PANELLISTS
❝ The biggest hurdle we ’ ve seen is hiring skilled engineers experienced in both broadcast and networking … But as the transition to IP accelerates , we will see more good hybrid engineers emerge ,
and this being less of a concern .❞
30
June 2018
24i acquires Mautilus
In an attempt to affirm its ambition in delivering innovative and scalable video streaming application technology , 24i Media has acquired Mautilus to strengthen its technology framework with new products and features . Mautilus is a Czech TV app agency specialising in HbbTV and applications for multiple devices , and has developed TV apps for multiple platforms , including smart TVs , mobile and HbbTV . Rehor Vykoupil , CEO of Mautilus , said : “ Joining forces with 24i will allow us to better serve our customers by offering an innovative approach to streaming video technology . The combination will allow us to provide the best solutions to our customers , and will be a great home for our technology and team .”
Telestream updates Wirecast with new streaming features
Telestream has released Wirecast , a live streaming and production software for Mac and Windows . The new software features built-in PTZ control for robotic cameras in Wirecast Pro , support for the X-Keys Wirecast control surface , paired encoding contribution with Facebook Live and more . When paired encoding to Facebook Live , videographers will be able to target and stream content to Facebook pages for clients and their brands , without requiring passwords or credentials for the main Facebook account . According to Telestream , this is particularly useful for pages with multiple contributors and crosspromotional streaming .
Next Month @ X-Platform
OTT / VoD Solutions and Enhancements
PANELLISTS
Chong Siew Loong
CTO StarHub
Michael Cronk
Chairman , Alliance for IP Media Solutions ( AIMS )
Peter Bithos
CEO , HOOQ
Edging closer to the IP horizon
The transition to IP is beyond just replacing every capability of SDI equipment . It also involves new operational workflows and skillsets that are required to build new applications and systems , as well as the need to be cost-effective to deploy . Josephine Tan writes more .
The media and entertainment industry has already been transformed by several waves of digital transformation . These technological changes have been driving players in the industry to continuously innovate and develop new approaches to reach out to their audiences . And the most vital change taking place in today ’ s media landscape is the IP transition , which promises to provide more flexibility and agility for the design of broadcast facilities .
While it may not be time yet for broadcasters to discard their legacy SDI equipment , a hybrid concept of SDI co-existing with IP has already begun to emerge , and is likely to stay for a period of time . Arguably , the end-game is not solely about IP — it is about empowering broadcast facilities in the next wave of technological transformation .
One media company which has spearheaded the area of IP-based production is NEP Australia . In December last year , NEP Australia delivered a live-to-air , uncompressed HD remote production using SMPTE ST 2110 in conjunction with Fox Sports Australia .
The broadcast of the Hyundai A-League football match between Brisbane and Perth , held at Brisbane ’ s Suncorp Stadium , was produced and directed 920km away in the Andrews Hub , NEP ’ s centralised production facility in Eveleigh , Sydney . Connecting 29 sporting venues via a high bandwidth network , NEP ’ s IPenabled Andrews Hubs supports multiple concurrent outside broadcasts ( OBs ).
“ The consumption model of broadcast is changing massively ,” Stephen Edwards , head of technology for Fox Sports Australia , says in a video interview with NEP . “ People want anything , everywhere , all the time . In order to keep pace with that , we cannot silo operations and be limited by who can be there and when they can do it .”
For the broadcast of this football match , live uncompressed HD signals from 10 Sony HDC 4300 cameras were sent to Sydney via NEP ’ s new countrywide Distributed Production Network ( DPN ), with a fully redundant network at 50Gbps .
A HD video conferencing system enabled the “ split ” production environment , in which all programme production staff — including the director , vision switcher , audio director , graphics and replay ope-
❝ The biggest hurdle we ’ ve seen is hiring skilled engineers experienced in both broadcast and networking … But as the transition to IP accelerates , we will see more good hybrid engineers emerge ,
and this being less of a concern .❞
— Paul Druce , Lead Systems Engineer ,
Australia and New Zealand , Arista Networks
rators — were based at the Andrews Hub Sydney control room . The final programme was then delivered to Fox Sports via IP for broadcast .
Marc Segar , director of technology at NEP Australia , adds : “ This is a milestone for the broadcasting industry , and ushers in a completely new way of bringing live TV to air . This broadcast proves that broadcast technical professionals can now work across many locations using modern communication tools to maintain a team approach — regardless of distance .”
Providing the core network infrastructure to NEP ’ s Andrews Hubs is Arista Networks , which supplied its Arista 7500R series spine with 7050QX for the Hubs ’ core IP switching fabric . In addition , the Arista R series is also providing the IP fabric for four new NEP OB trucks , and is adding a network layer to NEP ’ s existing HD SDI baseband trucks .
Paul Druce , lead systems engineer , Australia and New Zealand , Arista Networks , tells APB : “ Broadcasters in Asia-Pacific are embracing opportunities to migrate to IP-based solutions . The best example of this is what NEP Australia have designed and implemented with their remote live broadcast hub implementation .
“ The IP network is the enabler for this innovation at the system level , and broadcasters want networks that are built on the same solid foundations and principals other critical networks are built on . This includes tenants such as automation to make the engineers ’ jobs easier and less complex , time aware with precision time protocol ( PTP ), and lossless systems .”
The main drivers for NEP to deliver an IP network , according to Druce , included the need to design a flexible and robust centralised hub model to support scale of bandwidth , and also the number of remote connections or OB trucks connecting into the hub , and to be able to scale out the connectivity to allow an increasing number of systems to become IP-enabled .
