HACKENSACK, NJ—LAt the 2026 IBC Show, Sept. 11-14, LiveU will showcase what it refers to as its "Q Era," which uses AI-driven connectivity intelligence in a modular, open IP-video EcoSystem to automate live production workflows across news, sports, entertainment and other live events.

Among the highlights at its booth are the LU900Q, LiveU's Intelligent Production Unit, the first unit built natively around LiveU IQ (LIQ). The unit applies AI-driven connectivity intelligence and smart operator selection to optimize performance in real time, helping crews stay reliably connected in challenging conditions, according to the company.

Built for multi-camera workflows, the LU900Q combines native LIQ connectivity, advanced eSIM technology, optimized 5G modems and a MIMO antenna array with support for SDI, HDMI, USB and IP camera input. It delivers HD/4K transmission with 10-bit HDR 4:2:2 encoding, up to 32 audio channels, dual video return, dual intercom with built-in Bluetooth audio and wireless file transfer for faster field-to-production turnaround.

LiveU will also showcase its expanded collaboration with Sony Corporation, first announced at the 2026 NAB Show. On display, and currently available, will be the LiveU TX1—a compact, camera-mounted unit purpose-built for Sony's professional camera range—delivering fast, reliable bonded file transfer directly from the camera. Also demonstrated will be the Sony RXS Connection License, enabling direct file transfer from compatible Sony cameras to the PWA-RXS solution via supported LiveU field units, starting with the compact LU300S.

LiveU has also announced that Cuez has signed up as its latest EcoSystem partner, extending workflow automation into cloud-based newsroom and rundown management.

As a member of the EBU's working group, LiveU is actively involved in advancing the MXL shared-memory architecture – enabling multiple applications to access the same video frame simultaneously, eliminating redundant processing and reducing latency.

Together, these developments reflect the broader LiveU EcoSystem approach, supporting the full arc of live production, across live and file-based workflows.

Also at the LiveU booth is LiveU Nexus, a universal gateway for digital and IP workflows that converts, normalizes, and routes feeds across LRT, SRT, and RTMP, bridging social, online, and remote sources with traditional broadcast operations. As well as offering seamless digital source integration for Zoom, Teams and YouTube, it can be used as a scan converter for any web content, the company said.

LiveU Studio is a cloud-native production service for video switching, audio mixing, graphics, and more. It enables multi-output cloud production, allowing teams to deliver multiple feeds in multiple formats from a single production. Together, Nexus and Studio give newsrooms and digital teams a faster, leaner path from live event to published content—across every platform simultaneously.

Also on tap, LiveU Ingest, which replaces fragmented, manual processes with a single story-centric workflow for live and file based—from planning and scheduling through ingest, and metadata enrichment.

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will showcase the latest capabilities of Actus X – a modular, browser-based platform that unifies compliance logging, low-latency multiviewing, QA monitoring, clip creation, and AI-powered media intelligence.

LiveU will be in Stand 7.C24 at the RAI Amsterdam.

At the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas, LiveU will mark the U.S. debut of its new LU900Q, encoding platform. Powered by native LiveU IQ (LIQ), advanced eSIM technology, optimized 5G modems and a MIMO antenna array, LU900Q offers reliability and future-ready live transmission from virtually any location.

As a smart multi-tool, the compact platform offers advanced capabilities, such as 4:2:2 encoding and dual-camera support that enable high-quality production of news and sports applications ranging from field reporting and live events to drones and emerging workflows.

In a recent interview with TV Tech, Gideon Gilboa, LiveU’s chief product officer and general manager for Americas, discussed the new features of the LU900Q and the impetus behind its development.

Founded 20 years ago, LiveU started out as a company focused primarily on live contribution technology, particularly via bonded-cellular field units that were revolutionary for their time. But Gilboa said the company soon expanded its outlook to cover content workflows.

“There are more and more content sources coming into broadcast today; there are more and more content distribution pipelines going out, more workflows and 24x7 digital distribution,” he said. “And of course, there's less budget and less people to do all of that, so our customers are looking for workflows to handle all of that complexity.”

Intelligence driven by advances in artificial intelligence are helping to quickly evolve those workflows, Gilboa added.

“We believe the next few years are all about automating those workflows, and this has been and will be our focus from this NAB and onwards into the next few years,” he said. “So what does it mean for us? It means that we are taking this ecosystem that spans contribution, ingestion, production, distribution, and evolving it further in order to support these automated workflows.”

Although LiveU started out as a “closed ecosystem,” according to Gilboa, the company has opened up its platforms to encourage more integration.

“LiveU has evolved from a product company to more of a workflow company,” Gilboa said, adding that in the past few years the company has focused more on integration of third parties.

The LU900Q represents the next stage of LiveU’s workflow solutions, bringing a new focus on AI to help improve connectivity and workflows, especially in congested RF environments.

“The LU900Q is the first intelligent production unit that we're putting out on the market,” Gilboa said, adding that the product marks the first time that LiveU’s IQ intelligent cellular bonding technology is being integrated natively.

“The LU900Q has native eSIM, which means that you never have to worry about configuring your mobile data,” Gilboa said. “It's all built inside and we can change the profile of the eSIM and the operator that is on that eSIM, depending on where you are located and it supports two cameras.”

LiveU IQ uses AI to analyze all the historical data that LiveU has on cellular usage and the real time analytics from the encoder, and makes decisions on which models should be in which cellular network. It does not exist in any other mobile encoder, according to Gilboa.

“It basically looks at all the cellular networks that are available in your location, and knows how to move modems from one cellular network to another and manage them in a smart way to get the most out of it," he said. “In the Milan Winter Olympics, we saw units with LiveU LIQ delivering maybe 30% more bit rate, more bandwidth than standard units, because they know how to choose smartly in real time and move between the most robust seller network of those at that particular moment.”

That’s not the only area where LIQ is taking advantage of advances in AI, according to Gilboa.

“This unit has edge AI setting capabilities, and we'll show a few simple scenarios of how you could start transmitting with just clapping your hands and how you can recognize more objects to create more metadata,” he said. “But we have further plans to enhance the use of that edge AI, to make the lives of our photographers easier, and also to reduce costs of cloud processing, for AI, for object detection and metadata creation.”

Gilboa says he’s heard from numerous LiveU costumers who are looking forward to getting their hands on the LU900Q.

“[We’ve packed] the experience of the last 15-20 years into this product that we've been working hard on for awhile,” he said. “So we have customers who are very excited to receive the first units."

LiveU will be in Booth N1740 in the North Hall of the LVCC.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has released details of the first large-scale deployment of its AI-driven LiveU IQ (LIQ) technology at a global, multi-venue sporting event, the Winter Olympic Games.

During the games, broadcasters relied on LIQ to dynamically manage connectivity in some of the most demanding live production environments – from crowded arenas to remote mountain venues. Around 60% of supported sessions were transmitted using LIQ, achieving over 36% higher average bitrates and enabling consistent 4K and HDR coverage, at scale. Broadcasters were able to confidently rely on IP contribution as a primary workflow, supporting both traditional broadcast and digital-first distribution strategies.

More than 980 LiveU units were deployed by broadcasters from 37 countries, delivering over 15,000 hours of live broadcast and a total of 134TB of live video across nearly 12,000 live sessions, underscoring the industry’s accelerating shift toward IP-based production models.

Unlike traditional IP bonding, LIQ uses AI-driven predictive congestion management and real-time network analysis to optimize transmission paths dynamically. This capability is particularly critical at major global sporting events, where thousands of competing devices, fluctuating network conditions, and geographically dispersed venues can challenge transmission stability. By anticipating network congestion and adapting in real time, LIQ enables broadcasters to maintain premium video quality even in highly complex, bandwidth-constrained environments.

“The Winter Games marked a pivotal moment for LiveU,” said Ophir Zardok, head of sports strategy & business development, LiveU. “This was the first time LIQ was deployed across a global sporting event of this magnitude. The results validated our vision for AI-driven connectivity – delivering significantly higher bitrates while maintaining rock-solid resiliency across thousands of live transmissions. For broadcasters operating in remote, high-density and multi-venue environments, that level of performance changes what’s possible.”

Cloud and remote production workflows were used by rights holders and broadcasters to centralize operations and streamline multi-platform distribution. Solutions including LiveU Studio, LiveU Matrix and LiveU Record supported flexible production models while reducing on-site crew requirements. LiveU’s on-site and remote support teams ensured seamless deployment and operational continuity throughout the event.

Austria’s national public broadcaster ORF deployed 23 LU800 units across Milan and Cortina, equipping 17 camera crews positioned throughout northern Italy. LiveU's longstanding local partner, ETAS High-Tech Systems GmbH, provided the units and the local support.

Christian Zettl, TV production manager at ORF, said, “The LiveU deployment gave us maximum flexibility and optimal conditions for bringing the Olympics into our viewers’ living rooms as comprehensively as possible, while also contributing to significant savings in production costs. We primarily used the LU800 units for interviews and playouts, but also for transferring our footage from helmet cameras and for broadcasting scheduled interviews with up to three cameras.”

“What we’re seeing is a fundamental acceleration toward intelligent, IP-based production,” Zardok added. “Broadcasters are no longer asking whether IP can handle premium live sports — they’re asking how far they can scale it. As we look ahead to the upcoming world football championship in the Americas, we expect this momentum to grow significantly.”

For more information, please visit www.liveu.tv

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU will feature its newest solutions that expand its IP-video EcoSystem, including the LU900Q intelligent production unit for live broadcasting with native LiveU IQ (LIQ) connectivity, its LiveU Nexus universal gateway for digital and IP workflows and the LiveU Schedule centralized scheduling and resource automation tool at the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, in Las Vegas.

Across news, sports and live events, LiveU will demonstrate how cloud-native architectures and intelligent automation enable broadcasters to do more with fewer resources, lower operating costs and replace costly legacy infrastructure while delivering broadcast-grade quality at scale.

Quality assurance monitoring and compliance logging specialist Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will be prominently featured in the LiveU booth. Actus Digital will unveil the latest advancements in Actus X, its intelligent monitoring platform that extends beyond traditional regulatory compliance.

New Actus X capabilities include native support for ATSC 3.0 monitoring with A3SA encryption; a browser-based multiviewer delivering sub-second latency and new interactive controls that let operators sync and replay multiple feeds simultaneously; and automatic alert reporting, providing greater visibility while significantly reducing manual effort.

At the heart of LiveU's NAB Show presentation is the LU900Q, representing a new era in intelligent field units. Powered by native LiveU IQ (LIQ), advanced eSIM technology, optimized 5G modems and a MIMO antenna array, LU900Q offers reliability and future-ready live transmission from virtually any location.

