Every year at NAB, the conversation centers on what's new at the production layer, cameras, switchers, encoders, cloud playout. And every year, connectivity is treated as the assumed foundation: the thing that's supposed to just work so everything else can shine.

That assumption is costing broadcasters.

The broadcast industry has spent a decade investing in software-defined workflows, IP infrastructure and cloud-native production architectures, and yet many organizations are still routing that chain over connectivity infrastructure that hasn't kept pace. The weakest link isn't the switcher or the encoder. It's often the network path between the field and air.

This is the problem the Field to Air demonstration at NAB 2026 was designed to expose, and solve, in plain view on the show floor.

What "Field to Air" Actually Is
Field to Air is a live, end-to-end broadcast workflow running in real time with six production partners: Dejero, Eutelsat, Ross Video, Matrox Video, Clear-Com, GlobalM and Cuez. Everything is live, connected, and dependent on the reliability of the network beneath it.

When you build a workflow with the network at the center, the production chain changes character. Redundancy is built in, not bolted on. Failover becomes invisible. The field-to-air chain stops being a series of fragile handoffs and becomes a single, resilient system.

The Hidden Cost of "Good Enough" Connectivity
Bonded cellular was a meaningful step forward, but bonded cellular is not the same as intelligent network blending. Where bonded approaches aggregate paths and switch when one fails, intelligent blending simultaneously uses all available connections, cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi, fixed-line, weighting each dynamically based on real-time conditions. Eutelsat's OneWeb LEO constellation extends into locations where terrestrial networks are unavailable or under stress.

The practical effect is a connectivity layer that actively maintains signal quality rather than reacting after degradation occurs. For live production teams, that's the difference between infrastructure they can plan around and infrastructure they're constantly compensating for.

A Question Worth Asking
Have we been building sophisticated production architectures on a connectivity foundation that isn't ready to carry them? In too many cases, the honest answer is yes.

The story doesn't start when the camera goes up. It starts when the network is ready.

WATERLOO, Ontario, Canada—Dejero has announced that Jännerrallye, also known as the Internationale Jänner Rallye, made rally car racing broadcast history this year using Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology and local technical AV specialist, AV-Professional bonded cellular connectivity alone was used to transmit live in-vehicle camera feeds from multiple rally cars, racing through rural locations, to a national TV broadcaster.

The international rally racing event based in Freistadt in northern Austria, which took place between January 5 to 7, 2023, marked the first time that this was done, the companies said.

“In the forests and mountains of Freistadt, it is incredibly challenging to find a consistent or stable enough signal to be able to broadcast high quality video that is crisp enough for a national TV network,” explains Christian Birklbauer, chairman, Rallye Club Mühviertel, and lead organizer of Jännerrally. “But, with a lot of determination and after conducting some highly successful tests with Dejero transmitters over bonded cellular - blending multiple networks from different carriers - we were able to convince people, including Austria’s national broadcaster, that we could live-produce spectacular picture quality even from the inside the rally cars, on very rough terrain, in a very isolated area.”

Three rally cars were equipped with Dejero EnGo 265 mobile video transmitters for the three-day event; two EnGos were placed at various start and finish lines, and an additional EnGo was connected to a drone. The live camera feeds were transmitted by the Dejero devices over bonded cellular, back to a production hub equipped by AV-Professional in Messehalle Freistadt. Two Dejero WayPoint receivers reconstructed the feeds, decoded the HEVC and then outputted them for broadcast to television and streaming channels. Each receiver was fitted with four ports, enabling the production team to manage and switch up to eight streams simultaneously, Dejero reported. 

The EnGo transmitters in the cars, transmitting driver-perspective camera feeds, were secured into Dejero’s vehicle antenna docks, and connected to roof top antennas to boost cellular reception.

“Being able to transmit signals from the harsh and fast-paced environment where network coverage is limited is one thing, but achieving this through the car chassis, where the EnGos are literally encased in metal, is something special. It’s quite phenomenal just how the signals can move so rapidly from one mast/transmitter/pole to another,” said Birklbauer.

The transmission devices feature Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology, which aggregates multiple IP connections. During the Jännerrally event, the EnGos used SIM cards for three Austrian networks. The result is high-speed, reliable internet connectivity, which allowed Jännerrally to transmit broadcast-quality live video while reducing production logistics costs. 

Before implementing connectivity from Dejero, Jännerrally were streaming live feeds only to their fans online. The new technology workflow and the support from Dejero and AV-Professional gave them the confidence to make a giant leap to live broadcasting on a national TV channel.

“If you look at the World & European Rally Championship, such a big budget live production will commission airplanes, helicopters and flying relay stations, using radio frequencies to muster a signal for transmission. Our remote production workflow represents a saving of around 75% and we can be more mobile around the location, easily moving the start and finish line cameras depending on the race routes,” added Birklbauer.

The Dejero Control cloud-based device management, monitoring, and reporting tool was also implemented in the trailblazing workflow. With Control, technicians from the production company, Streamers Austria, could adjust settings and troubleshoot from the broadcast facility so that field crews could focus purely on capturing the content. 

Dejero EnGo transmitters are built with aircraft-grade aluminum in a monocoque construction that’s lightweight and strong, as well as polycarbonate ABS bumpers for additional protection. This makes the transmitter ideal for in-vehicle applications such as rally car racing.

“To create the most rugged transmitter on the market, we go beyond basic drop tests. From vibration tests to shock and crash-testing of the vehicle antenna dock, we go the extra mile,” explains Arjen Hofland, Senior Sales Account Manager, Dejero.

“Using Dejero, we were able to bring pictures from places and with a small budget that nobody could believe,” concluded Birklbauer. “This workflow will open up so many opportunities for the broadcast and streaming of rally car racing.”

IRVINE, Calif.—Teradek has launched Prism Mobile, a camera-back video encoder with integrated cellular bonding, delivering 4K HDR live video from the toughest network environments.

Teradek says it developed Prism Mobile “to provide better connectivity, seamless portability, and more reliable video contribution for professionals in the field.” It features two built-in high-performance cellular modems, and support for nine simultaneous network connections across WiFi, Ethernet, and Cellular offering the connectivity required for going live at sporting events, political rallies, and conferences, the company said. 

“Prism Mobile solves three of the most common complaints we’ve heard from camera operators in the field: product size, power usage, and feature set,” said Michael Gailing, General Manager of Teradek’s Live business. “This is a no-compromise solution, allowing camera operators to stay nimble without sacrificing quality and functionality.”

Prism Mobile’s milled aluminum chassis weighs 1.9 lbs (864g) with Gold- or V-mount battery plates, which Teradek says is the lowest-SWaP (Size Weight and Power) encoder in its class, allowing camera operators to go live for long periods of time without the additional strain that heavy backpacks can produce.

When paired with Teradek’s Core Cloud orchestration platform, Prism Mobile enables users to remotely collaborate, control, archive, monitor, and distribute streams from virtually anywhere for quicker and more efficient production workflows.

Prism Mobile + Core Key Product Features and Benefits: 

• Integrated Cellular Bonding. 2 internal modems, with support up to 9 total connections. 
• C2C Integrations. Record content locally and upload footage to multiple camera-to-cloud platforms like Teradek Core, Frame.io, Sony’s Ci, and PIX. 
• Up to 4K HDR: Deliver 10-bit broadcast-quality video and audio at a fraction of the cost.
• Remote Management. Remotely control device settings, monitor, and route your video feeds to unlimited destinations. 
• Ultra-Low Latency Monitoring. Core TV allows stakeholders to monitor live video feeds in real-time on iOS, Android, Mac OS, and AppleTV devices.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU says its 5G tech is being used for the first time to catch in-car racing action during prime time linear TV.

As part of the 2022 season of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, racecars were installed with LiveU LU300S HEVC/5G video transport field units to improve the live broadcast and bring viewers into the action within the car itself. 

The Trans Am Series has deployed 10 on-board cameras using LiveU in-camera live coverage at more than 20 races across the country this year as part of the 60-minute broadcasts airing on CBS Sports Network. Onboard cameras have become an integral part of the Trans Am Race Company’s coverage, said John Clagett, president and CEO of Trans Am Race Company, and the enhancement to the live coverage has contributed to a significant increase in viewership and sponsor revenue. 

In addition to its initial live airing, each race re-airs on CBS Sports Network and is available on streaming service subscriptions that include CBS Sports Network content. 

The technology gives viewers the opportunity to be part of the in-car racing action as drivers make their way around the track. With many cars traveling at more than 150 mph, providing reliable and resilient video transport had been a challenge, said Mike Savello, LiveU vice president of sales, Americas for the company. 

The company’s LiveU’s bonded cellular technology with LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT) protocol has played a key role in the success of the deployment,  he said. “LRT, combined with the latest in 5G connectivity, provided reliable and resilient video transmission, resulting in pristine video images from anywhere on the track,” he said. 

To continue to increase exposure to a wider audience, the 56-year-old Trans Am Series plans to include more of the technology in cars for the 2023 season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Production company HRP Live relied on CP Communications for RF, bonded cellular, intercom and streaming services for its coverage in February of the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisc. 

“What differentiates us from most production companies is our standing in the fitness space,” said Mike “Rothy” Roth, a co-founder of the HRP Live and director of all of the individual competitions for the broadcast. “We’ve essentially invented how you cover the sport, and that’s been really helpful to us.”

