MILTON, Mass.—Milton Access TV (MATV) is the public-access TV station in Milton. We are a contractor for the municipality and have three cable stations in town. We livestream them on local cable as well as YouTube.

We televise live municipal meetings as well as town-focused live programming, covering events like ceremonies and school plays that are relevant to our community. Our biggest focus is on live high school sports, where we broadcast everything from baseball and football to lacrosse.

Live Shot From the Field
Because our live sports coverage is so popular, we’d been trying to get Ethernet at our sports fields for years. But to make that happen, it was going to cost $50,000 to dig up the parking lot and run cable—which was way more than we wanted to spend. We tried using cell networks, but coverage in our area is very spotty.

We were almost ready to give up until we spoke to Comrex. Following their suggestion, we began using Comrex LiveShot with unlicensed Wi-Fi repeater satellite dishes from MikroTik. While a Wi-Fi router sends a signal out in all directions, these dishes are very focused and can send a very strong signal directly between two points. Suddenly, we had a connection with close to 200 Mbps up and down and with LiveShot, we were able to broadcast HD over that connection.

We’re now using LiveShot in ways we didn’t think of before—we’re able to livestream sports events from the field in HD on YouTube and max out the quality available to us on our cable stations. People really love it, and because the system is so versatile we’re able to be more responsive to our community.

Easy HD Feeds
LiveShot is easy to use—just plug in cables, press the power button and check the signal. Customizing profiles to change bit rates is more difficult, but I was able to learn how to do that without too much trouble. We’ve been able to take the factory settings and bump them up to account for the much-higher bandwidth we have with our news setup.

Because our LiveShot kit is so mobile, we can also use it as a backup. Right before an important school committee meeting, our regular solution was acting up, and the situation was so dire that we thought we may need to announce that we wouldn’t have coverage that evening.

But a half-hour before we were to start, it occurred to me that we had the LiveShot Rack always on in our studio and the LiveShot Portable, which had always worked flawlessly. I plugged it into the Ethernet and connected our SDI feed, and about 30 seconds before the meeting was supposed to start we were online.

Anytime we need anything, Comrex has been great at helping us and going above and beyond. For example, we’ve had situations where we’ve had to get our signals patched through complicated city and school firewalls, and they’ve always been willing to get on the phone with us to work with IT. Comrex tech support does more than just help us figure out LiveShot; they help us figure out how to set the environment up for success.

Our LiveShot is really versatile, reliable and needs no maintenance. There aren’t many pieces of equipment like that, especially something as delicate and tweaky as an encoder, so LiveShot’s been a big part of our workflow. It’s been a great investment.

More information is available at www.comrex.com.

CHARLESTON, Ill.–For the last 15 years, I’ve worked as a broadcast engineer for WEIU Television and Radio, the PBS-affiliated broadcasting stations at Eastern Illinois University (EIU). This means I do everything from transmitter maintenance and desktop computer support, to streaming live events (like commencements), to supporting newsroom operations. Additionally, I provide engineering support for the sports television broadcasts produced by the EIU Athletic Department for ESPN+.

When ESPN began working with the athletic department, they wanted EIU to provide live coverage which included the university’s soccer, baseball, and softball teams. Most of these games take place on fields that are on the edge of the main campus, and campus Wi-Fi coverage in that area was spotty at best. 

Cheaper than Fiber 
We initially proposed to run fiber-optic cables across the campus to the playing fields, but after examining the cost of installing fiber, it was clear that this wasn’t within our budget. We then examined wireless IP, but this would require students to aim antennas and still require the addition of long cable runs at the receive site. Finally, we decided that the best option would be using cellular—half of the cell towers in our county are located on EIU’s campus, so we’ve got the benefit of a reliable data network. 

I looked into various wireless IP video platforms, and Comrex’s LiveShot was the clear choice for us. Because we’re eligible for a reduced-cost data package through the state of Illinois, it’s a massive plus to not have to subscribe through an equipment manufacturer. The complete LiveShot system was 20% of the cost of running fiber to the playing fields, and it was a plus that we would own the equipment outright. Additionally, because we have a Comrex ACCESS NX audio codec for our radio station, I knew that Comrex equipment and customer support were reliable.

We use a remote truck for our broadcasts, so I built up a mount for our LiveShot portable unit in our equipment racks, where it’s easy for students to access. Since all of ESPN+ sports programming is student-run, everything we use needs to be intuitive, so that our students can learn the ropes.  

It’s been very easy to teach them how to use it. I pre-configure the equipment so that once the students are in the field, they can just push a button to get connected. I’m able to show them the interface, and they generally don’t struggle to understand it. Plus, LiveShot comes with the “LiveShot Control” smartphone app which allows me to check on the unit configuration from my phone and make adjustments as needed without needing to be in the field with them. If a student calls me in a panic, I’m able to identify the problem and walk them through it immediately. 

Rock Solid
With LiveShot, we’ve also benefited from the reliable quality it provides. We use CrossLock, the network management tool that’s included with LiveShot. We use just two modems, and once they’re connected, it’s rock solid. Per ESPN+ standards, we broadcast in 720p, and we’ve never had an issue with the connection breaking up. Plus, the video quality is excellent.

I’ve used Comrex equipment in one form or another since 1980. Without a doubt, Comrex has met our needs on every occasion, both in radio and in television. LiveShot is an incredibly well thought-out device that comes with a great price, solid reliability, and excellent support. There’s a lot of competition out there, but I’m always eager to choose Comrex when the need arises.

More information is available at www.comrex.com.

DEVENS, Mass.—Comrex has introduced new updates for Comrex IP audio and video codecs.

ACCESS and BRIC-Link IP audio codec customers can update to firmware version 4.6 to get the latest HTML5 compatibility updates and some new features like GUI-based firmware updates and the ability to resolve URL addresses. 

BRIC-Link III customers have version 5.0-p2 available. 

Comrex video IP codec customers (i.e. LiveShot Portable and LiveShot Rackmount) get a new HTML5-based interface for complete monitoring and control from HTML5-capable browsers. 