As a smart multi-tool, the compact platform offers advanced capabilities, such as 4:2:2 encoding and dual-camera support that enable high-quality production of news and sports applications ranging from field reporting and live events to drones and emerging workflows.

LiveU Nexus simplifies modern broadcast ingest and distribution by converting, normalizing and routing IP feeds across protocols such as LRT, SRT and RTMP. LiveU Nexus bridges social, online and remote sources with traditional broadcast operations, enabling broadcasters to serve linear, digital and social platforms easily from a unified IP workflow.

Complementing field acquisition and ingest, LiveU Studio will be shown with expanded cloud-based IP live production capabilities, including the ability to deliver multiple feeds in various formats from the same production. With a browser-based, broadcast-grade video switcher, support for synchronized multi-camera production, ISO recording and instant replay, LiveU Studio enables remote and distributed teams to produce professional live content with maximum flexibility.

The company will also emphasize how workflow automation is becoming essential as broadcasters face increasing production demands with leaner teams. LiveU Schedule plays a key role in this transformation, replacing spreadsheets and fragmented tools with a centralized SaaS platform for intelligent scheduling, resource management and automated execution. Built for fast-paced news and complex live events, LiveU Schedule helps broadcasters streamline planning and ensure consistent, repeatable workflows.

LiveU will also highlight its collaboration with key technology partners and expanded connectivity possibilities, such as private 5G.

See LiveU at 2026 NAB Show booth N1740.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments for live sports and news coverage in the region. The project, designed and implemented with LiveU's partner Smart Informatics, equips 10 Outside Broadcast (OB) vans with LiveU’s bonded IP technology, enabling Czech TV to achieve flexible, cost-effective, and future-proof live production workflows.

Until now, Czech TV relied heavily on satellite and landlines to power its OB fleet. This project introduces LiveU's LU810 fixed encoders and servers into the vans, ensuring reliable bi-directional IP connectivity for live contribution and return feeds.

LiveU said that the deployment is unique in Europe because of its inter-van interconnectivity at scale, allowing OB vans not only to connect to central facilities but also to interchange live feeds with each other across different locations.

With the OB vans serving as mobile studios, multiple channels can be sent instantly to the master control room (MCR), and signals sent back as a video return. The setup is used for both the production of lower tier sports games and news stories around bigger international events.

“This project represents a major step forward for Czech Television, underscoring our commitment to innovation,” explained Antonin Svach, head of OB department, Czech TV. “Leveraging LiveU’s IP contribution technology, we can modernize our fleet – no longer bound by the limitations of costly satellite and [the availability of] landlines. We can provide live coverage for any sport, at every level – whether it’s football, ice hockey, or a triathlon, our OB vans can now connect anywhere, instantly, and exchange feeds between each other and with our master control room in Prague."

"LiveU has been a trusted global newsgathering partner for years with their portable field units; this deployment shows the confidence we have in the reliability of their solutions for live sports as well", Svach continued.

"With the deployment of bonded IP connectivity, Czech TV has achieved a new level of production agility, transforming its OB fleet into a fully connected, mobile studio ecosystem capable of going live remotely from anywhere” added Dariusz Grudzień, regional sales director, LiveU. “This project demonstrates both the trust Czech TV has placed in LiveU and the flexibility of our technology to integrate into traditional OB workflows. It's truly unique in terms of size and scale for our region.”

Smart Informatics, the local systems partner, supported Czech TV in designing, integrating, and delivering the complex workflow. “From the proof-of-concept in 2023 to today’s full rollout, we worked side by side with Czech TV to create a future-ready solution,” said Tomas Vesely, Smart Informatics. “The reliability and flexibility of LiveU's technology ensures Czech TV and other customers can adapt to any production scenario.”

“Moving slowly away from a satellite and landlines-only models was essential for us,” concluded Antonin Svach, Czech TV. “his new hybrid setup, delivered with Smart Informatics, makes our OB fleet future ready. With bonded IP connectivity at the heart of our workflow, we can adapt to any production requirement, from small competitions to national broadcasts.”

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has awarded LiveU a five-year contract to deliver 24/7 live news content through its Eurovision News Exchange.

The exchange project is the next step in an ongoing transition from a previously satellite-only system towards IP-based contribution and hybrid distribution. The Eurovision News Exchange will rely on LiveU Matrix for delivery of its members’ live signals throughout Europe and beyond, LiveU said.

"The project marks a decisive step for the broadcasting industry, as major public service media embrace cloud-based IP workflows for faster, more sustainable and cost-efficient live news delivery,” said Emilio San Pedro, EBU head of Eurovision News Exchange. “LiveU’s Matrix platform enables us to connect Europe’s leading broadcasters better than ever and ensure seamless, future-proof live news delivery for audiences everywhere."

The project connects all members with LiveU technology, extending to more than 60 public service newsrooms in Europe and globally, the company said.

The exchange conducted a rigorous evaluation of the company’s LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT)-based delivery with Secure, Reliable Transport (SRT) capabilities and chose the platform for its reliability and scalability, it said.

The project includes a phased rollout—currently in its pilot phase with 15 members—of LiveU Ingest for cloud recording and shared content workflows across both primary and backup channels.

"Following a very tight and highly competitive selection process, we are delighted to partner LiveU to replace the Eurovision News Exchange live contribution and distribution system,” said Piotr Kaszynski, EBU program manager for the renewal of the Eurovision News Exchange live network, said.

“By the end of 2025, the new solution will bring greater flexibility and faster setup times, enabling our members [to have] continuous, reliable access to Eurovision News Exchange live signals,” Kaszynski added. “With LiveU Matrix seamlessly connecting on-prem and field units already used across the News Exchange, this will strengthen collaboration and deliver even more value to our Members and partners."

LiveU's Matrix IP distribution platform sits at the heart of this transformation, enabling seamless contribution and distribution of live news content among members and ad hoc sharing with other sources. The solution integrates 125 LiveU Transceivers deployed at member premises, with Dual Active (active/active) redundancy ensuring that two parallel streams—via cloud and transceiver—guarantee uninterrupted service in each location. This premium layer of Dual Active reliability enhances Matrix's capability to serve as a primary distribution system complement to backup satellite distribution, it said.

The multiregion, multivendor contingency plan relies on global cloud providers in the various regions, further supporting a highly resilient, multilayered architecture. Proactive monitoring is also included in the solution as well as the option to scale up the distribution channels for high-demand events, LiveU said.

Deployment began earlier this year. LiveU Matrix has already been used for major news events, such as the papal conclave. It will be completed in January 2026, when the EBU plans to gradually phase out its satellite contribution workflow and transition to a hybrid distribution and IP-based contribution. The official go-live date for the new IP-based network is set for Jan. 1, 2026, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU today shared details about its new collaboration with Sony that it said will create new possibilities for broadcasters by expanding adoption of the LiveU Resilient Transport (LRT).

At IBC2025, Sony introduced the LiveU TX1, a compact field-transmission unit designed specifically for Sony’s professional camera range and workflow. The unit provides broadcast professionals with easy access to resilient, ultra-fast file transfer from the camera to the unit, with stored files transmitted via LiveU's LRT protocol. It uses multiple bonded connections for superior video performance and reliability.

TX1 was developed by LiveU in collaboration with Sony to provide seamless integration into Sony's ecosystem.

A mobile file-transfer and transmission unit, LiveU TX1 is designed specifically to deliver fast file transfer and reliable bonded connectivity for Sony’s professional cameras, including the newly launched Sony PXW-Z300. With its small form factor, LiveU TX1 is easily mounted on Sony’s camera, shortening production workflows. This development marks the initial milestone in a partnership between Sony and LiveU, featuring LiveU’s first fully native, dedicated integration gateway, LiveU said.

“Our customers want to be able to deliver files shot on camcorders from wherever the story takes them, back to their galleries, easily, swiftly and reliably,” said Masakazu Murata, head of Sony’s Media Solutions Business.

“Through our collaboration with LiveU, the leading company in video-over-bonded-IP transmission, we are now able to offer customers a workflow integrated with Sony’s ecosystem even for mission-critical operations that require bonding,” Murata said. “We look forward to working with LiveU to further streamline workflows and make a significant contribution to the broadcast industry.”

Noting Sony’s decision to collaborate with LiveU “represents a strong vote of confidence in LiveU’s cutting-edge technology and the innovation,” company CEO and co-founder Samuel Wasserman expressed thanks to Sony and “wish[ed] us all great success on our shared journey.”

The LiveU TX1 will be available through accredited Sony distributors and resellers, with availability details to be announced in 2026.

More information is available on the LiveU website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has unveiled the LU900Q, a new field unit that it said delivers a quantum leap in live transmission and production performance.

The LU900Q is the first unit to natively integrate LiveU IQ (LIQ), powered by AI-driven decision-making, advanced eSIM technology and seamless dynamic connection switching within an advanced 5G architecture, the company said.

LiveU also reported that the combination of breakthrough connectivity intelligence and unparalleled operational flexibility in the LU900Q will transform how broadcasters approach remote live news and sports productions.

Combined with LIQ, it includes 5G next-generation modems with a MIMO antenna array, delivering dramatically enhanced speed, stability, and throughput.

“Our goal is to give broadcasters and other storytellers the confidence to transmit from any location – whether a packed stadium or remote mountainside," said Samuel Wasserman, CEO and co-founder, LiveU. "The LU900Q is a game changer, not just a new product – it’s a smart, multi-tool powerhouse designed to support diverse production needs, from fast-paced breaking news to complex live productions, all while delivering a new level of business agility. Customers can scale their storytelling with unmatched resiliency, quality, and efficiency – equipped with a robust yet affordable field unit and the flexibility to add extra features, including on demand."

The unit comes in an ergonomic backpack with a super long battery that provides over seven hours of runtime. It is also engineered for any climate with a rugged, shock-absorbing frame and advanced cooling.

The LU900Q seamlessly integrates with SDI, HDMI, and IP production gear – from ENG cameras and PTZ systems to drones and beyond. This protocol agnostic approach allows crews to pull any combination of gear in their workflow to suit the needs at hand.

Another key development is the introduction of dual video return and dual intercom, bringing the benefits of the studio to reporters in the field, LiveU said. The unit also offers single or dual camera production workflows, transforming rigid broadcast setups into dynamic, adaptable production environments, and includes key new features, such as native analytics.

