Try our new AI powered Smart-Search!
20 years ago, broadcast television went through an evolution as it transitioned from analog to digital distribution. This migration was driven by the demand for larger channel counts and spectrum reallocation. Since that transition, another, even more significant sea change has occurred, the internet.
Whether we’re routing signals or remotely operating equipment, the need for reliable system control is one of the most important aspects of a broadcast facility. But as we migrate to IP, some of the working practices we took for granted with SDI operation don’t necessarily transfer and this is most evident in signal routing.
The CRC (cyclic redundancy check) was primarily an error detector, but it did allow some early error correction systems to be implemented.
There are many different CRCs but they all work in much the same way, which is that the data to be protected are divided by the CRC polynomial. This was done serially by shifting the data bits into the CRC generator at the same time as they were being written to a medium such as disk or tape or sent into a serial transmission line.
For many years broadcasters have been working with static systems that are difficult to change and upgrade. Although we have video and audio routing, the often-tangled mess of jackfield patch-cords is testament to how flexible broadcast systems really need to be to meet the demands of modern program making.
SDI is one of those technologies that is so well established and ubiquitous it can almost be taken for granted.
A sharp rise in TV viewing during the Covid-19 crisis has been widely anticipated and is now being confirmed by survey results around the world.
CBC/Radio-Canada (CBC) is putting the finishing touches to a brand new all-IP broadcast facility that will provide virtually unlimited flexibility across multiple platforms to support highly efficient production and distribution workflows for its radio, TV and online programming.
Viewing audiences are continually driving broadcasters to deliver improved video formats to further enhance the immersive experience. It didn’t seem so long ago that HD was lauded as the best format ever. Not only did we end up quadrupling the number of pixels and frame rates to deliver 12G-SDI, but we also mixed them with high dynamic range and wide color gamut.
