Integrating optical and copper transport of A/V and IP signals. Optical transport has been a mainstay in the broadcast and production industry for decades. The introduction of optical transport made a huge difference sending content over long distances. It solved the challenge of moving content within boundaries of cities, venues and facilities. For field production it solved the issue of degradation over long cable runs. It has reduced the need for amplifiers and maintained signal integrity on long haul delivery. It has become one of the core layers in facility and venue infrastructure.
When exactly did IT become such a significant presence in the broadcast plant? Conventional wisdom points to the birth of digital television. In retrospect, the seeds of TV facility computerization began the moment stations considered how automation might improve traditional facility workflow processes.
Envision this future headline: “Public Outcry as Final Minutes of World Cup Soccer Lost Due to Wireless Interference”. While this may seem impossible in today’s world, it could very well become a reality if the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) favors the reallocation of some C-band spectrum rights to mobile providers.
Those of us working on the technical side of broadcast and production like to have options. Certainly when it comes to equipment choices, we’re lucky to have an array of vendors to choose from for all but the most specialized products. However, when it comes to connectivity – an ever-present requirement in mobile production -the options quickly diminish.
Digital…..the word has such broad connotations. Digital ‘gadgets’ are now affecting nearly every person on the planet today, in one form or another.
Like everything else in today’s economy, video rental and service companies — especially those based in New York City or Los Angeles — have moved from being small niche businesses into major global conglomerates with a who’s who of major media clients.
Part 1 of this article covered multiple aspects of compression technology: macroblocks, DCT, quantization, and lossless compression. Part 2 will focus on motion estimation for P- and B-frames—after a review of lossless data compacting. Part 3 (next month) will detail the critical role of Predicted frames and Difference frames in maintaining image quality.
When most professionals think of copper or fiber optic cable for broadcast, studio, mobile units and computer technology, many think first of a trusted brand they know — mainly because they have learned to depend on it and feel cable is a mature, staple product.