For high-end productions, it delivers 10-bit HDR 4:2:2 encoding with up to 32 audio channels, providing the uncompromising performance with accurate geolocation required for main sports feeds, moveable sports and critical backup applications, LiveU reported.

In terms of file-based workflows, LiveU said that the LU900Q accelerates faster file uploads directly to media asset management (MAM) systems, integrated with the LiveU Ingest automatic recording and story metadata logging solution. The unit also supports uploading full folders or full SD cards, as well as file by file.

In addition to new technologies, LiveU stressed that the LU900Q introduces a new paradigm in broadcast and sports economics by offering software-defined capabilities that can be adapted to production needs in real time.

All the advanced features of the LU900Q can be easily activated via a dynamic software license that can be activated on-demand or as a subscription, making it the most modular mobile encoder out there. Customers can start with a basic hardware configuration and add software modules to match capabilities to requirements, delivering unprecedented cost-effectiveness and operational flexibility, LiveU said.

This platform-like approach also means broadcasters can ramp their storytelling capabilities up or down based on immediate needs, eliminating the traditional barriers between different production workflows and budget constraints.

"We’re proud to unveil the latest evolution in our product portfolio – purpose-built to meet the fast-changing demands of modern live production. At LiveU, we introduce many hardware products, but this one is truly special,” said Gideon Gilboa, chief product officer, LiveU. “It’s built on an entirely new technology stack that’s designed to be future-proof, allowing us to continue enhancing this device with many more software releases over the next five years. But it’s not just about future readiness – this device reflects the voices of the tens of thousands of users we have in the field. We’ve worked hard to incorporate the most requested and mission-critical features from our incredible customer base, which includes some of the largest and most advanced broadcasters in the world.”

The LU900Q will be on display during IBC2025, at the LiveU stand, Hall 7, Stand 7.C19. To schedule a demo visit https://get.liveu.tv/ibc-2025/

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has launched LiveU Nexus, a new cloud-native universal gateway for digital and IP-based workflows, enabling customers to create even more value from their LiveU EcoSystem setup. LiveU Nexus seamlessly moves IP-video content in and out of different platforms and environments, including SDI, SMPTE 2110 and NDI-based production systems, using existing and new workflows.

The company will demo LiveU Nexus at its stand (7.C19) during the 2025 IBC Show, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam.

Designed to simplify complex IP workflows—especially digital video capturing—LiveU Nexus acts as an efficient and reliable universal gateway for all IP-based feeds within the LiveU EcoSystem. It offers unlimited access to live feeds to and from any systems, letting users bring in, transform, route and output any stream in seconds.

Any types of feeds can be seamlessly connected from anywhere, to anywhere, including LiveU's own LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport), SRT, RTMP, HLS and more to on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure. Producers can pull in live content from Zoom, YouTube and other social media platforms with a simple URL or meeting link—no converters or workarounds required, according to the company.

"Broadcasters are under mounting pressure to integrate a growing number of IP and digital video sources,” said Matt Zajicek, VP Product for LiveU. “LiveU Nexus changes the game, accelerating their digital transformations and future-proofing their digital and IP-video workflows. By cutting technical barriers and costs, production teams can focus on creating great content faster and smarter—while maximizing existing investments. It's already been successfully tested by customers, and we're excited about the potential ahead."

Key features include:

• Protocol conversion – Transforming any IP format to LRT and other leading protocols, LiveU Nexus pushes any live stream into the LiveU EcoSystem or third-party solutions without any additional hardware or converter.
• Digital/social media capturing and routing – includes Zoom meetings, YouTube videos and Facebook Lives into broadcast workflows, and a web browser as an input inside.
• Elastic cloud scalability – built to grow with production demands in the cloud, as workflows evolve.

Resolutions, frame rates, aspect ratio, and codec differences are automatically normalized across the feeds, ensuring every signal is instantly compatible with the downstream tools. In addition, any IP stream can be sent into LiveU's IP cloud solutions, including LiveU Studio for cloud production, LiveU Ingest for recording, or LiveU Matrix for IP distribution, and integrated with an installed base of LiveU receivers, without the need for additional hardware or configurations.

Interoperability is at the heart of the LiveU EcoSystem, according to Zajicek

“By streamlining workflows and deepening integration across the platform, we’re making it easier than ever for storytellers to maximize the value of their video content," he added.

With the recent announcement of its acquisition of Actus Digital, LiveU is ready to expand its portfolio with a comprehensive range of intelligent monitoring and compliance tools that will help its customers realize faster and more efficient workflows, according to company executives.

In a recent interview with TV Tech, executives from Actus and LiveU talked about how the acquisition came about and what it means for LiveU’s customers and market focus.

Actus President Sima Levy noted that both Actus and LiveU customers in broadcast, as well as government and enterprise are looking for solutions that solve multiple issues.

“Customers want an end to end solution, but they also would like to have fewer vendors,” she said. “LiveU targets the exact same customers as we do, so now LiveU is able to offer more products to the exact same customers.

“Why is that good for the customers?” Levy added. “Number one, LiveU’s reputation means that it is committed to make Actus Digital the biggest and the strongest compliance and media monitoring solution in the market, supporting Actus with all of its resources in terms of products, innovation roadmap, and its global presence.”

Emphasis on QoE
Actus Digital, renowned for its intelligent monitoring and compliance platforms, used by premier broadcasters, governments and media agencies worldwide, brings powerful content analysis, Quality of Experience (QoE) monitoring solutions, and advanced AI enabled tools that will complement the LiveU EcoSystem, delivering operational efficiency and advanced content analysis. The LiveU EcoSystem is a set of innovative IP-video solutions, that add efficiency and shorten workflows across the entire video production chain, including multi-cam 5G contribution encoders and cloud-based ingest, production and IP-video distribution solutions, making the two solution portfolios highly synergistic.

Steve Wind-Mozley, chief marketing officer for LiveU, noted that the two companies’ evolution ran in parallel as they both pioneered their respective technologies when they started out about two decades ago.

“LiveU invented video over bonded IP and Actus began to assemble a single-screen compliance logging and this concept of intelligent monitoring,” he said, adding that LiveU’s interest in Actus Digital came down to the customer experience.

“How can you find the value in content and deliver it to a user in a convenient way? That resonated quite loudly with us and our board, which is why we were excited to reach out and acquire the Actus business and technology.”

Levy added that the two companies were well familiar with each other before the acquisition was announced at the end of April.

“We have been talking to LiveU in the last two or three years because we did understand the integration and the power of both solutions and the customers having one monitoring platform for their LiveU streams, their broadcast streams, their OTT or any other stream in one single screen,” she said, adding that there was significant overlap in the two companies’ customer base.

“[LiveU] is in the markets that we target. It's exactly the same industry. It's amazing. We have many, many common customers,” she said.

The broadcast industry’s move to IP has had a major impact on how the companies approached today’s market, according to Wind-Mozley.

“One of the things that attracted us to Actus, is that, like LiveU, Actus is video agnostic,’ so we don't mind what type of protocol our customers are using—IP, SDI, SRT, LRT, NDI, 2110, or another, it doesn't really matter,” he said. “Actus has the ability to monitor any type of feed, so they're even more agnostic than LiveU is. So the ecosystem that we're building together is designed to be as open as possible, because we want our customers to have the choice to use the right tool at the right time.”

Design Customers
Although LiveU is in the process of integrating Actus’ platform into its product portfolio, Levy noted that they are already getting increased interest from their customers for a common multiviewer for their different type of feeds as well as implement Actus other capabilities on the LiveU content, such as AI options.

“There are several levels of integration—one is something we already do, and that started even before the acquisition where LiveU customers were coming to Actus asking, ‘we would like to monitor LiveU content within a platform like yours,’ she said. “That started a year and a half back, before we even discussed the M&A with LiveU. So that came from a market need.”

“And here we don't need to do any integration—it's there and we are already doing that; Actus can ingest any type of video and audio, any protocol, any resolution, any format, into our platform,” she added.

As for further integration, Levy says the companies have already begun discussions with select customers to explore ways of integrating solutions that could lead to the development of new configurations of a combined system.

“We are talking to a few customers—and we have many shared customers who are coming to us and saying, ‘we would like to offer you some ideas for further integration,” Levy said. “I call them ‘design partners.’ We have already picked up three shared customers, both of ours and LiveU, and this is happening just now. All this M&A is so fresh, but it's already happening. We didn't plan to do that until early next year, but the industry is dictating the tempo here.”

Wind-Mozley noted the importance of having one solution in an easy to understand platform that can accelerate workflows for more efficient live production, adding that the Actus brand and team is still intact after the acquisition is completed.

“Actus remains the same,” he said, adding that “we already get more and more customers of LiveU that understand the integration and that we bring more value to the production, bringing monitoring in one screen.”

IBC Plans
Actus, which will be exhibiting in the LiveU booth at the IBC Show in September, will preview some upgrades to its Actus X platform. Actus X features next-generation Quality Assurance (QA) compliance logging, giving customers better access and control over alerts and threshold settings via its browser-based GUI; advanced multiviewer capabilities and AI-powered media insight.

Levy says the platform is designed to help customers expand the monetization potential of their content.

“We are not only providing mandatory compliance, we are turning the compliance and mandatory recording system into a kind of a business enabler,” she said. “We have a nice solution for clipping and content repurposing to social media that has nothing to do with compliance, but will help customers increase viewer engagement.”

“The punch of the Actus X goes much, much beyond compliance and monitoring,” she added,

Wind-Mozley says IBC will provide a stage to showcase LiveU’s role in increasing the integration of IP in live production.

”We will be unveiling what we're terming to be a ‘quantum leap’ in live production; and I don’t use that term lightly,” he said. “It's not even a revolution, this is something entirely new.

“Last time at NAB, we were excited to talk about and demonstrate LiveU IQ, our ability to use AI, eSIMs and dynamic switching to be able to do some pretty astonishing things in very contested, congested or very feeble remote network environments,” he added. “At IBC, we will be delivering the next chapter of that story, which will make live production much more accessible for many, many customers, and we're properly excited about that. We'll also be showcasing some very powerful add-on solutions that I kind of like to think really enhance the accessibility and the interoperability of what we call the LiveU ecosystem.”

LiveU and Actus will be Stand 7.C19 at the RAI Amsterdam during the 2025 IBC Show, Sept. 12-15.

July 19 marked one year since what has been described as “the largest IT outage in history” when cybersecurity company CrowdStrike updated its software that led to roughly 8.5 million systems crashing and refusing to properly restart.