To find out more about these new updates visit Comrex at Booth C2216 in Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2023 NAB Show. 

To update a Comrex product to the most recent version of firmware, please visit the Comrex website at www.comrex.com or contact Comrex at +1-978-784-1776 or techies@comrex.com. 

DEVENS, Mass.—Comrex has announced BRIC-Link III, the latest addition to is BRIC-Link family of codecs first debuted at the 2022 NAB Show in April.

BRIC-Link III is an updated version of the codec that takes advantage of the latest improvements in IP audio transmission technology, the company said.

A true codec, BRIC-Link III offers a full-duplex stereo encoder and decoder in each box. A jitter buffer manager is incorporated that automatically balances delay and stability, dynamically increasing and decreasing delay based on network performance. BRIC-Link III offers a wide range of encoding algorithms, including stereo and mono linear mode, FLAC modes,

AAC/HE-AAC modes, Opus, G.722 and G.711, the company said.

Compatible with all Comrex IP audio codecs, BRIC-Link III also works with Gagl, a new audio contribution service available for purchase. Gagl turns any Comrex IP audio codec into a hub for up to five remote participants, it said.

BRIC-Link III includes CrossLock VPN technology, Comrex’s proprietary suite of reliability tools. In addition to bonding technology, CrossLock also includes a Redundancy Mode for mission-critical applications. BRIC-Link III can take advantage of HotSwap, meaning users can set a 4G/5G modem as a backup connection to only be engaged when the primary internet fails, it said.

An optional license to use the Comrex SwitchBoard private server that enables easy connections between IP codecs is available as a one-time purchase per codec, it said.

With a user-friendly HTML 5-based interface, BRIC-Link III has a compact chassis and can easily fit into a studio setup. A dual rack kit accessory for housing two BRIC-Link III codecs on a rack shelf side-by-side will be available for purchase, the company said.

Multiple operating modes, including normal (UDP), HTTP (Streaming Server, Icecast/Shoutcast, Multistreaming), RTP, TCP, IP Multicast and EBU 3326/SIP are available, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass.—North TV is a community media station serving North Attleboro,Mass. With three channels dedicated to community, government and education-related programming respectively, we provide a wide range of PEG content for our audience. We do everything from high school sports to news to school events and government meetings—altogether, about 600 hours of programming annually.

In the past, we performed most of our remote broadcasts from cable drops located in various parts of North Attleboro. We have five live drop areas from which we can do programming, but we’ll never be able to add to that. If we wanted to cover a school graduation, we could only do it if it was indoors—anything away from those drops was not possible.

We knew we needed a new solution that would let us broadcast from anywhere. I learned about the Comrex LiveShot online by searching for similar equipment, and it seemed like a solution that would work for us.

A QUICK STUDY

When we were ready to purchase, my staff and I saw LiveShot in person at an ACM conference in Minneapolis, and scheduled a demo shortly after. (The Comrex demo program allows anyone to try any piece of equipment free for two weeks.) Once it was installed, it was so simple to use that we purchased our own shortly after.

LiveShot is surprisingly easy to use. It’s simple enough that I can give a person here who’s never seen or operated LiveShot a 10-minute explanation of how it works and they’ll be able to operate it without a problem—that’s critical with the volunteers we have (our part-timers can operate LiveShot as well).

There’s always a learning curve at first, but once I learned the terminology, how to run tests and how connections work, it was easy.

Since beginning to use LiveShot, we’ve covered a range of live events in locations that weren’t accessible before. We’ve done Thanksgiving football live, outdoor graduations, high school Super Bowls from Gillette Stadium—this was never possible in the past. We’ve covered political forums where candidates speak outside live, meetings, anything you can think of. The results have been great.

LiveShot is the right system for us and has worked out wonderfully. We’ve used it in high pressure situations, events that we advertised heavily and if it didn’t work, we would have looked really bad. But I have enough confidence to let the community know about it, and it’s always worked. I highly recommend it.

Chris Miller is the director of operations for North TV. He can be reached at cmiller@northtv.net.

For more information, visit www.comrex.com.

IRVING, TEXAS—As senior vice president of studio operations for TheBlaze—a media network founded by Glenn Beck—for the past several years, I’ve been responsible for managing the backend for all programming at TheBlaze television, as well as the production side for TheBlaze radio network.

Throughout my 30-plus years in broadcasting, Comrex has been with me for the entire journey—from single line frequency extenders on POTS lines to IP codecs. Radio made up the majority of my career, but in the last several years I’ve begun handling television as well.

We use Comrex’s LiveShot to provide bidirectional video transmission over the public internet, employing multiple LiveShot units in our Blaze Media offices. LiveShot makes it possible to link studios and connect with interview guests in New York or D.C., without using services that require a monthly subscription.

We also use LiveShot for remote broadcasting, enabling us to bring Beck’s show to his viewers when he is on the road.

A SECRET WEAPON

The secret behind the Comrex family of IP codecs is CrossLock, a network management tool that can connect with multiple networks at once, intelligently monitoring network strength and dynamically adjusting how much data is being placed on each network. It means our connections are more reliable, and we don’t have to worry as much about using public internet or 4G services. Being able to just plug into the public internet without needing to get a pri vate IP address is crucial to success.

I first used CrossLock with Comrex’s IP audio codecs, and was intrigued when I learned that it’s a core feature of their IP video codec as well. It makes network management in the field much easier, which is especially crucial because we do bidirectional video and audio. I’ve found that LiveShot provides low-latency video and high-quality audio, even when we’re sending a lot of data.

EASE OF USE

One of my favorite features of Live-Shot is the ability to monitor connections remotely. We rarely send the unit out with nontechnical users, but if there’s a problem, it’s easy to log into the user interface, see the connection and modify as needed. One time, when using Live-Shot with Beck, we discovered that the 100 MB internet path we were provided was not configured as we needed and was barely delivering 5-10 MB. Our IT professional, who was in another city, was able to monitor and modify the connection as we were doing the show so that we had no drops until the line was reconfigured correctly.