Roth and co-founder Charlie Dube, worked for years on the CrossFit broadcast team. When the event’s management decided it wanted to change direction and hire an outside company to produce broadcasts of its events, the two created HRP Live. Since then, HRP Live has successfully produced several CrossFit broadcasts.

For the five-day event in February, HRP Live managed six NEP mobile units and a crew of about 250 people, including 17 announcers. HRP Live was responsible for live streams of the games and a two-hour live broadcast on CBS. 

“All of our RF came from CP Communications,” Roth said. “The field of play is not just one or two fields of play – every inch of the Alliant Energy Center is in play, so we needed somebody who could be flexible. They also provided a bunch of bonded cellular work as well, because we had events that were downtown.”

Most of the CrossFit Games happened at the Alliant Energy Center’s indoor coliseum and outdoor North Park Stadium. Off-site activities included an event at the University of Wisconsin pool and another that required coverage from the stadium to the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, more than three miles away. Thirty-two cameras, including two drones with cameras, were used for coverage of that event, CP Communications said. 

“We went from the stadium at North Park, which is where the athletes started and where we have standard RF,” Roth said. “Then they left the campus, and we switched to bonded cellular. It was a testament to a lot of people – CP chief among them – to make that work in real time when a bunch of people decide to go live on Instagram at the same time and your bandwidth gets cut in half.” 

CP Communications assigned a crew of 12 to 15 people to the event. They handled all off-site communications and field reporter RF using a Unity intercom system, the company said.

“When you’re talking to people miles away, things can go bad. None of this works if you can’t talk to your people out there,” Roth said. “And to be able to talk to everybody in real time, which the Unity system allowed us to do, was spectacular.”

Originally, the CrossFit Games coverage was limited to two streams, but a deal late in the process added more streams for international audiences, and CP’s subsidiary, Red House Streaming, provided the encoding and distribution.

“We ran a lot of that through CP and RHS, where they were the last step out the door,” said Roth. “I think CP and Red House Streaming will be more heavily involved in our transmission and distribution down the road, because I think there’s going to be more and more of it – and they’re well set up for handling multiple streams to multiple places.”

More information is on the Red House and CP Communications websites.

LAS VEGAS—Dejero will unveil its new EnGo 3 and EnGo 3x 5G-native mobile transmitters with integrated internet gateway at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 24-27. The new additions to the EnGo family combine superior 5G performance, multicamera support and 4K UHD resolution with unparalleled video quality for broadcast and media production markets, the company said. 

EnGo 3 and EnGo 3x feature a completely redesigned RF and antenna architecture to unlock the full potential of 5G connections unlike other solutions in the market. “Our team worked with world-renowned RF and antenna experts to maximize cellular signal quality and performance on 5G networks,” explains Yvonne Monterroso, director of product management at Dejero. 

“We’re quadrupling the number of antennas per modem and diversifying the antenna types. It’s incredibly complex to add so many antennas to a small, portable device without compromising performance and reliability, which we’ve achieved. It’s just not as simple as replacing 4G modems with 5G modems,” she added. 

The new 5G EnGo transmitters feature 4x4 MIMO antennas to achieve greater reliability, lower latency and faster speeds. Dejero made modifications to the EnGo to ensure optimal antenna isolation. “We’ve seen other 5G mobile transmitters in the market using 4G antenna design principles where interference by antennas placed too close together negatively impacts reliability, especially in areas where cellular signals may be weak, or where many cellular devices are competing for network bandwidth,” continued Monterroso. 

Diversity of cellular bands was another key design consideration. For EnGo 3 and EnGo 3x, Dejero selected modems that support a broad range of cellular bands to enhance 5G performance. Monterroso explains its importance for global use: “We support additional bands used by carriers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, China, Korea, and Latin America that other 5G mobile transmitters can’t connect to. It can make a huge difference for reliability.”

EnGo 3x provides multicamera support for up to four fully frame-synced HD feeds. Dejero’s new remote production transmitter can capture feeds from multiple cameras in a single unit, reducing the cost and complexity of multicamera sports and live event productions, Dejero said. The additional camera inputs can be licensed when needed.

The ability to transmit in 4Kp60 10-bit HDR with eight audio channels delivers unparalleled video quality at extremely low latencies providing viewers of sports and major live event viewers to watch in the highest definition possible. Furthermore, 4K live feeds can greatly benefit film, television and commercial productions to make it easier for distributed teams that are not located on set to monitor and detect lighting and color balance issues in real-time, allowing customers to  avoid expensive reshoots, the company said. The 4K UHD feature does not require a separate license, unlike competing solutions, according to the company. 

EnGo 3, designed for newsgathering in locations where 5G networks have been widely deployed, incorporates all of the new features of the EnGo 265, introduced in December last year. It reliably transports broadcast-quality live video from remote locations whilst also providing resilient, high-bandwidth internet access, all in one single device. With glass-to-glass latency as low as half a second over bonded cellular connections, it also delivers greater security with AES 256 encryption, a security-hardened Linux OS and a cryptoprocessor to authenticate the hardware. 

The 5G networks bonded by EnGo 3 and EnGo 3x transmitters can be combined with other wireless networks including Wi-Fi and GEO/MEO/LEO satellite, and fixed line (cable/DSL/fiber) wired networks thanks to Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology, which intelligently manages the fluctuating bandwidth, packet loss, and latency differences of the individual connections in real-time, providing enhanced reliability, expanded coverage and greater bandwidth.

The new EnGo mobile transmitters also feature built-in Hybrid Encoding Technology with the latest generation of Intel processors with customized firmware. The units can adapt to real-time feedback on the complexity of the content being encoded, such as the amount of motion. It works in tandem with Smart Blending Technology to analyze the throughput capacity and latency of all the connections. 

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.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications provided its expertise and some tech solutions to Greenlight Television during its worldwide live stream of the Trans Am Series, a U.S.-based muscle car racing championship. CP Communications brought IP and bonded cellular gear to the production to help reduce costs, limit infrastructure and help keep the crew small and safe.

In 2019, Greenlight Television was asked to develop a quality live stream of the Trans Am Series without the costs of using an OB truck. With the added challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenlight partnered with CP to prepare this streamlined, remote production.

The small crew on-site for the Trans Am Series used 12 MVP Agile Airlink encoders for six in-car systems, four fixed camera positions, a roaming pit and podium camera and a drone. All of the content was delivered to Greenlight’s remote production studio on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, with CP providing real-time production support from its distributed network operations center. The live feed cut was sent to commentators at the track and then streamed to the Isle of Man. Voice and graphics were added to the final live stream, with a latency of 1.6 seconds.

“The traditional production approach for this kind of event would require a mobile production truck, an RF unit and a seemingly endless amount of fiber, technicians and production equipment onsite,” said Kurt Heitmann, CP Communications CEO. “Working with partners like Greenlight who embrace the REMI model substantially reduces costs. The new generation of live event television is here and it delivers cost-effective acquisition with remote management, and the ability to make the entire content chain far more efficient.”

Greenlight live-streamed the race, driver interviews and other content direct to consumers over multiple platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, using Vimeo’s Livestream Studio 6 platform.

A Unity intercom system was used by Greenlight to communicate with on-location crew and engineers at CP’s Canadian operations center, where the Airlink servers were controlled using MVP’s LinkMatrix management portal.

“From Nova Scotia we consistently optimized all Airlink encoding and multiplexing settings based on local conditions, assisted with stream routing and provided continuity checks as Airlinks came online for each race,” said Allen Harris, lead IP and Bonded Cellular Technologist for CP Communications. “The NOC reduced the workload in Greenlight’s control room, removing any concerns about backhauling signals so that they could concentrate on producing great content.”

Greenlight’s on-site production team for the Trans Am Series was able to be reduced to 10, according to Lauren Roberts, director, Greenlight Television.

LiveU is Changing the Rules of the Live Broadcasting Game in the South Hall (Upper), booth #SU2615

LiveU is taking center court to demonstrate the latest IP technology poised to change the rules of the game for broadcasters, sports producers, and content creators. This year, visitors to the LiveU booth will be able to experience a live video production featuring a complete Wireless At-Home Production solution in the LiveU Courtside Studio. Attendees can immerse themselves in the dynamic live multi-cam basketball court and studio, shoot some hoops, and see how the entire production can be accomplished easily, affordably and in high quality using LiveU’s breakthrough IP video technology. The LiveU Courtside Studio will also host live streamed interviews with innovators in content production, plus some special surprise guests.  

From Contribution to Distribution 

LiveU will teach visitors about remote live video contribution with the company’s Wireless At-Home Production solution that includes everything customers need, including remote Tally Light and Return Video. Then they will see how major sports and news broadcasters including CBS, CNN, Cox Media Group, Fox Sports, Meredith Corporation, Quincy Media, and Sinclair Broadcast Group are curating their content with LiveU Matrix. For breaking news and live events, LiveU Matrix also enables live content to be shared easily and cost-effectively with multiple destinations and TV stations. We’ll even show how users can control their LiveU units from anywhere with LiveU Control app!

For the Love of the Game   

We will welcome the NBA, AT&T, and Ericsson to our Courtside Studio to share how they teamed up with LiveU to bring 5G to the NBA Summer League’s live production in 2019. The breakthrough testing was a slam dunk and introduced a completely new way for fans to experience the game.

LiveU continues to develop solutions that enhance live content, increase viewer engagement, uphold the highest quality video, and push the limits leveraging 5G, HEVC, and more!  

