It would be too easy to write another story about the continuation of the commoditization of playout services, following a deal this week which saw broadcast playout vendor Veset acquired by Play, a Japanese OTT infrastructure platform provider. Instead, we find ourselves discussing how the Japanese video market – one we typically see as being advanced beyond its years – has much catching up to do. Both Gatis Gailis, co-founder and CTO-turned-CEO of Veset, and a representative from Play, who asked to remain anonymous, are both reluctant to agree that the takeover strips further value from playout services, namely 24/7 linear playout. Briefing Faultline over video call this week, the word democratization was used in place of commoditization by our…