ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The old saw is that if you build a better mousetrap, buyers will beat a path to your door. The question of the day is whether IP infrastructure is a better mousetrap for video production when compared to a traditional SDI infrastructure.

The answer seems to be that IP is better for video infrastructure, with the catch being that not everything plays well together—yet. Although there is a SMPTE standard for the transport of IP video (ST 2110) and this is excellent for interoperability, there is a bit of a learning curve and an adjustment period to get all the gear humming the way it should.

That said, there are many benefits to going the IP route for your in-house infrastructure and distribution. A big advantage is flexibility—SDI is a point-to-point one-way system, and IP is bidirectional and can carry multiple uncompressed signals at the same time. A notable future advantage may be lower installation costs, but that’s not necessarily the case today.

“I would say that at current time, an IP-based system is more expensive than an SDI system,” said Svein Henning Skaga, project manager for TV 2 Norway, the country’s largest commercial broadcaster. “We need to do a lot of training since this is new technology, and we need a lot of services from our vendors. But in the long run, we expect it to have lower costs as changes and expansion are less complex.”

Skaga said that the production staff does not see much difference in how operations are conducted, as their systems are much the same as before.

However, for operations and support there is a big change, he said. “They now need to relate to computer network equipment and new [IP] technology.”

The TV2 Norway system relies significantly on Lawo production gear, and the bottom line for Skaga is how well the system runs.

“For a traditional broadcast guy like myself, I was concerned about the stability,” he said. “The IP system has been very stable, and we have full control over all our audio-and video streams.”

When building an IP-based system, Skaga recommends putting a lot of effort into designing the network infrastructure. Getting this right from the start will save you from a lot of trouble, he said, but don’t be surprised if you still have work to do.

“Physical installation was rather quick,” he said, “but configuration took a long time.”

NEW STUDIO USING IP

Celebro Media, a Washington-based studio facility that caters to international broadcasters, recently built a new studio facility using IP technology. At the heart of it is a NewTek production switcher connected throughout the facility using NewTek’s Network Device Interface technology, an IP-based solution that NewTek has shared with many other companies.

“We identified very early on that we needed to go down the IP route,” said Stephen Gaisford, director of US operations for Celebro Media. “We have a studio on the 10th floor and live positions overlooking the White House. Traditionally, broadcasters would be running SDI cables from source to destination all over the building, and we knew that wasn’t practical. We considered New-Tek’s NDI solution as a way to make every source a destination with its two-way connectivity. Everything connected in the in/out module in our rack room is a source that is available to us on our TriCaster switcher in the main studio control room.”

Gaisford pointed out that the NewTek production switcher has only four SDI inputs, and he has four studio cameras plus a host of other inputs—including international remote feeds.

“The flexibility that NDI gives us means that we can have a limitless amount of sources at our disposal,” he said. “We’re future-proofed by going down the Ethernet RJ45 route.”

Celebro’s system was not quite plug-and-play, and Gaisford echoed a thought that many television engineers share.

“Something that broadcasters have to bear in mind going forward is that your engineers are not just going to be television broadcast engineers—they need to have knowledge of computer networks,” he said. “The single biggest issue that we faced getting the bits of kit to talk to each other was making sure that firewalls weren’t stopping one item from talking to another. That’s something that we’ve only resolved quite recently.”

MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

The engineering staff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, recently installed an IP-based video system from Ross Video that is used on game day to source and distribute signals used for broadcasts and in-park video.

One of the decisions was what speed to make the IP network.

“With a 10GbE network, you can send more signals—up to three 3G signals down on path,” said Ben Dolinky, a video engineer for AMB Sports + Entertainment, which operates the video systems at the stadium. “We couldn’t do that with an uncompressed HD-SDI signal.”

Dolinky had one operational note regarding an IP video system, as compared to a traditional SDI-based system: “It goes without saying, but in an IP facility it is very important to keep your server room as clean and dust-free as possible,” he said. “With an IP facility, there is more fiber cleaning and maintenance compared to an SDI facility.”

DAILY BLAST LIVE

To promote the second season of its syndicated daytime programming, Daily Blast Live (DBL), broadcast station group TEGNA conducted a live, point-to-point “media tour” from its KUSA Denver studio to 32 stations across the country. For six straight hours on one day, Daily Blast Live sent 32 different live shots about every 10 minutes featuring DBL talent to TEGNA morning and noon shows.

The number of shots, the total length of time, and the varying time zones that had to be accommodated made purchasing satellite time too cost-prohibitive, so TEGNA turned to TVU Grid, an IP-based switching, routing and distribution system from TVU Networks, to receive DBL media tour audio and video.

Each local TEGNA station receiving DBL media tour audio and media routed the signals through their own control rooms to air. Sharon Levy, DBL technical operations manager, received programming from each station via TVU Grid, using it as a confidence monitor and a source to record all DBL live shots that day. DBL anchors used IFB audio through the TVU Grid to have conversations with each of the stations.

“Distributing our feeds with TVU Grid required no additional fees,” Levy said. “We had the TVU infrastructure in place already, and the technology is nearly as clean [as satellite] now. None of the stations had any issue finding us. All our stations received our output on TVU Grid. I recorded each shot live and archived them all. It went very smoothly.”

HD OR 4K?