We’ll be making a breakthrough product announcement at NAB. This game-changing technology will impact how live video is acquired and produced remotely. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has begun shipping the new ENG Cam STREAM streaming acquisition system and will make the public debut of the new package at the 2020 NAB Show, April 19-22 in Las Vegas, the company announced today.

The fourth system in the company’s Red House Streaming portfolio, ENG Cam Stream enables broadcast-quality production and bonded cellular streaming, providing connectivity to most locations, the company said.

“ENG Cam STREAM integrates everything that news teams and content creators need into a lightweight, turnkey solution at an attractive package price,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “The system makes it much easier and more affordable to cover news wherever it happens, which is especially important in a year that includes our presidential election and the Summer Games in Tokyo.”

The new product supports one or two channels of live 1080p HD video, bonded cellular networking and IP streaming in a plug-and-play package. ENG Cam STREAM is quick and easy to set up, the company said.

With the turnkey offering, camera operators can quickly capture and stream live shots via 4G/3G, Wi-Fi or Ethernet to studio servers, social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and other URLs, CP Communications said.

ENG Cam STREAM ships in a single flight case. It includes Sony PXW-X400 XDCAM camcorder with up to eight embedded audio channels, a Canon 18x zoom lens and tripod. The package also includes an Elvid on-camera field monitor, Sennheiser ME67 shotgun microphone, Sennheiser MD46 ENG handheld microphone, and camera-mounted LED light kit.

The camera integrates a Mobile Viewpoint (MVP) Agile AirLink (H.265/H.264) encoder to harness the bonded cellular bandwidth of eight separate modems. Encoding components fit into a lightweight backpack.

More information is available on the CP Communications website.

More information on the NAB Show is available at nabshow.com.

LiveU has announced that one of Japan’s leading video streaming channels, AbemaTV, is implementing LiveU cellular bonding technology to produce its online news and entertainment business. AbemaTV is using over 20 LiveU field units, including the LU600 HEVC, combined with the LiveU Central cloud management platform to live stream shows and events from various venues and outdoor sites. On the ground support and service is provided by LiveU’s longstanding Japanese partner, Sanshin Electronics Company.

AbemaTV has been using LiveU since the start in 2016. The internet TV service chose LiveU for its high quality and reliability as well as its cost-effective receiver (LiveU Central) having tested several mobile bonding products. Today the channel broadcasts up to 20 channels for free, featuring original drama, news, sports, live contents and more.

A popular non-stop three-day live broadcast variety show in November 2017 used 12 LiveU units, representing the longest live streaming program to date. The channel also uses LiveU to cover the 7.2 hours live broadcast variety show, Shogi Games, also known as Japanese chess or the Game of Generals, a two-player strategy board game native to Japan, and golf contest.

Mr. Nobuteru Kondo, Live Streaming Delivery Technology Division of AbemaTV, said, “LiveU enables us to live stream in high-quality, wherever we want to go. We always aim to broadcast the latest trends in entertainment, and LiveU enables us to flexibly prepare for live streaming of urgent press conferences. We value the technology’s stability, compactness, and scalability so it can receive the number of channels we need.”

Yaal Eshel, General Manager, LiveU Asia, said, “We’re proud of our relationship with AbemaTV, helping them to grow their business with engaging live content. It’s great to see the creative ways that the technology is being used to enrich their programming, with LiveU being implemented as an end-to-end live broadcast solution.”

One of Asia’s leading live streaming platforms has turned to LiveU’s HEVC IP bonding technology to provide high-quality live video coverage of its events. 17 Live is using LiveU’s leading LU600 HEVC units to transmit live coverage of the events direct to their 17 Channel, turning fans into loyal, long-term customers with engaging live online content. The deal has been overseen by LiveU’s local partner in Taiwan, Maxlink, which also provides 24/7 service and support.

With over a million daily active users and over 30 million users in total, 17 Live is one of the most popular live streaming apps in Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The app lets users share their daily moments via video streaming, and follow other streamers and friends. The platform also has a content revenue sharing model where users can share their content for effective monetization.

LiveU technology was chosen because of its quality and reliability even in challenging situations, such as crowded shopping malls, and ease of use.

Yaal Eshel, General Manager LiveU Asia, said, “We’re proud to be the vendor of choice for popular video streaming platforms, such as 17 Live. Using our technology, 17 Live has been able to grow its audience throughout Asia with entertaining and unique live content. With the huge unabating demand for live content, LiveU continues to play an active role in providing live coverage of news, sports and other events in the region, and worldwide.”

LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC solution delivers the highest video quality and bitrate in the market, fastest file transfer and lowest delay. 

LiveU’s wireless video encoder, Solo, is being used by Isha Foundation – a non-profit, public service organization founded by Sadhguru – to connect with millions of well-wishers and volunteers in India and around the world. The Foundation uses Solo to stream live events, notably the night-long Mahashivaratri festival at Isha Yoga Center – which is watched by around 50 million viewers – and the Cauvery Calling and Rally for Rivers projects to revitalize India’s depleting rivers.

Rally for Rivers was launched by Sadhguru in September 2017 when he personally drove over 9300 kms in 30 days to raise awareness about the dire situation of Indian rivers. Today it is the world’s largest ecological movement, supported by over 162 million people, and is a major force in shaping river revitalization policy in national governments and world bodies such as the United Nations. Cauvery Calling is an on-ground implementation of Rally for Rivers, to revitalize river Cauvery, the lifeline for 84 million people in southern India.  

Swami Trika, a full-time volunteer at the Isha Foundation said, “We have been using LiveU Solo to cover this campaign since the beginning, spanning multiple outdoor activities. This year, we not only used Solo but also LiveU’s mobile app services, LU-Smart. From inception to execution, LiveU has played a major role in helping us live stream outdoor footage in the highest quality, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”  

Solo is a compact video encoder for online media, bonding multiple cellular bandwidth with WiFi and LAN for a clear video output. Solo’s robust bonding technology facilitates outdoor and on-the-go live streaming – when getting a stable wireless connection can be a challenge. The device is built on LiveU’s patented LRTᵀᴹ (LiveU’s Reliable Transport) technology. Solo allows users to live stream seamlessly directly to Facebook Live, Twitter, YouTube Live and other popular social media and online video providers. 

Ranjit Bhatti, Director of South Asia, LiveU, said “The Isha Foundation team was one of our first LiveU Solo users in India and the relationship has been very strong ever since. We’re honored that they have placed their trust in us and to play a part in such a noble cause. Sadhguru has an uncountable number of devotees in India and beyond. Being able to reach out to them live has been a very enriching experience for the viewers.”

Derana TV, Sri Lanka’s premium entertainment channel, has deployed LiveU technology throughout its news operations – Ada Derana – for ongoing newsgathering, in Sri Lanka and abroad. Ada Derana, considered to be the country’s most unbiased and comprehensive news property, will use multiple LiveU units to cover the presidential election, scheduled for 16th November 2019.

Madhawa Madawala, Executive Director and COO, at Derana TV, said, “Choosing LiveU has been an extremely smart and strategic decision – equipping us with a technology that can travel places with us. We have a news team of 100 people geared to deliver the most accurate and timely information and LiveU’s contribution to this has been massive. We, as a media channel, constantly look for technologies which make our workflows and life, in general, easier. LiveU has surpassed our expectations and helped us reduce production costs.”

“Derana TV is one of our key customers in Sri Lanka and we share a strong relationship with them. Derana has always trusted LiveU for their newsgathering technology, which makes us very proud. We are committed to provide excellent support to our customers in Sri Lanka in association with our local partners and will continue to keep our promise of delivering unfailing technology”, said Ranjit Bhatti, Director of South Asia, LiveU.

Puritha Wijewickrama, General Manager IT, at Derana TV, added, “Our channel – or any media channel for that matter – is ever-growing because, fortunately or unfortunately, we never run out of news. In such a scenario, it’s imperative that we’re equipped with the best to stay ahead in the industry. The support provided by LiveU has always been great and we can also rely on its robust technology, which has never failed us. We plan to use their LU600 HEVC units widely during the upcoming election to provide a compelling experience for our audience.”

On October 12th this year, renowned marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge made the world sit up, watch and listen as he ran the first sub two-hour marathon, setting an unofficial world record, clocking a barely believable time of 1:59:40 in the Ineos 159 Challenge.

The event took place in Vienna, Austria, with Kipchoge running a time almost two minutes faster than previously run. In the build-up to the event, LiveU’s long-time Austrian partner, ETAS High-Tech Systems GmbH, was contracted by Austrian production company Filmhaus Wien, who in turn was working with Ridley Scott Creative Group, Amsterdam, to provide technical assistance in the production of a documentary about the event.   

The challenge was to create an OB truck-based production gallery to allow real-time camera feed monitoring and control. ETAS hired and prepared the production OB truck.15 ARRI Alexa-equipped camera crews were deployed around the course, linked to 15 LiveU LU600 HEVC portable transmission units. In the truck there were five quad servers with IFB for wired and wireless intercom. There were three 4K quad multiviewer screens. ETAS also provided the camera crews with LiveU training.  

Robert Frosch, Account Manager with ETAS, who was heavily involved in the project, said, “The director of the documentary footage needed to be able to see, in high quality, each camera view at any given moment. Each LiveU unit, capped at 10Mbps, sent an HD SDI feed to the production truck, and via IFB, the director could talk to each camera operator during the event. The actual footage was recorded on each camera. It’s an innovative use of LiveU technology and one that gave the production company the precision and flexibility they required.” 