A number of broadcasters were significantly impacted by the outage, including the U.K.’s Sky News and Sky Sports News. Sky News went off-air for parts of the morning on July 19, 2024, before returning with a much-changed backdrop, no graphics, autocue or packages.

In the United States, station group E.W. Scripps Co. told TV Tech that a strategy put in place over the past 10 years was able to quickly muster technical resources and identify and correct issues when they arose.

To mark one year since the outage, TV Tech and sister brand TVBEurope asked key media figures if they believe the industry has taken sufficient steps since then to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

Tim Claman, chief technology officer, Avid
One of the big learnings from that outage was that security strategies need to be more proactive and adaptive, rather than just responding to incidents after the fact. Since the outage, we have seen wider adoption of strategies that combine prevention and resilience methods.

Customers are bolstering traditional detection methods (like antivirus, EDR) with technologies that more dynamically identify potential threats, including AI-based monitoring, zero-trust models, dynamic policy management and more rigorous update testing, to help prevent and minimize impact from security incidents like we saw last year. While a lot of the technologies and approaches (CNAPP, IAM, EDR, Endpoint Isolation, Zero Trust, etc.) are not new, they are now being used more intelligently in combination with operational best practices to reduce risk.

Beyond the technological improvements and the evolution of best practices, we have seen a shift in mindset. The outage was a wake-up call for our customers, as well as for the vendor community. Media enterprises realize that they need to own their own destiny on security, rather than trusting security vendors, so they are more proactively managing their security strategies and practices. As a technology vendor, Avid is receiving more detailed and thorough security questions and requirements in RFPs, a reflection of our customers’ more intensive approach to security strategy.

Rowan de Pomerai, CEO, DPP
I think it’s probably fair to say that no, not enough focus has been given. There’s been a huge amount of business transformation and disruption, and AI has taken so much of the technical limelight, so it’s been easy to lose focus on concerns like security.

But perhaps AI could be the solution as much as the problem: contributors to the “DPP 2025 Predictions” said that “security concerns will go beyond human scale” as the capability to keep up with ever-changing threat vectors will become so complex that AI and other automation tools become essential.

Our “State of Media Technology Security” report also exposed a gulf between customers and vendors when it came to their assessment of the security of modern media technology tools. Clearly, there is more collaboration needed as we move forward.

Neil Maycock, TVBEurope contributor and business adviser
I think the CrowdStrike incident really highlighted that trying to protect against the ever evolving threats in cyber security carries its own risks, and the fact that major operations were so severely impacted is a testament to that. These were companies who take security very seriously and will have had extensive protocols in place to keep systems safely up to date, and yet an unforeseen scenario had devastating consequences. Therefore, to answer the question have sufficient steps been taken to prevent a repeat, I think the answer is of course industry will have protected itself from another CrowdStrike, but the real question is it ever possible to anticipate all possible scenarios?

Cybersecurity is a classic risk management exercise, where risk must be balanced against cost, both financial and operational impact. If we lock our systems down to the extent it compromises the ability of our organisation to operate, then the cost may outweigh the potential risks. Quantifying the risk and cost impact is a massive challenge, and one that is getting harder all the time. We frequently talk about the impact of AI in the media industry, but across all sectors AI is now being leveraged to implement ever more sophisticated cyber-attacks. For example, AI’s ability to impersonate key personnel, or create very specific personalised phishing attacks is creating new challenges.

Ensuring companies are adequately protected is an unenviable challenge.

Karl Paulsen, TV Tech contributor and retired CTO
I suspect this won’t be the last time we see something like this happen when there are so many moving parts in a single system. With Windows 10 support evaporating, much of the base software for users will be shifted and everybody and their dog will be wondering how to address a significant change in their hardware and software (including third-party support).

Impacts on multi-cloud will need to be managed, and it is still unclear what “AI” is going to do to everyone’s architectures. Errors are still likely to occur and an overload of systems management is a potential liability.

Dan Pisarski, chief technology officer, LiveU
The notorious CrowdStrike outage in 2024 taught an important lesson about shared vulnerabilities: you could have an entire, physically diverse set of servers and workstations—even in a building designed to withstand disasters (what if a meteor falls on the building, after all?)—but if every one of those servers runs CrowdStrike, you’re still at risk. This event has put real pressure on media organisations to rethink what disaster recovery looks like, especially when it comes to intentionally building diversity into Disaster Recovery (DR) plans.

Is your primary production on-prem? Then your DR should be in the cloud. Is your playout path based on a local fibre run? Then your DR plan should use wireless. The goal is simple: if something happens that wipes out an entire class of options (as the CrowdStrike incident did to Windows PCs and servers), you need a diverse DR plan that can avoid the fate that takes down not just one component, but an entire class of your mission-critical systems.

Cloud-based production platforms provide a diverse form of backup to hardware-based production solutions running Windows. If there is another day when “all Windows PCs don’t work in the world”, then you have a backup plan. The cloud solution does not require integration with Windows, and while it is not an exact match 1:1 of features of a hardware-based solution, that matters less when it is becomes the primary solution in a disaster recovery scenario.

This kind of built-in diversity applies at both small and large scales. At the small scale, for example, your bonded-cellular active/active wireless transmissions should use multiple carriers—not just for performance, but also “just in case” one carrier experiences a localized or nationwide outage (it’s happened!). On a much larger scale, diversity might mean having an elastically scalable cloud production service ready to go, even if you “usually” rely on on-prem production.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The European News Exchange (ENEX) added an ad hoc channel to LiveU’s Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform, used for the first time in May to boost distribution of the 2025 papal conclave.

ENEX, which has used LiveU Matrix to deliver regular live feeds via three fixed channels to its alliance of more than 50 global commercial news members, wanted to scale distribution capacity for major world news broadcasts.

The news agency can expand its LiveU Matrix on an ad hoc basis at any time to give members a fast, flexible content sharing solution to meet growing demand for more cost-efficient, dynamic live news content, LiveU said.

Millions around the world watched coverage of the papal conclave, May 7-8, in multiple languages. ENEX members were able to grab feeds across the weekend as the cardinals completed the election process, which culminated in the famous white smoke signal from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

The LiveU Matrix makes it possible to share, receive and record high-quality, low-latency live feeds in the cloud. It can be accessed directly from a browser without the need for a satellite or fiber infrastructure, the company said.

The LiveU Matrix expansion follows ENEX‘s recent third two-year contract renewal with LiveU.

“LiveU is a market leader in live delivery. Most of our news media partners have decided themselves to utilize LiveU technology as part of their newsgathering capability,” ENEX Managing Director Adrian Wells said. “It makes perfect sense for ENEX to work with LiveU to leverage their solutions through the Matrix delivery network. LiveU continues to be a highly valued and trusted technology collaborator.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, NJ—LiveU, a global provider of live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Actus Digital’s business and technology. LiveU says the acquisition will significantly enhance its recording, monitoring and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities and “accelerate its mission to help customers improve operational effectiveness and create more value from video.”

Actus Digital, renowned for its intelligent monitoring and compliance platforms, used by premier broadcasters and media agencies worldwide, brings powerful content analysis, Quality of Experience (QoE) monitoring solutions, and advanced AI enabled tools that will complement the LiveU EcoSystem, delivering workflow simplicity and operational efficiency, the company said. The LiveU EcoSystem is a set of innovative IP-video solutions, that add efficiency and shorten workflows across the entire video production chain, including multi-cam 5G contribution encoders and cloud-based ingest, production and IP-video distribution solutions, making the two solution portfolios highly synergistic.

"We are delighted to be welcoming Actus Digital to LiveU," said Samuel Wasserman, CEO and Co-founder of LiveU. "Their exceptional, market-leading monitoring platform and AI expertise, combined with our shared commitment to reliability, quality, and customer service will significantly strengthen our entire offering in line with our overall strategy.”

“The LiveU EcoSystem is IP-Positive, meaning it accepts all the major video protocols for maximum interoperability and ease of use for our customers. With Actus Digital, we can now give our customers the valuable ability to monitor and gain insights from all these different feeds in a single solution, so that they can always be sure of their LiveU experience,” he continued.

Sima Levy, President and Founder of Actus Digital, added: "Joining LiveU provides our customers with easy access to a comprehensive, high-reliability IP-video EcoSystem, backed by world-class support. Combining the LiveU EcoSystem with the Actus Intelligent Monitoring Platform delivers powerful new capabilities to our customers across radio, TV, OTT and the internet. In fact, more and more of our customers have asked for integration with LiveU and we’re excited to be able to combine our resources and expertise to serve them better.”

The Actus Digital brand and Sima’s role as president of the brand will continue, according to spokesperson for LiveU.

HACKENSACK, NJ—LiveU will spotlight its latest technical collaborations around efficient story-centric workflows and cloud collaboration in its expanded EcoSystem at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 6-9. With its IP-Positive architecture, the LiveU EcoSystem is designed for easy interoperability between production systems, enabling broadcasters and other organizations to speed up and optimize production processes.

Gideon Gilboa, LiveU's Chief Product Officer and General Manager (Americas), said, "Creating more value from video and solving customers' pain points—that's our goal. With ever-faster news cycles and the growing demand for more content, these creative workflows enable faster turnarounds, more stories to be covered and an end to costly manual processes. By expanding the LiveU EcoSystem and seamlessly connecting the systems behind the scenes, we free creators up to concentrate on what matters most—crafting compelling content—while opening the doors to new monetization streams and serving expanding digital audiences."

The LiveU EcoSystem is a modular set of best-of-breed components, allowing customers to deploy different configurations and workflows, aligned with their production requirements. It is underpinned by LiveU’s resilient and low latency LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol and further enhanced by LiveU IQ (LIQ), LiveU's revolutionary connectivity solution.

At the core of these new integrations is the LiveU Ingest automatic recording and story metadata tagging solution. LiveU Ingest allows live content to be accessed from anywhere and is interoperable with other production tools, connecting live video from the field and growing files with NRCSs (newsroom computer systems), AI-enabled transcription, MAM (media asset management), and storage systems.

