DENVER—Imagine Communications has announced that France Télévisions is the first broadcaster to deploy SNP-XS, the latest addition to Imagine’s Selenio Network Processor (SNP) lineup. The French public national television broadcaster ordered 60 units of the recently launched SNP-XS several months before it was readily available.

“The SNP is an incredible Swiss Army knife that is enabling us to successfully transition to ST 2110,” said Yannick Olivier, cross-functional technical leader for ST 2110 infrastructure at France Télévisions. “With every technical challenge, SNP provides a solution, thanks to its many different applications and unique design that allows us to easily reconfigure with new functionality.

"This time, the newest hardware addition to the family is helping us address space and density challenges, allowing us to bring ST 2110 into our regional PCRs,” he added. “With SNP-XS, we’re delivering uncompressed ST 2110 to all of our France 3 regional stations, improving our remote production workflows, and achieving a real gain in quality and speed."

SNP-XS plays a central role in France Télévisions’ strategic initiative to interconnect all regional stations via two Paris‑area data centers using the ST 2110 IP standard to enable high-quality, low-latency media exchange across locations. The new deployment will also enable France Télévisions to exchange data with operations that have already migrated to 2110, such as its Paris headquarters.

The architecture is fully redundant using the 2022-7 protocol, ensuring resilience and reliability as the broadcaster continues to modernize its national media network. Implementation is now underway, with full media exchange targeted to be operational by the end of the year.

France Télévisions first selected Imagine’s SNP three years ago as a cornerstone of its progressive migration to ST 2110 IP, initially deploying SNP to support UHD coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Following the event, the broadcaster redeployed the devices to support the IP transition of the master control room at its Paris headquarters and implemented additional SNPs across its playout operations, studios, digital platform and two new OB trucks.

“Forward-thinking media companies like France Télévisions are making the move to ST 2110 IP because it gives them the freedom, flexibility, and long-term confidence they need in a fast-changing media landscape,” Imagine CEO Steve Reynolds said. “ST 2110 isn’t just another product cycle—it’s the platform for everything that comes next. With every new release, the SNP continues to pave the way for the future of broadcast infrastructure.”

SNP-XS offers all the capabilities of Imagine’s flagship SNP platform, Imagine said, including support for 12G SDI and SMPTE ST 2110, in a compact footprint perfect for environments where space is at a premium but performance can’t be compromised. It offers flexible I/O configurations and brings the complement of well-known SNP features on day one—including UHD and HDR conversions and fully synchronized 2110 adaptation. Delivering ultra-quiet operation and high-performance processing in a deploy-anywhere form factor, SNP-XS is an ideal solution for edge deployments, facility expansions, remote routing endpoints, mobile production, and any space-constrained environment. Imagine said.

BEAVERTON, Ore.—HDR10+ Technologies, a multi-industry association that encompasses more than 170 adopters and nearly 20,000 certified devices, is reporting that the France 2 UHD TV channel will be broadcasting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in 4K Ultra HD which utilizes HDR10+ metadata technology to optimize video image quality on a scene-by-scene basis.

The broadcasts, which will run February 6 to 22, are just the latest example of how HDR10+ is being used for a variety of applications in the entertainment industry, the group said.

In addition to providing superior video quality, France 2 UHD will be offering three different immersive audio mixing options on compatible televisions: a traditional mix balancing commentary and ambient sounds; a mix where the commentary volume is increased by 6 dB for greater voice intelligibility; and a mix that contains ambient sounds only, without any commentary.

According to Bill Mandel, co-manager of HDR10+ Technologies, LLC “We are pleased to work with France Télévisions Group to utilize HDR10+ to help the Olympic Games enthusiasts to enjoy the highest quality video and audio possible”.

Jacques Donat-Bouillud, director of distribution, France Télévisions Group added that “France 2 UHD is proud to deliver the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in native UHD. This exceptional image quality and more immersive sound will enable our viewers to experience these Olympic Games as if they were on the slopes or ice rink.”

