In Broadcast - January 2015 - 60

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 1 | January 2015

InMedia

Hybrid Live Video Services Delivery
A hybrid architecture delivers the economic benefits of the
cloud while ensuring the broadcast-grade performance argues
Eric Gallier VP of Marketing, Thomson Video Networks...

he challenges of live video service
delivery affect every broadcaster
and network operator, and live video
networks are required to satisfy
customer expectations in many
diverse, if not conflicting, ways. With
pressure to deliver premium video
quality to any screen, from HDTVs to
tablets and smartphones, operators
are looking for solutions that free
them to concentrate on the business of
designing differentiated services.
This means technologies and
systems that can automatically handle
such complex tasks as resource
provisioning, load balancing, and
redundancy in a simple and efficient
way, with the ability to scale and
protect the operator's investment in
the face of fast-paced changes in the
ecosystem.
These disruptive changes mandate a
new type of architecture. Reacting to
the effervescence of today's live video
networking landscape, some operators
are tempted to adopt a restrictive
technology scope. Such an approach
might meet today's most immediate
needs, but will certainly lead to
structural dead-ends in the future.
Instead, we propose a much broader
approach - a hybrid architecture that
mixes on-premises and cloud-based
resources to support both broadcast
and multi-screen services.
In a hybrid cloud architecture for live
video delivery, operators can deploy
services on video-optimised hardware
or using software-based encoding
running on lower-cost and generic
physical servers, virtualised servers
and cloud infrastructures.

Thomson Video Networks ViBE VS7000 Video System
Simplified Operations
With the right operational
framework distributed over
a group of Virtual Machines
(VMs),
operators
can
remove ecosystems where the proliferation delivery networks and remove the
complexities from their broadcast of new devices and formats calls for complexity from the day-to-day tasks
operations. The VMs work together frequent system updates. Executed that define a modern broadcast
as if they are a single powerful live correctly, a hybrid architecture should operation. MediaFlexSUITE is at the
transcoding service, and configuration minimise live service interruption core of Thomson Video Networks'
and monitoring are greatly simplified. during core software updates and Behind Every Screen approach (see
With a single entry point and one GUI provide a smooth upgrade process. Via Diagram 1:), which brings together the
to operate, the operator can focus on sequential live service switching, the latest ingest, branding, ad insertion
creating video processing workflows.
system is fully upgraded on completion and encoding/transcoding-optimised
Once these workflows have been of this automatic process.
solutions to support both broadcast
created, the operator is ready to start
and multi-screen video delivery.
encoding processes by creating jobs Transcoding & More
At the heart of the MediaFlexSUITE is
(based on the workflows) as many
Of course, the live video architecture MediaFlexOS, a multimedia framework
times as necessary.
should offer file or live transcoding that reconciles broadcast operating
Ideally, the hybrid architecture in H.264 or HEVC, supporting up to requirements
and
virtualised
offers tools to precisely evaluate the UHD resolution with broadcast-grade infrastructure environments, and also
resources needed for each new job in codecs. Many workflows require forms the core of the Thomson Video
order to ensure it is assigned to a VM additional audio and video processing Networks ViBE VS7000 multi-screen
with sufficient resources.
including
branding,
resizing, encoding software solution.
The user is unaware of the way packaging, scrambling, multiplexing,
MediaFlexOS creates clusters of
live transcoding jobs are mapped loudness control, ad insertion, splicing servers, manages automatic load
to individual VMs or servers as this and more. Ideally, these functions will balancing and failover, and offers
is automatically managed by the be available within the transcoding a media framework to simplify
load balancer. The automatic load function and also available in the cloud integration of new software modules.
balancing capabilities should also for building sophisticated workflows.
From the operator's standpoint, the
provide a fast, automatic failover
Virtualised
infrastructures
rely multi-blade system has the appearance
mechanism that takes over in the on IT solutions in which IP is the of one large server. Although deployed
event of a server or VM failure. When sole interface for exchanging video. on physical blade systems up to now,
no more resources are available in the Therefore, ingesting uncompressed upgrading MediaFlexOS to a virtualised
cluster, the operator should be able HD-SDI content to a virtualised environment is very straightforward.
to dynamically expand the system infrastructure
requires
signal
by provisioning and adding new VMs compression to a level low enough to Hybrid Delivers
to the cluster without any impact on save on bandwidth but high enough
With a highly flexible and allexisting services.
to maintain video quality for further encompassing software framework,
On-air system maintenance has processing in the cloud. This requires broadcasters have everything they
always been a matter of critical a mezzanine encoding capability that need for profitable and convergent
concern for operators of live can readily convert multiple HD-SDI multi-platform video delivery while
services, and in particular for OTT signals to IP while protecting the signal maintaining the core linear operation.
against network errors.
They are able to choose the mix of
cloud or on-premises technologies
MediaFlexSUITE
that are most appropriate for a given
Thomson Video Networks has project or service. This enables them
launched the MediaFlexSUITE - a to leverage the clear advantages of
unified
service
operation
and virtualisation while continuing to
management
software
suite maintain quality of service, video
that
facilitates
overall
service quality, SLAs, and other operational
configuration,
scheduling,
and broadcast standards.
monitoring.
Such a hybrid architecture delivers
With MediaFlexSUITE, operators all of the economic benefits of the
can access a single, unique service cloud while ensuring the broadcastinterface to manage video and audio grade performance required by media
channels efficiently for a variety of operations of today and tomorrow.
Thomson Video Networks: Behind Every Screen Workflow

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