“ The project went very smoothly , but I ’ d say the biggest challenge for NEP was finding the right people with the right skillsets ,” he points out . “ We helped NEP with services to support the design and implementation of the network , and worked closely with other technology partners as part of the project .”
In order for broadcasters to strengthen their position in the industry , Druce emphasises the importance of broadcasters “ making correct choices upfront with a network topology that is proven , and making correct hiring decisions ”.
He explains : “ The biggest hur-
30
24i acquires Mautilus
In an attempt to affirm its ambition in
delivering innovative and scalable video
streaming application technology, 24i
Media has acquired Mautilus to strengthen
its technology framework with new
products and features. Mautilus is a Czech
TV app agency specialising in HbbTV and
applications for multiple devices, and has
developed TV apps for multiple platforms,
including smart TVs, mobile and HbbTV.
Rehor Vykoupil, CEO of Mautilus, said:
“Joining forces with 24i will allow us to
better serve our customers by offering an
innovative approach to streaming video
technology. The combination will allow
us to provide the best solutions to our
customers, and will be a great home for our
technology and team.”
Telestream updates
Wirecast with new
streaming features
Telestream has released Wirecast, a live
streaming and production software for
Mac and Windows. The new software
features built-in PTZ control for robotic
cameras in Wirecast Pro, support for the
X-Keys Wirecast control surface, paired
encoding contribution with Facebook
Live and more. When paired encoding to
Facebook Live, videographers will be able
to target and stream content to Facebook
pages for clients and their brands, without
requiring passwords or credentials for the
main Facebook account. According to
Telestream, this is particularly useful for
pages with multiple contributors and cross-
promotional streaming.
Next Month @ X-Platform
OTT / VoD Solutions and
Enhancements
PANELLISTS
Chong Siew Loong
CTO
StarHub
Michael Cronk
Chairman,
Alliance for IP Media
Solutions (AIMS)
Peter Bithos
CEO, HOOQ
June 2018
Edging closer to
the IP horizon
The transition to IP is beyond just replacing every capability of SDI equipment.
It also involves new operational workflows and skillsets that are required to
build new applications and systems, as well as the need to be cost-effective to
deploy. Josephine Tan writes more.
T
he media and entertainment industry
has already been transformed by several
waves of digital transformation. These
technological changes have been driving
players in the industry to continuously
innovate and develop new approaches
to reach out to their audiences. And the
most vital change taking place in today’s
media landscape is the IP transition, which
promises to provide more flexibility and
agility for the design of broadcast facilities.
While it may not be time yet for broad-
casters to discard their legacy SDI equip-
ment, a hybrid concept of SDI co-existing
with IP has already begun to emerge, and
is likely to stay for a period of time. Ar-
guably, the end-game is not solely about
IP — it is about empowering broadcast
facilities in the next wave of technological
transformation.
One media company which has spear-
headed the area of IP-based production
is NEP Australia. In December last year,
NEP Australia delivered a live-to-air, un-
compressed HD remote production using
SMPTE ST 2110 in conjunction with Fox
Sports Australia.
The broadcast of the Hyundai
A-League football match between Bris-
bane and Perth, held at Brisbane’s Suncorp
Stadium, was produced and directed
920km away in the Andrews Hub, NEP’s
centralised production facility in Eveleigh,
Sydney. Connecting 29 sporting venues
via a high bandwidth network, NEP’s IP-
enabled Andrews Hubs supports multiple
concurrent outside broadcasts (OBs).
“The consumption model of broadcast
is changing massively,” Stephen Edwards,
head of technology for Fox Sports Aus-
tralia, says in a video interview with NEP.
“People want anything, everywhere, all the
time. In order to keep pace with that, we
cannot silo operations and be limited by
who can be there and when they can do it.”
For the broadcast of this football
match, live uncompressed HD signals
from 10 Sony HDC 4300 cameras were
sent to Sydney via NEP’s new countrywide
Distributed Production Network (DPN),
with a fully redundant network at 50Gbps.
A HD video conferencing system ena-
bled the “split” production environment,
in which all programme production staff
— including the director, vision switcher,
audio director, graphics and replay ope-
❝ The biggest hurdle
we’ve seen is hiring
skilled engineers
experienced in
both broadcast and
networking … But as
the transition to IP
accelerates, we will
see more good hybrid
engineers emerge,
and this being less of a
concern. ❞
— Paul Druce,
Lead Systems Engineer,
Australia and New Zealand,
Arista Networks
rators — were based at the Andrews
Hub Sydney control room. The final
programme was then delivered to Fox
Sports via IP for broadcast.
Marc Segar, director of technology
at NEP Australia, adds: “This is a mile-
stone for the broadcasting industry,
and ushers in a completely new way of
bringing live TV to air. This broadcast
proves that broadcast technical profes-
sionals can now work across many
locations using modern communica-
tion tools to maintain a team approach
— regardless of distance.”
Providing the core network infra-
structure to NEP’s Andrews Hubs is
Arista Networks, which supplied its
Arista 7500R series spine with 7050QX
for the Hubs’ core IP switching fabric.
In addition, the Arista R series is also
providing the IP fabric for four new
NEP OB trucks, and is adding a net-
work layer to NEP’s existing HD SDI
baseband trucks.
Paul Druce, lead systems engineer,
Australia and New Zealand, Arista
Networks, tells APB: “Broadcasters
in Asia-Pacific are embracing op-
portunities to migrate to IP-based
solutions. The best example of this is
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