As someone who is familiar with Comrex audio products, I was excited to see that LiveShot operates in the same way. The interfaces are similar, and the concept of bonded IP networks is the same across products—it’s only different because it’s video. These similarities gave me a level of confidence because Comrex audio products are so solid. The error correction, robustness, and packaging are what I’ve come to expect from Comrex products.

Furthermore, tech support has always been great—I’ve never had to sit on the phone for an hour, and I’ve never gotten a half-hearted answer to a technical question. The tech support team is well informed and often knows how to solve a problem immediately. In the late ‘80s, I even was walked through a problem over the phone late one night by then president John Cheney.

Since the days of John Cheney, Comrex has been putting out solid products. That continues today and through that I feel like they have earned the trust of people like me.

Rob Chickering is senior vice president of studio operations for Blaze Media. He can be contacted through theblaze.com/contact.

For more information, visit www.comrex.com or call 800-237-1776.

NEW YORK—Comrex is now shipping the newest addition to their ACCESS IP audio codec line, ACCESS NX, and will feature it at NAB Show New York, Oct. 16–17. ACCESS NX is an IP audio codec that the company says is made to go anywhere. Designed as a platform for CrossLock, a custom reliability layer, ACCESS NX can send and receive high-quality audio over even the most marginal networks.

Features include AAC family and Opus encoders; use of Switchboard TS server; CrossLock Technology; two mic-line inputs; optional four-channel mixer; two USB ports; 5-inch capacitive touchscreen; built-in Ethernet port; and built-in battery with up to 6.5 hours of talk time (five hours with mixer).

ACCESS NX comes with a Wi-Fi modem, along with an integrated Ethernet port for connecting to wired DSL or broadband cable, and users can connect to 3G/4G networks using USB cellular or Comrex Connect modems. ACCESS NX also features an integrated web browser, to make it easy to log into public IP Wi-Fi. ACCESS NX can support simultaneous connections to Wi-Fi, wired internet or cellular modems. ACCESS NX is compatible with a USB POTS/PSTN modem for use on legacy analog phone lines.

Visitors to the company’s booth N269 can see ACCESS NX on display.

LAS VEGAS—One of the new product highlights that will be part of the Comrex booth at this year’s NAB Show is the ACCESS MultiRack, a rackmount IP audio multi-codec that is expected to be released in the coming months.

ACCESS MultiRack occupies 1RU and can handle up to five full-duplex IP audio connections simultaneously. The connections can be made to ACCESS Portables (Classic, 2USB and NX), ACCESS Racks (Classic and NX) and BRIC-Link (Classic and II) codecs, as well as the FieldTap app. The first codec features AES67 in addition to AES3 and standard analog I/O, while the remaining four codecs utilize AES67 I/O. MultiRack also supports a wide array of connection protocols and audio encoders, and is driven by an HTML5-based web user interface.

The system includes Comrex CrossLock technology for solidifying connections over IP networks. By sending two identical streams through two separate networks, CrossLock provides a fail-safe in the event of the primary network faltering.

There is also the HotSwap function as part of the ACCESS firmware. This feature allows users to designate one network as a backup that will only engage when the primary network has failed, with the transition occurring in seconds, reportedly.

Comrex will display the ACCESS MultiRack at its booth, C2330.

To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

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?

DEVENS, MA--Comrex has begun shipping its new EarShot IFB, a new VoIP-based auto coupler for IFB and listen lines. 

Introduced at NAB 2018, EarShot IFB provides telephone-based live studio program and IFB audio to field-based remote broadcasts. Up to 30 users can listen to program or IFB feeds by calling into EarShot IFB with a standard telephone. EarShot IFB has four audio inputs (or feeds). Two of the feeds can be alternately configured as IFB inputs. Callers can switch between the feeds using DTMF (Touch Tone) selection.

For higher fidelity, the Comrex FieldTap smartphone app can be used to pull audio in studio quality. FieldTap uses the Opus audio decoder to deliver studio quality audio, and is available to download for free on iOS and Android. 

For more information, visit the company's website. 

WASHINGTON—The Government Video Expo, held Nov. 27-29, has an image of the U.S. Capitol building in its logo, but the reality on the floor is bigger than one building or just the federal government market alone. Indeed, a glance at attendee show badges on the exhibition floor or at the conference shows an eclectic mix of media professionals from many arenas.

While attendees included personnel from local, state and federal governments and all the agencies and contractors within that leviathan, this base was joined by representatives from state and local emergency personnel, defense-related contractors, educational institutions, houses of worship, and plenty of regional production types and broadcasters.

The conference schedule also reflected this. While many presentations and speakers were quite government-specific, broader topics such as live streaming, LED lighting advancements, SMPTE 2110, and high dynamic range video appealed to many modern media professionals.

TOPICS AND TRENDS

The SMPTE ST 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks suite of standards has been the hot topic at trade shows of late, and it was on the minds of many at GV Expo. The importance of the new standard was reflected in the addition of the day-long SMPTE in DC: Essential Technology Advances for Media Pros Conference, which attracted a number of local broadcast and media professionals eager to dig deep into the implications of IP on their media operations.

On the exhibit floor, the big buzz words were 4K, UHD and IPTV, according to Tommy Goodson, president of AudioVideo BrandBuilder (AVBB) Corp. “What we’re hearing at this show in particular is a lot about IPTV, with 2110 on the agenda … everybody who has come by is preparing for 2110.”

AVBB—a master distributor and manufacturer rep primarily for test and measurement specialist Phabrix and streaming company Teracue—said it was seeing great interest in the 2110-friendly Phabrix line, including the Sx-TAG model and the Qx IP, a fully flexible 2110 rasterizer.

Also popular was Teracue’s iCUE Grid Video Wall, is an IP Video Wall Presenter for multiple content sources within the video wall. It allows complete on-the-fly control over visualized live and/or on-demand content in any resolution.

AR/VR was present on the exhibition floor within products and at the conference, but the technology is a bit less in-your-face at trade shows now. The same can be said for artificial intelligence, which also had a decent presence on the conference schedule, but was not plastered on every booth on the exhibition floor as has been seen at events over the last few years. This may reflect the technology maturation, as AI or AR/VR are now established products or part of established products.