The documentary production crew also used video overlays on the camera feeds, which turned out to be essential. This meant that those in the truck could see when, for example, the white balance needed to be adjusted or a higher frame rate needed to be used for high-speed action shots. ETAS also managed the delivery of the camera footage to the production company.  

Zion Eilam, Regional VP of Sales, EMEA, LiveU, said, “LiveU use is continuing to grow at an exciting rate across the sports market, not only for primary and expanded content feeds, but also for DR. Now we are beginning to see uses like this where our technology allows production companies to precisely control and monitor what they are shooting by creating a production gallery with our technology. This gives directors and vision mixers access to the high-quality images they require at a very affordable price point.” 

ITV Sport, premier UK sports producer for the ITV network, has turned to LiveU to provide an enhanced viewer experience at the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC) and as a tertiary disaster recovery (DR) solution, backing up satellite and fibre feeds.  

ITV Sport is using portable LU600 HEVC units around the country in three teams, each providing a range of additional material beyond match coverage. These roving teams, with embedded reporters, send their material direct to ITV Sport in the UK for both edits and live reports. This enables the producer to concentrate on the content without having to worry about how the material gets back to the UK. Additionally, highlights presentation links are also sometimes fed via LiveU.  

Roger Pearce, Technical Director, Sport, ITV Sport Productions, said, “We’ve used LiveU with our reporting teams for a number of years successfully to enhance coverage. At this year’s RWC we have two separate jobs for LiveU: live/store/forward material from our reporting teams and DR feeds from our presentation studios and OBs.” 

Pearce explains that the idea to use it as a traditional contribution path only came to the forefront when they were looking at low-cost options to provide high-quality DR feeds that are completely diverse to normal fibre and satellite delivery. After testing using existing LiveU infrastructure, it proved a simple and cost-effective solution, according to Pearce. 

The LiveU DR setup is two-fold. ITV Sport has deployed an LU600 and LiveU Xtender active external antenna (the first time in Japan) for the tertiary backup direct to their playout provider Red Bee Media in the UK. Secondly, at ITV Sport’s Maidstone Central Apparatus Room, a receiving LU600 and another Xtender can be used to send a feed from there to their playout provider should they be unable to use traditional links. 

Pearce added, “The transmission DR feeds workflow is important to us as it provides a usable feed at a reasonable cost. For events like the RWC where failure is not an option, it’s a valuable tool to ensure we deliver our coverage reliably to the viewer. For our roving teams LiveU gives them the freedom to roam, and flexibility to get material quickly to air. The opportunity to use LiveU to provide cost-effective contribution feeds has been very successful and we look forward to their future developments.” 

LiveU’s UK partner, Garland Partners, assisted ITV Sport by upgrading their units to full international specification and provided a pool of cellular data from local access Japanese operator SIM cards for the whole tournament. Garland also supplied an additional UK SIM card data pool for the UK Maidstone Xtender. 

Paul Shepherd, Regional Sales Director, LiveU, said, “We’re very pleased to support ITV Sport across this Rugby World Cup. We are beginning to see an increased use of our technology for disaster recovery and it’s especially exciting to see that it’s being used for a high reliability requirement at such a major sports event.”

LiveU technology is being used to boost fan engagement across South Africa’s popular horse racing industry. Replacing traditional satellite, fiber and microwave technology, LiveU’s portable field units are being deployed to create exciting live coverage from the race tracks themselves, inside betting centers, and around award ceremonies and special events. Heading up this trend are Tellytrack Horseracing, Highlights and Sports Betting Television, and Gold Circle Horseracing and Betting – two key players in the country’s sporting world.

Tellytrack started to use LiveU for their filler program around the races, following an extensive testing period. LiveU backpack units are now deployed in different regions around the country, providing live crossings and special segments. The LiveU feeds used for TV broadcasts are then streamed via the same channel to its web site and social media platforms.

Wesley Lloyd – Operations Manager at Tellytrack, explained, “LiveU gives us the flexibility to walk around, enabling us to broadcast live from places we couldn’t go before. For example, we can go and interview the jockeys in the stables at the far end of the track by simply sending a camera operator out into the field with a backpack, some batteries, a camera and a LiveU unit. In the past, we would have had to use complex microwave services with three or four cameras.” Lloyd continued, “Going live from the betting shops has also enhanced our coverage, enabling us to connect with our customers and make everything more relatable – the fans can have their say and feel part of the action. We’ve also used LiveU for award ceremonies and special events in shopping centers to get more feedback from the public, with excellent signal levels every time.”

Gold Circle has been testing the viability of the LiveU solution since early 2018 for both camera signal acquisition while following the horses and in the distribution of content to supplement and as a substitute for SNG (satellite newsgathering) trucks.

Sherwin Singh, TV Department Manager / Production Director, Gold Circle, said, “We have been impressed with how reliable and robust LiveU technology has proven to be on both ends of the production cycle. The fact that the LU600 field unit can be used for both video acquisition and distribution has been a key factor in our buying decision. The unit is very user friendly and offers a level of redundancy without having any external devices plugged in. It also looks and feel solid. One of our camera operators will be using a camera on a gimble, for example, while the LU600 unit will provide a signal from the start that can track the horses as they are loaded into their starting positions. The same camera operator can then be used to track the horses for most of the course, following the inside line. The fact that the LiveU unit can provide a sub-second signal to the studio means that it can be integrated into the live multi-camera mix reliably and add a new dynamic to the presentation.”

Alexander Gechtman, Regional VP, LiveU, said, “South Africa is a magnet for innovative sports coverage using LiveU, as we saw with the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike race, Ballito Pro international surfing event and Otter African Trail Run. It’s exciting to see how these leading players in the horse racing industry are using LiveU to enrich the live experience and provide greater interactivity with their customers.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications, contracted by Carr-Hughes Production, wa the team behind the recent live production of the 13th CrossFit Games that took place at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Tasked with providing content acquisition, networking and delivery services across the multi-venue facility, CP Communications used a combination of IP streaming and a bonded cellular network to produce the sports event live.

Through an established base, CP Communications set up a fiber infrastructure from its CP-1 Digital Communications Trailer that enabled coverage of the entire event, including distributing live event production feeds.

The fiber infrastructure was based around four, 48-strand fiber trunks to a demarcation point, where 24-60 fiber strands were run to competition and spectator areas. The fiber network accommodated all audio, data and video acquisition, transport and distribution services. MultiDyne VF-9000 high-density video fiber transmission frames and MD-3000 fiber transceiver were used at all locations, while a Dante network supported audio and intercom.

To manage the event’s multiple cameras, CP used Mobile Viewpoint Airlinks to encode and deliver signals over a bonded cellular network. Six bonded cellular rigs were used throughout the event.

In addition, CP was tasked with monitoring the IP feed provided by the CrossFit organization that was sent to websites and social media services. All fiber, IP and bonded cellular feeds were monitored from the CP-1 trailer.

The 13th CrossFit Games took place from Aug. 1-4. 

LONDON—Featuring 40,000 runners and reportedly millions watching on traditional TV, production company Sportsbeat sought to expand the audience for the London Marathon to social media channels via a livestream. A combination of equipment was used to bring a high-quality production to platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, including the VidiU Go live streaming encoder and Link Pro bonded cellular Wi-Fi router.

A Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro, featuring a B4 lens, sent video to the VidiU Go. As part of the VidiU Go setup was two nodes that provided bonded 4G LTE data for extra redundancy in an area that featured many people trying to access the available network.

One of Sportsbeat’s producers carried the Link Pro Backpack, with six SIM cards from a combination U.K. carriers—EE, Vodafone, Three and 02. The bonded Wi-Fi signal from Link Pro served as an extra connection for the VidiU Go, giving it a total of three.

The team used VidiU Go, Core and Cube 625 to deliver video to a Blackmagic ATEM TV Studio to add graphics and perform mixing. This would feed the stream to a Blackmagic ATEM TV Studio to add graphics and perform mixing. Another VidiU Go would then send out the program to the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages for the London Marathon.

“With six different SIM cards on it, the Link Pro provided the crux of the bandwidth,” said Ric Sumner, head of broadcast and social and Sportsbeat. “The nodes on the VidiU Go also gave us extra backup just in case the data from the Link Pro dipped. The bonding was very consistent and reliable, and having two independent systems fully backed up with 4G modems gave us the peace of mind that we could broadcast from the crowded streets of the marathon without any issues.”

TV18 Broadcast Ltd., one of India’s most popular television broadcasting networks, has signed a multi-year lease agreement for more than a hundred units of LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC solution. The units are already stationed in various locations in over 20 Indian states to support TV18’s entire network of channels, including CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC Bazaar, CNN-News18, News18 India, New18 UP/Uttarakhand, New18 Bihar/Jharkhand, News18 Bangla, News18 Odia, News18 MP/Chhattisgarh, News18 Rajasthan, News18 Punjab/Haryana/HP, News18 Gujarati, News18 Assam/NE, News18 Kannada, News18 Tamilnadu, News18 Kerala, News18 Urdu and News18 Lokmat.

The TV18 group chose the reliability and stability of LiveU’s IP bonding technology to stay ahead in its newsgathering operations, upgrading their entire fleet of portable backpack solutions to HEVC. The deal was overseen by LiveU’s local partner, Lamhas, which provides 24/7 service and support throughout India.

