AVIWEST, recently acquired by Haivision, has unveiled StreamHub version 4.0, offering a new intuitive user interface for the receiver and IP distribution platform.

StreamHub 4.0 is an integral workflow component of AVIWEST contribution solutions, which include its flagship PRO460, the compact RACK400 and new LiveGuest remote interview solution, the company said.

StreamHub offers broadcasters a scalable, tailored video solution for receiving, managing and sharing live streams from multiple mobile transmitters via a single interface. Its new HTML5 UI helps video professionals manage, monitor and control video transmissions through a unified view of all video feeds, including video thumbnails and detailed transmission metrics, the company said.

The product is available as a standalone hardware appliance (1RU) and can be deployed on any public or private cloud. A range of SaaS offerings are also available, providing fully managed cloud services with all-inclusive pricing, it said. 

“The version 4.0 release is the start of a new chapter for StreamHub,” said Ronan Poullaouec, vice president of engineering, remote and wireless systems. “It offers our customers the latest security enhancements, ensuring a fully secure environment and the new, intuitive UI makes daily operations even simpler than before. In addition, new support for NDI inputs and outputs opens up a whole range of capabilities for news, live video production, or live video distribution.” 

StreamHub offers support for AVIWEST’s Safe Stream Transport (SST) protocol as well as a variety of video-over-IP protocols, including SRT, RTMP, RTSP, NDI, HLS and TS over IP.

“StreamHub is ideally suited for today’s ever-evolving live video contribution workflows and is an exciting addition to Haivision’s solution portfolio,” said Ghislain Collette, vice president of product management at Haivision. “By streamlining their production workflows and optimizing costs with the StreamHub receiver, broadcasters can produce more live video content that boosts viewer engagement.”  

More information is available on the company’s website. 

MONTREAL—Haivision will showcase the latest advancements and updates in IP video contribution technology at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, in Las Vegas.

The company will discuss how its recent acquisition of Aviwest will impact broadcast video contribution. Experts from the companies will show how broadcasters can use Haivision’s ultra-low latency IP video streaming technology and Aviwest’s mobile video contribution solutions to address the challenges of today’s media workflows, the company said.

The combination of the companies’ video technology for live broadcast contribution over fixed and mobile networks will be shown for live sporting event production, news live entertainment workflows. 

Haivision will showcase:

• PRO460, a bonded cellular transmitter for remote and at-home video production via 5G networks;
• Makito X4 series video encoders and decoders offering real-time quad-HD and 4K video encoding and SRT streaming;
• StreamHub platform to receive, decode and distribute live video streams;
• LiveGuest for live guest interviews with support for bidirectional video return and echo cancellation; and 
• Haivision Hub, an easy-to-use video network service for easy management of all Makito encoders and streams.

To book a one-on-one meeting at the show visit the company’s website. 

See Haivision in NAB Show booth W5205 and in the Grass Valley booth, C2107.

MONTREAL—Haivision has announced completion of it $29.6 million acquisition of mobile IP-based live video transmission specialist Aviwest. 

The company acquired 100% of the shares of Aviwest on a cash-free and debt-free basis for cash consideration.  Aviwest had revenues of about $15.1 million in 2021. 

The acquisition brings a comprehensive video contribution solution, now with 5G support, to Haivision customers. The Aviwest portfolio, which includes network bonding technology, offers high-quality video content contribution solutions for broadcast, sports and live event production via fixed and mobile networks, Haivision said.

“The Aviwest acquisition is a defining milestone for Haivision, and we are excited to add Aviwest’s impressive technology and deep domain expertise to Haivision’s product portfolio, helping us further deliver on our goal of developing innovative solutions to better serve our customers,” said Haivision president and CEO Mirko Wicha.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Aviwest to the Haivision family," he continued. "With complementary technology and a shared vision, we are uniquely positioned to shape the future of video contribution.” 

Haivision and Aviwest will jointly exhibit at the NAB Show, April 23-27, in Las Vegas in booths W4333MR, W4334MR and W5205.

More information is available on the Haivision website.

LAS VEGAS—There are many different types of equipment used for news production, everything from cameras to satellite dishes to media management systems. One of the interesting evolutions in the industry is how gear that was developed for ENG applications in particular, is now used for a variety of media creation and management tasks.

This is due at least in part to Moore’s Law, the rule that doubles the complexity of electronic components every two years or so. In the television industry, this means that devices get additional features and capabilities regularly—as the price of the gear either stays the same or slowly reduces. Equipment that could only be afforded by well-paid news organizations is now available to a much bigger range of content creators, at very friendly prices.

This has led to an explosion of products and capabilities, and it gets used for programming from reality shows to sports to films. ENG is not just for ENG anymore.

Here is a brief look at what is new for news production teams at the 2022 NAB Show at press time: 

Ingest & Editing
Bitcentral will spotlight its Precis news production system that streamlines ingest and editing. Precis is scalable to grow with an organization, and works with a range of editing software, ENG cameras and newsroom computer systems.

Grass Valley will feature its GV STRATUS production and content management system. Grass Valley’s AMPP Connected STRATUS solution now allows users to have access to content across multiple sites and teams by federating the content in the cloud. AMPP also gives journalists access to a full-featured web-based editor that can be accessed from anywhere on any computer and works with proxies for fast response.

Dalet will highlight its new Pyramid newsroom system, a cloud-agnostic solution that supports multiple cloud providers, and can run in virtualized environments that support remote productions.

“Dalet Pyramid enables news storytellers to incorporate diverse content from any source into the virtual newsroom, including remote camera/ENG contributions and backpack integration,” said Raoul Cospen, director of business development (EMEA and APAC) for Dalet.

IP-Based Production
Aviwest will showcase its new PRO460 4K UHD 5G/4G transmitter, designed for remote and at-home video production. The PRO460 supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows for up to four high-resolution, fully frame-synced feeds.

“The Aviwest PRO460 addresses many of the challenges that broadcasters face in ENG and for live-event remote production,” said Ronan Poullaouec, chief technology officer and co-founder of Aviwest.

Dejero will feature its new EnGo 265 mobile transmitter with built-in GateWay mode. The two-in-one mobile transmitter and internet gateway delivers reliable wireless connectivity with the new GateWay mode offering wireless broadband internet connectivity in the field. An improved bandwidth blending algorithm enhances all latency setting and delivers glass-to-glass latency as low as 0.5 seconds over bonded cellular connections, the company said.

LiveU will show new and existing products in its large booth, which features a live stage for fireside chats, panels and workflow demonstrations with other cloud production providers including Blackbird, Grass Valley, Grabyo, highlighting the ongoing removal of traditional and restrictive infrastructure. The company will highlight its contribution and distribution solutions that include the multicamera LU800 5G production-level field unit. LiveU will also demo its Air Control solution to get remote guests and live feeds into the system and on the air.

Also new is Cloud Connect, which simplifies live productions, reduces costs, and delivers a faster time-to-air by leveraging LiveU’s automated cloud workflows. 