An example is Quantum’s StorNext media workflow file system. More than a year ago the company had announced it would offer Veritone Inc.'s multi-engine AI platform in a StorNext-managed environment. At GV Expo, the incorporation was a reality and AI is now just part of an overall system. There were no flashy robots on display representing the brave new world of AI, but representatives from Veritone did attend Day One of the show.

StorNext has applications across broadcast, security, defense and other environments that generate lots of data that needs to be evaluated and used. NewTek’s Tricaster multicamera production system also has a broad range of applications. It was on show at the booth of Washington Professional Systems, a dealer/integrator from nearby Wheaton, Md., that is also a NewTek Elite Dealer selling the systems across several market areas.

“The Tricaster product line is versatile enough that it is not just a broadcast switcher, there is so much more under the hood that allows it to be used in many AV environments,” said Jeremy Morris, Sr. Engineer & Certified Tricaster Operator with WPS. WPS’s booth also demonstrated products from Crestron, Christie and others.

WPS also had Sony broadcast and robotic cameras on hand, but the media world has seen a merging of the consumer and professional areas over the last several decades, so it makes sense that Sony had its own consumer electronics presence at the show as well. Highlights at this stand included still cameras capable of shooting some impressive video, and high end consumer camcorders such as the FS5 Mk II and the FS7 Mk II, both of which can shoot in 4K.

Sony professional cameras, along with units from Hitachi and JVC, were also present at the large, central booth of Digital Video Group (DVG), a supplier and system integrator of broadcast and production systems.

Alex Martin, DVG CEO, said the company was looking to expand its government business with its offerings, which also included asset management and shared storage from Avid, bonded cellular transmission units from LiveU, and more. Martin said show trends that cut across customers included the real need for 4K and preparing for SMPTE 2110.

PRODUCTION AS BREAD AND BUTTER

Whatever the resolution of the video is, and whether it is sent around a facility as an SDI stream or as an IP packet, production needs will always include camera support and lighting. These needs were front-and-center at Vitec.

On display was the Vinten flowtech 75 set of two-stage carbon fiber tripod legs with a removable mid-level spreader, rubber feet, and a 44-pound payload. This established unit was joined by the flowtech 100, which was only launched a few months ago. Compatible with all major 100 mm fluid heads, flowtech100 supports a payload of up to 66 pounds, making it ideal for heavy-duty ENG/EFP and a wide range of wildlife, commercial, and documentary productions.

Joseph Teodosio, Training & Product Specialist for Vitec, said the first day of the show drew a nice mix of local TV stations, government and military and house of worship (HOW) customers: “The LitePanels Gemini has been a real draw with its very high quality light, and the new flowtech 100 is also attracting people.”

Greg Smalfelt, senior cable television engineer, Communications Production Division, and Josh Bass, cable TV engineer, both with Fairfax County, Va.’s Channel 16, came to see the 100. “We’re an existing customer but we wanted to see the 100 for our bigger cameras, and get some questions answered,” said Smalfelt.

Panasonic was also out in force with a range of production kit for needs ranging from broadcast to HOW to government video entities. The AU-EVA1 compact cinema camera and a new class of PTZ remote cameras and controllers capable of operating in 4K 60 and 50p were joined by the AV-HLC100 small switcher, which is capable of direct streaming to YouTube or Facebook Live.

Smaller scale routing and switching needs were also key at AJA, where the company’s affordable Kumo routers and KiPro Ultra+ recorders were on display. Eastern region territory manager for AJA Dan Wingard said the duo were perfect for many of the potential customers walking the aisles. “We see everything from Federal, state and local government people through to community colleges, really a little bit of everything,” said Wingard.

Barbizon, a distributor of lighting, rigging, projection kit and more, said there was a lot going on in the world of LEDs in 2018. One of the big things this year is that a lot of the LEDs are now IP-rated, which has nothing to do with packets of data but is a measure of the protection an item will have against solid objects (dust, sand, dirt, etc.) and liquids, according to Kearston Dillard-Scott, Outside Sales representative for Barbizon. “Variety is also a trend,” said Dillard-Scott. “Many of the fixtures that were bi-color just from warm to cool can now do full RGB.”

Project Manager for Barbizon Sam Herbig added that the quality of an LED fixture’s light was increasing, and consistency within a product line has greatly improved from a few years ago: “It’s boring, but for anyone lighting to a level it is important,” said Herbig.

IP packets play a large role in an interesting product from Comrex that was on display, and due for shipping before year-end after being launched at the 2018 NAB Show: The VoIP-based Earshot IFB. The hardware-based system delivers live audio feeds to callers and is designed to provide telephone-based live studio program and IFB audio to field-based remote broadcasts, like TV ENG reports or in other applications.

Comrex also had an app called “FieldTap,” which allows a user to connect to Comrex codecs in studio from a cellphone with high-quality wideband audio.

According to Chris Crump, senior director of sales and marketing for the Devens, Mass.-based company, the Comrex LiveShot Portable IP video codec for live wireless newsgathering are in use across government sectors, particularly emergency management and security entities, along with community broadcasters. LiveShot delivers live, two-way, HD video and audio over a range of IP and cellular networks at latencies as low as less than 200mS, he said.

MISSION CRITICAL

Many government and defense video applications are defined as “mission critical,” a niche Oregon-based Planar covers with its narrow pixel pitch direct view LED and LCD panels. “These are purpose-built for mission-critical and mission-command applications, with higher image quality for indoor applications," said Alberto Reyes, director of federal business development for Planar. “We’re now finding other applications as well, any discerning 24/7/365 application in a signage environment really.”

Advances in projection display were evident at the booth of Christie Digital Systems.

“We’re trying to take a leadership position on RGB laser phosphor technology, said Jon Litt, senior manager, Business Development, Government, for Christie. “We’re also trying to bring it to a price point where it would work for more applications.”

Litt said the technology offered tremendous image fidelity, quiet operation, and the ability to run for years with little or no maintenance. Longevity is also a key selling point for the company’s DirectView LED screens, which Litt said had an expected lifespan of 100,000 hours or more while offering exceptional contrast.