Where does 4K fit into the IP video production picture? Gaisford said that all productions so far at Celebro’s Washington studios have been in HD, although the facility can handle 4K origination. It looks like the inherent flexibility of IP makes it a logical choice for systems that have varying needs up to and including 4K.

“One of the big advantages of IP is being able to maximize resources,” said Robert Erickson, advanced technology director for Grass Valley. “Software-defined applications running on IP infrastructures can be quickly spun up and taken down rapidly, allowing more efficient resource management. With IP, projects can be allocated resources as needed and re-allocated somewhere else during downtime. Additionally, IP is completely format-agnostic, enabling broadcasters to quickly respond to new business opportunities.”

A variety of companies now manufacture a wide range of SMPTE ST2110-standard products for IP video production. In addition to those already mentioned, Sony, JVC, Panasonic, EVS and Blackmagic Design all have an array of products that fit into IP production workflows. One example is the Sony XVS-9000 live production switcher, which can be used for 4K and HD productions, and features high dynamic range (HDR) capability.

It is possible today to shoot live broadcast-quality programming using IP-connected equipment. Costs are competitive today with providing similar function using SDI architecture, with the added benefit that IP systems are both bidirectional and more flexible than SDI cabling.

LONDON—Celebro was founded on the basis that we wanted to be a world-class provider of pioneering and cost-effective live broadcasting solutions. Since opening the doors of our global facilities in Central London, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, we’ve welcomed clients such as BBC World Service, MTV, Discovery Channel, Reuters and TRT World. The flexible 4K studio locations offer the ideal space for both live and prerecorded programmes: we also can deliver outside broadcasting capabilities for breaking news events.

In 2016, TRT World needed immediate support to help them continue reporting live during the 2016 Turkish coup attempt and the only way to do so was through a NewTek TriCaster Advanced Edition. The TriCaster allowed us to produce and stream live news reports from London-based journalists via Facebook Live within a very short span of time, and later to stream on YouTube and the TRT World website. As events progressed in Turkey, we were able to receive additional video reports and incorporate them into the live stream. This emergency transmission stream rolled for approximately 15 hours, until the channel was able to get back on air in Istanbul.

SOFTWARE-DRIVEN

After great success with the TriCaster Advanced Edition, we turned to NewTek and its IP Series to help us significantly increase studio scalability and accommodate our rapid global expansion plans. NewTek’s software-driven live production technology ushered a new model of production workflows. In fact, as part of our global operations, the IP Series’ modular approach has delivered virtually limitless access to video sources and video mixing possibilities.

The IP Series is a hybrid platform that is fully backwards-compatible with traditional SDI equipment. Video, audio, control signals, metadata and tally signals are all transported digitally using NewTek’s NDI technology that creates a fully customisable IP workflow solution with endless scalability. Furthermore, the IP Series’ modular approach to production systems delivers virtually limitless access to video sources and video mixing possibilities.

Offering more configurations and complete set of capabilities, we’ve found no other solution that would enable a complete unified production workflow to the scale and scope of the NewTek IP Series. Since embracing this software-based production solution, we can provide uncompromised 4K UHD services and handle the most demanding production needs. We can also offer global broadcasters the chance to link to other studios to create more diverse content and when using NDI’s inputs, outputs and media assets that are readily available and accessible by all users in any location on the network.

LINKING GLOBAL STUDIOS

To further enhance our offering, we invested in several NewTek TalkShow VS 4000 systems, which offer professional, multichannel video calling for both SDI and IP workflows. This means we can now conduct multiple live, production-ready Skype video calls simultaneously during a broadcast. We can cost-effectively offer our clients the opportunity for presenters to facilitate compelling conversations or in-depth discussions between multiple remote guests in real-time regardless of location. Celebro is currently using TalkShow to link up our global TV studios in different parts of the world to provide multiviews from one studio location to another.

At Celebro we believe that IP is changing the way journalists can get a story on air and NewTek’s NDI solutions are a huge part of this. For most broadcasters, using IP is much faster, easier and cheaper, but it also creates a more immersive and interactive viewer experience. With the IP and NewTek solutions that we have in place, our team can build a complete gallery in one day.

As Celebro Media continues to grow worldwide, so will our investment in NewTek NDI solutions.

Wesley Dodd has 25 years of industry experience as a director, output editor, presenter, and systems integrator. As CEO, he ensures technical, operational and professional excellence across Celebro and runs its global operations. He can be reached atwesley@celebromedia.co.uk.

For more information, visitwww.newtek.comor call 800-368-5441.

LONDON—The White House is ready for its close-up. The home of the president of the United States will serve as the backdrop for the new 4K/UHD broadcast studio from Celebro Media. Celebro says that the newly constructed studio is the first U.S. studio to be fully 4K/UHD functioning and features IP technology and multi-camera capabilities.

Celebro Media is making the studio space available for news broadcasters on an ad hoc basis during the run-up to the 2018 mid-term elections. It can also serve as a pop-up studio during breaking news stories.

The studio is fitted with NewTek’s IP Series, a software-driven, modular video production system with access to video sources and video mixing options. It is designed for the latest IP video-production techniques while also being backwards compatible. Rotolight’s Anova Pro 2 LED units will serve as the studio’s lighting and Riedel will supply all real-time signal distribution, communications and data transport solutions.