TVU Networks will showcase a suite of cloud-based applications for remote production and new 5G-enabled transmitters and routers. Most of TVU’s technology is 5G-enabled and has been so for years. This includes the TVU One mobile transmitter, TVU Rack Router, and TVU MLink transmitter. 

TVU’s cloud-native pay-as-you-go TVU Channel playout platform, introduced in late October, supports hundreds of thousands of viewers. Designed for one of the world’s largest broadcasters, TVU Channel enables a user to schedule live and VOD programming from a web browser.

Education Sessions
Off from the exhibit floor, several conferences will consider current and future trends and advances in newsgathering.

On Sunday afternoon, April 24, in the CMIP Presentation Theater, Josh Keller from the Video Call Center will answer the question, “Are IP-Remotes Causing Headaches?” During the session, he’ll discuss ways to reduce latency, dropouts and improve the overall quality of IP remote delivery, an issue that has been top of mind for news stations that have had to increase their reliance on IP remotes for the past two years.

At “Advanced News Acquisition Workflows” on Tuesday morning, April 26, Ernie Ensign, senior director of news technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, will look at how the use of metadata can help improve news workflows from the newsroom computer system to cameras in the field. 

Tuesday afternoon, during “Breaking News Barriers: 175 Years of Innovation in Factual Reporting,” representatives from the Associated Press will discuss its evolution from the days of communicating via horseback to today’s digital media technologies.

News teams will also want to check out “ATSC 3.0 as a Use Case for Public Safety Communications: Development Milestones,” on Sunday morning in the West Hall. This session will focus on how the use of advanced emergency alerting systems in NextGen TV will help broadcasters improve their reporting and public safety commitments. 

With plenty of competition and constant product improvement, news production systems at NAB Show 2022 promise new features, excellent performance and the agility to get your content where it needs to go—when it needs to get there.

For more information on the 2022 NAB Show, visit nabshow.com/2022

MONTREAL—Haivision is acquiring AVIWEST S.A.S. a provider of mobile IP-based video contribution systems. Haivision says adding Aviwest will expand its video contribution solution portfolio to address the growing market for live, high-quality video content in broadcast, sports, and live event production. The transaction—valued at US$23 million (C$29.6 million)—is expected to be completed within 30 days.

Haivision provides low latency “wired” broadcast video networks, while Aviwest offers low latency wireless broadcast video networks.  Haivision says the combined company will help the company target the demand for low latency video contribution in wireless technology, bringing bring mobile networking (5G/4G cellular) and patented network bonding capabilities to its portfolio. 

Founded in 2008, Aviwest can count several "world first" innovations: portable cellular video transmission, live video transmission over a 4G network implementing QoS, and live 4K video transmission over a 5G network. Aviwest has also received two Emmy Awards for its SST networking technology for reliable transmission of video over bonded networks. 

Aviwest's products can be found in the facilities of  hundreds of broadcasters, television stations, and production houses worldwide who use Aviwest technology in their day-to-day coverage of sporting and other live events. Aviwest solutions are also used extensively in support of major international sporting events. Headquartered in Rennes (Saint-Grégoire), France, Aviwest has more than 70 employees with field operations globally. 

“With the addition of Aviwest, Haivision will now lead in both fixed and mobile networks in providing ultra-low latency video solutions,” said Mirko Wicha, Haivision President and CEO. “We are very excited to welcome the amazing team at Aviwest and its customers to the Haivision family, and to provide broadcasters globally a trusted and proven vendor to solve their video contribution challenges.” 

“Together with Haivision, our solutions will bring customers maximum live video flexibility with ultra-low latency, highly reliable network connectivity, and pristine video quality,” said Ronan Poullaouec, CTO and Co-Founder of Aviwest. “With sub-200ms glass-to-glass latency over 5G networks, our solutions are revolutionizing remote production workflows by giving broadcasters more options for contributing real-time content for premium live events and sports coverage.”    

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Live video contribution tech provider Aviwest has joined the DEEPTEC project consortium with TDF and IETR (Institut d'Electronique et des Technologies du numéRique) to develop a sustainable and fully virtualized live streaming workflow over 5G networks. 

Delivery over Energy-Efficient Processing and Transcoding in Edge Computing (DEEPTEC) is a two-year collaborative project supported by the Images & Réseaux team (the competitive cluster for digital innovation in the Pays de la Loire and Brittany regions), funded by the Brittany region and the Metropole of Rennes.

"We are eager to collaborate with the IETR and TDF to pave the way for a new green standard of live production that will help broadcasters and production companies to dramatically reduce environmental impacts, costs, and logistical burdens for organizing events,” said Nicolas Dhollande, research and innovation manager at Aviwest. 

Aviwest is providing DEEPTEC with the company's latest transmission technologies: the new PRO460-5G bonded cellular transmitter; its double Emmy-Award-winning Safe Stream Transport technology; and its SaaS StreamHub receiver deployed in Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC). 

Aviwest said the convergence between 5G and MEC is a game-changer that will allow reliable live remote production with 4K and UHD multicamera systems. With the involvement of the French research institute IETR, the consortium will use artificial intelligence to optimize video transcoding in the cloud. This will provide viewers with the best video quality and the lowest latency, ensuring a high QoE with a lower carbon footprint, Aviwest said. 

"Cloud computing, 5G, and artificial intelligence offer us a great opportunity to develop sustainable video-streaming solutions that enable a very high quality of experience while preserving the planet's resources,” explained Wassim Hamidouche, senior lecturer at the IETR.

TDF, as a network operator, will provide the project with a fully virtualized, energy-centric headend solution capable of switching between broadcast and broadband delivery based on the audience, content, and/or client strategy.

Naty Sidaty, audiovisual innovation and standardization expert at TDF, explained that "this project fits perfectly into TDF's roadmap for modernization of the DTT platform by developing an energy-centric headend solution for achieving scalable and efficient delivery of linear services over broadcast and broadband networks."

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—AVIWEST and SaaS remote collaboration solution provider LucidLink are working together to provide a cloud video production and delivery solution, AVIWEST said today.

Using LucidLink Filespaces and AVIWEST’s bonded cellular solution, broadcasters can capture camera feeds, deliver data to the cloud and gain global access to the same file with real-time collaboration from anywhere. The solution includes AVIWEST field units and AIR Series and PRO Series transmitters, it said.

Broadcasters can record video feeds on the transmitter’s SD card and optimize their time by forwarding the file progressively while the recording is still in progress, the company said.

“The partnership between LucidLink and AVIWEST enables powerful new remote workflows within the M&E industry,” said Scott Miller, director, business development at LucidLink. “LucidLink provides immediate global access and sets a new standard for scalability, bringing increased efficiency to remote delivery and storage.”

A LucidLink client installed on the AVIWEST StreamHub transceiver enables access to a growing number of files in real time from multiple cameras. The files are immediately available for editing during ingest. LucidLink provides a secure centralized data repository in the cloud that is infinitely scalable and globally accessible, the company said.

