In Broadcast - August 2015 - 44


44

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 8 | August 2015

InStudio

Systems Integration Smoothing The
Path For IP
Contributing Editor Adrian Pennington discusses the vital infrastructure
role of Systems Integration and the importance of IP...

W

ith the increase in realtime and on-demand multiplatform delivery and high-quality
live programming, broadcasters are
investigating the transition from SDI
to IP-based networks and workflows.
In simple terms, IP technology for
broadcasters is about integrating the
two largest open standards in the
world, Ethernet and Internet Protocol,
into an environment that desperately
needs more speed and more capacity.
IP is a gradual transition - a migration.
So, protecting existing workflow and
capital equipment is essential for many
because the cost of new equipment
and changes in workflows may be

"...IP is still restricted
to editing, servers and
some transmission
systems"
Stephen Burgess
CTO, Megaherz

prohibitive.
One such entry approach is to
harness the power of IP while using
SDN (Software-Defined Networking)
control and COTS (Commercial OffThe-Shelf) switches in a familiar,
broadcast-centric environment. By
doing this, the routing of IP video
and audio will appear the same as
routing serial digital interface (SDI)
to an operator, providing transparent
control.
As an example, Grass Valley offers
GV Convergent SDN, which targets
customers who want to make use of IP
alongside SDI or as an entrance into IP
networking for video and audio signals.
"Broadcasters know that they have
to go down the IP route but in many
cases are unclear as to the best way
to go," says Tom Swan, Sales and
Marketing Director, dB Broadcast.
"While these developments bring
with them enhanced flexibility and
tangible cost savings, the pace of
change presents new challenges, as
the products, standards and skills
necessary to realise this vision fully

are often not in place, requiring workarounds and bespoke approaches - a
challenge that SIs are uniquely placed
to address."
Julian Knight, Chief Technology
Officer at TSL Systems finds that for
green-field sites, clients are often
keen to invest in the necessary
infrastructure to go fully IP internally,
but are not quite ready to let go of
having a baseband solution in place for
launch.
"A lot of people are also holding back
on investment because they're looking
at 4K and video over IP but not enough
questions have been answered," he
says. "We were expecting products at
IBC 2014 that didn't materialise, and
there were fairly limited technologies
on show at NAB this year. I think IBC
will be the tipping point. We've had
many meetings recently and seen
sufficient advances to expect some
real solutions on the show floor."
According to Stephen Burgess, CTO,
Megaherz, "There is definitely an
appetite for IP solutions, but apart
from specific applications, we are still
Gearhouse's editing suite

Example 1: The IT infrastructure
installed by the IT dept

Example 2: The IT infrastructure
installed by a broadcast SI (MHz)

installing traditional routers, glue
and other infrastructure to move live
video around. IP is still restricted to
editing, servers and some transmission
systems (codecs, for example)."
One of the key benefits to live IP is
the cost savings to be had by keeping
operations centralised. With IP, the
boundaries of fixed and remote
production of events are blurring. "It's
not important where the production
is happening since flexible signal
distribution and equipment use can
save on costs related to people and
equipment logistics," says Kalvis
Baumanis, Managing Director, Hannu
Pro. "By the end of this year we
will see IP interfaces for production
equipment, IP routing and SDN control
systems become available."
Indeed, equipment service supplier
and SI, Gearhouse Broadcast is
demonstrating live remote production
over IP at IBC (see sidebar).
"Remote production is one of the
most exciting developments to emerge
in broadcasting in recent years, and
one that we're increasingly being
asked about by our customers,"
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.gearhousebroadcast.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - August 2015