HIGH SECURITY CAPTIONING

Captioning is often a government requirement and EEG has been offering encoders that connect broadcasters to iCap, the largest closed captioning and subtitle delivery network in the world, according to the company. While iCap provides 24/7/365 connectivity to thousands of certified caption partners around the globe, new at GV Expo was an option that allows customers to connect to an iCap network via a private VPN, with no public internet connection as part of the process.

“Some customers don’t want any public internet as part of the network, and now that is an option with iCap On-Prem,” said Dave Watts, marketing manager for EEG. iCap On-Prem is a companion product to EEG’s cloud-based delivery network, and it enables the deployment of iCap to private on-premises clouds for customers who require this configuration to accommodate extremely stringent internal security policies. Also on display was an automatic captioning product that relies on Ai and context recognition, and a SMPTE 2110 product.

Security was also key for IBM Watson Media, the end-to-end streaming platform formerly known as UStream: The tagline on the product’s data sheet is “Engage your employees with security-rich video.”

S. Scott Grizzle, WW Cloud Video Solutions Engineer with Watson, said the use cases between a broadcast customer and an enterprise or government customer were different, but there was a lot of crossover. He added that many customers across product sectors were become increasingly interested in video enrichment, where software can identify elements such as scenes, people, animals, etc. and place this information in to metadata.

Equipment aimed at consumers can do a lot of what many media pros need done in 2018. It is perhaps with this in mind that show organizer Future US just announced the launch of The Video Show, a new dual-event venture for December, 2019. The Video Show will pair The Photography Show, now an established U.K.-based event, with the iconic Government Video Expo, which celebrated its 23rd edition this year. 

The event takes place Dec. 3-5, 2019 at the Washington Convention Center. 

DEVENS, MASS.—Comrex will showcase ACCESS NX, the company’s latest addition to the ACCESS codec line at the upcoming NAB Show New York. ACCESS NX has been designed from the ground up to accommodate the technological advances in IP audio transmission. ACCESS NX features an all-new hardware platform that is optimized for running CrossLock.

The company will also feature the Opal IP audio gateway, which provides near-studio quality audio with consumer grade equipment. It is suitable for coordinating call-ins with guests who have no technical experience. Guests can connect by clicking a link. Opal makes it possible to do long interview segments in HD voice quality, without requiring guests to install apps or fiddle with settings.

Comrex will also demo the LiveShot codec, which delivers low-latency video and audio over a range of IP networks, and is capable of providing two-way media simultaneously. At only 3 pounds, LiveShot is versatile for a range of applications, even over challenging connections.

Comrex will be on the show floor in booth N820. Visit the NAB Show New York website for more information.

ST. PAUL, MINN.—KSTP-TV is an ABC-affiliate serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro with our news program, “5 Eyewitness News,” covering local events and breaking news. Like most local news stations, we do a lot of live shots, and we’re regularly sending our news crew into the field to cover news as it happens.

We’ve been using a traditional IFB system, in which our truck calls into an IFB number and transmits the feed to our IFB receivers. But recently, we’ve run into problems while doing larger remotes, where we’ve had more people in the field than we have receivers. We’ve had no way for everyone on the team to monitor IFB, meaning that sometimes, people are left out of the loop (as it were).

We wanted a way to allow multiple people to dial into the same IFB source from their smartphone, so that all the members of our team can share a common IFB. EarShot IFB appealed to us because it can handle up to 30 standard telephone calls, (or 10 wideband calls), meaning that up to 30 users could call in and listen to a single IFB feed. It has the ability to eliminate the need for IFB receivers and truck-generated IFB. EarShot IFB can let us access the IFB from our phones, which streamlines our process in the field.

We’ve been using EarShot IFB for the last several months. We’ve had it set up in a more traditional way, with IFB receivers and a truck-generated feed. But I’ve been using FieldTap with it, a free Comrex app that lets me call in to EarShot IFB from my smartphone, and it has been very simple to use. I choose the IFB channel, press a button, and that’s all it takes. The audio quality has been great, and I’m planning to eventually get my whole news team set up with it.

When we first installed EarShot IFB, we encountered some difficulty with the box not recognizing DTMF codes. I spoke to a Comrex rep at NAB, and he walked us through updating the software, which fixed the problem. Since then, we haven’t encountered any difficulties.

One great thing about Comrex is how responsive the company is. When we’ve had a problem, it’s been easy to get ahold of someone knowledgeable to help us find a solution. The audio quality is really good, and FieldTap is very clear and easy to use. I’m looking forward to playing with EarShot IFB even more, and getting FieldTap into the hands of more people out in the field. I think they’ll love it.

Chris Medtvedt is News Operations Manager for 5 Eyewitness News on KSTPTV. He can be reached atcmedtvedt@kstp.com.

For more information, please visitwww.comrex.comor call 800-237-1776.

Comrex debuted EarShot IFB at the NAB Show 2018.

Our camera crew caught up with Senior Sales Director Chris Crump for a walk-through of the product and its new, free Field Tap app.

He said EarShot IFB provides telephone-based live studio program and IFB audio to field-based remote broadcasts. Up to 30 users can listen to program or IFB feeds by calling into EarShot IFB with a mobile phone. EarShot IFB can handle up to four program feeds, or two IFB feeds.

For higher fidelity, smartphone apps can be used to pull the audio in studio quality.

Comrex says EarShot IFB can be connected to low-cost cloud-based VoIP service, or tied to a station's VoIP PBX.

It will be available for purchase by mid-2018.

LAS VEGAS—At the 2018 NAB Show, Comrex will unveil EarShot, which delivers telephone-based IFB and live studio program audio to field-based remote broadcasts. As a simple hardware solution, EarShot helps TV stations reduce remote IFB costs, while providing greater flexibility.

While most other phone technology has moved to voice-over-IP (VoIP), remote IFB has largely relied on a legacy approach involving banks of telephone auto-couplers connected to expensive analog phone lines. This has left broadcasters paying for a dozen or more POTS lines to provide remote IFB functionality. EarShot pays for itself by eliminating the need for these phone services.