Connecting to Filespaces gives users instant access to a file. Files can be edited with any NLE application from the cloud. Data can be accessed even while growing at cloud scale, it said.

The AVIWEST StreamHub receiver, decoder and distribution platform can be deployed as an in-house 1U server or as a cloud service for news or live video production.

"We are excited to bring an innovative solution to market that fully meets the needs of video professionals," said Ronan Poullaouec, chief technology officer at AVIWEST. "This joint solution dramatically accelerates content production and enables remote production with cloud-hosted solutions.”

More information on AVIWEST and LucidLink is available online.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—AVIWEST this week introduced LiveGuest, a video call solution for live production applications that enables broadcasters to create content for audiences by inviting remote guests to join a live video call.

Integrated with broadcasters’ live production workflow, LiveGuest is easy to deploy and use. It does not require any web application or software. Guests click on an email link from their laptop computers, and they are on air, the company said.

"Conducting live remote interviews has never been simpler than with our new LiveGuest solution," said Thomas Dellerue, product manager at AVIWEST. "Guests don't need technical knowhow or dedicated equipment to join a live broadcast. It's as easy as a click. Since our LiveGuest solution offers easy integration with any live production platform, on-premises or in the cloud, the deployment process is 100% seamless for broadcasters."

LiveGuest runs on any web browser and offers support for bidirectional video, allowing guests to receive, watch and hear the content being produced in the studio. It includes echo cancellation, the company said.

With LiveGuest, video content is received in the studio by AVIWEST's StreamHub and can then be sent over SDI, NDI or through multiple IP outputs, such as SRT, TS or RTMP. In addition to providing broadcasters with live production platform connectivity, the LiveGuest solution streamlines content delivery to all major social media platforms, including YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SAINT-GREGOIRE, France—AVIWEST will showcase its new RACK400 video encoder for sports remote production at IBC 2021 in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6.

Designed in a half 1U form factor, the new video encoder supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows with up to four high-res, fully frame-synced feeds. The RACK400 provides robust, error-free transmission over any network (cellular, satellite, IP leased line or the public internet) at low latency, down to 0.5 seconds, the company said.

The encoder enables perfect video sync between multiple cameras for seamless camera switching in the studio, video return to the field for confidence monitoring, full duplex intercom between field crews and studio operators and data bridging for remote control of cameras, tally light or any other IP device during a live event, it said.

AVIWEST will show for the first time a new solution that allows broadcasters to enrich content coverage with live remote interviews in an easy, reliable way, it said.

The company will also feature its PRO460 flagship 4K UHD on-the-move bonded 5G/4G transmitter. Designed for remote and at-home video production, the PRO460 supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows for up to four high-resolution, fully frame-synced feeds, AVIWEST said.

Housing six globally compliant 5G modems and incorporating patented, high-efficiency custom antennas to ensure high-speed transmission, the PRO460 provides robust, error-free transmission over any network, it said.

See AVIWEST at IBC 2021 Stand 1.D69.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—AVIWEST and Newsbridge are working together to provide TF1 (Television Francaise 1) Group, a content production, publishing and distribution company, with a new solution for live production workflows.  

The solution revolves around AVIWEST’s StreamHub control and live stream hosting and Newsbridge’s cloud-based media platform, which leverages AI technology for multimodal indexing. Together the solutions give media and sports rights holders, journalists, production and editorial teams a means to improve their ground-to-cloud media value chain, AVIWEST said.

Working with hundreds of hours of news and sports-related media assets and live recordings, TF1 Group editorial teams needed a solution to enhance the speed and efficiency of their workflows from content acquisition to auto-indexing and retrieval, the company said.

“Whenever we adopt a new tool, we keep in mind how it is positioned toward the future,” said Yves Bouillon, deputy director of TF1’s Media Factory. “The combined solution from AVIWEST and Newsbridge is future-proof, allowing us to record on the cloud and simplify our live production workflows. Using just a laptop and an internet connection, our journalists can now immediately look through images and choose the best moments using cognitive analysis.” 

TF1 Group editorial teams have reduced content search and selection time significantly since deploying the solution. They’ve also seen an uptick in content quality due to the Newsbridge platform’s native semantic search and multimodal indexing AI and seamless integration with AVIWEST’s HE4000 UHD/multi-HD video encoder set, AVIWEST said.

“Speed is crucial in the live production environment,” said Ronan Poullaouec, CTO at AVIWEST. “We’re excited to collaborate with Newsbridge on this new solution that leverages the cloud and AI to streamline live production for leading broadcasters around the world, including TF1 Group.”

Receiving up to 16 concurrent incoming streams from remote units, AVIWEST’s StreamHub solution allows video content to be freely distributed to virtually any IP network. Simultaneously, the StreamHub solution can manage missions and metadata to guarantee a seamless integration with Newsbridge’s post-production workflow.

More information is available on the AVIWEST and Newsbridge websites.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—AVIWEST has unveiled its new PRO460, which the company is billing as the next evolution of its flagship PRO bonded cellular transmitter series for remote and at-home video production over 5G network. 

The AVIWEST PRO460 is designed to address the challenges that broadcasters face in expanding their remote production for live events, including sports, entertainment, concerts, and interactive TV shows. 

Available in a compact form factor suitable for backpack or V-Mount/G-mount camera mounting, the PRO460 supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows for up to four high-resolution, fully frame-synced feeds, delivering outstanding-quality video and high performance, the company reported. 

"The PRO460 is a must-have solution for facilitating live remote production with the potential for greater mobility, productivity, premium quality, and massive savings in operational and capital expenses," said Samuel Fleischhacker, senior product manager at AVIWEST. "Covering more events with simplified logistics and minimal on-site staff requirements is now a reality with our new PRO460."

The PRO460 supports wireless frame-accurate synchronization and video transmission of multiple cameras to ensure seamless switching in the studio while a high-definition video return (up to 1080p50/60) is available for confidence monitoring or teleprompting, the company said. 

The solution also offers support for full-duplex intercoms to optimize communication between field crews and studio operators, and innovative data bridging for remote camera control, tally light management, or control of any IP connected device during a live event.

Housing six globally compliant 5G modems and incorporating patented, high-efficiency custom antennas to ensure high-speed transmission, the PRO460 provides robust, error-free transmission over any network (i.e., cellular, satellite, IP leased line, or the public internet), ensuring low end-to-end latency, down to 0.5 seconds, thanks to AVIWEST's two-time Emmy Award-winning SST (Safe Stream Transport) technology, the company said. 

SST combines advanced network aggregation, adaptive packet retransmission, and Forward Error Correction techniques to enable high network throughput and maximize quality of service.

In addition, the PRO460 supports the latest generation of H.265/HEVC and the proven H.264/AVC compression standards to accommodate new and existing infrastructures ensuring high-quality video and high performance, with up to 4Kp60 combined with eight audio channels for high-end productions.