For more information on HDR10+ please contact info@hdr10plus.org

BRUSSELS—Mediagenix, a provider of smart content solutions, has announced that it has been selected to supply global broadcaster France Médias Monde (FMM) with its state-of-the-art content scheduling solution. The scheduling suite will be used for all of France 24’s global linear channels and on-demand platforms.

FMM operates French international broadcasting offerings, which include the news channel France 24 (broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish), news and current affairs public radio station RFI (which broadcasts worldwide in French and in 16 other languages), and radio station Monte Carlo Doualiya, which broadcasts in Arabic from Paris to the Middle East, Mauritania and Djibouti.

France 24 wanted to modernize its current scheduling solution, adding the capability to schedule all of its on-demand platforms and deploying the entire solution in the cloud.

The Mediagenix Content Scheduling solution more than fulfilled those criteria, the companies reported.

The AI-powered, multiplatform scheduling suite is a cloud-based solution that enables customers to plan and schedule faster, to operate smartly, and to scale up multiplatform operations without facing spiraling costs and operational complexities.

Paris-based training specialist Lapins Bleus Formation will provide training to France 24 staff on how to best use Mediagenix’s scheduling solution, which will go live for FMM next year.

“This partnership with Mediagenix is a critical part of equipping our France 24 channels with the best scheduling and content management solutions,” said Pamela David, engineering manager for TV and systems integration at France Médias Monde. “The Mediagenix scheduling solution gives our staff the ultimate flexibility to adjust schedules as major events happen and react to changing news priorities.”

“France Médias Monde is a truly global broadcaster, and France 24’s journalism and newsgathering is more important than ever in today’s challenging world,” said Françoise Semin, chief commercial officer at Mediagenix. “We are therefore delighted that France Médias Monde chose Mediagenix’s award-winning scheduling solution to provide the critical flexibility and agility that France 24 needs.”

More information is available by contacting Xavier Gentric, sales director, Southern Europe, at xavier.gentric@mediagenix.tv or here.

PARIS—Haivision Systems Inc. has announced that France Télévisions will provide UHD coverage of the pre- and post-competition activities of the surfing event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games using Haivision’s private 5G video transmission ecosystem. 

The surfing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place over four days during a 10-day window from July 27 to August 5 from Teahupo'o, Tahiti as part of an initiative to expand the Games across France. 

To provide engaging behind-the-scenes coverage and ensure maximum freedom of camera movement, the France Télévisions team will leverage the latest 5G broadcast transmission innovations from Haivision and Obvios. The coverage will include live content such as interviews with the athletes in the Olympic Village and live shots from a boat-based camera.  

In Teahupo'o, France Télévisions' field production team will deploy the ultra-low latency Haivision Pro460 mobile video transmitters to capture and transmit live contribution streams of pre- and post-event content. The transmitter feeds will be sent over the Obvios private 5G Dome network to Haivision StreamHub receivers located at the post production center at Teahupo'o beach. Fully produced content will be transported to France Télévisions' broadcast production center in Paris for broadcast across its networks using Haivision StreamHub's IP gateway capabilities. 

"Utilizing the latest technology including a private 5G cellular network from Obvios and the cellular contribution solutions from Haivision will enable us to provide viewers with unprecedented UHD coverage of the athletes before and after the surfing competition during the Olympic Games,” explained Thierry Jacob, director of overseas resources and development, France Télévisions. “The technology powering the work in Tahiti will revolutionize the way France Télévisions Overseas production teams work and will bring viewers closer to the competitions and the athletes than ever before." 

"Haivision is extremely proud to partner with France Télévisions for coverage of the surfing event and its athletes during the Paris 2024 Games,” Jean-Marc Racine, Chief Product Officer, Haivision added. “This collaboration showcases innovation combining the Haivision Pro and StreamHub receiver, along with the power of private 5G connectivity from Obvios. Together, we're setting a new standard for how large-scale events are covered and presented to the audience." 

