In Broadcast - March 2015 - 44

44

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 3 | March 2015

InMedia

Networks: Satellite,
Cable & IP Connections
Contributing Editor Jim Evans rounds
up some of the latest in network
infrastructure installations...
Optocore Networking
At the Integrated Systems Europe
show in Amsterdam, Optocore created
an elaborate ﬁbre network at the
booth of their Dutch distributors,
TM Audio. This not only saw their
other distributed front-line brands
connected at the stand but in the case
of DiGiCo consoles connected across
multiple booths via a DiGiCo-Optocore/
BroaMan network, demonstrating the
system's suitability for transporting a
number of different signal protocols to
multiple locations.
Multiple DiGiCo consoles were
connected to a number of different
locations, with the SD7, SD5 and SD10
together on an Optocore loop. "We
will have a laptop with multitrack
(simulating a live band) connected via
a DiGiGrid MGB coaxial MADI interface
to the SD10, which in turn connected
via Optocore to the SD5 and SD7,"
explains TM Audio's Jaap Pronk.
This ring started at the three DiGiCo
consoles and continued to the Martin
Audio booth, which formed another
zone within the TM Audio hub,
where an Optocore DD32R-FX digital
interface connected the company's
loudspeakers via AES EBU.
An Optocore DD4MR-FX was located
on Allen & Heath's booth to copy the
multi-track via the MADI protocol,
with an Optocore X6R-FX-16AE AES
EBU unit on the Renkus-Heinz booth.
A second DD32R-FX AES EBU unit was
placed on the Powersoft booth and
ﬁnally, on the Optocore booth itself,

the ring connected to a Broaman
MUX22 unit which linked to another
MUX22 unit on the DiGiCo booth to
close the ring.
"The multi-track on the DiGiCo booth
can be mixed on the SD10, the SD5
and the SD7," Pronk continues. "This
simulates, for example, FOH, monitors
and on-air broadcast, all taking place
at the same time." The mixes were
sent to Powersoft's new X-series
ampliﬁers, Martin Audio and RenkusHeinz loudspeakers in different
locations, while the multi-track was
copied to an Allen & Heath mixing
system, which can do a separate mix
for another room.
"The Broaman units on the DiGiCo
and Optocore booth not only tunnelled
the Optocore/DiGiCo ring, but also
transported multiple 3G-SDI signals to
connect cameras and video screens on
both the DiGiCo and Optocore booth.
"This resulted in a powerful
combination of multiple high quality
video lines, intercom systems and
hundreds of audio channels between
all these booths. On the Optocore
booth, you could see and hear what is
happening on the DiGiCo booth, and
the other way around.
"Together with Optocore, DiGiCo
provides a connected system that can
now be found in many installations
such as multi-room theatres, multi
room studios, houses of worship,
sports and live venues," says Pronk.
"The key advantage is a noncompromised, fully redundant and

ISE 2015
saw
multiple
DiGiCo
consoles at
different
locations
connected
by an
Optocore
loop

synchronous network without any
added latency for every extra unit
on the network. Latency and clock
problems belong in the past with a
network like this."
ETL Systems & du
ETL Systems, specialist designer of
RF distribution equipment for satellite
communications, has provided United
Arab Emirates' integrated telecom
service provider du with three RF
matrices, as it continues to develop its
state-of-the-art IPTV network further.
Two 32 x 128 L-band Vortex Matrix
systems have been installed and
commissioned, with one primary
unit going into operation in Dubai
and a second unit installed for geo
redundancy purposes in Abu Dhabi.
A third 64 x 128 L-band Vulcan
Matrix has also been installed and
commissioned at du teleport in the
UAE - the largest facility of its kind in
the Middle East region.
"We are building extra capacity in
our IPTV network as we extend our
subscriber base further and also
want to ensure full resilience in the
network. Providing the best customer
experience is number one on our
list of priorities and achieving full
resilience is an important part of this.
We have worked with ETL Systems for
many years and have full conﬁdence
in the product performance," said
Ahmed Almuhaideb, Vice President,
Broadcasting & IPTV Services, du.
The deal was agreed with support
from ETL Systems' reseller partner in
Dubai, Mena Nets.
"ETL Systems has a vast range of
products offering scalable solutions
that are adaptable in order to build
the right amount of capacity into
the network, without the necessity
to invest in new technology before it
is needed. Almost all the equipment
is hot swap and with real-time
monitoring on performance across all
of the matrices, we knew this to be the
perfect ﬁt for du's continued growth,"
said Mazen Nassar, CEO of Mena Nets.
News of this deal follows the
opening of ETL Systems' Middle East
ofﬁce earlier this year to increase the
company's global presence and meet
growing demand in the MENA region.
"We are very pleased to have been

able to support both Mena Nets and
du in this project here in Dubai,"
commented Mather Al-Ali, ETL
Systems' International Sales Manager
MENA. "Our equipment is known for
its resilience and scalability and being
selected once again by du to help
it deliver its popular IPTV service is
absolutely fantastic."

SES Operations Centre in Luxembourg

Astra Connect Pilot
SES has announced that its Astra
Connect for Communities solution will
be used in a UK government-funded
Market Test Pilot (MTP) project.
These pilot projects aim to assess
which technologies and commercial
models are best suited to deliver
superfast broadband to the ﬁnal 5% of
households in the UK that currently do
not have access to high-speed internet.
SES is working with Satellite
Internet, the UK-based Internet
Service Provider, to deliver its satellite
broadband solution to the villages of
Simonsbath and Luxborough in southwest England. The villages, each with a
population of about 200 residents and
located in Exmoor National Park, will
beneﬁt from a Satellite Distribution
Node and Wi-Fi head-end technology
providing homes with internet speeds
of up to 25 Mbps.
Last year SES successfully rolled out
several Astra Connect for Communities
networks in Germany's MecklenburgVorpommern and Baden-Wurttemberg
states. Another 35 networks are due to
be completed by the end of June 2015
in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Satellite Internet was selected
for this project by the Department
for Culture, Media & Sport in June
2014, having applied for funding
from Broadband Delivery UK's £10
million Innovation Fund. The provider
has worked closely with Connecting
Devon and Somerset, a public-private
partnership of six local authorities
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.youtube.com/user/SESVideoChannel/videos http://www.broadcastmanufactur.com/
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