On February 1, 2021, China Central TV (CCTV), supported by China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Radio and Television broadcast its first live 8K Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) TV channel broadcast test signals over a 5G network from the Beijing National Grand Theater and Shanghai International. The test broadcast used Telestream’s full 2110 IP solution including its Inspect 2110 IP monitoring system, PRISM waveform monitor and SPG8000A precision multiformat video signal generator, suitable for master synchronization and reference applications. The Telestream monitoring solution is used throughout the production and distribution workflows.

More than 30 UHD large screens and China’s first consignment of 8K TVs broadcast the images in public places across nine cities. CCTV reports that this was the world's first 8K UHD TV live broadcast across a 5G network. In addition, CCTV intends to broadcast the Chinese New Year's Eve celebrations using its 8K UHD TV channel, broadcast live as part of CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala.

In 2022, CCTV will start broadcasting 8K UHD channels in the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, and plans to implement 8K UHD as the standard production format for the Games, including full-time comprehensive 8K Telestream live monitoring from content production to editing and broadcasting.

Telestream’s Inspect 2110 and Prism monitors help CCTV to monitor IP 2110 8K signals in real-time around the clock. Telestream provides CCTV with IP 2110 network health protection and automatic alarm functions and checks the consistency of the main and backup channels.

Compared with traditional SDI networks, CCTV’s IP network is more versatile and simpler. However, some issues with an IP network of this scale exist: if 8K signals up to 33Gbps are transmitted across the IP network, there can be issues such as packet loss and disorder, separate video, audio; and whether all the auxiliary data is present. Also, there are questions of whether the main and backup signals are consistent, and whether the PTP clock synchronization can be locked. All these issues need to be considered to ensure high-quality and high-volume broadcasts of 8K signals. The answer to all these issues for CCTV is Telestream video monitoring solution.

Telestream’s Inspect 2110 probes monitor and record multiple RTP indicators in real-time - even the smallest amount of packet loss and disorder that cannot be detected by the naked eye, to provide early warning and record of IP network problems. Also, Telestream Inspect 2110 compares the main and backup signals, and can accurately identify any inconsistency in audio and video content and auxiliary data, alerting operational staff.

When CCTV’s operational staff encounter a serious issue, they can go to Telestream Prism for in-depth diagnosis and analysis of the problem video stream. This greatly shortens the network troubleshooting time and ensures the healthy operation of CCTV’s 8K broadcast system.