AVIWEST's PRO460 will be showcased at the 2021 IBC Show from Dec. 3-6 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center, on Booth 1.D69.

More information on AVIWEST and its products is available at www.aviwest.com.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Live video contribution provider AVIWEST has unveiled new versions of its RACK Series encoders for remote and at-home video production over unmanaged IP networks. 

Available in a compact, half-1U form factor, the RACK400 supports 4K UHD and multi-camera workflows for up to four high-resolution, fully frame-synced feeds, the company said. Both the latest generation of H.265/HEVC and the proven H.264/AVC compression standards are supported to accommodate new and existing infrastructures. Offering outstanding-quality video and high performance, it can handle up to 4Kp60 combined with eight audio channels for high-end productions.

"The RACK400 is a game-changer for the broadcast industry, accelerating live remote production and offering the potential for greater productivity and huge savings in operational and capital expenses," said Samuel Fleischhacker, senior product manager at AVIWEST. "For on-the-go production, broadcasters need equipment that is easy to deploy. The RACK400 is small, light, and robust and offers exceptional video quality."

The RACK400 addresses all the challenges that broadcasters face in expanding their remote production for live events, including sports, entertainment, concerts, political events, and interactive TV shows, Aviwest reported. It also offers an extensive feature set so broadcasters can produce content with greater efficiency from a central facility. 

Advanced features include frame-accurate synchronization and video transmission between multiple cameras to ensure perfect and seamless camera switching in the studio, as well as high-definition video return (up to 1080p50/60) from the studio to the venue for confidence monitoring or teleprompting. 

In addition, the RACK400 supports full-duplex intercom to optimize communication between field crews and studio operators, along with innovative data bridging for remote camera control, tally light management, or any other IP device control during a live event.

The RACK400 also provides error-free transmission over any network (i.e., cellular, satellite, IP leased line, or the public internet), ensuring low end-to-end latency, down to 0.5 seconds, thanks to AVIWEST's two-time Emmy Award-winning Safe Streams Transport technology. 

This technology combines advanced network aggregation, adaptive packet retransmission, and Forward Error Correction techniques to reach high network throughput and maximize quality of service.

AVIWEST's groundbreaking RACK400 will be showcased at the 2021 NAB Show from Oct. 9-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center inside the company's on-floor meeting room, N7930.

More information on AVIWEST and its products is available at www.aviwest.com.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Aviwest has integrated its video contribution solution with the Grabyo cloud video production platform, the company announced.

The integration makes it possible for video professionals to produce live content from anywhere, regardless of unpredictable network conditions. The solution provides real-time, remote content production, the company said.

The Aviwest mobile transmitters, encoders and SST (Safe Stream Transport) link technology enable producers to create live content from anywhere. The company’s bonded cellular transmitters, including the Pro3 Series and Air Series, combine HEVC coding technology and 5G to help manage live remote productions, the company said.

The Grabyo platform provides rapid video clipping and editing, browser-based live production with frame-accurate stream synchronization, graphics overlays, a configurable mutliviewer, audio mixing and simultaneous multi-platform delivery, the company said. 

The SaaS platform is designed to help digital teams maximize resources without requiring any additional software or extensive training. It offers native integration with all major social media platforms, video players and third-party production tools, it said.

More information is available from Aviwest and Grabyo. 

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Live video contribution technology provider Aviwest has announced that it was used by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to support selected off-venue events, including official team training and press conferences from UEFA EURO 2020. 

UEFA successfully used the Aviwest’s bonded cellular ecosystem during the events, which were held during a global health crisis that made the event extremely challenging to produce. prepare for and deliver.

UEFA leveraged Aviwest's PRO380 bonded cellular field units, StreamHub transceiver, and Manager unified management platform. Aviwest also provided UEFA with SIM cards and data, and accompanied their broadcast team throughout all stages of the project, including expeditions across Europe, team training, installations, and follow-ups with a 24/7 support service.

The Aviwest PRO3 Series enabled UEFA's host broadcast team to securely provide live high-quality feeds over aggregated cellular networks. They were also able to use IP networks to send first-class images from the field.

In the master control room, the Aviwest Manager enabled monitoring and control of the entire Aviwest system including fields units, StreamHub transceivers, and third-party equipment via a single and intuitive web interface, the company reported. 

Through an advanced set of functionalities, the Aviwest Manager provided UEFA's production team with vital information about device performance, resource availability, and potential data consumption warnings. The Manager also allowed easy video routing through simple drag-and-drop and the booking of StreamHub outputs (SDI or IP) for dedicated transmitters.

"The Aviwest Manager offers greater flexibility, efficiency, and simplicity than other systems on the market, so it was the perfect match for UEFA's remote live video production requirements," said Alexandre Augereau, area sales manager at Aviwest. "We are proud of the support that our team of experts provided to UEFA. During the event they worked together closely to streamline UEFA's workflows and help them to reach their goals."

More information on AVIWEST and its products is available at www.aviwest.com.

SAINT-GREGOIRE, France—Aviwest recently collaborated with TV2, Denmark’s national TV station, on upgrading its satellite news gathering (SNP) and IP production vans. Installed in the vans are Aviwest’s PRO3 Series bonded cellular transmitters, HE4000 UHD/multi-HD video encoders, QUAD CellLink antennas and more to transition the vans to fully IP-based production workflows.

The Aviwest StreamHub transceiver platform has been deployed by TV2, enabling it to simultaneously stream to multiple destinations, including web, OTT and TV. StreamHub features Aviwest’s SST (Safe Streams Transport) protocol, which combines multiple algorithms, including FEC, ARQ and VBR rate control. StreamHub supports a range of streaming protocols, including RTMP, RTSP/RTP, HLS and TS/IP for distributing video content over the public internet and IP networks.

The HE4000 encoders and camera-mounted PRO3 bonded cellular transmitters, meanwhile, allow TV2 to remotely produce multicamera live stories and multiplatform contribution with up to five concurrent video streams. Camera control is managed through CyanView’s RCP, which is fully integrated with Aviwest’s tech. The setup also allows TV2 to stream live, on-the-road duplex interviews while also capturing live drone footage.

All equipment within an SNG and IP van can be fully monitored by TV2’s technical team.

“With Aviwest’s solutions, remote areas become more accessible,” said Jens Christoffersen, technical solution architect at TV2. “The equipment is more modular, compact and lightweight that [sic] what we were using previously, and we have the unique capability to support news helicopter feeds, if necessary.”

For more information, visit www.aviwest.com.  

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Aviwest has released its BeOnAir system, an all-in-one live streaming package designed for video professionals to produce, transmit and distribute video content over aggregated cellular, Wi-Fi and public IP networks. With BeOnAir, Aviwest says users can stream and store live interviews and events, and forward recorded content from anywhere.

BeOnAir features Aviwest’s bonded cellular AIR220 transmitter, its MOJOPRO mobile application and an advanced cloud receiver and distribution gateway service with unlimited data traffic. BeOnAir is designed to offer live and auto-record, forward, progressive store and forward, four audio channels and multiple streaming protocols (RTMP, RTSP, SRT, SST, TS and HLS). It also uses Aviwest’s SST aggregation technology for reliable live video transmission delivery.