Up to 30 users can listen to program or IFB feeds by calling into EarShot with a mobile phone. It can handle up to four program feeds or two IFB feeds, but for higher fidelity, smartphone apps can be used to pull the audio in studio quality. EarShot, which will be available in mid-2018, can be connected to a low-cost cloud-based VoIP service, or tied to a station's VoIP PBX.

The 2018 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 9-12. Comrex will be in booth C2330. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com. 

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

SOUTH HADLEY, MASS.—South Hadley Community Television provides the town’s PEG content on local Comcast cable channels. The studio facilitates the production and broadcasting of programming for local residents, focusing primarily on the coverage of municipal meetings. Because we have an older infrastructure, we have no direct control over the switching of our signal when we go to live locations. The switching occurs at Comcast’s headend a couple towns over. This has really limited us.

Dan Pease, Studio Associate, adjusts settings on his LiveShot Portable.

We wanted to start streaming, but because the live stream never passes through my headend—which houses our Tightrope playback system—we couldn’t do so. I wanted a solution that would let us do away with a modulator, put the live signal back in our hands and produce live programming on our own.

That was when I came across Comrex. I was attracted to the company’s history—Comrex hasn’t been in video very long, but has been building equipment for radio since 1965.

I was impressed by how easy it was to get a demo unit. I was able to test LiveShot for two weeks through Comrex’s loaner program. I had the chance to use it for a town meeting during the trial and found that it was very easy to set up. Comrex support was very solid and helped me solve the problem.

Right now, we primarily use LiveShot to originate programming from our town hall. The only available connection is public Wi-Fi—everyone in the meeting is usually using it—and we’re often cramped for bandwidth. But even when you have 120 people using cellphones, LiveShot is able to push out decent video.

Being in western Massachusetts, our cell signals are erratic and spotty. LiveShot’s ability to handle cellular networks was another factor that appealed to us. I consulted with Comrex to determine how we can negotiate coverage and data plans with providers, so when we begin broadcasting over data networks more regularly, I feel confident that we’ll be supported.

LiveShot has opened our channel up to 24/7 streaming. Our signal now goes through our own system; I have control over it. I can switch out to it when I want to and can feed it into my streamer. Now, I can truly go live with anything. 

Even though our users don’t have an engineering background, it’s still easy to understand how LiveShot works. It’s empowering to think, “Hey, this is a solution that bigger stations use, but it’s still accessible to people on a local level.”

Bob Smith can be contacted at rsmith@southhadleyma.gov.

For more information, please visit www.comrex.com or call 978-784-1776.

WICHITA, KAN.—As Wichita State University’s full-service video production team, WSU-TV covers events for campus organizations, doing everything from script planning to post-production.

WSU-TV used Comrex’s BRIC-Link to control audio in the pressbox at Wilkins Stadium.

Recently, WSU Athletics transitioned from the Missouri Valley Conference to the American Athletic Conference. But in our final season with the Missouri Conference, the ICAA was mandated to also broadcast Shocker Softball home games; so WSU-TV was tapped to produce all of the coverage and send live feeds to ESPN 3 for broadcast using an existing control room instead of our own.

COVERING THE FIELD
For our video solution, we used four pairs of Comrex LiveShots to deliver audio and video from four cameras to the Media Resources Center, where I did camera control before sending the signals via fiber to the Koch Arena control room. The project was a success and though it involved almost a mile of fiber, it was within budget and made everyone happy, so we stuck with it over the course of the year.

Our IFB solution was much simpler, however, because we used BRIC-Link. We had a pair of BRIC-Link II IP audio codecs—one was set up in the press box at Wilkins Stadium and the other was at the Koch Arena control room. One channel was used as a send-and-receive for the director IFB, so the director could talk into the talent’s ear while they were on the air and it wouldn’t go out over the broadcast. During breaks, all we had to do was press a button (cough/mute) and the talent could talk back to the director in real time from the press box. Comrex tech support helped us set it up to use a codec that kept delay to about 60 milliseconds—practically real time.

We used the other BRIC-Link channel as a secondary program feed from the stadium to the control room, just in case we lost camera one, which was hooked up to Comrex LiveShot, which transmitted our primary audio feed in addition to third base live video feed. That happened once—it was a windy day and our rain cover hit the DIN connector and knocked it out of the port, which caused us to lose power on the LiveShot. It was immediately noticed and since we had the secondary audio feed coming from the BRIC-Link, all we had to do was unmute it on the Koch Arena audio mixer. As a result we weren’t down for more than a couple seconds.

EASY SET-UP
Getting our BRIC-Links ready for broadcast was easy. All we had to do every day was plug in our patch cord and boot up the BRIC-Links. We had them set to auto-connect, so as soon as they were turned on, they connected—it was very simple.

The BRIC-Links were reliable and efficient. I’ve used them before in radio as STLs and for remote broadcasts, and it was exciting to see them work as an IFB as well. If an application like this arises in the future, we’ll definitely use these again.

Jeffrey Franck is an audio visual engineer for Wichita State University TV. He can be contacted atjeffrey.franck@wichita.edu.

For more information, please visitwww.comrex.comor call 978-784-1776.

DEVENS, MASS.—Comrex will set up shop on the show floor of the IBC 2017 show with a number of products that focus on IP transmission technology for audio and video. Among the products Comrex will feature is the Access NX audio IP codec, Opal IP audio gateway and LiveShot VoIP and bonded cellular system.

Access NX

Access NX is the latest in the Acess IP codec line. The codec is designed for a wide range of use, including ENG, sports announcing, talk show hosting, community outreach and more. It runs on CrossLock, Comrex’s custom reliability layer that enables error correction and network bonding.

The Opal platform provides near-studio quality audio and can be used to coordinate call-ins with guests who have no technical experience. User can connect to the studio by clicking a link.

LiveShot is designed to deliver high-quality, low-latency video and audio over a range of IP networks and is capable of providing two-way media simultaneously.

Comrex is also expected to showcase its Access 2USB and Rack, BRIC-Link II, VH2 and STAC VIP products.

