerve-racking awarding of scores. Viewers also follow the nail-biting action in the Internet as well. At times, over 40,000 viewers simultaneously accessed the online broadcast of the 2008 semi-finals and finals Finales from Belgrade. This was made possible by Geißendörfer & Leschinsky and the Octoshape and Limelight providers.
Geißendörfer & Leschinsky was responsible for the encoding. Our exclusive technical infrastructure helped us master this demanding task: we received the SNG signal in 4:2:2 at two locations using our Tandberg TT1260 SAT receivers and redundantly coded the signals. Our partner companies processed the broadband Windows Media stream with 700 kilobit/s. The website was delivered by Limelight and the peer-to-peer streams by Octoshape.
In addition, we also recorded the programme so that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can now offer it for on-demand use. Those who missed the Grand Prix or want to enjoy the highlights one more time will find everything in the Internet. The streams can be accessed on the competition's official website www.eurovision.tv.