Mr. S. Venkatraman, VP of Teleport and Newsgathering of TV18 said, “We operate the biggest news network in the country and have robust newsgathering systems. We have been using LiveU units for field newsgathering for the last six years. Exploring and identifying innovative solutions for capturing and transmission live video feeds have always been our focus. With HEVC being the industry standard for video compression, the transition from H.264 to H.265 was a logical step, coupled with the reliability offered by LiveU’s hardware-based encoding, even in low bandwidth regions. Having the latest technology at our disposal will give us an edge in the newsgathering process as well benefit us in the long run. We deployed LU600 units in the recently concluded General Election coverage in India and were satisfied with the field performance.”

“TV18 continuously works on network synergy to enhance our broadcast and digital operations across the country. Our collaboration with CNN provides us with the edge in obtaining visuals of international stories at the earliest possible time. We are actively working with LiveU’s Matrix platform for the sharing of live visuals between our broadcast centres,” continued Venkatraman. “We will be working closely with LiveU in our expansion process.”

Mr. Rajesh Sharma, VP of Technology and News Operations of TV18, added, “Support from partners and service providers is very critical to us while we manage highly intensive news operations. The size of our network, and our 24/7 newsgathering operations across the country, calls for a very proactive support system. We are satisfied with the relations and responses from M/S Lamhas and LiveU. We look forward to a long-term cooperation and business association with LiveU.”

“TV18 is one of our most esteemed customers and we were committed to ensure that all their stations were equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology. With over 100 units deployed across 20 states, this is a huge project. We believe that only LiveU and Lamhas are equipped to provide the resources and manpower needed to support its full implementation. We look forward to our continued success together,” said Mr. Ranjit Bhatti, Director of South Asia, LiveU Ltd.

Photo caption: (from L to R) Mr. S. Venkatraman, VP of Teleport & Newsgathering, TV18 with Mr. Ranjit Bhatti, Director at LiveU - South Asia

New Zealand’s leading free to air broadcaster, TVNZ, is upgrading its fleet of LiveU portable transmission units to LiveU’s LU300 HEVC and LU600 HEVC, ensuring the highest-quality live video performance. The deal has been overseen by LiveU’s long-term partner in the region, Pacific Live Media, which provides ongoing service and support.

The NZ broadcaster has been using LiveU since 2015 with multiple units deployed around the country as well as in New York, London and Sydney. The units have been used for all major news and sports events, including royal and state visits, covering political campaigns and elections, as well as the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Sydney, Rio Summer Games in 2016, and the recent yellow vest protests in France. The upgrades come in time for this September’s Rugby World Cup in Japan where LiveU will be used to cover all the action around the games and even serve as disaster recovery backups for the fiber transmission of the games themselves. TVNZ started looking at cellular bonded options at the 2012 Summer Games in London.  

Andrew Fernie, General Manager of Operations, News and Current Affairs for TVNZ, explained, “We had been interested in the technology for some time, but it really came to a head before the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. After testing the equipment, we were impressed by LiveU’s LU200 small-form factor, ease of use and video quality and started spreading the units across the country. The catalyst for the major growth in pushing these units out were the changes we made to the newsgathering and news operations teams across the entire country. In 2017, we introduced a centralized editing model, taking all the contribution servers and combining them into a main content and production server in our main newsroom in Auckland. This meant that all the content could be streamed or sent via store and forward into the main server; we could then get all the content out to our linear and digital channels almost immediately. We were able to create a team of video journalists who could operate from the remotest regions using a small camera and a LiveU unit.”

Fernie continued, “LiveU has completely changed our business. enabling us to cover every story quickly and cost-efficiently with no need for SNG trucks. We can truly go anywhere with this system, even broadcasting live from the remotest Pacific islands using LiveU as the encoder combined with a Satellite IP system. In terms of future big events, TVNZ has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the next America's Cup in 2021 and we’re already planning our LiveU deployment.”

Yaal Eshel, LiveU’s VP Sales, said, “This is an excellent example how TVNZ has transformed live newsgathering and sports coverage using small portable LiveU units for live streaming and advanced store and forward capabilities. We’re delighted that TVNZ is rolling out our latest HEVC technology and look forward to continuing our long relationship.”

LiveU is presenting its full range of live IP video uplink services and streaming solutions at BroadcastAsia2019, Suntec Singapore, 18-20 June 2019 (Stand 6D2-01).

LiveU’s location – Stand 6D2-01

At BroadcastAsia2019, the Company will demonstrate the latest additions to its award-winning HEVC suite and IP live video management service offerings.

See also our LiveU Solo one-touch wireless video encoder live in action, in a portable live multi-cam production, demonstrated by our Thai partner, Smart Broadcast Solution. 

Highlights include: 

Hardware-based HEVC product suite 

LiveU’s flagship LU600 4K HEVC portable transmission solution offers flawless video quality for live news and sports coverage with extreme bandwidth efficiency. The company will present its new addition, the LU600 HEVC 4K-SDI, facilitating professional 4Kp50/60 streaming for top-quality production, supporting VR and 360 applications.

Also on show will be LiveU’s compact, robust LU300 HEVC field unit for on-the-go live streaming, and professional 1U HEVC rackmount, LU610 HEVC.  

LiveU Matrix & AI   

Matrix is LiveU’s next-generation IP video distribution platform, designed by broadcasters for broadcasters. Matrix provides a highly efficient content curation service, empowering newsroom managers to quickly and easily give hundreds of affiliates unparalleled access to live feeds from LiveU units in the field and other sources without any interruption, additional resources, or expensive fees. LiveU Matrix was recently selected by CBS Newspath to handle contribution and delivery of live content to its 200+ affiliates and seven global news bureaus. 

See a live demonstration of a new AI feature that enables broadcasters to search, identify, classify, and route objects and people. 

LiveU Central & AI 

LiveU will demonstrate LiveU AI, powered by Newsbridge, within its LiveU Central cloud management platform. This new feature offers broadcasters and publishers a comprehensive set of contribution and AI-based video indexing tools for enriching, searching and accessing their live or file-based content. Saving time and effort, the complete service enables editors to search and find their required footage faster than ever, easing their daily workload and making real-time production much more efficient.

“It is not strange...to mistake change for progress.” -Millard Fillmore

I’d like to turn the clock back more than 70 years to 1948, when the first live television remotes began. They were enabled by microwave transmissions and initially used just for parades and specials. Microwave became the every-day solution for remote news and sports programming by the early 1970s.

Shortly thereafter, new technologies—first analog satellite newsgathering in the late 70s, followed by digital SNG and microwave transmissions—provided greater access and significantly higher quality while using bandwidth more efficiently.

While I am not one who pines for the past, I believe we lost something important along the way. With this technological progress came the curse of latency, which has cost TV its intimacy. In today’s content landscape where authenticity is prized by a demanding audience, delays are not free. The price is a high one that we cannot afford to continue to pay. Let me explain.

THE DOOR TO DELAY

One advantage of those early remotes was that they were analog and not subject to any meaningful delays. A correspondent’s or a sportscaster’s report would be beamed to the studio at the speed of light, where it would be switched, released over the television transmitter and sent back for the contributor to view immediately on an off-air monitor. They were instantly and intimately connected to the discussion with the studio.

As time marched forward and digital improved, correspondents in the field were forced by a technology-induced delay to depend upon an audio-only mix-minus IFB (interrupted fold back). They could hear, but not see the people they were communicating with, robbing them of subtle, but vital visual cues from their studio counterparts. Later HDTV and digital television transmission added further delay, rendering the possibility of the off-air real-time monitor a thing of the past.

Since the door to delay had already been opened, it was just business as usual when new compression algorithms were used to squeeze a full broadcast-quality signal onto a couple of cell signals. Bonded cellular was remarkable in that it allowed crews to contribute with only a backpack of equipment, freeing them to make reports from more locations, at a dramatically lower cost. No need for trucks! The trade-off was even more latency, this time, significantly magnifying the delay in the reporter's path back to the studio.

The visual impact was dramatic and remains today in that all too familiar scene of reporters foolishly nodding their collective heads, sometimes at painfully inappropriate moments. Effectively, the studio is taking the heavily delayed remote feeds seconds before the beginning of reporters reply. The “yada, yada, yadas” that Jerry Seinfeld so aptly described have become an inescapable part of every-day broadcasts.

LOSING THE BACK AND FORTH

I am no Luddite. I have spent decades optimizing signal paths, sometimes obsessing over hundredths of milliseconds, while always embracing the forward march of technology. But I am troubled by our acceptance of that loss of intimacy. Producers are taught to bring the viewer into the story; to make them part of the family. When a reporter in the field and their anchor communicate instantly, their banter adds life and energy to the story. This only works when they are present in the moment in a way that lets the viewer witness the dynamics of their interpersonal relationships.

We’ve lost the back and forth of real conversation. The relationship between today’s remote and host is as cold as a factory—one person on an assembly line handing off the widget to the next worker. It’s mechanical, contrived, distracting and harms the relationships between the host and reporters while alienating the audience. Worst of all, it is totally unnecessary.

Audiences are attracted to stories and engaging casts. We should be smart enough to recognize the value inherent in delivering that experience. We can recapture that lost intimacy and rivet the viewer to the screen not only with the story but with the people behind the story.

The combination of high bandwidth IP everywhere and mobile devices with remarkable processors and built-in cameras and screens can replace traditional equipment while changing everything. High-quality, low-cost, two-way visual communication between host and remote opens up totally new, dynamic ways of telling a story. A reporter on location can share the emotion of the moment with the anchor and the audience. A sportscaster on the sidelines can narrate over B-roll, or even do play by plays remotely. Existing technologies can provide two-way hyper-low latency between studio and field, making it possible to recapture lost intimacy and inspire new forms of storytelling.