Users of BeOnAir can share content to audiences across multiple online media and social networks simultaneously.

For more information, visit www.aviwest.com.  

SAINT-GREGOIRE, France—Aviwest is unveiling its new PRO3-5G and AIR-5G Series lightweight bonded cellular transmitters, offering faster speeds and lower latency. 

"5G networks are expected to bring many improvements to the current bonded cellular transmission scenario," said Ronan Poullaouec, CTO at Aviwest.

"Gigabit speeds and reduced transmission latencies are the initial advantages broadcasters can realize from 5G. Beyond the new capacities and services that 5G networks enable, our Aviwest field units will help to maintain a consistent quality of service and make the best use of 5G network performance."

The PRO3-5G, which can be camera-mounted or used in a backpack, offers six embedded 3G/4G/5G modems that are compliant worldwide with a high-efficiency, patented custom antenna array, the company said. 

The AIR-5G is a compact, advanced transmitter with a long-life internal rechargeable battery and a large array of audio and video interfaces. Both use the company’s Safe Streams Transport (SST) protocol that aggregates multiple IP network connections and dynamically adapts video bitrates according to network bandwidth fluctuations, the company said.

Aviwest has been a part of several 4K/UHD and full-HD/HEVC video delivery tests via 5G since 2017. Recently, the company demonstrated use of the transmitters via 5G at a major tennis championship at Roland-Garros in France as part of the IBC Accelerator Program.

The PRO3-5G and AIR-5G are scheduled to ship in December.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, France—Aviwest is now a part of Belgian TV group RTBF’s infrastructure, with the installation of an Aviwest ecosystem for live news, cultural events, sports coverage and content sharing.

The ecosystem at RTBF is made up of Aviwest’s bonded cellular PRO3 and AIR transmitter series, rack mount HE and RACK video encoders, QUAD antennas, MOJOPRO mobile live streaming applications, the StreamHub receiver and Manager management platform.

Aviwest’s Safe Streams Transport (SST) aggregation technology for low-latency video transmission has also been put to use by RTBF. Combined with MOJOPRO, SST enables RTBF remote journalists to stream broadcast-grade live coverage, as well as record, store and forward video stories over cellular networks across the country and from abroad. The field units also have an HEVC encoder for low bitrates and reduced cellular data consumption without compromising video quality, according to Aviwest.

“Aviwest’s solution provides us with powerful live streaming tools, enabling us to further augment our live video production and reduce our operational costs by using cellular networks,” said Benjamin Dominicy, system, multimedia and transmission administrator at RTBF.

Aviwest also helps RTBF with the Médias Francophone Publics (MFP), a grouping of all French-speaking TV and radio from Canada, Switzerland, France and Belgium. It did so by creating a bespoke installation that could receive video feeds via the StreamHub transceiver, which can support a range of streaming protocols, including RTMP, RTSP/RTP, HLS, TS/IP, SRT and NDI. StreamHub also enables RTBF to build a live video multiview composed of all input streams, which can be fed to affiliates.

For more information, visit www.aviwest.com.  

SAINT-GREGOIRE, France—Aviwest has unveiled its new RACK Series of next-generation video contribution encoders. Integrating a H.265/HEVC encoder and an H.264/AVC encoder into a compact platform, these new encoders are designed for live production, including contribution applications and multicamera remote/at-home production.

The RACK Series is meant to be deployed in fixed locations and directly connected on wired IP networks. It can be used on vans or trucks and connected to a roof-mounted Aviwest QUAD CellLink 3G/4G antenna or KA satellite transmitter.

With a user-friendly touch screen, the RACK encoder supports multiple operational modes including live, record, live and record, file forward and data hot spot for high-speed internet connectivity. There is also an SIP-based intercom for communication between the master control room on-premises and remote operators in the field. In addition, a video return function enables remote crews to receive on-air feed from the studio, receive teleprompting information and ensure the livestream is being delivered.

Additional features include the ability to synchronously backhaul multiple live feeds with genlock and lip sync across multiple cameras; embeds a full HD encoder; uses SST technology for transmission; and is encased in a 1U half rack form factor.

More information is available on www.aviwest.com.  

STUDIO CITY, CALIF.—My wife and I started 44 Blue back in 1984, and it has been a great journey. We’ve been part of the evolving reality TV genre over the past three decades, making a name for 44 Blue by developing and producing non-scripted shows for cable networks such as Discovery, A&E and The History Channel.

In 2019, we partnered with the legendary Dick Wolf to produce “First Responders Live” for Fox. It was one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done.

“First Responders Live” was among the first live shows to tackle coverage of all three agencies—firefighters, police officers and EMS technicians and first responders—and the challenge was steep. We had done live shows before, but never on a scale like this, with so many field crews working in so many cities, and then all of the in-studio work. We thought we had seen it all, but this was brand new for us.

EXTENDING OUR REACH

To create the right formula for the show in terms of equipment and signal flow, we mapped out all the different cameras and transmissions. (It looked like the chalkboard scene from “A Beautiful Mind.”) We did our research in selecting the right transmission gear and provider. By far, VidOvation and Aviwest stood out because of their experience and proven track record with this type of live project.

During production we filmed in as many as 10 cities in an evening, and in each city we had six to eight cameras rolling live—some handheld, others fixed-rig. Aviwest PRO380 mobile video transmitters mounted on various HD cameras allowed us to take advantage of H.265/HEVC encoding, which ensured great video quality with low data requirements and low latency.

Using bonded cellular technology, the PRO380 transmitters combined available network interfaces to create reliable video-transmission links to our control room at TV City in Los Angeles. Aviwest Stream-Hub transceiver, decoder, and distribution platforms in our control room allowed us to receive all those simultaneous live broadcast-quality video feeds in perfect frame-accurate genlock and lip-sync.

The VidOvation team had given our crews and camera operators tutorials on what to expect and on potential issues they needed to be aware of.

SHOWTIME

IRVINE, Calif.—To meet the “live” promise of its title, Fox’s “First Responders Live” has chosen to go with VidOvation’s Aviwest bonded cellular system to properly transmit the footage of firefighters, police officers, EMS technicians and first responders in action.

The “First Responders Live” production takes place across five cities. With the Aviwest system, they are able to transmit reliable, synchronous and low-latency broadcast-quality video and audio from multiple cameras back to the Los Angeles-based control room. Specifically, the Aviwest utilizes PRO380 transmitters and StreamHub transceivers.

The PRO380 transmitters are mounted on HD cameras and deployed into the field. The transmitters support H.265/HEVC encoding and use bonded cellular technology to combine available network interfaces to create reliable video-transmission links. As many as 40 concurrent feeds are delivered to the control room, which are received by more than 10 StreamHub transceiver, decoder and distribution platforms and delivered live on air.

