The Situation. The age of loudness compliance is upon us, with governments around the world adopting variations of ITU-R BS.1770-3 standard for all terrestrial broadcast, cable television, direct-broadcast satellite and IPTV programs. What this means for the broadcast/content provider is that loudness compliance now has the force of law behind it, making accurate logging of all disseminated materials a necessity. The current ITU standard, 1770-3 (August 2012), builds upon 1770-1 (2006) and 1770-2 (March, 2011), which makes loudness compliance somewhat of a moving target, requiring specialized monitoring equipment that is software-based to accommodate standards updates. Local variations of ITU 1770 are found in the CALM Act in the U.S. with ATSC A/85:2013, the European EBU R128 standard, TR-B32 in Japan and the Australian PO-59, among many others coming online. For the broadcaster, monitoring the video and audio integrity of a signal as the final step before dissemination is no longer enough, necessitating installing a system that will provide both signal integrity and loudness compliance monitoring in one package.
We’ve all heard the phrase Disaster Recovery (DR), but what does it actually mean for broadcasters and content owners, and what constitutes a disaster? DR is a broad term that encompasses a range of scenarios, from catastrophic disaster (for instance, the complete destruction of a whole facility), to operational disaster such as a transmission server failing. The ideal strategy for rescuing a situation in the event of a disaster is the seamless continuity of business under all circumstances with no assets being lost.
The US has belatedly permitted six film companies to fly unmanned craft while the UK has dozens.
Satellite uplink facilities must deliver reliable, uninterrupted service continuity. Broadcasters derive revenue from advertisers that is dependent upon reliable distribution of content. Any interruption in the distribution process results in loss of revenue and market share. Therefore, facility designs include several layers of redundancy; including redundant satellites, backup sites, and backup hardware at each site.
TV 2 Norway airs the program Sommertid (Summer time)as a key part of the summer schedule. This live 1-hour program runs 4 days a week for 9 weeks during the summer months. Traditionally the TV 2 Sommertid program was shot on the roof of the TV 2 facility house. For 2014, TV 2 decided it would be more dramatic and exciting if the backdrop were the bustling Oslo harbour, marine docks and restaurant area of Oslo. To facilitate this, the production set is situated on a floating pier on which local and international talent are interviewed and interweaved with live musical segments.Normally this would necessitate using an OB truck. However, OB trucks are relatively expensive and the floating- pier location meant that the OB truck would have to be at least 300 meters from the cameras, adding a great deal of cabling leading to higher complexity and set-up and running costs. Norwia were able to provide a fiber solution to connect the remote at Oslo harbor with the studio 5km away at TV2 TV centre.
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.
