Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) August 2017 Volume 34, Issue 6 | Page 21

August 2017 MANAGEMENT 21
Supporting the fifth season of Spanish reality show Gran Hermano VIP ’ s behind-the-scenes was Riedel Communications , who provided its MediorNet network to form a decentralised routing matrix .
along with SMPTE 2022-6 and 2022-7 , is driving production switching within production studios . An IT-based , IP-delivered production infrastructure gives media operators the opportunity to standardise production infrastructure from end-to-end , and is the most economical way for them to deal with the explosion of content distribution platforms while serving the expanding range of consumer devices .”
To more efficiently manage workflows generated from complex traffic patterns , Cisco developed a cloud-scale network architecture , which is designed to provide end-to-end connectivity , allowing media operators to deliver their content to subscribers . “ Cloud routing enables operators to connect local content close to subscribers , and have some streams broadcast centrally . This flexibility also helps in better optimisation of the network infrastructure ,” Thankarajoo explains .
Cloud routing can be deployed for IP transport connectivity , as there are multiple encryption mech- anisms available that are capable of leveraging and delivering content over the Internet in a “ secure manner ”. As an example , he indicates that centralised authentication and client-server technology are capable of securing networks over public clouds .
“ Over-the-top ( OTT ) video delivery is a unicast transfer mode , and is the most optimal way to reach the distribution point from where live streams can be broadcasted to subscribers ,” Thankarajoo says . “ This kind of distributed services provide greater flexibility , and help in delivering latencysensitive video in an optimal manner . Distributed processing also helps in providing a hierarchy approach to better stream the media .”
But when it comes to routing in an IP ecosystem , the “ real change ” is when the IP switch is capable of routing by itself automatically , suggests Cameron O ’ Neill , director , Asia-Pacific , Riedel Communications .
He elaborates : “ What we see with current routers is that there are IP extensions in the form of
I / O cards with Ethernet connectors on the interface side , but still connected to a TDM ( timedivision multiplexing ) routing backplane . In that sense , there is very little change . If a commentator wanted to switch the video feed , the network could route its signals directly from a camera to its screen without needing to touch the OB ’ s router .”
Stressing that greater efficiency can be achieved through “ the power of automation ”, O ’ Neill suggests that this will result in a decrease in set-up time required during initial configuration before any shows . For instance , camera operators can enter their own names or camera positions , and that label will flow through the entire network , or for replay servers , it is able to announce its capabilities to a network and request streams in the appropriate format .
For Riedel , the company recently provided its MediorNet network to the fifth season of Gran Hermano VIP , a Spanish reality show produced by Zeppelin TV , a division of Endemol Shine Iberia .
As Spain ’ s celebrity version of the worldwide Big Brother franchise , Gran Hermano VIP follows a group of contestants who lived together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world . During their stay in the house , the contestants were under close monitoring by live cameras and various microphones .
José Luis Gacal , technical director at Zeppelin TV , explains : “ For Gran Hermano VIP , we had fairly complex networking requirements . The network topology had to handle all of the inputs and outputs needed to put on a show with multiple cast members moving from room to room . We also needed a single system from which we could sync all cameras .”
Riedel ’ s MediorNet provided a redundant and decentralised signal routing and transport infrastructure for the on-location Gran Hermano VIP house near Madrid , moving video from more than 70 cameras and audio signals originating from four mixing consoles . The network consists of five MediorNet Compact Pro frames , two MediorNet MetroN frames , and 18 MediorNet MicroN media distribution networks devices — all connected over a 10Gbps optical fibre network to form a decentralised routing matrix .
The MediorNet Compact Pro and MicroN frames were placed in five strategic locations throughout the house to collect signals from all the camera sources . The MicroN devices were used to multiplex camera signals along with PTZ
( pan-tilt-zoom ) and camera control data , delivering them to the machine room over 10G fibre links , a task that would have otherwise required a large amount of copper cabling , O ’ Neill says .
In the machine room , one MediorNet MetroN frame routed all fibre links , and outputs the signals to the vision room . A second MetroN was installed as backup , providing full redundancy , which was built into the network through dual fibre paths , with one set of fibres in the suspended ceiling and the other underground . This , says O ’ Neill , gave MediorNet the ability to re-route signals in the event of a network error .
The MediorNet network also served as the audio router , with audio channels coming from the four mixing consoles via MADI interfaces .
He concludes : “ As the system would be operating 24 / 7 , the production [ team ] needed to ensure that everything would work smoothly using a design that delivered the requested efficiencies and redundancies while reducing cabling and complexity .
“ The fibre-based MediorNet network meant the production could reduce the amount , weight and cost of cabling that had to be pulled through the house . Furthermore , MediorNet ’ s signal transport and integrated processing features give producers the ability to handle frame-sync for the cameras , embedding / de-embedding , and Ethernet-based camera control , all within a single system .”

Dalet takes DAZN ’ s J . League into a new galaxy

Launched last August in Japan , DAZN is a subscription-based , over-the-top ( OTT ) provider of multimedia sports content . Offer ed by digital sports content and media group Perform , DAZN offers live streams , highlights and magazine programmes of the J . League , Japan ’ s domestic football league .
To facilitate the production and distribution of highlights and magazine content , as well as share high value assets with its UK site , Perform extended its existing relationship with Dalet and implemented an endto-end production workflow powered by the Dalet Galaxy platform in its Tokyo facility .
With Dalet Galaxy , Perform is able to connect and orchestrate an ecosystem of technologies used at DAZN , including Evertz Dream Catcher , Xendata , Qualstar , Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Avid ProTools , to create a production and distribution workflow .
Robin Williams , post engineering manager , Tokyo , Perform Group , said : “ Dalet has shown its worth in managing the large volumes of data generated daily for the J . League . Through its advanced features , we have been able to craft ingest workflows that automatically fill out metadata forms based on the file extensions , move media to its allocated location , and enable retention policies based on the media type .
“ These workflows have allowed the DAZN team to maximise output efficiency while increasing the value of all content , thanks to rich metadata collection within Dalet Galaxy .”
Dalet Galaxy manages content ingest from satellite sources via the Dalet Brio I / O environment , orchestrating all asset transactions for the DAZN VoD workflow .
Web-based tools such as Dalet Web- Space let staff quickly assemble and deliver highlight packages and magazine show content to the DAZN platform and archives , while modules such as Dalet Xtend for Adobe Premiere Pro CC bring post production into the main workflow with bidirectional metadata tracking .
Dalet AmberFin takes care of all media processing with integrated ingest , mastering , QC and review functionality . Flexible Dalet API-based integrations with third-party systems also allow Perform to design workflows tailored for its Japanese operation .
Mike Edwards , head of post engineering , Perform Group , concluded : “ The functionality of the Dalet Galaxy MAM and its integration with other systems and workflows meant that it was the obvious choice for the creation of highlights and promotional content for J . League post-production teams .
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