“The technology offered us the ability to go where the action took us, which was key to capturing and highlighting the incredible work of the first responders featured in the show,” said Mark Hamaguchi, vice president of production management for 44 Blue Productions.

“First Responders Live” is produced by Fox Entertainment, Wolf Entertainment and 44 Blue Production

NEW YORK—VidOvation, which in addition to manufacturing its own products reps a number of other brands, has a full lineup on display for the 2019 NAB Show New York, which will take place from Oct. 16-17 at the Javits Convention Center.

First, under its namesake banner, the company will demonstrate VidOvation TV, a turn-key enterprise IPTV and digital signage system that now includes full integration of DirecTV content. The integration enables an end-to-end IPTV system with DirecTV, digital rights management, video on-demand and digital video recording with streaming to smartphones, tablets, desktop players, displays, smart TVs and set-top boxes.

Aviwest products that will be set up at the booth include the Safe Streams Transport protocol, Pro3 and Air series and the Pro380 HEVC bi-directional video uplink system. The SST protocol aggregates multiple IP links and features new functionalities for live video production and distribution like data hotspot, remote control, video return and an intercom. Each of the Pro3 and Air series products will also be shown with new hot folder and high-speed data hotspot feature incorporated. The offerings are rounded out with the latest generation of the Pro380 portable video uplink system with H.265/HEVC bonded cellular encoder and transmitter.

Another VidOvation client that will be in the booth is ABonAir and its Wireless Teleprompter and Video Return system. The mobile wireless system is based around the usage of the same single link that incorporates a teleprompter, video return, CCU and intercom so a crew can use all the functions of a wireless camera like a wired camera. This includes latency delays reduced to 7 milliseconds for live content or multicamera productions.

V-Nova also has a presence at the show, touting its PPro AI-powered software library for encoding and decoding SMPTE VC-6. There will also be the P+, a software library for encoding and decoding enhanced video streams with MPEG-5 part two, otherwise known as low-complexity video enhancement coding (LCEVC).

Meanwhile, AlphaEye will bring its real-time, wide-angle lens distortion corrector to fix distortion and curvilinear perspective errors.

VidOvation will be located at booth N265 during the NAB Show New York.

AMSTERDAM—Aviwest and V-Nova have formed a strategic partnership to develop and sell newsgathering products with a target release of 2020, the companies said.

Building upon the success of a Media-Telecom Catalyst project, which led to a proof of concept in less than six months, the joint development uses V-Nova’s P+ AI-powered next-gen streaming enhancement with newsgathering solutions from Aviwest. The proof of concept is being shown during IBC 2019 at the RAI Amsterdam, which closed Sept. 17.

The Media-Telecom Catalyst Innovation projects fast-track innovation in the media and technology ecosystem. IBC and the TM Forum have collaborated on the program, which brings together companies of all sizes to develop solutions to commonly faced industry challenges.

Aviwest and V-Nova were among several companies participating in the “Mobile Newsgathering Using AI-Powered Catalyst” project. Others in the project included Al Jazerra, Associated Press, BBC and BT. The project tackled enhancing transmitted news content in the face of fluctuating and sometimes unreliable mobile network coverage, as well as taking advantage of the benefits of 5G.

The Aviwest-V-Nova proof-of-concept product enables high-performance video compression and robustness in a constrained bandwidth connection. It provides low latency performance and smart adaptability to different network conditions, the companies said. The goal is to develop this proof-of-concept project into a newsgathering solution that integrates V-Nova’s P+ technology into an HE4000, Multi-HD/UHD HEVC encoder.

Live demos are being held at the Media Telecoms Catalyst Zone in Hall 9 of the RAI Amsterdam.

V-Nova is exhibiting at IBC 2019 stand 14.A07 and Aviwest is in stand 2.B31.

More information is available on the Aviwest website and the V-Nova website.

IRVINE, Calif.—Following paramedics and first responders as they respond to calls, Big Fish Entertainment uses VidOvation’s AVIWEST bonded cellular system to assist with its transmission of live footage for the A&E show “Live Rescue.” Featuring PRO180 transmitters and StreamHub transceivers, AVIWEST allows for transmission of low-latency, broadcast-quality video and audio from multiple cameras and multiple locations.

Big Fish deploys the PRO180 transmitters in the field with HD cameras. When capturing the images, the units’ bonded cellular technology combines available network interfaces to create video transmission links. The PRO units feed the live video back to the control room in New York, where the StreamHub transceiver, decoder and distribution platform receives them and delivers them to air.

Big Fish Entertainment previously used the AVIWEST setup for “Live PD,” a similar type of show on A&E. The company says that the equipment has helped create a “singular viewing experience for the audience.”

AMSTERDAM—AviWest will arrive on the IBC 2019 show floor to promote its latest developments in the areas of live video distribution, contribution and connectivity, which are designed to help broadcasters capture and deliver live 4K, HD and SD video over multiple IP networks.

One of the products to be prominently featured is the Safe Streams Transport (SST) protocol. SST aggregates multiple IP links and features new functionalities for live video production and distribution that include a data hotspot, remote control, video return and an intercom. SST is available on-premises as a cloud-based service and as a software container for third-party integration.

There are also new updates to AviWest flagship products, including the PRO3 and AIR Series, each now incorporated with the hot folder and high-speed data hotspot feature. The hot folder enables automatic real-time file transmission over unmanaged networks. Also, using a transmitter’s internet connection, PRO3 and AIR can now act as a router and create a hotspot.

AviWest says that these new features are possible due to its IP bonding technology.

During IBC, AviWest is also slated to participate in the IBC Future Zone, where it will partner with French Technology Research Institute b<>com to showcase the performance level of a 5G network slicing technology. Using its bonded cellular AIR Series transmitter, AviWest will demonstrate how slicing can be used to ensure proprietary capture is associated with proprietary transport for video production.

AviWest will be located at booth 2.B31 during IBC 2019, which takes place Sept. 13-17 in Amsterdam.

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The television news business is all about getting the picture back from the field faster—faster than the competition, if possible. The latest tool to enable faster field video is the bonded cellular system that uses commercial mobile networks to carry video.

From a quiet start a decade ago, bonded cellular and wireless IP video products have taken off to become a major component of local news infrastructure. These portable mobile systems are far cheaper and faster to set up than a microwave or satellite truck, and they can go places—even indoors—where a truck could never go.

Jim Jachetta, executive vice president and CTO for VidOvation, the distributor for Aviwest products in the U.S., discussed the affordability factor of bonded cellular for news operations.

“As new news agencies emerge or establish agencies downsize, bonded cellular will require a much lower capital investment when compared to building citywide microwave coverage,” Jachetta said. “In some cases, satellite makes sense when the cellular network is not available. The Aviwest PRO380 system bonds up to 12 connections including eight cellular, two LAN and two WiFi. The LAN connections offer bonding of cellular with an IP microwave or IP satellite connections.”

Although bonded cellular has become important in the newsgathering toolkit, mobile network speed and reliability today are not always there when needed by broadcasters.

