The Need For Sync - In any audio environment where multiple pieces of equipment are being used together, it is imperative that they are synchronized. If they do not run in time with each other it will be difficult - if not impossible - to produce a coherent end result where everything fits where it is supposed to.
As broadcast facilities and other organizations that use media to educate and inform continue to carefully make the move to video over IP, they currently face two main options, with a range of others in the wings. They may opt for a full SMPTE ST 2110 design that leverages uncompressed pristine quality video for higher profile productions or lightly compressed NDI networking, which brings with it less costs and easy access to an expanding ecosystem of compliant products and systems.
“You need to be very predictable with the broadcast at all times. When I started doing this you had to be really careful with 5.1; there was no standardization,” he says. Indeed, for a long time, as broadcasters began to switch to HDTV across the U.S., it was not unusual for audio channels to be mixed up during transmission, or for audio processors to be incorrectly set or configured.
Media streaming over the internet is unique. Packet switched networks were never designed to deliver continuous and long streams of media but instead were built to efficiently process transactional and short bursts of data. The long streams of video and audio data are relentless in their network demands and to distribute them effectively requires the adoption of specialist CDNs.
The pandemic has affected the system design and operations of live sports production in a myriad of ways. At first it was difficult for many to figure out but then evolved into the deployment of innovative types of distributed workflows and crews that drastically altered the physical positioning of technology and human resources.
John Harris became a music mixer for broadcast television at a time when there was no such job. In the decades since he’s won 12 Emmys, three Grammys and a Peabody Award and has been at the forefront as the industry has made the transition from stereo to 5.1 surround and now immersive audio.
As users return to the studio and office the need to work remotely is more powerful now than ever. Hybrid is the new way of working and computing innovation is rising to the challenge to provide broadcast users with easy to use, and secure operations from their local PC/Workstation.
Sky directors of technology and content processing assess the challenges and benefits of evolving media supply chains from traditional on-premise to the cloud.