​Wireless 4K Puzzle Solved

One of the missing pieces in the 4K live acquisition is being cracked with a number of options now available to send pictures wirelessly from pitchside.

Broadcast RF claims the first UHD radio camera system available for hire. The 4KRF system comprises of a Sony F55, a full transmit and receive system for live broadcast. It is offered with technical support if required for live events. It uses the system on a live heli downlink working with Aerial Camera Systems to obtain live 4K broadcast from the air.

The system mounts to the back of a 4K camcorder such as the Sony F55 like any other radio camera transmitter and includes full Sony RF camera/paint control.

It is based on the new UitraCoder HEVC/H.265 encoder from Vislink. The system accepts 4K/UHD streams on a Quad 3G-SDI input. While other approaches use four separate encoders/modulators to individually encode and transmit each quadrant of the UHD picture, the 4KRF system processes the entire 4K picture through a single encoder/modulator chain, thus increasing encoding efficiency and eliminating any possible synchronisation issues between the individual quadrants.

BBCR&D has chosen to use Multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO) wireless technology halving the bandwidth required and therefore significantly reduce the cost of news and sports coverage. Its halfRF HD/UHD radio-camera incorporates knowledge of DVB-NGH and DVB-T2 and also uses error correction and time interleaving to provide a rugged system that transmits 4K over a130Mb/s link. This is still prototype with tests planned at a soccer match. There's a minimum 4 frame latency. The BBC plans to licence the innovation to camera manufacturers.

GoPro has a backback or tethered Hero model engineered with Vislink's HD RF link (branded HeroCast) for live broadcast. The latency is 180-200 milliseconds. The Hero4 Black is GoPro's 4K camera and while 4K can't yet be streamed from it live the company says it is looking at this.

You might also like...

Comms In Hybrid SDI - IP - Cloud Systems - Part 1

We examine the demands placed on hybrid, distributed comms systems and the practical requirements for connectivity, transport and functionality.

Essential Guide: Network Observability

This Essential Guide introduces and explores the concept of Network Observability. For any broadcast engineering team using IP networks and cloud ecosystems for live video production, it is an approach which could help combat a number of the inherent challenges…

5G Broadcast: Part 5 - 5G Contribution & Remote Production

The main focus of this series is on the potential impact of 5G Broadcast on content delivery, here we take a look at how this might combine with 5G contribution to form a 5G transport ecosystem.

Standards: Part 4 - Standards For Media Container Files

This article describes the various codecs in common use and their symbiotic relationship to the media container files which are essential when it comes to packaging the resulting content for storage or delivery.

Standards: Appendix E - File Extensions Vs. Container Formats

This list of file container formats and their extensions is not exhaustive but it does describe the important ones whose standards are in everyday use in a broadcasting environment.