“It is always advised to have a variety of tools in the toolbox,” said Edgar Shane, general manager of engineering for JVC Professional Video. “Although 4G speeds, coverage, and capacity increased dramatically over the last five years, there may be conditions where cellular towers become overloaded due to great numbers of users, and satellite or microwave may be needed as a backup plan. This is especially true for large gatherings. My favorite example is New Year’s Eve in Times Square, where only microwave, satellite, or licensed wireless connections can provide reliable video transport.”

Reliability is paramount to broadcasters, who don’t want to run the risk of a remote shot failing suddenly. That’s why some manufacturers are integrating multiple paths into their bonded cellular systems.

“Although use of cellular data connections is one aspect of our system, the Comrex LiveShot system is capable of aggregating any viable IP network connection to transmit audio and video data,” said Chris Crump, senior director of sales & marketing for Devens, Mass.-based Comrex. “As with all public data networks, there is really no guarantee that your shared data path will be completely available and without any contention for bandwidth.”

CAMERA-MOUNT OR BODY PACK?

At the camera end, bonded cellular systems generally come in two configurations: camera-mounted or a body pack in a knapsack or shoulder-strap carrying bag. The CloudPort, from DVEO. a San Diego-based provider of broadcast gear, is an eight-modem backpack system that can be preconfigured with SIMs for a specific market. The CloudPort includes 40 GB of built-in storage to provide a solid recording of a live remote event simultaneous to the live feed.

Comrex’s LiveShot is a highly compact bonded cellular system that attaches to the back of a camera, with a docking mount for the camera’s battery. This lets any ENG broadcast camera become a mobile origination point with minimal increase in weight or size.

Change is a constant in the cellular business and the current technology for mobile connections is 4G, which is capable of wireless connection speeds of 100 Mbps or even a bit higher. (I frequently check my cellular connection speed and have twice measured connections at greater than 100 Mbps.) That is easily fast enough for excellent-quality contribution feeds from a news remote, although such speeds aren’t common in my experience and they are subject to random change as other cellular customers place demands on the service. For this reason, professional bonded cellular systems link two or more cellular modems together across multiple carriers to ensure the best possible connection and speed.

GREATER RELIABILITY

At some point in 2019, 5G cellular services will start to come online, and this is expected to provide greater reliability and bandwidth for mobile networks. However, it will not guarantee that there will be a suitable connection every time one is needed.

“The [timing and impact of 5G] is a harder question to answer than you might think,” said Dan Pisarski, vice president of engineering for LiveU in Hackensack, N.J. “One reason is there is a lot of technology, very cool tech, that falls under the ‘5G’ logo. Carriers can implement parts of this technology and not others—some examples would include deploying 5G radios but not a 5G network core, or deploying 5G in only specific frequencies while supporting 4G LTE in others. This is made more complicated because carriers are anxious to use the 5G name and are labeling some technology that standards groups might have called LTE [such as LTE Advanced and LTE Pro] as ‘5G.’

“All that said, yes, broadcasters should start to see immediate improvements even with these hybrid deployments, including more stable streams, especially at lower delays,” he added.

Initial deployments of 5G will be for fixed wireless access equipment, according to Yvonne Monterroso, head of product management for Dejero. “This equipment will provide very high data rates but will not be small size or low power,” she said. “Dejero equipment will support connection to fixed wireless access equipment via Ethernet.”

Monterroso added that later deployments (5G NR) will offer low power and portability, but the chipsets and modems are not expected to be available until mid- to late-2020. Once available, Dejero will integrate and certify these modems into its products, she said.

Once 5G networks and gear are available, Monterroso said it will mean that regular cellular customers will demand more data and content, soaking up bandwidth that broadcasters might use. However, that will take some time.

“Since 5G will take some time to be deployed and coverage will be limited, we believe that blending multiple connections will offer a compelling advantage regarding reliability and throughput, especially in mobile and nomadic applications,” she said.

SUPPORT GROWS FOR 5G

Other companies plan to support 5G for bonded cellular video acquisition gear as well.

“Aviwest and VidOvation are ready for the rollout of the 5G cellular networks,” Jachetta said. “We already have a few customers using 5G cellular and we feel that 5G conductivity will help in crowded urban areas. 5G will offer higher bandwidths over much shorter distances making it ideal for live sports venues and crowded urban areas.”

However, Jachetta pointed out that it will take time—years, probably—for wireless carriers to fully roll out 5G technology and improve their data backhaul circuits before 5G can live up to its promise. For this reason, he expects that 4G will continue to be the workhorse technology in the near term.

“While 5G cellular connectivity will help in certain locations, there will still be a need for the longer-range and wider coverage capabilities of 4G technology,” he said.

In addition to mobile 4G networks and the promise of future 5G networks, there are other connectivity options available to improve the reliability of live field acquisition. Several companies support such options, including TVU Networks.

“TVU has 5G-ready solutions today,” said Matt McEwen, vice president of product management for the Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of broadcast technology. “Our system has never been reliant on just one type of network connection technology. In fact, our system today can already aggregate virtually any cellular technology alongside WiFi, satellite, IP microwave, wired connections, etc. Just connect the active link and it will be aggregated. We expect 5G to be the same—it will just be an additional network connection that can be aggregated.”

HIGH-EFFICIENCY CODING

Another recent technology is improving the efficiency and performance of bonded cellular links: HEVC, also known as MPEG-5.

“HEVC offers higher bandwidth efficiency with the same or better visual quality than MPEG-4 AVC,” said Ronan Poullaouec, chief technology officer for Aviwest. “Using HEVC, broadcasters can achieve a 50-percent bitrate savings compared with MPEG-4 AVC. For bonded cellular news feeds, better compression means a reduction in the bandwidth needed to transmit high-quality live videos… allowing broadcasters to transmit live videos in environments where it would not have been possible to send any video with the previous MPEG-4 AVC compression technology.”

Mike Savello, vice president of sales for LiveU, said HEVC allows broadcasters to operate in real-time with extreme low latency with the highest quality, even at very low bit rates.

“This is where LiveU’s HEVC solutions differ from software solutions where video quality may be sacrificed to keep the latency low or may be switched back to H.264 to save battery life,” Savello said. “LiveU encodes in HEVC all the time, providing longer battery life.”

All the experts agreed on a tip to improve the reliability of a bonded cellular connection if you are building a new news vehicle, especially if you will be using the vehicle when it’s moving.

“With everything else being equal, I recommend antennas, more antennas, and better antennas,” said JVC’s Shane. “JVC ProHD Bridge systems utilize high-gain, diversity MIMO 4G and Wi-Fi antennas to assure reliable reception under a variety of conditions.”

Others had similar advice, each tailored to that company’s product.

“Consider the best equipment to meet the need to have a rackmount in the vehicle and/or use a mobile transmitter,” said Dejero’s Monterroso. “The Dejero mobile transmitter can be mounted in a vehicle and connected to rooftop antennas for increased cellular network reception or live shots while driving. And it can quickly be dismounted and placed in a backpack or sling bag, or mounted on a camera for mobility while on location.”