Real progress means we can have it all!

Want to dig into this some more? Join me in Las Vegas at NAB, on April 9 at 9 a.m. in room N258 in the LVCC where I’ll be speaking on this in detail at "Beyond Bonded Cellular; A Workflow for Broadcast Remotes via Smartphone." Hope to see you there.

Larry Thaler is the president of Positive Flux, a consulting firm that specializes in helping media companies take advantage of the rapid changes occurring in the industry. He can be reached viaTV Technology.

Part Idiscussed the current state of ENG and the move to mobile journalism

Part IIlooked at Euronews’ adoption of smartphone newsgathering

Part III looked at how Euronews NBC adopted iPhone journalism

Journalism, even journalism principals, has always been closely tied to innovation, invention and technology. Pencils, for example, enabled far quicker, more accurate notetaking than quill and ink. Many reporters used to learn shorthand to achieve New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer’s admonition that the three most important words in journalism are “accuracy, accuracy and accuracy.”

The telegraph did not just vastly increase the speed and span of news acquisition and delivery. It was a key factor behind the objective reporting concept, succinct writing and inverted pyramid/main-facts-first style because of the high cost/low bandwidth of telegraph transmissions—not to mention the business case for non-partisan reporting.

The telegraph also spurred the creation of the Associated Press wire service, whose reporters delivered the same, neutral story to all member newspapers whose news coverage was otherwise highly biased.

"AP’s Broadcast News Handbook" summarizes the history:

AP came into being in 1848 and pioneered the notion of using the telegraph to distribute news to more than one point simultaneously. The AP had decided from its birth that it would present the news fairly and impartially. Covering the Civil War was one of the first big tests for The Associated Press, and it was a trial of fire of “objectivity”—an AP invention which was still considered an oddity in those days.

SMARTPHONE ENHANCEMENTS

Since the Civil War, an unending string of technologies has enhanced newsgathering and delivery. Huge lead-casting Linotype machines, for example, replaced typesetting by hand. Decades later phototypesetting rendered Linotype obsolete.

(The main reason I was selected editor of my campus newspaper in 1967 was my pledge to switch production from hot metal typesetting to lower cost, higher print quality offset.)

Today journalism is in crisis partly because of technology. The profession needs to deploy new technologies to dig out of that hole, technologies such as smartphones to replace ENG cameras and IP cellular transmissions from the news scene to the newsroom and from the newsroom to consumers.

Which brings us to bonded cellular technology and how it might help save journalism. But first a look at other smartphone enhancements.

Smartphones without accessories can capture news video in a pinch. But to produce consistently high-quality video they need a little help from their friends, like grips, tripods, LED lights, external mics, apps like FiLMiC Pro, backup storage and batteries—plus, bonded cellular bandwidth boost.

The latter may be the smartphone’s best newsgathering friend. Bonded cellular technology is essential for consumer-grade smartphones—which only have single modems that connect them to cell towers—to fully replace ENG cameras that use microwave and satellite links and, sometimes, cellular bonding to link to the newsroom.

Just as the smartphone is a technological wonder, so is bonded cellular; just a lot less known. It’s about increasing the bandwidth between points A and B (A often being the field and B the station) by magically combining multiple cell phone connections, plus, on occasion, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, microwave and satellite links. Smartphone bonded cellular apps can combine as many as three signals while bonded cellular appliances used with ENG minicams can combine as many as 12 network links. (For example, LiveU’s LU600 unit can be configured to bond up to 12 links using internal and external modems, internal Wi-Fi and two Ethernet ports.)

Euronews, which claims to have cut the cord to ENG and SNG, supercharges its iPhone live shot transmissions using the LiveU brand app. Similar apps are marketed by Quicklink, TVU, LiveU, Dejero, AVIWEST and Soliton, to name a few.

Sadly, at the moment, bonded cellular technology is working more against smartphone newsgathering than for it. It’s true that the apps boost smartphone newsgathering performance. But higher-powered, bonded cellular appliances—used alone and as hybrids with legacy microwave and satellite—are helping extend the life of otherwise obsolete ENG camcorders and OB trucks. It’s acting like life support for the dying.

Smartphone bonded cellar should have been helping kill off microwave and satellite live trucks for journalism’s sake. Those dinosaurs on wheels—which are destined for extinction anyway— are hurting journalism two ways: 1) By diverting money away from reporting staffs and, 2) by abetting widespread coverage of low and no-news-value events.

FASTER, CHEAPER AND ONLINE

If journalism is to ever rebound, video newsgathering must be much cheaper, much faster and delivered primarily online. That’s not going to happen with expensive and wasteful legacy equipment, inefficient workflows and outmoded delivery methods.

Here’s what’s tricky. Bonded cellular vendors make most of their profit from those high-end appliances that prop up ENG. They have less financial incentive to push their cheaper smartphone apps as ENG/SNG replacements.

Although most bonded cellular vendors do quietly tout their smartphone apps and small appliances as replacements for ENG/SNG trucks, Saint-Grégoire France-based AVIWEST is using a bigger megaphone. In a 2016 webinar co-hosted with its U.S. distributor, VidOvation, the opening slide showed ENG and SNG trucks to be obsolete. VidOvation’s Jim Jachetta warned vendors who may feel threatened by bonded cellular, “if you don’t change or if you don’t adapt, someone will do it for you. Someone will drive you out of business.” Jachetta told me that many of his customers are already replacing their microwave and satellite trucks with at least, their ENG camera-mount appliances.

“Many VidOvation and AVIWEST customers have reduced or eliminated their satellite and microwave ENG trucks in favor of the AVIWEST bonded cellular and IP Uplink,” Jachetta said. “In other cases, it is taking a long time to convince them! They are used to traditional workflow and it is difficult to take on change.”

AVIWEST’s Florian Kolmer is even more audacious. He agrees that an important reason for television news departments to deep six their legacy live trucks is “to divert huge amounts of money from ENG trucks to reporters.”

“The only way for media to get more audience and survive despite reduced ad budgets is to have efficient workflows targeted to online media and have [many] more reporters in the field,” he said. “We have customers who moved away from ENG cameras, satellite and entirely rely on smartphones and MOJOPRO applications, both for live and editing. With the appropriate training for their journalists, it became very professional and viewers don't notice it is made with smartphones over bonded cellular.”

It seems that Kolmer, a techie, may care more about journalism than many news directors. Kolmer checked the important boxes: Bonded cellular can cut video production costs in order to hire more reporters and more efficient workflows can help video news providers cope with smaller budgets.

Which is what Deborah Turness is attempting with NBC’s Euronews. Can she succeed where many other attempts have failed to use technology to deal with the journalism crisis? One standout failure is the newspaper industry’s ill fated “pivot to video.” The lesson: amateurish, half-hearted attempts to stick video news online while laying off reporters had no chance of success.

“If you want to inspire some dark laughter among publishing types, just mutter the phrase ‘pivot to video,’ wrote Simon Dumenco in AdAge’s “Why the ‘Pivot to Video’ has Failed.”

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, “Hundreds of journalists have lost their jobs while shiny-object-chasing publishers are no closer to creating cohesive video strategies to replace the traffic those writers were producing. Publishers who pivoted to video have forfeited the majority of their hard-won native audiences in only a year of churning out undifferentiated, bland chunks of largely aggregated ‘snackable’ video. That’s no one’s idea of success.”

Deploying video and cutting the cost of producing that video needs to result in more boots on the ground, not fewer. It should result in more “shoe leather” enterprise reporting, not more mindless aggregation and endless tweeting.

NBC News Group Chairman Andrew Lack, who has strong journalism credentials, made it clear in a memo that he wants to expand newsgathering with Euronews, not cut costs to trim reporter staffs.

“We plan to marry the power of the NBC News brand and the talent of our people with a formidable news asset in Europe in order to create an international offering that will strengthen our news organization and change the landscape of international news,” Lack said. “By joining forces with Euronews and their nearly 500 journalists, our audience on the broadcast network, on MSNBC and our digital platforms will benefit from a greatly expanded news gathering capability.”

READING TEA LEAVES

It does not take a tasseographer reading tea leaves or a fortune teller peering into a crystal ball to divine where news reporting and presenting are headed, despite print and broadcast executives clinging to legacy workflows and technologies.

Clear news consumption trends:

• More video news, despite the print media’s calamitous pivot to video.
• More direct internet/OTT access to news, less demand for newsprint, broadcast, satellite and cable delivery.
• More nonlinear/on-demand access to news via the internet, rapidly decreasing preference for nonlinear/scheduled delivery via anchored news shows.
• Demand for more live and ultra-quick video reporting.
• Higher demand for real and vetted news, less demand for “fake” and hyped news.

Those television executives who seem to say, “I'll give up my OB trucks when you pry them from my cold, dead hands," may be taking their legacy equipment and workflows to the grave. There are simply too many internet news outlet startups and too many newspapers going online—all without making huge investments in traditional equipment and methods—for the television news golden age, now sputtering, to last another decade.

Linear video news delivery will make money, even if revenue flow continues to decrease, for the near, foreseeable future. There’s no reason to begin shutting down television news studios. But there are plenty of reasons to not put more money into them. Why NBC and Telemundo, among others, are investing millions on new, supposed “state-of-the art” news studios is baffling. Should the linear, broadcast model keep getting top priority and funding while digital, nonlinear delivery continues getting short shrift?