IBC 2017 takes place from Sept. 15-19 in Amsterdam. Comrex will be located at booth 8.E75.

LAS VEGAS—The 2017 NAB Show will be the unveiling of Comrex’s Opal, a new IP audio gateway that allows remote call-in guests to deliver studio-quality sound without the need for special equipment on their end. They simply click a link to connect with Opal, which then uses the Opus encoder for excellent fidelity and low delay.

Comrex will also show ACCESS NX, the latest audio IP codec in its ACCESS line. The ACCESS NX hardware platform is optimized for running CrossLock, which enables powerful error correction and network bonding. It also intelligently monitors and dynamically adjusts network connections in real-time.

ACCESS and BRIC-Link II versatile, reliable IP audio codecs will also be on display. Comrex will also demo the VH2 two-line hybrid that provides superb audio over VoIP phone lines, and STAC VIP, a VoIP call management system for larger-scale talk shows with between six and 12 callers. And, LiveShot live ENG technology, which delivers real-time, high-quality two-way video and audio over IP networks, will also be displayed.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. Comrex will be in booth C1633. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

TV TECHNOLOGY: What will be your most important product news?

CRUMP: Comrex is introducing two new products at the show this year. ACCESS NX is a major upgrade to our flagship audio contribution IP codec ACCESS 2USB. ACCESS NX features a more powerful processor, larger touchscreen and several improvements ACCESS users will appreciate. We will also introduce Opal, an audio contribution product designed to allow remote guests to sound like they are in the studio without requiring complicated setup and using devices, such as computers or smartphones, that support Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

CRUMP: ACCESS NX is highly anticipated by tens of thousands of customers that have relied on the ACCESS platform for the past 10+ years and we’re very excited to bring this to market. But Opal really shines because it takes advantage of technology that is built into web browsers. We’ve made it truly broadcast-reliable with our nearly six decades of experience moving broadcast media over challenging data networks. Our engineering team has taken a complicated, open source technology and distilled it down to an incredibly simple user interface that will really enhance broadcast program audio in a way that is not currently being done.

TVT: What is it about the NAB Show that brings you back every year?

CRUMP: It’s kind of like the geese migrating North in the spring. Beyond that, NAB is a chance to connect with our customers and potential customers from all over the world. It provides us with an invaluable opportunity to discuss existing and future products with them and get their direct feedback. So, ultimately, it’s our customers that keep us coming back.

LAS VEGAS—At the 2017 NAB Show, Comrex Corporation will demonstrate Opal, a new IP audio gateway. Short for Opus Portal, Opal creates a studio internet audio portal. Once installed, Opal provides a web page that allows users to click a button and broadcast from their computer or Android device in high fidelity, as well as receive a high quality audio return.

With Opal, users can deliver studio quality sound without the need for any special equipment on their end. To coordinate call-ins with non-technical remote guests, users simply click a link and Opal establishes the link using its encoder for excellent fidelity and low delay.

Opal can support two connections at once, and provides two independent professional audio I/O ports to the studio. Opal occupies one-half rack unit, and two can fit side-by-side in a 19-inch rack shelf. Currently, connections to Opal can only be made from Chrome, Firefox and other WebRTC-type browsers.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. Comrex Corporationwill be in boothC1633. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

BURNSVILLE, MINN.—Burnsville Community Television (BCTV), a division of the city’s Communications Department, provides local public, education and government programming to those who call Burnsville home.

BCTV provides a variety of programming on its local cable access channels and live webstream that ranges from traditional public access content created by the community to local content from our studio in Burnsville High School—shot as single camera on-location coverage and via our mobile television truck. High school sports, concerts, parades and other community events produced from the truck make up a majority of our programs.

BCTV primarily uses the LiveShot to deliver switched program feed from its television truck to its head end in City Hall.

WORKING FROM ANYWHERE
In 2014, BCTV sought a solution to cablecast our programming live to our channels and webstream from any location. After several trials with other equipment, we came to the conclusion that Comrex’s Live-Shot offered the functionality we needed at a price that worked within our budget. We were particularly impressed that the Live- Shot allowed us to choose which modems we wanted to purchase directly from the mobile carriers. Being a government entity, we have a great deal on wireless data with Verizon and AT&T, and we wanted to take advantage of those government contracts.

The LiveShot is used most often from our mobile production truck. Although it’s designed to be convenient for reporters/photographers on single camera shoots—connecting directly to the back of a camera—we use it to send the switched program feed from our television truck back to our head end at City Hall.

Before LiveShot, we did have a handful of locations that allowed us to provide live coverage. However, LiveShot, has allowed us to cover many of the sporting events—like swim meets and softball games—that are of interest to our viewers and typically don’t have a live connection. We are also now able to cover away games live, which we were never able to do before.

BONUS FEATURES
The ability to have return video is also valuable. Because we’re a small operation, we typically don’t have a person at master control watching the signal. Having a return feed allows us to monitor our output, and ensures we know exactly what is happening on the channels.

We have also utilized the LiveShot Control App. It’s been very beneficial for us to be able to adjust all of the LiveShot settings from a smartphone. On multiple occasions, I’ve been in the office while a crew is covering an event in the field. The app allows me to remotely monitor things such as signal strength and other statistics, and allows me to advise the field crew accordingly. It’s so useful to have real-time data.

LiveShot has opened a whole host of possibilities for coverage. We are now able to do shoots from 50, 100 miles away, or even across the country if we wanted. (We probably wouldn’t drive our truck all that way, but it’s cool to know that it’s an option.) Being able to go live and change the parameters in real time as the production is happening is an exciting use of technology. Being a small public, education and government television operation, it’s empowering to have that type access and capability.

Jay Golden is a television production specialist for BCTV 14 in Burnsville, Minn. He can be contacted atjay.golden@burnsvillemn.gov.

For more information, please visitwww.comrex.comor call 800-237-1776.

DEVENS, MASS.—Comrex is now offering a management and monitoring system, Codec Commander, designed for its line of IP audio codecs. The new system features the same control compatibility as Comrex’s current browser-based tools for individual codec management, but doesn’t use Adobe Flash.