There are several smartphone apps to help broadcasters figure out coverage and ensure the most reliable shot. Of course, the wireless companies themselves have some information on their coverage.

“All cellular data providers have coverage maps to show the availability of their services down to the street level,” said Comrex’s Crump. “It’s always a good idea to try to take a look at what’s available, time permitting, at the location of a planned broadcast. There are also bunches of apps out there for the purpose determining coverage at a specific location. 

"We like Open Signal and Sensorly, which provide cellular network availability data based on app user speed tests," Crump continued. "Most broadcasters that have been using IP video codecs are fairly aware of the fact that stadiums filled will 80,000 cell phones are not idea locations for an IP live shot…regardless of how many modems you are trying to use. However, in locations where local cell towers won’t be compromised, aggregating across multiple providers does tend to provide a greater degree of reliability.”

The category of mobile newsgathering products has been one of the fastest-growing segments in the broadcasting industry. Not only are these mobile products working alongside and sometimes replacing traditional backhaul methods such as microwave and satellite, the comparatively low cost of bonded cellular means that more news organizations can afford remote gear than ever.

And that is the real revolution at work in the newsgathering business—not only is bonded cellular usually cheaper and faster than the competition, it allows for video from a moving vehicle and in other circumstances that were never before possible.

Where will the revolution go next?

French-based Aviwest, a developer of video compression technology, is teaming up with b<>com to develop new low-bitrate, low-latency video compression systems for current cellular systems as well as the emerging 5G cellular standard. Founded in late 2012, the b<>com Institute of Research and Technology (IRT) is a public-private organization backed by the French government.

An employee of Aviwest will join b<>com's New Media Formats lab in Rennes this summer to work on new low-bitrate, low-latency video compression systems with plans to incorporate the new technology bricks into Aviwest's current product lines and explore the possibility of developing new video transmission systems for b<>com's 5G experiment platform.

"We are proud and delighted to count the company Aviwest among our members," said Bertrand Guilbaud, CEO of b<>com. "It's a world leader in contributing and broadcasting high-quality video content. Besides these areas of excellence, we will work together on the opportunities offered by 5G networks. This is a new example of how our skills have broad applications and how b<>com's efforts to offer its members the latest experimental platforms are coming together."

"We've always been working on developing high added-value solutions adapted to our clients' practices," said Erwan Gasc, CEO of Aviwest. "We must keep innovating and incorporating the latest technologies into our products. Collaborating with b<>com enables us to anticipate our clients' future needs and preserve our technological and competitive advantage."

LAS VEGAS—VidOvation, which now represents ABonAir in the U.S., will debut the ABonAir AB512 wireless video link at the 2018 NAB Show. Since the AB512 reduces latency to a 7-millisecond delay for live, multi-camera productions, crews no longer need to worry that unacceptable lag times will result in lip sync or other operational issues.

MOJO

The system features an RF spectrum analyzer, which automatically selects and hops to the best RF channel cleanly, while the manual channel selection option is useful for coordinating frequencies at large events.

VidOvation will also demo Aviwest’s HE4000 4K UHD HEVC live encoder, which enables real-time UHD/HD video contribution and distribution over the internet. The half-RU encoder combines 10-bit and 4:2:2 HEVC encoding with Aviwest’s latest SafeStreams technology to deliver live video over IP at low latencies and bit rates, saving on satellite costs.

With Aviwest’s Quad Modem active antenna—which has four internal cellular modems with a high-efficiency, wideband antenna array—the HE4000 enables 4K and multi-HD HEVC video encoding and IP distribution. And two Quad Modem active external wideband cellular antennas can be plugged into the HE4000's USB ports for bonded cellular transmission.

Aviwest’s DMNG APP mobile journalism (MOJO) solution now offers bonded live streaming, storage and forwarding of high-quality live video, as well as advanced camera settings like focus, exposure and white balance, video clip editing and transmission over bonded 3G/4G and Wi-Fi connections in seconds, to get news stories to air faster.

The 2018 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 9-12. VidOvationwill be in boothC6906. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

Read up on all of TVT's NAB Show Sneak Peeks and other 2018 NAB Show news here.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, FRANCE—Video contribution systems provider Aviwest is rolling out the HE4000 HEVC encoder, which is designed to enable live UHD delivery over unmanaged networks in a 1/2RU design. This system allows for the live content to be delivered via 4G/LTE, satellite, wired IP network or a combination of IP links.

The HE4000 combines 10-bit and 4:2:2 HEVC encoding with the latest generation of Aviwest’s SafeStreams contribution technology for delivery of live SD, HD and UHD video over IP at low latencies and bit rates. The system is compatible with the latest HDR formats and can encode up to four simultaneous HD video streams or a single 4K UHD channel from a single encoder.

With SafeStreams, an intelligent IP bonding stack and contribution of network protocols can be implemented so HE4000 can deliver live video even in unmanaged network conditions.

HE4000 also offers integration with the Aviwest DMNG Manager and DMNG StreamHub receiver, decoder and distribution platform, enabling stations to receive content and monitor, manage and control all transmission with a single interface.

LAS VEGAS—Aviwest will debut PRO180+, which adds expanded global connectivity to its DMNG PRO video uplink series, at the 2017 NAB Show. The PRO180+ supports most cellular networks deployed worldwide, including the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, Latin America and most of Asia.

This capability gives broadcasters the flexibility to provide live coverage from anywhere in the world using a single unit, and without having to replace internal or external cellular modems. Being able to stream live HD video to receivers with minimal delay dramatically speeds up newsgathering.

The PRO180+ has eight built-in universal cellular modems, a custom antenna array, Wi-Fi modem and two best-in-class video encoders. It automatically detects real-time network capabilities, allowing media professionals to easily configure and operate the system on the go. They can also communicate with the studio through the IFB return channel via a user-friendly, touchscreen interface.

These units can also be controlled by Aviwest’s Manager management system, StreamHub transceiver and the Remote smartphone application, or any device connected to the unit though the network.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. Aviwest will be in boothC2139. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

SAINT-GRÉGOIRE, FRANCE—Video contribution system provider Aviwest is teaming up with content delivery services provider Globecast with the deployment of Aviwest’s DMNG StreamHub receiver, decoder and distribution platform at Globecast’s Paris location. With StreamHub’s digital, mobile ENG application, Aviwest and Globecast customers can share live HD video content with other broadcasters.

DMNG StreamHub

StreamHub supports a set of input IP protocols, allowing for the reception of up to 16 incoming streams from remote Aviwest DMNG Pro transmitters, DMNG smartphone apps, or third-party systems. Multiple output streaming protocols are also supported by the StreamHub platform. Up to 16 IP outputs can be used to enable re-streaming of video content over LAN or WAN to CDNs, media servers, streaming platforms, IRDs, or other DMNG StreamHub platforms.

The DMNG StreamHub platform is based on a Linux server.