In the previous articles, we investigated IP from a broadcast engineers point of view as it helps us understand IP. In this article, we start to look at audio integration, and how we make IP work with audio signals, and the challenges we need to overcome.
Some engineers can maintain their current SDI systems armed with little more than a foggy memory of how things are interconnected. But with IP networks, such a philosophy guarantees panic if something fails. When it comes to properly documenting an IP network, ignore this task at your peril.
SMPTE ST 2110 is currently in final draft and possibly will soon be published. Different from previous SMPTE standards, SMPTE 2110 is a Family of Standards covering live production based on IP. However, because it is still under wraps in the secret world of committee, there is scant information on where things stand This article will provide some important background.
Growth of online services both from pure OTT players like YouTube and also operator offerings like AT&T’s DirecTV Now in the US and Sky’s Now TV in Europe is creating a boom in associated streaming devices for casting to main screen TVs. At the same time, rising bandwidth and QoS over the Internet, along with availability of suitable TV sets, is propelling this market towards 4K devices, as was confirmed by the latest data from ABI Research. Indeed by 2022 all streaming media adapters shipped in Europe will be 4K capable, according to that study, and by then the worldwide annual total will be 56 million.
Point to point connections with well-designed standards have given broadcaster engineers piece of mind for many years, knowing when they connect one AES-3 audio output to an AES-3 audio input, the two will connect seamlessly and audio will pass without incident. The same can be said of MADI and analogue twisted pair. Signal routing is easy to follow using numbered cabling and system diagrams.
Broadcast is a whole new world. With OTA being challenged by OTT, streaming and new viewing platforms. Traditional broadcasters need to incorporate new state-of-the-art systems in their facilities if they want to survive.
As broadcasting moves to highly efficient production lines of the future, understanding business needs is key for engineers, and recognizing the commercial motivations of CEOs and business owners is crucial to building a successful media platform.
SmarDTV, part of the Kudelski Group, has been chosen by South African maker of hybrid set top boxes (STBs) and gateways Altech UEC to supply System-In-Package (SIP) products for the country’s OpenView HD free-to-air (FTA) digital satellite TV platform. Altech UEC will be integrating the SIP package into new HD STBs sold on the retail market to consumers of the OpenView FTA service.
