BBC R&D and Xilinx demonstrated Stagebox, a prototype camera-back device, at the 2012 NAB Show that enables the transport of professional quality video over Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks.
The BBC R&D Stagebox can be attached to the back of any broadcast-quality camera. Due to the integration of more system functionality onto a Xilinx field programmable gate array (FPGA), expensive and cumbersome SDI/audio/talkback and ancillary cabling can be replaced with a single network cable (fiber or Cat6). The small form factor device expands the reach of video networks to remote production sites and studios using IP networks.
CoreEL’s H.264/AVC-I codec IP core combined with Xilinx FPGAs allowed BBC R&D engineers to build and deploy Stagebox.
In both sports settings and hazardous news-gathering conditions, BBC R&D’s Stagebox technology will allow real-time video streaming to production crews and equipment far away from the action.