Codec Commander is a Microsoft Windows application that enables users to interface with a single Comrex codec. Users can manage connections, check stations, view audio metering, adjust audio profiles, and make changes to system settings. It is compatible with ACCESS, BRIC-Link and BRIC-Link II units with firmware version 3.0p13 or later installed.

Comrex is offering Codec Commander as a free download through its website.

DEVENS, MASS.--Comrex has announced a partnership with Lumina Broadcast Systems Australia for the Australian market.

Lumina is specialized in the supply and manufacture of the latest digital broadcast technology for radio and television.

Comrex says it is “thrilled to partner with the go-to company for digital broadcast needs down under, and to work with a provider that shares its desire to create innovative broadcasting solutions.”

WASHINGTON—At the upcoming 2016 GV Expo, Comrex Corp. will display LiveShot, which delivers live, two-way HD video and audio over IP networks at latencies as low as 200mS. With CrossLock VPN technology, LiveShot can remain stable on challenging 3G/4G, Wi-Fi and satellite networks. LiveShot encodes and decodes video to the H.264 codec standard.

LiveShot delivers full-duplex video and stereo audio between the field portable and studio rackmount systems. In addition, a full-duplex cue channel is available between the systems. On the portable, the return audio/video channel is delivered via output connectors, or streamed to a mobile device via the built-in Wi-Fi access point. The cue channel is accessible on the portable via wired headset or Bluetooth audio to a wireless headset.

With easy remote-management tools and a 3-pound chassis, LiveShot can handle demanding field broadcasts. Used by government organizations and PEG stations for a range of applications, LiveShot is suitable for streaming video and audio from wherever internet is available.

Comrex will be on the show floor in booth 501.

Shortly before NAB Show New York, TV Technology spoke withChris Crump, Senior Director of Sales & Marketingfor Comrex.

TV TECHNOLOGY: What technology trends do you anticipate will be “front and center” at NAB Show New York?

CHRIS CRUMP: OTT and OTA technologies have dominated almost every aspect of the consumer delivered broadcast business these days. Comrex is all about creating products for contribution so we don’t directly play in that space. But it’s certainly interesting to watch how efficient these technologies have become.

TVT: What will be your company’s most important product news?

CC:Our CrossLock VPN Technology was originally developed for our LiveShot IP video codecs and has recently been introduced to our ACCESS and BRIC-Link line of IP audio codecs. CrossLock provides an advanced layer of reliability for IP audio and video transport in Comrex codecs.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

CC: There are other products out there that offer “redundancy” modes in their codecs, but CrossLock VPN goes significantly further by offering redundancy, bonding and a whole suite of dynamic error correction/error concealment tools that make Comrex products truly broadcast reliable.

TVT: Did you attend last year’s show? Do you have a favorite restaurant or point of interest you can share with other attendees?

CC: We really enjoy this show and have participated for several years. There’s always something cool to find in New York. I’m not a smoker (or a fan of smoking), but I discovered this cool little spot called SoHo Cigar Bar (formerly Circa Tabac) that is worth checking out—if you can handle the smoke.

DEVENS, MASS.—Comrex LiveShot is soaking up the sun in California as part of Time Warner Cable Sporstnet’s production set-up for sports broadcasts of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS, local high school sports and other L.A. teams.

TWC Sportsnet previously utilized satellite to broadcast local sports and other remote games, but LiveShot allows to cover all the same games with high-quality, low-delay video. The LiveShot system delivers live, two-way HD video and audio over a range of IP networks at latencies less than 200mS. It comes equipped with CrossLock VPN technology to use 3G/4G, Wi-Fi and satellite networks for a secure and stable connection. The LiveShot is a portable device designed for use in the field.

According to the press release, TWC Sportsnet is used for a majority of the network’s more than 350 sports broadcasts throughout the year.

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINN.—Town Square Television is a non-profit community cable television station serving the seven cities of North Dakota County in Minnesota. We cover a lot of community sports such as high school football games, basketball games, hockey, and women’s professional football. We also cover community events including festivals, parades and government meetings.

We usually know about our events a week or two ahead of time, though there are some we don’t learn about until we go out to shoot. In the past, we used fiber hook-ups at our broadcast locations, but this limited us to live coverage at just seven of our 22 venues, so we sought a product to help us cover events at our remaining venues where we didn’t have hard-wired connections. After about two years of browsing and testing different options, we purchased a LiveShot from Comrex.

FLEXIBLE OPTIONS
One of the nice things about Live- Shot is that we can decide what modems and connections we want to pay for; we’re not locked into data contracts for a high volume of cellular time that we typically would not use. Our station can tailor our options to our budget, and we’ve also been able to negotiate our own contracts with carriers to take advantage of discounts that we have access to through our work with government bodies. That flexibility is a big selling point for us.

LiveShot’s return video feature is hugely helpful for us. We operate with a small staff, so we don’t always have someone available to manage master control; during those instances, we remote-control our master live feed. We use return video to monitor our connection to the system and keep an eye on anything else we need to adjust.

Comrex’s LiveShot allows Town Square Television to share live sports coverage with other cities.SHARING LIVE BROADCASTS
LiveShot also allows us to share live sports games with sister stations in other cities. We’ve been able to send live footage to one of our affiliate stations in another city, which also has LiveShot, giving them the chance to air these games to their fans.

LiveShot has enabled us to cover live events from almost anywhere. Being able to shift from fiber, which can be difficult to access, to a modem-based system has allowed us to broadcast all kinds of new productions to our audience. We can easily air multicamera high school sports games that are played on the road in areas where we don’t have infrastructure already in place. We’ve also been able to do live broadcasts of outdoor community events, including parades. Having the flexibility to be able to broadcast from the locations of our choice has been very beneficial to our programming and our viewers.

Joe Conlon, CSTE, is the engineering manager for Town Square Television and a member of SBE. He can be contacted atjoe@townsquare.tvor 651-451-7834.

For more information, please visitwww.comrex.comor call 800-237-1776.

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.