Key highlights include:

Story-Centric Workflows:

• LiveU + Dina, Mimir + Trint: This new AI-enabled integrated solution creates immediate value by ingesting live content, making it instantly accessible alongside rich, searchable metadata (via Dina) and growing real-time transcription (via Trint) in Mimir's MAM system. Content is easier to find and edit so that editors can begin working in real-time from any location as files continue to grow. Content can also be re-used and repurposed for new revenue-generating opportunities. See the solution in action at booths #SL6826 (Dina and Mimir), #SL6005 (Trint) and #SL4911 (LiveU).
• LiveU + Marquis + Avid: LiveU and Marquis are now bringing growing file support to Avid systems to streamline news and sports production workflows. The enhanced solution gives customers the ability to begin editing as soon as live recording starts and supports metadata-based auto-ingest for improved efficiency. See the solution in action at booths #SL4528 (Marquis), #SL1516 (Avid) and #SL4911 (LiveU).
• LiveU + AP Storytelling: LiveU and AP Storytelling are teaming up to support a story-centric workflow whereby AP Storytelling is able to generate story metadata in LiveU Central allowing field operators to easily select them and assign them to any live transmission. Live content is recorded in LiveU Ingest with the relevant associated metadata providing a faster news turnaround. See the solution in action at booths #SL1905 (AP Workflow Solutions) and #SL4911 (LiveU).

Streamlined Creative Collaboration
LucidLink and LiveU enable live content to be brought directly into LucidLink's storage collaboration platform as part of a seamless cloud-based workflow for content creators, broadcasters, and production teams. LiveU DataBridge provides essential connectivity for remote LucidLink users to connect and collaborate from anywhere. See the solution in action at booths #SL2705 (LucidLink) and #SL4911 (LiveU).

Visitors to the LiveU booth will experience hands-on demonstrations showcasing how these technologies integrate with existing broadcast infrastructures and emerging cloud-based production environments.

In addition, experts from Tupelo Honey, AWS, Vizrt and LiveU will be presenting tried and tested solutions for efficient live cloud sports production based on REMI, hybrid lightweight production workflows. The session will take place on Tuesday, April 8 between 2:00-2:30 PST at the Creator Lab Theater B – South Hall Lower.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Underscoring how far field newsgathering has come, LiveU said more than 4,000 of its encoders, the largest-ever fleet deployed for a single event, were used to cover the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

That was nearly double the number of LiveU encoders deployed for Election Day coverage in 2020. Other use statistics painted a similar picture. For instance, 925 customers from 56 countries used the LiveU ecosystem to transmit more than 40 terabytes of data during the 48-hour period considered to be Election Day, representing almost 40,000 hours of live content, the company said.

"This election created an unprecedented amount of action, excitement and interest worldwide, with LiveU's EcoSystem at the heart of the coverage,” LiveU Senior Vice President of Sales Brian Tully said.

“A vast amount of video traffic flowed through every stage—from the on-location encoders to the production control rooms,” he said. “It was truly incredible to see all the election content created, produced and shared using our technology. Our teams were operating at full speed, ensuring the highest levels of reliability, video performance and customer support across the country, including Howard University, West Palm Beach and the battleground states.”

LiveU's flagship LU800 units were used nationwide in diverse scenarios—within both remote (REMI) and on-site production workflows—transmitting live feeds to control rooms across the U.S., Latin America, the U.K., Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. News crews used their LiveU packs around the country to cover every key moment, from supporters’ reactions to the victory and concession speeches, the company said.

LiveU Matrix, the company’s cloud-native IP-video distribution solution, played a key role with the distribution of 23,000 hours of live feeds and 7,500 feeds shared, almost double the content distributed during the 2020 election. The LiveU Matrix platform enabled broadcasters worldwide to exchange high-quality, low-latency live feeds and create collaborative news pools, helping to expand content coverage from battleground states to campaign headquarters, it said.

For the first time in a major event, LiveU Ingest was instrumental in the production process, with broadcasters deploying the story-centric solution for automatic recording and story metadata tagging, integrated with their MAM systems, it said.

About 6,500 recordings of live feeds and more than 4,000 hours of content were recorded over the election day period. Cross-station content visibility enabled participating stations to access each other's content. Customers could process video faster in the field, knowing that everything was automatically recorded, it said.

LiveU's Mobile Data service was also in use, combined with LAN access at the key campaign sites and leveraging the LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT) protocol.

With a dedicated Election Day task force in place, LiveU’s 24/7 phone and email support was bolstered by engineers deployed on-site at candidate headquarters, ready to support and provide more equipment as needed, it said.

During the Republican and Democratic conventions, the company provided customers with the option of adding LiveU Private Connectivity, providing uncontested connectivity via a dedicated Private 5G connection. LiveU will also make it available on Inauguration Day.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LiveU has announced that it is providing Skweek, a basketball and lifestyle streaming platform for fans, players and brands, with a cost-effective localized solution for European basketball coverage.

As part of the deployment, Skweek has turned to the next-generation version of LiveU’s cloud-native video production solution, LiveU Studio, to stream EuroLeague Basketball games in France and Monaco. The games offer cloud-based remote local commentary added to games featuring French teams, including LDLC ASVEL, AS Monaco, JL Bourg en Bresse and Paris Basketball.

Skweek, a pay-per-view service, holds the exclusive rights to the men’s EuroLeague Basketball tournament in France and Monaco, streaming up to 12 simultaneous live games per evening, and EuroCup.

Skweek receives the international feed from IMG and ingests it in LiveU Studio, adding branding and French commentary sent directly from the commentators themselves who connect to LiveU Studio as a “remote guest.”

This gives commentators greater flexibility and reduces preparation time, the companies said.

Using LiveU Studio, Skweek also streams occasional games with live local commentary directly to YouTube and other social media platforms. Leveraging the ability to publish to multiple destinations, it can ingest live feeds on its subscription-based video-on-demand (VOD) service and stream them elsewhere.

Skweek is taking advantage of LiveU’s flexible payment package option throughout the season. This helps clients like Skweek to stay in control of their costs, allowing them to scale up or down as required, providing a risk-free way to expand production capacity.

“We wanted to significantly reduce our video production costs and introduce more flexibility to the workflow,” Cyril Méjane, managing director, Skweek Studios, said. “The LiveU team were incredibly fast to respond to our initial request and we were up and running in a very short space of time. The Studio toolbox enables us to do complex production easily while only paying for what we use. Delivering live commentary to the cloud is a different way of working for our commentators but they quickly adapted to the change and have found it to be a more streamlined process.”

“Cyril and Faïssal Berkani, Skweek’s editor in chief, made the whole process incredibly straightforward,” LiveU Regional Sales Manager Philippe Gaudion added. “Very soon after a LiveU Studio demonstration by our technical team and in-house testing at a smaller event, Skweek were using the solution in earnest for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball. LiveU Studio provides a rich toolbox that enables complex cloud production in a simple way, as well as access to additional intelligent features. Just one of these features has saved Skweek significant costs and given them autonomy as they can now fully control their live remote cloud-based commentary and distribution workflows.”

It’s been five years now since the wireless carriers began rolling out 5G connectivity. Claims—sometimes exaggerated—about its possibilities were rampant then, including better steering of scalpels in robotic surgeries, downloading of HD feature-length movies in milliseconds, alleviating traffic jams and obsoleting human control of automobiles.

Not all of these glowing promises have come to fruition, and only time will tell if they ever will. One thing about 5G is certain, though, and that’s its much-less-hyped impact on TV broadcasters and content producers. Although bonded-cellular video transmission arrived a decade ahead of 5G’s rollout and has done a lot in terms of freeing remote telecasts from conventional connectivity, broadcasters—in general—agree that this fifth iteration of wireless broadband is living up to the promises that accompanied it.

What It Brings to the Table
“We have spoken for several years now about the impact that 5G has made to bonded cellular,” said Dan Pisarski, chief technology officer at LiveU. “A key example is what is called ‘deterministic latency,’ where the changes in the in-air protocol called ‘New Radio,’ or ‘NR,’ in 5G, use a much more fixed latency compared to LTE [long term evolution, a term used to describe earlier broadband wireless technology].

Pisarski observed that 5G’s utilization of new spectrum allocations provides “a much more complete workflow for users,” allowing such enhancements as two-way intercom capability, video return feeds, robotic camera control and more.

“This ensures that a team deployed with a LiveU unit is a full-capability remote team, communicating, reviewing and interacting with remote management—not just ‘shooting video,’ ” he said.

A notable example of how 5G is impacting live sports coverage happened last summer when NBC Sports was able to add more 5G cameras to more holes at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, site of the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. This was due to the scalability of T-Mobile’s 5G portable private network, according to Chris Melus, vice president of product management at T-Mobile’s Business Group.

“Broadcasters loved that they could get super-fast, fiber-like speeds without the wires,” he said, adding that 5G can provide “glass-to-glass latency that averages under 100 milliseconds, enabling full-4K 60 fps resolution.”

As an added bonus at the tourney, T-Mobile also rolled out another 5G-based enhancement for spectators in the form of real-time player data delivered to smartphones. The app provided such information as radar trajectory of golf shots, 3D imagery, views of greens and more. “Broadcasters have found tremendous value in the ability to integrate 5G into their remote production suite of tools because of 5G’s ability to efficiently bring fans more high-quality content without the burden of wires,” Melus added.

5G at the Olympics
5G also made a big splash at the Paris Summer Olympics, allowing broadcasters to provide coverage of events in ways that would not have been possible previously, and taking both in-person and video spectator enjoyment to new heights.

5G was key for France.tv to be able to cover the torch relay across 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) of France from May to July, according to Matt McEwen, vice president of product at TVU Networks.

“In the past, a large-scale moving event like this would have required helicopters and planes to receive and relay the video signals being captured by the mobile cameras,” he said. “Utilizing both public and private 5G infrastructure allowed France.tv to transmit the mobile signal without aerial support, saving 92% of the typical costs. If such a workflow were not possible, France.tv simply would not have been able to produce nine weeks of live torch relay coverage due to budget constraints.”

“5G has absolutely transformed how we now cover large-scale events like the Summer Games in Paris,” said Sukhvir Grewal, sales account manager at Dejero. “These events demand real-time, high-quality coverage from multiple locations and angles. With 5G’s higher bandwidth and lower latency it’s possible to deliver a better viewer experience even more seamlessly.”

In recalling coverage of the event’s opening ceremonies, which took place along a 6-kilometer (about 4-mile) portion of the River Seine, Jim Jachetta, chief technology officer at VidOvation, observed that 5G made all the difference in capturing close-up footage of athletes aboard the scores of boats.

“Olympic Broadcasting Services, in partnership with Haivision, utilized over 200 Samsung S24 Ultra smartphones equipped with Haivision’s MoJoPro mobile camera apps … [to provide] HDR video feeds via a dedicated 5G network supported by 12 5G cells mounted on bridges,” he said.

Jachetta added that history was made in coverage of another water event, the Marseille sailing competitions. “A standout achievement was the creation of the world’s first sea-based private 5G network,” said Jachetta. “This network, which featured 5G antennas on large catamarans, enabled live video transmission from rapidly moving boats. The 5G network’s flexibility allowed it to adapt to various sailing courses, ensuring uninterrupted coverage of the sailing events regardless of the boats’ location.”