Consider one of several giant steps taken by the Swedish newspaper chain Mittmedia in connection with deploying smartphones and Bambuser’s low-tech, non-bonding, live video platform.

According to a Mittmedia press release, “All of the 550 reporters in MittMedia are trained to broadcast live—both in breaking news situations and planned broadcasts—and can therefore, with the aid of the hub, transmit with a range of different broadcasting tools. Among others; the app and the live video tool Bambuser Iris Reporter. During 2016 MittMedia had over one million live video streams.”

Good grief! A newspaper chain doing what Sweden’s local television news outlets should have done: Prioritizing online delivery and using smartphones with cheap streaming software instead of expensive mobile trucks that really aren’t all that mobile.

(Bambuser, however, may not be the newspaper chain’s best choice for live video. Sweden’s Bambuser does not do cellular bonding. The company is also weathering a serious financial storm despite the Associated Press being a financial stakeholder. A hint for MittMedia: replace Bambuser with a bonded cellular platform.)

Finally, a word about 5G. Won’t Bambuser be as good as today’s bonded cellular as 5G comes on board? In other words, will 5G kill off bonded cellular?

No, says Jachetta.

“5G is going to be quite different compared to 3G/4G: it will be deployed on higher frequency bands covering very small cells and not permeating into buildings,” he said. “It will also be more susceptible to obstructions such as buildings, trees, etc. Higher frequency bands typically support higher bit rates—this will be the case with 5G cellular. 5G will be a supplement to 4G and 3G. 5G will most likely not replace 3G/4G.

“It will be mostly deployed in places like stadiums or big venues, but it is not going to cover large areas or transmit long distances,” Jachetta continued. “It will not kill bonded cellular as most areas will be only covered with 4G and cellular networks usage is booming, so 3G is saturated for some time already and 4G is start to become saturated in many countries.”

On the other hand, in early 2017 Bob Kovacs—videographer, former Nextel engineer and TV Technology contributor—praised bonded cellular over microwave trucks for its “high-bandwidth return capability for cuing and IFB built into the system.”

In his article, “Bonded Cellular Shrinks as it Grows,” Kovacs wrote, “The big disadvantage of bonded cellular is that the digital link can vary widely from lousy to great—you might be sure you’ll get 20 Mbps, but find out that it won’t go higher than 3 Mbps.”

He added, “Bonded is quickly becoming passé, as wireless network speeds ramp up. 4G wireless networks are now common, and they theoretically have speeds as high as 100 Mbps.”

Two years have passed since Kovacs made that assessment and 5G deployment has begun. I asked him if he still thinks bonded cellular is still on the way out.

He does. Sort of.

“Bonding multiple wireless circuits results in a more reliable service, and that is always desirable,” Kovacs said. “That said, high speed circuits are continually getting more reliable, so the time may soon come when bonding gives you 99-percent reliability and not bonding gives you 97-percent. Is it worth the added cost and complexity to get the extra 2-percent of reliability?”

In any event, one way or another, 5G and bonded cellular are going to play key roles as smartphone newsgathering overtakes ENG.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Citing a desire to boost live coverage of sporting events like cross country and dirt track racing in remote, often difficult locations, live digital sports provider FloSports recently announced that it has selected TVU Networks video over IP equipment to assist with its live, on-location video capturing and sharing of its sports programming.

FloSports will use the TVU equipment to simulcast events, produce live programming from remote locations and record raw footage for archiving material. This will include TVU transmitters powered by IS+, TVU’s proprietary transmission algorithm, in order to aggregate combinations of bandwidth mediums, including cellular, 3G/4G LTE, Wi-Fi, ethernet, Ka-band and Ku-band satellite, microwave, microwave mesh and BGAN.

In addition to the transmitters, FloSports has TVU One cellular mobile units to serve as backups for their live coverage.

Broadcasters’ use of bonded cellular in ENG has progressed so quickly that we tend to forget that it is only about a decade old.

NBC used bonded cellular transmission technology as early as 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. It wasn’t long afterwards that the floodgates opened with new company launches and rapid development. Fast forward to today, and advances in codecs and cellular networks have made the technology much more ubiquitous among broadcasters and related media companies. While the appearance of these “backpack” systems at breaking news events or sporting events would raise eyebrows a decade ago, now they’re seen as the an important component in the future of ENG. 

In our latest ebook, we take a look at the current state of using bonded cellular for ENG (what we term “IP-ENG”), as well provide a primer on developing an IP-based facility. We also examine the market for ENG vehicles, which despite the growing popularity of bonded cellular, still provide an important role in a TV station’s news arsenal.

Does your station use bonded cellular for ENG? Share your thoughts with us at tvtech@futurenet.com.

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?

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Sinclair Broadcast Group is upgrading hundreds of portable transmission units to LiveU LU600 HEVC systems under the terms of a recently signed multi-year $20 million leasing agreement.

“This deal is a recognition of the value LiveU brings to our content operations,” said Del Parks, senior vice president and CTO for Sinclair. Sinclair will use the units for newsgathering operations. 

The station group immediately will upgrade units at 80 stations to the LiveU HEVC field units, the company’s flagship model offering higher efficiency, greater stability and better reliability.

Sinclair has been a LiveU customer since 2011. Upgrading its bonded IP solutions will help the broadcaster maintain a competitive edge in newsgathering, LiveU said.

The broadcaster also uses LiveU’s IP-based LiveU Matrix and LiveU vehicle solutions. LiveU Matrix allows Sinclair to share live content from news events across all of its broadcast and digital news platforms. The IP video cloud management tool enables stations across the group to view, manage and distribute live content using the internet.

The station group is also evaluating its ability to outfit field reporters and crews with LiveU’s LU-Smart app for smartphones. The app makes it possible to go live from virtually anywhere and contribute content to the studio where it can be edited and ultimately distributed according to LiveU.

NEW YORK—CP Communications and its Red House Streaming business delivered end-to-end acquisition services for the TCS New York City Marathon Nov. 4, relying on a full complement of IP and bonded cellular technology for the first time to provide coverage from all five boroughs of the 26.2-mile race.

Four Smart cars, four motorcycles and other special motorized platforms, such as two POV wheelchairs, were equipped with cameras and Mobile Viewpoint bonded cellular systems, according to CP Communications. Their signals were routed to the company’s flagship HD-21 RF truck, where they were received, processed and passed on to NEP ESU broadcast trucks at the finish line. Those trucks provided the world feed uplink as well as local and national feeds.

In all, CP Communications carried bidirectional video and audio from 11 cameras and 240 intercom ports over its bonded cellular network, said Kurt Heitmann, company CEO. The Mobile Viewpoint solution provided the robust compression needed to optimize bandwidth and maintain video quality.

In preparing for the marathon, CP Communications took into consideration areas of the race course where cellular coverage would be challenging, particularly spots where large numbers of spectators could overwhelm cell circuits, he said. Those places included areas around the starting line and along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge heading into Brooklyn — spots that required special attention to maintain video and audio signals.

“The core of our operation comprised three main sites: at the starting line in Bay Ridge, near the Millennium Hotel in Manhattan and at the finish line. In addition we had three highly robust unilateral IP streaming sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan,” said Heitmann.

The company relied on nearly 600 unique IP addresses from Brooklyn through the Bronx. It also deployed a MIMO mesh network across the Verrazano Bridge to feed internet to the Smart cars as well as intercom and other services, said Heitmann.

“We added COFDM traditional microwave receivers to get the coverage we needed off of the bridge, due to the limited cellular coverage, and deployed COFDM near the finish line for the same reason. That safeguarded our operation for the first and last mile of the race, in the event that limited cellular coverage caused the signals to drop,” he said.

However, the strength of the network architecture allowed CP Communications “to stay purely IP through to the finish line” once the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was crossed, said Heitmann.

“This was a first for the New York City Marathon, and a big step up from our past coverage strategies,” said Heitmann.

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LIMA, OHIO—At WLIO, we seek to provide the most in-depth ENG coverage possible. In order to give our west central Ohio audience a never-before-seen point of view for our stories, we made the decision to upgrade to an HD microwave transmitter to escape the limitations of fiber-connected cameras.

We went shopping at the 2015 NAB show and happened upon the Integrated Microwave Technologies (IMT) booth. After spotting the microLite HD transmitter and speaking with the representative, we knew instantly we had to have these wireless wonders and ended up purchasing two microLite 6.4 GHz models.

FREEWHEELING
For the last 40 to 50 years of television, the camera has always been tied to a bulky and heavy cable that required several people to move around and operate. With the wireless microLite HD transmitter, our videographers are handed a camera with the unit on top and given the creative license to go wherever they feel they can get the best picture.

WLIO uses microLite system to cover county fairs. Much of our field reporting involves recurring events, such as county fairs and parades. Imagine you are in the middle of a county fair and you’re trying to do a television show. The biggest problem we would often have before purchasing the microLite was the limitations of running cable; the farthest we could go was 100 or 200 feet. In addition, we also had to deal with the nightmare of navigating through the crowd to get the shots. With the microLite, we supply our shooters with cameras to roam the fairgrounds; one videographer was able to go 1,200 feet from where we were located. We couldn’t see him, and we could just barely communicate with him on our intercom packs, but he was sending back beautiful footage of the fairgrounds.

In another scenario, we put one of our anchors up on a swing ride to interview one of the park officials. The results we achieved using the microLite for this application were simply amazing. In the past when we used fiber, we could never even think of going to these places.

