NEVADA CITY, Calif.—China Central TV (CCTV) recently conducted a live test of an 8K UHD TV channel broadcast, using multiple Telestream systems for the test. CCTV says that this was the world’s first 8K UHD TV live broadcast across a 5G network.

CCTV, supported by China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Radio and Television, broadcast the 8K UHD signals over 5G from the Beijing National Grand Theater and Shanghai International. To do so, it utilized Telestream’s full 2110 IP solution, including the Inspect 2110 IP monitoring system, PRISM waveform monitor and SPG8000A precision multiformat video signal generator.

The Inspect 2110 and Prism monitors help CCTV monitor IP 2110 8K signals in real-time. Telestream also provides IP 2110 network health protection and automatic alarm functions, and checks the main consistency of the main and backup channels. 

The images were broadcast in public places on more than 30 UHD large screens and China’s first consignment of 8K TVs across Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Jinan, Haikou and Qingdao.

CCTV has plans for additional 8K UHD broadcasts, including one for its Chinese New Year’s Eve celebrations. In 2022, CCTV expects to start broadcasting 8K UHD channels in the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, with plans to implement 8K UHD as the standard production format for the games. This will include 8K Telestream live monitoring from content production to editing and broadcasting.

 For more information, visit www.telestream.net.  

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Chinese broadcaster CCTV Pioneer Media & Entertainment (CPEC) recently incorporated a number of Clear-Com platforms for a new media department to establish reliable communications between stations and on-site camera operators for live social media broadcasts. This included the HelixNet Digital Network, LQ IP series interfaces and the Agent-IC mobile intercom app.

CPEC’s New Media Department used its new technology during a remote production at the Beijing World Art Museum, where team members were on-site at the museum and had to communicate with the CPEC Media Center.

To achieve this, all crew at the museum downloaded the Agent-IC app to their mobile devices, while the HelixNet digital main station, three desktop portable remote stations and three LQ series devices were deployed at the Media Center. HelixNet could connect to the three LQ devices via secure LAN, WAN or Wi-Fi, which enabled all fixed points to communicate with the 24 remote Agent-IC users.

“During the live production, the communication between production members was stable, clear and crisp,” said Zhai Yujia, technical director for the New Media Department.

“The Clear-Com system has greatly contributed to our live broadcasts for social media, and the new equipment also allows our other diverse activities to operate smoothly,” concluded Zhai.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Mount Everest is no longer just the tallest mountain in the world, it is now the tallest 5G tower in the world. This is according to details provided by TVU Networks.

According to information provided to TV Technology, on May 27 a team of Chinese surveyors summited Mount Everest to remeasure its height. In addition, Chinese telecom companies Huawei and China Mobile used the expedition to install a fiber optic data network up the side of the mountain, creating what they say is the world’s highest 5G network.

China Mobile deployed 5G to make the network immediately accessible. When it went live, it had base stations at 5,300, 5,800 and 6,500 meters. At an altitude of 5,300 meters, the 5G download speed was measured at more than 1.66 Gbps, with an upload speed that topped out at 215 Mbps.

In addition, China Central Television (CCTV) conducted a live, remote broadcast from Everest. To do so, it utilized three TVU One cellular mobile transmitters with new embedded 5G modems set up at the base camp for daily coverage. The TVU Mobile Anywhere app—putting its name to the test—was used at 5,800, 6,500 and 7,800 meters, as well as at the summit (8,848 meters).

TVU Networks tweeted about the broadcast back in May:

Fujian, China (September 09, 2019) – China National television broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) used Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless® equipment from audio distributor Beijing Pacific Budee Technology Development Co. to record ambient sound during the dragon boat race at the 2019 Dragon Boat Festival recently held in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. CCTV captured the sound using the WM Watertight Belt-Pack Transmitter, Venue Receiver, M152/5P Lavalier, and ALP620 Antennas.

The Dragon Boat Festival is an annual traditional Chinese holiday held on the 5th day of the 5th month near the Summer Solstice. Before 221 B.C., this day of the year was considered unlucky, and to counter this, Chinese cultural practices evolved to include the Dragon Boat Festival, a day for clearing disease and bad luck. A more modern celebration of the holiday includes the commemoration of the poet and minister Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Miluo River. Locals raced into the river to try to save him, and when they could not retrieve his body, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the water so fish would feast on rice rather than their beloved minister. This is said to have been the origins of the dragon boat races. Today, some of the most widespread activities at the Festival include eating and preparing Zongzi, drinking Realgar wine, and racing dragon boats, a canoe-sport where the boats are generally decorated with Chinese dragon heads and tails for the competition.

“One of the most important parts of the festival is its dragon boat race. CCTV makes sure to broadcast one of the competitions on its sports channel each year,” says Budee’s Chief Engineer, Freeman Lu, who worked with CCTV’s audio team to set up the equipment for the production.

This year, one of the many challenges the audio team faced covering the Dragon Boat Festival was distance and landscape after securing the equipment to the inside of each boat to record sound.

“The biggest issue was the potential for signal drop-out when the boats were waiting by the side of the Min River,” says Lu. “There can be serious signal absorption from the forest which previous systems had difficulty handling. Also, during the 500-meter race the distance from the shore can cause problems. However, the Lectrosonics WM transmitter and Venue receiver were more than capable of handling the situation, along with a M152 lavalier and a couple ALP620 antennas. Everyone was very happy with the results.”

When asked why CCTV and Budee chose Lectrosonics for the festival, Lu replied “We have always been confident in the brand and its ability to perform under a wide variety of challenging conditions to deliver great sound.”

About Lectrosonics

Well respected within the film, broadcast, and theatre technical communities since 1971, Lectrosonics wireless microphone systems and audio processing products are used daily in mission-critical applications by audio engineers familiar with the company's dedication to quality, customer service, and innovation. Lectrosonics is a US manufacturer based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Visit the company online at www.lectrosonics.com.

RASTATT, GERMANY—Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is making a move toward mobile IP-based audio for electronic field production and chose Lawo to help get it there. CCTV will rely on Lawo’s mc2 mixing console, as well as Ravenna real-time audio transport, for the setup.

CCTV’s setup consists of two 32-fader Lawo mc256 consoles, each of which provide 288 DSP channels and a routing capacity of 8192x8192 mono channels, and two 16-fader mc236 consoles with 192 internal DSP channels and 512x512 crosspoints. With SoundGrid integration, the system have MADI and Ravenna/AES67 compatible interfaces, with dual router cards.

The IP audio mobile system will operate together with another IP video mobile system designed for 4K broadcasting. This includes twp Lawo Dallis I/Os and three remote stageboxes configured with six A_mic8 plus one A_mic8 and three A_digital8 interfaces, as well as one A_madi4 at the local end.

CCTV installed the new system so that it would be ready for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, which are currently underway.