Is It Really All That?
Since its introduction, bonded cellular has been quietly displacing conventional microwave and satellite links to deliver news and other live feeds. When the first bonded-cellular gear appeared, 4G (with anticipated data rates of perhaps 100 Mbps), was just beginning to roll out, and 3G with its low Mbps (or even high Kbps) throughput was still the norm.

Fast forward to 2024 and the availability of 5G networks across most of the United States has greatly expanded, with about 60% of the population within the reach of a 5G signal. We asked several broadcasters if it was really making a difference in their field operations. The answers were something of a mixed bag.

“I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference between 4G and 5G,” said Pete Sockett, Capitol Broadcasting’s director of engineering and operations, who is based in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, area. “It may have helped some with connectivity, but it’s hard to say.”

Dan Wilson, chief engineer at WPSD-TV Paducah, Kentucky, had a different response. “Since we switched to 5G, we’re able to get shots that we could never get before,” he said. “With 5G it’s even better and easier to get shots. Before 5G, the shots might pixelate and a reliable transmission was ‘iffy.’ Once 5G hit, that went away.”

Wilson noted that his station was still getting used to 5G, as it’s only been available in the Paducah area for the past half-year or so. He also commented on the impact 5G’s reduced latency was having on WPSD’s remote operations.

“The low latency is even better than I thought possible,” he added. “We’d gotten accustomed to a minimum three-second delay. Now it’s a second-and-a-half or even just a second. This has gotten us almost back to analog microwave days in terms of delay. It’s a real game-changer.”

David Ostmo, San Antonio, Texas-based regional engineering director for Sinclair Broadcast Group, noted that while 5G has perhaps increased the comfort level in bringing in remotes via bonded cellular, it hasn’t been a complete panacea.

“We were making pretty extensive use of LiveU technology prior to the 5G rollout,” said Ostmo. “It may be a little more comfortable trusting a football game to 5G than to 4G. We’re always concerned about a secondary link with microwave or satellite at an important event. We’ve lost live shots at large events using only bonded cellular. There was a strong signal when we were testing, but then the video was poor with pixelation when we went on the air.”

He noted that in this respect, 5G has made things better. “Where it is available, we get a more robust connection and better throughput,” he said, adding that 5G was also enabling more elaborate field productions than could be undertaken before its deployment.

What About Trucks?
Ostmo noted also that while his organization had eliminated some of its conventional microwave and satellite trucks, he felt that it was important to retain a backup to cellular, despite the claims made for 5G. “We need the ability to broadcast after a large natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado, and cellular networks could be destroyed,” he said. “This is especially in tornado- or hurricane-prone areas.”

Ostmo observed that as microwave or satellite trucks “age out” and are retired, there will always be a need for microwave and two-way radio linkage from the field that’s independent of common carriers.

Perhaps the biggest problem with 5G right now, according to Ostmo—whose responsibility extends over Sinclair stations spread over several states in the south-central portion of the U.S.—is lack of solid coverage.

“Where it’s available, we get a more robust connection and better throughput,” he said. “But it’s not available everywhere. In San Antonio, there’s good coverage in the city and not-so-good coverage as you go further out. There’s not any advantage in Nebraska.”

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES—The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is introducing a new category for the 75th Technology & Engineering Awards taking place Oct. 9 at the Prince George Ballroom in New York.

The category is “Excellence in Production Technology,” and the three nominees are “Christmas at Graceland,” “The Coronation of H.M. King Charles III” and “The Santa Clauses, Season 2.”

NATAS President and CEO Adam Sharp said: “This new category honors innovations that significantly enhanced the experience of broadcast viewers during the competition year. These nominees revolutionized the way television is produced, delivered, or broadcast. Together, they help set the standard for this exciting new track of recognition in the Tech Emmys.”

NATAS released these descriptions of the nominees:

‘Christmas at Graceland’
For the first time in its history, Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate presents a televised concert celebrating the holiday season. With this hallowed ground ready to open its gates for a special concert event, all this project needed was a production company with the right pedigree to bring the festivities and Done+Dusted was just the team for the job. Working with our partners at Authentic Brands, we produced a star-studded seasonal celebration with The King’s own granddaughter, Riley Keough, and featuring performances from top artists like John Legend, Alanis Morrisette, Kacey Musgraves and more, all broadcast from iconic locations around the estate, intercut with archival footage and testimonials from Elvis’s friends and family. Done+Dusted installed over 40 camera locations on the Graceland property, which spanned over a square mile with a 4-lane highway down the middle. They also utilized tools for cinematic acquisition with Sony F-5500 cameras capturing the show in 24p UHD while delivering a broadcast 1080i/59.94 signal to the network over both fiber and satellite-based uplink.

The Coronation of H.M. King Charles III, BBC / Neutral Wireless / University of Strathclyde / LiveU
After experiencing significant difficulties during the State funeral for H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, BBC News identified a requirement to provide connectivity for news teams for the Coronation of H.M. King Charles III. Wireless cameras were essential for their planned coverage, but the expected crowds would present a problem for bonded-cellular contributions—not just for themselves, but all broadcasters. BBC News and BBC R&D approached Neutral Wireless to deploy a large-scale private 5G standalone network to provide seamless coverage along part of the procession route, from outside Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Admiralty Arch, guaranteeing uplink connectivity for existing bonded-cellular devices without changing the day-to-day operations for the news teams. Initial viability testing was conducted in collaboration with LiveU at the University of Strathclyde's rural test site on the banks of Loch Lomond (Scotland), before on-site testing in London. The 7-cell network deployed provided over 1Gbps of uncontested uplink capacity using only 80 MHz spectrum. As the public networks became congested, bonded-cellular devices relied entirely on the private 5G network to go live-to-air. On Coronation Day itself, over 60 devices from 20 domestic and international media outlets used the private network to deliver live news contributions (video and radio) that could not have otherwise been broadcast. This is considered an innovative and efficient use of radio spectrum. Feedback from the broadcasters was overwhelmingly positive.”

‘The Santa Clauses, Season Two}
In the second season, the Calvin family is back in the North Pole as Scott Calvin continues his role as Santa Claus after retirement plans were thwarted when he failed to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Cal to eventually take over the “family business” as Santa Claus. However, a bit of North Pole magic brings an unexpected challenge to Scott’s plan. ILM contributed successfully to the first season with StageCraft LED work. For Season 2, ILM StageCraft was used once again and ILM contributed post visual effects as well. The visual effects work on the project was overseen by Trevor Hazel, with a seamless partnership between ILM’s San Francisco office and SDFX. Together, the team ultimately delivered 333 shots of Christmas cheer for the series.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU will showcase its LiveU EcoSystem with five strategic partners, including All Mobile Video (AMV), B&H, Broadfield Distributing, Key Code Media and Varto Technologies, in real production environments at demo stations and in retail-style settings during the 2024 NAB Show New York, Oct. 9-10, at the Javits Center in New York.

“Our EcoSystem of software, hardware and services enables storytellers to craft even more creative narratives, with lower budgets, using ground-to-cloud-to-crowd production packages,” LiveU Chief Marketing Officer Steve Wind-Mozley said.

“With an expansive reseller network that covers the U.S., Latin America and Canada in the Americas, our partners have deep local market knowledge and strong LiveU expertise,” Wind-Mozley said. “NAB NY gives them the perfect opportunity to showcase the breadth and interoperability of our portfolio to their booth visitors and to demonstrate the value of the LiveU EcoSystem. And of course, the LiveU account teams will be on hand to share more insight on the next dimension of performance and resilience of IP video that is made possible by LiveU IQ (LIQ).”    

The company said it has introduced solutions and enhancements to the LiveU EcoSystem that add efficiency and shorten workflows for any live video production.

The new Lightweight Sports Production solution makes fully featured, professional live sports production accessible and affordable for events of any size. It enables a single operator to produce and distribute a professional sports telecast complete with replay, video switching, audio mixing, graphics, remote guests, ad insertion and ISO record, LiveU said. 

With an intuitive new user interface, the sports-production solution can be fully controlled from a single web browser. It brings together a choice of LiveU portable field units, LiveU Mobile Data airtime packages and LiveU Studio into one easy-to-access package. LiveU’s Pay-As-You-Go and Season Pass plans make top-tier sports storytelling accessible to events of any size, the company said.

LiveU IQ (LIQ) introduces the next dimension in reliability and trust for IP video technology, ensuring top performance and resiliency. The connectivity solution delivers the highest-performing set of cellular connections in any location, with dynamic and smart mobile operator switching, according to LiveU. 

See LiveU at NAB Show New York in the booths of its partners, including: All Mobile Video, Booth 1205; Broadfield, Booth 711; Key Code Media, Booth 1423; and Varto Technologies, Booth 637.

Attendees can make appointments with Starin, a new distributor, and technology partners B&H (Booth 322), Chesa and Able Cine (Booth 345).

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has unveiled LiveU IQ (LIQ), a new technology for IP-video transport that takes connection, resiliency and performance to the next level, and will show LIQ at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

LIQ dynamically and intelligently switches mobile network operators to provide the highest performing set of cellular connections available in any location. The new transport technology accomplishes this feat by leveraging a number of innovations across eSIMs, AI and hybrid local and cloud-based data and algorithms, it said.

“Customer-centric innovation is deeply ingrained in LiveU’s DNA. We founded the company to make video production easier, more accessible, and efficient for broadcasters and content creators, and that mission still drives us today,” said LiveU co-founder and CEO Samuel Wasserman. “LiveU IQ means that connectivity options are no longer limited to a preselected, fixed set of cellular operators. Now we can dynamically and smartly switch to the best performing network configurations, live and on air.”

LIQ is unlike existing cellular bonding setup where one or more modems may be tied to underperforming networks at a given location, he said. 

Rather, LIQ “always plays to the strengths of our network operator partners” by switching automatically to higher performing networks, even when there is network congestion, said Wasserman.

LIQ enables a LiveU field encoder to deploy intelligent bonding, dynamically selecting the best performing cellular connection options available to it at any given time and location. LiveU IQ means that video crews can simply trust that they will experience the best available cellular connectivity profile whenever and wherever they seek to transmit from, the company said.