EASY SET-UP
The ease of use of the microLite cannot be understated. The unit mounts effortlessly in place of the battery pack and the battery pack is then connected to the microLite itself, making it self-contained. It is extremely versatile and lightweight, and requires only one person to operate. To connect the microLite to the camera, all we need is an 8-inch HDSDI/ embedded cable with 90-degree BNC fittings.

Now that we are completely wireless, the possibilities are endless. The microLite has provided a cost-effective solution that has let us not only simplify workflow, but take our viewers where we have never been able to go before to tell a story.

Fred Vobbe is a 47-year veteran in broadcasting and has won numerous awards in the broadcasting and electronics field. He has been with WLIO Television since 1985. He can be contacted atfvobbe@wlio.com.

For more information, please visitwww.imt-broadcast.comor call 908-852-3700.

SEATTLE—I still remember a visit from a cellular phone company in the late 1990s to the affiliate where I worked, offering us liveshot capability over their wireless network.

I remember the images being black and white, a few frames a second with considerable delay, and resolution that made ATSC’s standard definition look like IMAX. And those liveshots, such as they were, were possible only if your news story happened within a narrow footprint of cellular signal coverage.

I remember we didn’t bite.

Cellular liveshots have come a long way since then. Camera makers targeting their wares at news departments are building cellular liveshot wherewithal in their equipment, and some companies that pioneered modern cellular liveshot technology are using cellular wireless for more than just transporting news stories.

“Our user behavior has moved way beyond its use as a newsgathering tool,” said Paul Shen, CEO of TVU Networks in Mountain View, Calif. “We’ve begun to see [this technology] used regularly as a transmission means for various different programs. That’s a fundamental paradigm shift.”

Shen said that the ability of his company’s system to regularly and reliably send 10 MBps over cellular networks gives customers confidence that complete programs can be transported without a hitch. “With our TVU Grid, we’re moving to TV studio operations, and looking to TV distribution, looking at how to share the content among TV stations.”

He assures that this is not to take away from a thriving business TVU Networks is doing with the its TVUPack liveshot gear.

Dejero Live+ Control Live+ Control is the company’s next-generation cloud-based management, monitoring, and reporting tool that simplifies IP video workflows used in remote broadcasting productions. Dejero Founder and Chief Technology Officer Bogdan Frusina noted that his company will continue to improve the reliability and quality of its cellular liveshot equipment that gets news stories from the field to the studio. “And as we have more and more of these assets in the field, you need to be able to manage them, get reports on them, get analysis on them.”

On a parallel track, the company has also tightened the integration of Dejero receive gear with Grass Valley’s GV Stratus video production and management system.

“We’re going to start working towards workflow integration and managing file-based workflow, from the field into the studio, and assuring that it is as seamless as possible for our users,” said Frusina. “We’re going to be able to enhance that ability to edit in the field and be able to move files quicker. That becomes very powerful, quicker to air, faster to air, delivering in multiple formats, delivering for the Web and for the studio as well.”

LOOKING FORWARD
Jon Landman, vice president of sales at Teradek in Irvine Calif., says it’s time to look at what’s next for cellular bonding technology.

“Bonding is no longer bleeding edge, it is accepted, everyone’s using it, there’s no magic in it,” he said. “So then you say to yourself, what’s the future of bonding?”

The company answered that question when it implemented the latest version of ShareLink, technology. “Until now there’s been no such thing as bonding for the masses,” Landman said. “[Because of the cost of sending data over cellular networks,] it’s pretty much been an exclusive kind of group of TV stations that get into the bonding game.”

Teradek’s VidiU Pro uses the company’s ShareLink technology maximize bandwidth and reliability by bonding multiple Internet connections from different sources. ShareLink allows the achievement of maximum bandwidth and reliability by bonding multiple Internet connections from different sources. It can combine a variety of interfaces, Ethernet, WiFi, USB modems, and even up to four iPhone cellular connections. “Anyone that streams, anyone that wants to move video from A to B is a potential customer for us,” Landman said. At the same time, Teradek continues to develop its bonded cellular technology around its Cube product.

All cellular liveshot systems utilize some form of compression, but not all of them use the same version of compression. According to Chris Crump, senior director of sales for Comrex in Devens, Mass., the version of H.264 Comrex implements “takes advantage of all the profiles within H.264’s specification. And so within our device, you can create a customized profile.”

He pointed to the advantage this brings. “So if you know you don’t want to do full HD, you could use a streamlined profile that would give you good SD at a certain bit-rate. But if you’re wanting to do full HD and you had more than enough bandwidth, you could use a six meg or eight meg profile.” Comrex supplies some profiles as a starting point, but Crump said customers frequently develop their own for specific challenges.

Avi Cohan, co-founder and chief operations officer of LiveU, said they’re “continuing to improve the video quality of our bonded cellular products. We’re going to improve the bootup time, and in the next year we have a lot of interesting stuff.”

But in addition, the company has undertaken the development of “some very tight integration with NewTek, which means LiveU is more tightly integrated with the NewTek switchers, both in the cloud and in the facility.”

Cohan said this allows LiveU to work with NewTek’s Network Device Interface protocol, which allows replacement of a SMPTE cable infrastructure with network cabling utilizing video over IP. “Let’s say that we’re out in the field and right now we’re covering some event, we send the video to the headquarters, and now the decoder gets it and takes it out through data cable over IP,” Cohan said. “In the NewTek switcher, you edit and add commercials, titles, whatever you’re doing with the video. And then send it out the appropriate channel.”

For a number of years, JVC has simplified cellular transmission by building the technology into its news camcorders, most lately in its GY-HM890 studio and field capable camcorders. The company also took on the challenge of working around congested cellular networks at large-crowd events with its Private MESH Video Network, which provides bandwidth up to 85 Mbps, significantly more than traditional cellular and bonded cellular transmission systems. Designed for single and multicamera shoots, the IP-based network solution combines JVC’s advanced camera encoding technology with the Silvus Bi-Directional Radio System to transmit very high quality HD video while avoiding bandwidth congestion issues from the use of public Wi-Fi or broadband networks.

Introducing the MESH network at the 2015 NAB Show, Dave Walton, JVC assistant vice president, marketing communications, said: “This is the future of ‘first mile’ contribution for live multicamera coverage of remote events. Broadcasters are going to love the reliability and simplicity of our private wireless network system, because it resolves any issues of access or bandwidth in the field.”

Walton said that sports producers expressed interest in the technology, and said it has huge potential for government and security applications as well.

Vislink, a long-time supplier of liveshot technology to broadcasters via its microwave and satellite products also offers cellular liveshot capability as well.

“We’re not a typical cellular equipment supplier, which are usually pure-play cellular liveshot vendors,” said Michael Payne, Vislink Communications president and chief technology officer. “We don’t just bond cellular channels together. We bond cellular and microwave, cellular with satellite, any combination. And we don’t force any one path back on the customer. If the customer is interested in the lowest cost path, which is usually microwave because they own that path, that’s what our system will give them. If they’re interested in the most flexibility to move around, that might be cellular.”

NETWORK INSIDE
The 2015 NAB Show saw Sony introduce network connectivity into many of its camcorders, allowing them to deliver video wirelessly through a cellular modem or over network data cables. Jeanne Lewis, marketing product manager for Sony Electronics Professional Solutions, pointed out that this not only allows delivery of video from the camera, but offers certain advantages because it’s a two-way data connection.

“One feature is that it allows the operator in the station to access many of the features in the camcorder. With the network built inside the camera, they have more features that you can access. For example, the operator at the station can access focus, zoom, or even the white balance.”

At the 2015 NAB Show, Panasonic launched the AJ-PX380 AVC-ULTRA shoulder-mount camcorder with integrated LiveU technology. Lewis noted that this is increasingly important with journalists becoming “one-man-band” video journalists, where the technical aspects of the camera were not part of their training. The VJ gets the camera on the tripod and turned on, “but he doesn’t know how to set up the camera,” she said. Back at the station a more technically oriented crew member can remotely access the camera, and make adjustments to optimize the pictures and signal.

Cellular connectivity went 4K this autumn at the IBC Show when Panasonic integrated LiveU technology into the AJ-PX380 AVC-ULTRA shoulder-mount camcorder. “[This supports] 4G/ LTE, wired LAN and wireless LAN connections, enabling on-site preview, streaming and uploading data to a server quickly and easily at low cost with a PC/Mac, tablet or smartphone,” said Steve Cooperman, senior product manager for Panasonic.

Alternatively, users can connect to the camera via Wi-Fi to control, add or edit metadata, view proxies, or watch live streaming for logging or monitoring.

“Unique to Panasonic’s live streaming protocol is a quality-of-service layer that rapidly and dynamically adjusts the bit-rate of the streaming signal to optimize the transmission speed as bandwidth of the cellular network changes,” Cooperman said.

The cellular liveshot technology is certainly omnipresent in the television news world, but shows no slowing down in developing new capabilities.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF.—Jeff Cohen has been announced as a new addition to TVU Networks staff, coming on board to serve as a senior sales executive. Cohen will be based in New York and serve existing clientele in the Northeastern U.S., as well as pursue new customer opportunities.

Jeff Cohen

Before joining TVU Networks, Cohen was vice president of East Coast sales for Archimedia Technology. He also worked for Sohonet as its Eastern U.S. and Canada sales executive; and Eastern regional sales manager for Masstech. He also founded Digital Imaging Solutions. Other past positions included work at Sony, Avid, Electrosonic Systems, and BBC Systems Integration.

TVU Networks is provider of IP-based live video technology.