IFE, or in-flight entertainment, is at the heart of what we do. And it’s truly an art.
Many of you enjoy it without even realising it, some may already know what it is, but for those who don’t, here’s a quick reminder. IFE is entertainment on board aircraft. It’s about giving hundreds of thousands of annual passengers of our airline partners the chance to watch new, award-winning, and innovative content during their flights. Simply put, it’s a fascinating universe at the crossroads of cinema and aviation.
When we fly, it’s not uncommon to be surprised by the sheer number of movies and series available on our screens, and by how quickly content barely released in theaters (or on TV) becomes available in the air. But before we even stop to wonder how this happens, we are already diving into the impressive catalog of content, without thinking much about why or how it got there. And even if we had paused to reflect a little more, we might have assumed—knowing nothing of this mysterious world—that everything happens automatically, simply, right from the airline’s headquarters: one click of a button, and voilà, the content is on every aircraft in the fleet. Well… not quite.
Do you want to know the “real life” of the films you watch during your flights? From their birth within the tumultuous film industry to their golden age in the skies—viewed in-flight by you, the passengers—passing, of course, through the various stages (including within our teams) that shape their early life and evolution.
Let us tell you the true story of IFE and take you behind the scenes of a well-oiled machine whose inner workings are far more complex than they appear—but no less fascinating.
A film has just been released in cinemas in France. How does it “land” (no pun intended) on an airplane? We’re all familiar with the famous French law of media chronology for entertainment in France: fortunately for us, it applies differently to the aviation sector. As a result, a film can be shown on board roughly three months after its theatrical release.
Okay, we have the “when”—now comes the “how.” And this is the most interesting part. If a film has just premiered in French theaters and its story is only beginning for French audiences, it has already been in motion for some time at CSP (Content Service Provider)—that’s us. Our dedicated team constantly monitors upcoming films well before their official release date. As soon as a new film is announced, our expert eyes are already on it, ready to secure the in-flight rights from its distributor. This is the first step.
Once the rights are secured (with the viewing period and price set), our experts create a unique, tailoured selection for each of our airline partners according to their requests. If our film is chosen by the airline it was offered to, it moves on within our services. We then place an order with the distributor, who sends us the content in a special format, and our dedicated teams complete the film’s metadata: all the information related to it (synopsis, cast, title, poster, etc.).
Enter the lab. The “lab,” as we call it, is made up of technicians specialising in content encoding and encryption, ensuring everything works perfectly on board. Indeed, a simple USB drive and an MP4 file are not enough to make a film available to passengers—let alone a click of a button. This is the role of the “lab technicians,” who encode all selected content into the specific formats compatible with the aircraft they are destined for. This is a meticulous, time-consuming technical task that requires expert hands. We would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank our team, on behalf of FVS Entertainment and the thousands of passengers who enjoy their behind-the-scenes work every day.
Once encoding is complete, the content must finally be installed on board the aircraft. This is where our second group of teams comes in: the ground technicians. Their mission is to ensure that every screen on every aircraft designated for our film (and all other content) receives a usable copy. Our colleagues patrol the runways at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports every day to maintain the equipment in top condition and load new content onto the aircraft. Again, we would like to thank them for their expertise and invaluable contribution.
Once our film is installed on board by the technicians, it becomes available for viewing by all future passengers on the designated flights.
This provides an overview of the processes behind the in-flight entertainment industry, and specifically FVS. This meticulous, ongoing work, requiring great skill, is repeated regularly with new content (which we will discuss in a future article) to ensure a continuous rotation and an ever more enjoyable experience for air travelers.