LiveU’s LRT protocol ensures the reliable transmission of video-over-bonded-IP by merging the available IP connection links into a more robust, higher bandwidth connection. Drawing on a data depot created from the activity logs of hundreds of thousands of SIMs, LIQ adds another dimension to this by ensuring that the cellular components of the bonded link are always the very best available, it said,

“LiveU IQ consists of three main elements: LiveU’s own universal eSIMs, able to work with any operator network; a cloud-based decisioning engine working with our big data set of network performance logs; and LiveU Analytics, showing users the dynamic switching events and exactly how their session performance has improved,” said Gideon Gilboa, LiveU’s chief product officer. “With LIQ, it’s easy for our customers to see how they can ‘Go Live. Better.’”

See LiveU at IBC Stand 7.C19.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Expanding its already extensive relationship with LiveU, ITV News is deploying technology from across LiveU’s IP-Video EcoSystem across its national and regional newsgathering operations. 

ITV News reported that the deployment aims to greatly increase the sustainability of its newsgathering operations while also benefiting from the latest LiveU developments. The driver for long-term sustainability came from both an environment and a workflow perspective, enabling ITV to produce more content from the source as efficiently as possible with notable cost savings, the two companies said. 

The deployment, which was Initiated in 2022, spans the full video production chain from contribution and production to distribution. Multiple LiveU portable mobile encoders are deployed nationwide for daily newsgathering, including both the LU800 and LU300. Multi-cam LU800 units are used both inside and outside ITV's fleet of sustainable news production vehicles (NPVs), which were developed by NEP as plug-in hybrids with onboard batteries. The LU800s can be easily detached from the NPVs to be used as autonomous units, without traditional broadcast truck limitations. The large deployment of LU300s is used as roving units, growing ITV News’ newsgathering potential to more camera operators with a smaller solution, complemented by the LU-Smart mobile app.

ITV is also using other aspects of LiveU's EcoSystem, including its Video Return capabilities, designed to bring video from the studio to the field. Here it’s being used for studio interactions as well as prompting/cue video when ITV is doing a particularly complex outside broadcast or a presented feed on the road. Audio Connect is also in use, enabling its news anchors and producers in the station to communicate with their team in the field, the two companies said. 

In addition, the broadcaster is using the LiveU Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform for sharing and receiving high-quality, low-latency live feeds across the regions and ITN in London, as well as outside the organization.

Steve Teague, head of technical services for ITV News, explained that “LiveU as a platform for this was attractive because it’s fundamentally IP, and all the advantages that brings, rather than DVB-style baseband transmission. It also gave us the opportunity to reframe our relationship with LiveU, moving closer to a service provider model. We wanted a relationship where we could evolve together. This has been fundamental to the success of this project.”

“If we look at any given day, the vast majority of traffic is going out via LiveU,” Teague added. 

It’s when it comes to the comms side that the benefits of this refreshed, collaborative relationship really came to the fore. Teague continued. 

“When we looked at the LiveU EcoSystem, we saw a lot of potential, Audio Connect being a case in point,” he said. “We had a few extra requirements and worked very closely with LiveU, developing a dynamic relationship with us being able to feed back to its developers what was happening in the field rather than in the lab. This greatly sped up the process and made it much more efficient. We always had a good relationship with LiveU but now we have a much stronger one. LiveU’s solutions have developed so much, it has absolutely shaped the way we news gather and the way we go live at ITV. The technology is so flexible and we would really struggle to work without IP bonding now.”

Matt Stringer, sales director, LiveU noted that “As Steve says, this project has seen us further develop the way we work with customers, enhancing both our solutions portfolio and the dynamic way in which we can operate. It has been an energizing and successful process and one which will benefit other broadcasters, too. These are cutting edge workflows that allow ITV to continue to push at the boundaries of what’s possible. "

"Our products evolve and improve daily based on customer feedback and the growth and position of LiveU in the broadcast market ensures we remain best-in-class,” Stringer continued. “The value of this feedback is never taken for granted and means we are always learning what our customers need not just today but for the future."

Missed any of our recent product news? Here is TV Tech's weekly wrap-up of new products, services and deployments we published in our newsletter between July 22 and July 26. The stories are listed from the newest on Friday July 26, day by day back to our stories from Monday July 22.

Telos Alliance Unveils StudioCore, StudioEdge

Telos Alliance has introduced StudioCore and StudioEdge—both members of the company’s Axia lineup of AoIP studio consoles and accessories.

Bitcentral Integrates Pixalate Analytics Into ViewNexa

Bitcentral has integrated Pixalate’s ad fraud protection, privacy and compliance analytics solution Post-Bid Analytics and Reporting into its ViewNexa streaming platform.

Anton/Bauer Unveils VCLX LI 1600 Power Supply for Cinematographers

Anton/Bauer has launched its VCLX LI 1600, the latest evolution in its VCLX range of block battery systems. The new battery delivers more power than ever from a lightweight and IP65-rated weatherproof unit, the company said.

Nielsen’s Gracenote Enters Contextual CTV Ad Business

Gracenote is now working with Peer39, Magnite, Cannella Media, Ocean Media, DirecTV Advertising, Tastemade, Xumo and others to improve contextual advertising.

What Role Does VVC Have in the Future of Over-the-Air TV?

Recent panel discussion explores ATSC's consideration of the VVC (Versatile Video Coding) candidate standard to include in 3.0. 

Dejero to Showcase its ‘Smart Blending Technology’ at 2024 IBC Show

The company will also mark the IBC debut of its new GateWay 3220 compact network aggregation device.

Alibaba Cloud, OBS Launch AI-Fueled OBS Cloud 3.0 for Paris Olympics

In a notable milestone in the use of cloud-based services at the Olympics, Alibaba Cloud and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), has today announced the launch of OBS Cloud 3.0 for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

FCC Launches New Mobile Speed Test App

The Federal Communications Commission has announced the launch of its new Mobile Speed Test app. The new app features an enhanced user interface that makes challenging the accuracy of the provider-reported mobile coverage data even easier.

LiveU Reports Vital Role in Covering UK Election

Company says 180 broadcasters and news agencies from 40 countries deployed its IP video gear.

Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle Launches

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the launch of their long-awaited premium streaming bundle for the United States. 

Scripps' Incident Management Planning Minimizes CrowdStrike Disruptions

While some news operations were affected, tech support prep and Macs limited the problems.

Astera to Showcase LunaBulb LED Light at 2024 IBC Show

Astera, a German-based developer of light solutions for film, event and TV markets, will showcase its range of LED-based lighting gear, including its new LunaBulb, at the 2024 IBC Show, Sept. 13-16 at the RAI Amsterdam.

Brazil’s SBTVD Forum Recommends ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer For Nation’s TV 3.0 OTA Service

The SBTVD Forum, the non-profit organization that advises the Brazilian government on digital television and policy matters, is recommending the selection of the ATSC 3.0 physical layer as the over-the-air transmission system for the nation’s TV 3.0 next-generation terrestrial broadcast service, ATSC said.

RAI Taps Clear-Com for New Intercom Setup

Clear-Com has announced that it worked with Video Progetti to deliver an advanced intercom solution for Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), Italy’s state broadcaster.

Sencore to Feature Latest Internet Distribution, Contribution Advancements at IBC Show

The company also will show its latest developments in encoding, decoding and monitoring.

NBC Sports Taps Comcast Technology Solutions for Olympics Coverage

NBC Sports has announced that it will be using Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) to provide multiscreen video management and delivery for its production of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

QuickLink To Highlight StudioPro 4K Video Production Solution At IBC Show

QuickLink will show its QuickLink StudioPro 4K video production platform at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

IBC 2024 Sees European Debut of Proton Cam, World’s Smallest Camera

Miniaturized camera specialist Proton Camera Innovations will be bringing Proton Cam, which the company bills as the world’s smallest broadcast camera, to the IBC Show, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Gray Television To Enhance Paris Olympics NextGen TV Signal With HDR, Immersive Audio

The broadcast group will offer NextGen TV viewers in eight of its NBC markets the Paris Olympics in HDR when they open Wednesday, July 24. Viewers in three of those markets also will be able to listen to immersive audio of the games.

Lawo To Launch Home mc² DSP App Audio Engine At IBC Show

Lawo will make the official launch of HOME mc² DSP app, first announced at the NAB Show in April, at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

DMC Productions Leverages GV AMPP-Based Workflow for Nordic Tennis Tournament

DMC Productions has deployed a remote production workflow that processes all signals on site as opposed to transporting them for off-site processing based on Grass Valley AMPP for the 2024 Nordea Open tennis tournament, July 8-21, the company said.

Amazon Prime Video Acquires Bray Film Studios in the U.K.

The studio has been the production home for the second season of the Prime Video series `The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ since 2022.

Paramount Advertising Brings AI-Generated Ads to Pluto TV, Paramount+

Powered by generative AI partner Waymark, Paramount's new Paramount Ads Manager creates CTV ads based on images, text, and videos derived from a business’s website.

Perifery Introduces AI+ 2.0 Suite of Tools

Perifery has launched AI+ 2.0, an AI-powered suite for media professionals to revitalize their existing content libraries with AI-generated metadata.

FOR-A to Spotlight Software-Defined IP Solutions At IBC Show

FOR-A will show spotlight software-defined IP solutions and hybrid production at the IBC Show, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Broadcasters and news agencies from 40 countries used LiveU IP-video gear to provide real-time, round-the-clock coverage of the recent UK election. The company's field units, cloud production and distribution solutions enabled reporting from hundreds of polling stations and other locations across the country. LiveU's solutions were instrumental in covering key election spots, with the broadcasters prioritizing high-profile constituencies with the most impactful election counts, the company said.

Nearly 900 LiveU field encoders (including the multi-cam LU800 and compact LU300S) were deployed by over 180 LiveU customers over the 48-hour period (July 3-5) complemented by the LU-Smart smartphone app. Around 18,000 live sessions were recorded, totaling over 5,000 hours, with over 10.5 TB of live transmissions.

LiveU says its cloud-native IP-video distribution platform, LiveU Matrix, was the backbone of pooled political content, such as around the party leaders, allowing broadcasters to securely share key moments with each other in real-time, reducing production costs. Over 400 distribution channels were used. LiveU's cloud-native video production solution, LiveU Studio, expanded the reach of interviews, speeches, and aftermath coverage across digital channels as part of a seamless production workflow, the company said.

"It was a privilege to support our customers and election coverage at this scale," said Matt Stringer, Sales Director at LiveU. "Our entire EcoSystem was in use, from field units to cloud services, ensuring that every aspect of the election was captured and broadcast in real-time both on linear and digital platforms. LiveU was used to capture all the key moments, including important election count locations and leader speeches. Our support teams had our customers backs, knowing that we had local support and 24/7 provided reassurances to our customers in the field."