"Our private 5G network solution is robust and maintains a perfect signal on the move,” said Nicolas Dallery, vice-president marketing & sales, Obvious. “It eliminates the problems of coverage and saturation of public networks. Thanks to Haivision's mobile video transmitter solutions, the Obvios private 5G Dome network also enables France Télévisions to produce live broadcasts with unrivaled video quality." 

As an official broadcaster of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, France Télévisions will be offering coverage from July 26 to August 11 with programming on France 2, France 3, Les 1ère, France 4, and for the first time ever, a digital channel completely dedicated to the event available on France.tv.   

MONTREAL—Grass Valley is reporting that French National Public TV Broadcaster France Télévisions, rebranded as france tv, has selected its next-generation Kaleido KIP-X240 IP Multiviewer as part of an enterprise wide transition from SDI to SMPTE-2110 (ST-2110).  

The france tv group, which includes five national, 24 regional channels and 9 overseas channels, has taken immediate delivery of 12 KIP-X240’s as part of a three-year contract Grass Valley won in response to an RFP. 

With two of its channels—France 2 and France 3—already broadcasting in UHD, france tv anticipates acquiring more units over the course of the contract to eventually replace their SDI-based Grass Valley Kaleido-X and Kaleido-MX multiviewers in use company-wide. The new KIP-X240 IP Multiviewers will be configured with Mellanox 2110 cards that enable ST-2110 UHD and HD/3G video monitoring.  

“We are thrilled to support France Télévisions as they continue to enhance their broadcast capabilities, using the latest high-quality products and services from Grass Valley enabling them to deliver efficient productions that will benefit their media production workflows,” said Mark Gardner, vice president of sales for EMEA at Grass Valley. “The integration of our KIP-X240 multiviewers into their SMPTE-2110 workflow is pivotal for dynamic, real-time video monitoring and we are proud to be part of this visionary project.” 

“The French broadcast TV market is moving rapidly to ST-2110 for its exceptional quality and operational efficiency,” said Yannick Olivier, solution architect 2110 for france tv. “Our ST-2110 transition is intended to lay the groundwork for higher quality live UHD-HDR and 3GHD production, particularly for premiere sporting events, such as the major international competitions this summer. We know that the KIP-X240s will integrate seamlessly within our control rooms, while preserving the X-Edit functionality we’ve come to rely on with our SDI-based Kaleidos.” 

X-Edit enables operators to design the layout and configuration of multiple live video images on a single large display. As an open standards-based platform that is also NMOS-compliant, the KIP-X240 leads the industry in offering the highest number of simultaneous video and audio signals monitoring in a 1-RU frame. Its support for a wide range of I/O formats includes up to four simultaneous IP streaming outputs in a mix of compressed and uncompressed signals. The KIP-X240 also supports a wide range of video codecs and transport streams. 

“In making our choice, we factored in our trust in Grass Valley and the Kaleido reputation. We also appreciate the KIP-X240’s ease of integration and configuration within our existing workflow,” Olivier added. “We are delighted to work with Grass Valley on this project and to continue deploying the new generation of the Kaleido family.”  

Leading European broadcasters from France (France Télévisions), Italy (RAI), Germany (SWR, BR), the Netherlands (NPO), Ireland (RTÉ) and Austria (ORF/ORS) all collaborating on a plan to develop business models and broadcast applications around “5G broadcast.”

The broadcasters have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the eve of the World Radio Conference 2023, outlining a "Roadmap to 5G Broadcast," and expect to demonstrate jointly developed 5G Broadcast applications and commercial use cases during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and the UEFA European Football Championship in Germany. This work will enable the broadcasters to accurately assess the feasibility of adopting and rolling-out of the new transmission standard within the next number of years.

