“Live events continue to appeal to viewers, bucking the general trend for the overall decline in audience figures for pre-recorded content. As a result, broadcasters recognise the value of producing live content from a variety of environments,” confirms John Smith, managing director, Media Links EMEA. “However, broadcasters also need to minimise the cost of live production. Therefore, we are excited to launch the new MDP3020 at this year’s IBC.

“This tiny workhorse, addresses the universal need for network protected IP transport that is highly portable, rapid to deploy, and remotely configurable,” continues Smith. “The MDP3020 uses standards including 2022-6/7, TR-01 to process ever-increasing amounts of media information over IP networks, existing broadcast networks, as well as point-to-point fibre networks offering a both cost effective and convenient solution to applications such as remote production over IP.

Media Links specifically developed the MDP3020 for the broadcast media market where economical IP media conversion is a must-have and it will be of particular interest for sports broadcasters. It can be used in three primary configurations, either separately or in combination due to its multichannel capability: firstly, for contribution applications, as an edge device (encoder): secondly, for distribution applications, as a remote video playout device (decoder) and: thirdly, for point-to-point local video and distribution applications, when used in pairs (encoder to decoder) to offer secure and simultaneous video, audio, and data services.

One key benefit to the MDP3020 is that it’s compact and portable. It is so small, it fits into a standard briefcase and can be taken on an aircraft as carry-on baggage. This means connectivity can be achieved economically over long distances without the associated shipping costs of heavier equipment.

The MDP3020 incorporates a high capacity - 1GbE or 10GbE - trunk interface and multi-format support, including 3G / HD / DVB-ASI / SD-SDI with both SDI and HDMI output interfaces. The solution has been designed with upgradable functionality to ensure broadcasters’ investments are future-proofed whenever changes in workflow are required during the transition to IP based infrastructures.