Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) Systems Integration 2017 | Page 3

TRANSITION
iP
OVER TO
VIEW
2017 saw Singapore pay-TV operator StarHub move its TV headend into its new Hubtricity facility. An
IP backbone connects StarHub channels from integrated receiver decoders to the encoder farm, while
bypassing the SDI baseband router. As the transition to IP continues to gain pace, expect more real-
world deployments of both hybrid IP and full IP systems.
Why the right SI and
technologies can
help evolve your
broadcast business
The ratification of the SMPTE ST 2110 standard is shaping up
to be one of the most significant technology developments
in 2017. As the transition to IP continues to gain pace, how
is IP, alongside other emerging technologies, helping to
re-shape an increasingly disruptive broadcast landscape?
SHAWN LIEW reports.
For many, the seminal moment in the
transition to IP may well have arrived.
At IBC2017, the Society of Motion
Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)
announced the approval of the first
standards within SMPTE ST 2110 for
Professional Media over Managed IP
Networks.
This is a standards suite that specifies
the carriage, synchronisation and
description of separate elementary essence
streams over professional Internet protocol
(IP) networks in real time, for the purposes
of live production, playout and other
professional media applications.
SMPTE ST 2110 standards go beyond
just replacing the SDI with IP, said Matthew
Goldman, president of SMPTE and SVP
of technology, TV and media, Ericsson.
Instead, these standards will “radically
alter” the way professional media
streams can be handled, processed and
transmitted, and will support the creation
of an entirely new set of applications
that leverage information technology (IT)
protocols and infrastructure, he added.
IP in real-world deployments
While demonstrations such as the IP
Showcase at IBC2017 are going a long
way towards proving that broadcast IP is a
possibility today, can broadcasters truly be
convinced that IP can work in real-world
deployments?
For many of the systems integrators
featured in this special supplement, the
answer is a resounding yes. The year 2017
is shaping up to be a seminal one for IP
broadcast technologies, declared Fintan
Mc Kiernan, CEO, Ideal Systems, South-east
Asia. “We are witnessing the talk becoming
a reality and seeing the real-world
deployment of hybrid IP and full IP systems
throughout the broadcast technology
spectrum,” he added.
However, Mc Kiernan is quick to stress
that as with every technology migration,
broadcasters cannot afford to simply
replace all of their existing equipment pool,
in this case, replacing SDI, with new native
IP products.
In Asia-Pacific, as he correctly pointed
out, many of today’s SDI products deployed
across Asia have several more serviceable
years remaining.
While some may advocate a transition
to full-IP broadcast systems, the reality is
that a hybrid model may work best for
many broadcasters in Asia-Pacific. Adopting
such an approach allows them to access
how IP can best work for them, and
formulate a thorough and fail-safe long-
term plan to transition to full IP, at a pace
that best suits their needs.
In a broader context, the ratification
of SMPTE ST 2110 will represent a key
stepping stone towards that end-goal,
suggested Patrick So, director, sales and
operations, Asia, Magna Systems. He
acknowledged that in Asia-Pacific, many
broadcast organisations are still using
baseband as that is what they know, are
comfortable with and where their core skill
sets lie.
The transformative effect of SMPTE
ST 2110, he added, is the confidence it
can imbue in broadcasters and content
providers to invest in IP, and dispel the
uncertainty in the industry’s future direction
that is holding off investment.
“As SMPTE ST 2110 gets ratified, these
same organisations and the people they
employ can, and will, invest their money
and resources in building their next facility,
which will almost certainly be an IP one,”
So predicted.
For GBS Alliance, the systems
integrator has been involved in a number
of audio-over-IP (AoIP) projects in Asia-
Pacific, including with Vietnamese radio
broadcaster Voice of Vietnam (VOV).
According to Perry Leong, senior
manager for GBS Alliance, a number of
reasons are propelling a rising number
of IP transitions in Asia-Pacific. These
include IT and network economies of scale,
increasing user acceptance of technologies,
high connection speeds and high-capacity
network infrastructures.
Where AoIP is concerned, determining
systems integration 2017
1