Michael Wagenhofer, Managing Director ORS Group: "The goal is to enable a European 5G Broadcast ecosystem for public media, cultural operators, creatives and audiovisual content providers, to reach mobile devices via direct reception and to make 5G broadcast market-ready. With this future-proof development, new use cases and business models such as car-entertainment systems, emergency warning and information services or for the metaverse will also be possible."

Since the beginning of 2023, 5G Broadcast has been ready for commercial rollout: standardization has been largely completed, trial operations by the leading broadcasters in Europe have been underway for several years, and the first smartphone prototypes have already been developed. This means that all components are available, in particular 5G Broadcast capable devices, enabling 5G Broadcast service and network operators to develop new services and business models.

The technology provides easy and democratically important access to audiovisual content. It also enables network operators and media content providers to deliver content and data to a large number of consumers in a crisis-proof manner—during live events, for example—without affecting the 5G mobile network. 5G Broadcast-based services will supplement existing DTT deployments and advance terrestrial networks for an IP-driven future.

The basis for interference-free broadcasting is the UHF frequency spectrum between 470 MHz and 694 MHz, which has been proven throughout Europe and is in addition to broadcasting used exclusively for live productions by cultural institutions using wireless production technology.

In the U.S., LPTV stations have taken the lead on the emerging technology, led by New Hampshire-based LPTV station WWOO-LD, an LPTV owned by Milachi Media, LLC and headed up by Bill Christian. In June, the station filed the broadcast industry’s first application for an experimental 5G Broadcast STA from the FCC, part of an effort to demonstrate the technology’s viability in the U.S.

Christian is partnering with Frank Copsidas, founder of the LPTV Broadcasters Association founder and industry veteran Preston Padden to form a new venture called “XGen Network” to focus on the new technology.

PARIS—As France Télévisions adapts to the realities of remote production, the network has sought the help of Dalet and its Dalet Galaxy xCloud to assist with enabling new workflows from home, supporting more than 300 France Télévisions journalists.

France Télévisions has subscribed to Dalet Galaxy xCloud, a Software-as-a-Service offering that is a full-featured version of the latest Dalet Galaxy five platform, which uses the cloud to facilitate end-to-end, remote news production workflows, Dalet says. The Galaxy xCloud facilitates news production workflows across national channels and the franceinfo rolling news channel. It also supports newsroom editing applications, including Adobe Premiere Pro and Dalet OneCut.

Dalet Galaxy xCloud’s remote editing framework integrates with France Télévisions’ on-premises Dalet Galaxy five system. It supports advanced proxy editing workflows, mixing of central and local content, with proxy content cached locally to eliminate disruptions due to limited bandwidth. Rendering is offloaded to the Dalet Galaxy xCloud system.

France Télévisions will use the Dalet Galaxy xCloud on AWS Cloud, which connects high-resolution file exchange with the on-premises Dalet Galaxy five platform. The broadcast is later expected to move to a hybrid configuration that utilizes the Dalet Galaxy xCloud on-premises gateway to manage heavy media processing. Only proxy content will be sent to the cloud. The hybrid implementation will also support low latency workflows.

For more information, visit www.dalet.com.  

PARIS—France’s largest television broadcaster France Télévisions partnered with NEC Corp. and other 8K vendors to conduct a successful transmission of live 8K video over 5G at the French Open in May.

In the demonstration, NEC's "VC-8900" 8K material transmission encoder, which utilizes real-time video compression technologies, was used to transmit high-definition live 8K video of the tournament. The 8K signal was available on DTH platform Fransat and Orange TV and displayed on 8K video monitors and 5G smartphones and tablets in the France Télévisions showroom at Roland Garros.

"Building on the success of this initiative, NEC will further promote the realization and expansion of next-generation broadcasting services using high-definition video in 2020 and beyond," said Takeshi Inoue, General Manager, Broadcast and Media Division, NEC Corp.

More information on the test is available here.