HACKENSACK, N.J.—As broadcasters and news organizations look for more reliable connectivity for their coverage of this year’s elections, LiveU is reporting that it is working with private wireless network orchestration and management software company, Pente Networks, to LiveU Private Connectivity. 

As previously reported by TV Tech, the solution gave major news broadcasters access to private network connectivity inside the RNC at the Fiserv Forum.

“Providing a private cellular network solution for major broadcasters covering the RNC and DNC adds a robust and reliable connection to the bonding mix, avoiding public network congestion and the instability of WiFi in the convention arenas,” said Dan Pisarski, LiveU CTO. “In addition, private cellular networks give us another layer of service for our customers – network segmentation, prioritization and greater security – while providing additional capacity for expanded remote production technologies and employee communications.”

As part of its LiveU IP-video EcoSystem of solutions, services, and integrations such as with Pente Networks, LiveU has made it simple to secure the network and deploy a robust connection for broadcasters. At the core of LiveU's EcoSystem is its LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT), the leading IP-video transport protocol designed for wireless networks, giving rock steady reliability, the companies said. 

“Having the ad hoc private mobile network solution means we can provide this service almost anywhere, and deploy it quickly, giving our customers new creative options as they share the stories of the day,” added Pisarski.

Pente’s orchestration solution streamlines the provisioning of ad-hoc private mobile networks, seamlessly handling the nuances required to ensure resilient and reliable broadcast quality connectivity from challenging environments like densely populated convention arenas. The LiveU Private Connectivity solution uses innovative radio and switching configurations to deliver total freedom of camera movement and placement within the locations.

For the RNC, LiveU provided on-the-ground technical support, rentals, and connectivity to ensure reliable, high-quality, and uninterrupted coverage. LiveU Private Connectivity proved so popular with major broadcasters that the initial offering was fully booked within a few days of announcing the solution.

“We expect this US Presidential Election to break records for the amount of continuous simultaneous live transmissions,” said Pisarski.

To learn more about LiveU’s 2024 Election Support, visit https://get.liveu.tv/us-elections-24/. 

In celebration of its 18th birthday, LiveU has announced that it will be unveiling new cloud live production solutions and a range of new tech advancements during the IBC Show at Stand C19 in Hall 7 during Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

During IBC, the company will be highlighting LiveU's new Lightweight Sports Production solution, which will feature dedicated sports production tools, to be unveiled during the show. The solution opens-up fresh avenues for bringing more sports stories to a broader fan base, while significantly reducing time, effort, and cost. Moreover, it makes coverage feasible for sports events previously overlooked due to prohibitive costs, LiveU reported. 

“In the 18 years that LiveU has been helping broadcasters, sports organizations and storytellers to overcome many of the challenges, costs and complexities of live video production, we’ve seen audience needs radically change,” said Steve Wind-Mozley, LiveU’s CMO. “At the IBC Show in September we’ll focus on cost-effective Lightweight Production workflows, which make niche content creation viable on a repeatable scale. We'll be also showing our genre specific developments, which are heavy hitting when it comes to improving the bottom line.”

“This is a fitting moment to thank our customers and partners who have been such an integral part of our story thus far. The occasion of our 18th anniversary is also an opportunity to look forward,” continued Wind-Mozley. “And with the developments across LiveU Studio, the release of the LiveU Lightweight Sports Production solution, and more, the future is set to deliver many happy returns for our customers."   

Leveraging the latest developments in remote production and cloud-based services, LiveU's Lightweight Production offers a swift-to-deploy turnkey solution, designed to dramatically reduce the cost of live production, and enable more stories to be told to a wider audience across more platforms.

LiveU's Lightweight Production offering makes selected components of LiveU's IP-video EcoSystem even easier to access and faster to deploy. These include LiveU's portable field encoders, LiveU Studio, the only LRT native, cloud-based video production service, and IP-video optimized mobile data products. Seamless integration with third-party graphics and social engagement tools equips customers with full control from just one browser screen, LiveU reported. 

In addition, LiveU will present what it is calling “a groundbreaking new user experience for LiveU Studio” with enhanced usability and intuitive controls, placing the mixing of a professional program feed within the reach of more storytellers. Harnessing the power of cloud production, LiveU Studio simplifies the technical director's experience and as a result reduces the resources required to manage those productions, the company reported. 

The LiveU EcoSystem, known for its contribution, production and distribution solutions, will be further enhanced with new developments across ground-to-cloud-to-crowd technologies and story-centric workflows for greater efficiency and flexibility. Also on display will be LiveU Analytics, the cutting-edge new insights tool that leverages IP-video data for improved workflow management. LiveU is also at the vanguard of automated content provenance validation. As a member of CP2A.org (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity), LiveU is committed to furthering the use of content authentication tools for authentic storytelling within EcoSystem products like LiveU Ingest automatic recording and story metadata solutions.  

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has announced that it will be demonstrating the use of its technologies and connectivity solutions by a number of partners at the upcoming 2024 NAB Show.

At its booth (South Hall Lower booth #SL5105), LiveU reported that it will be highlighting the LiveU EcoSystem’s IP-Positive architecture for story-centric workflows that are being implemented worldwide in this pivotal year for elections and international sports events.

"2024 is set to be a record-breaking year for live production with elections around the world and major sports events, including of course the Paris Games driving unprecedented production workloads,” explained Gideon Gilboa, CPO at LiveU. “As part of the LiveU EcoSystem, it enables interoperability, adaptability and flexible connectivity, allowing us to provide innovative live production solutions that work seamlessly with other best-of-breed technologies. Ultimately, it's all about making it easier for our customers to do what they need to do, producing great content while achieving time and cost savings. By partnering with other vendors on story-centric workflows, we enable our customers to offer cross platform, linear and digital news products, increase collaboration among their editorial teams and become more efficient."

The LiveU IP-video EcoSystem, underpinned by LiveU’s LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol, is adaptable and open to third-party providers and other IP protocols, including SRT NDI and SMPTE 2110. In addition to a range of solution updates, new integrations on display at this year's NAB Show include work with such companies as Bitcentral, Marshall Electronics, Sony and TAG Video Systems. Other integrations showcased include Dina, Mimir, Dizplai, Tagboard, Marquis and Wolftech.

Other highlights for the 2024 NAB Show include LiveU's Amazon Web Services (AWS) ground-to-cloud solution at the AWS West Hall Lobby and booth #W1701 within the AWS newsroom in the cloud demo, featuring a 13-source production with LiveU field units and cloud channels. 

LiveU will also demonstrate an integration of a Pente Private LTE cellular network with a LU300S encoder and 4K camera mounted on a quadrupedal robot, streaming high-quality live video to the LiveU booth as it roams the exhibition hall.

The demos on display at the NAB Show include:

• Bitcentral’s Core News Production suite is integrated tightly with the LiveU Ingest automatic recording and story metadata tagging solution. Using LiveU Ingest to record everything automatically or selectively, customers can efficiently pick the relevant stories, then trim and push the recorded content into Core New’s Oasis system together with the detailed metadata information. For more information, visit https://bitcentral.com/ or see them on booth #W1913.
• Marshall Electronics HD-SDI based broadcast-quality cameras with reliable video signals, compatible with all LiveU field encoders. Marshall's small-sized and miniature cameras can be easily included in portable kits with an affordable price point for procurement at large volumes. An essential part of global broadcast, sports and professional AV workflows, Marshall cameras are also favored by the public safety market, with their small size suitable for covert operations. For further information, please visit the Marshall booth #C5912.
• Sony is showing the seamless integration between its ENG cameras and LiveU's portable video encoders as a partner in Sony’s cloud production platform, Creators' Cloud ecosystem. LiveU can now be used with Sony’s C3 Portal (C3P), a portfolio of open technology and services, which allows customers to capture, manage or deliver their content. C3 Portal uses mobile 5G/LTE, WiFi and Ethernet to connect cameras to the cloud. For more information, please visit Sony’s booth #C8201.
• TAG Video Systems offers software-based integrated IP probing, monitoring, visualization and analytics solutions. TAG's comprehensive real-time media performance solutions seamlessly monitor LiveU's live video transmission feeds, notify for events per custom set thresholds and visualize them in real-time (see last week's announcement). Together the companies offer seamless live IP video production and playout workflows. For further information, please visit the TAG Video Systems booth #W1655.

To schedule a meeting visit the LiveU NAB Page. 

As Fox Weather prepares for its live coverage of the solar eclipse from April 6 to 8, Fox Weather correspondent Robert Ray describes some of his tech plans for the coverage by saying “we are covering this eclipse like a sporting event" with "live action, play-by-play, color commentary, stats, live interviews, dynamic graphics and fan reaction."

Like a sporting event, Ray adds that they have to be prepared for how fast the action unfolds and “how ready one must be technically”

Overall the free streaming weather service will have meteorologists and correspondents spanning nearly 10 cities to capture the events leading up to the full eclipse on April 8. 

In this Q&A, Ray lays out some of the technologies he'll be using in his coverage and some of the challenges they face. It has been edited for length and clarity. 

TV Tech: What are some of the technologies you are using to help with your eclipse coverage? 

Robert Ray: Along with many Fox Weather team members, I'll be reporting live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, my coverage kicks off on Saturday April 6th and rolls all the way through the event on Monday the 8th.

From a tech perspective, coverage of the eclipse is robust and unique at Fox Weather...Imagine watching a correspondent give a play-by-play of the eclipse all the while seeing what he is capturing through his own eyes, live on Fox Weather. The latter is the plan.  

A Fox Weather photojournalist will be shooting me and the crowds, I'll be shooting the eclipse with a Sony PXW-400 with a Canon lens and extender plus a certified solar neutral density filter to help with the live imagery and safety for the lens and camera. And of course, we will have custom Fox Weather protective eyewear. During the eclipse and after I'll be talking with folks getting their reactions all the while training the camera on the eclipse. Capturing the eclipse takes technical skills with not only focus and riding the F-stop but following how fast it all happens, remember, the Earth is moving and so will the images, so it takes some concentration. During the eclipse I'll offer viewers the chance to peek into the lens of the Sony 400 and I'll also have my Solar Binoculars to hand folks as well. 

Transmitting the event will be multi-faceted, we will utilize LiveU tethered Wi-Fi technology connected to both cameras. If we have any signal issues from the WI-FI we can pivot to a traditional satellite truck that will be standing by and helping with the many facets of the broadcast and stream.

TVT: What are some of the challenges posed by eclipses from a technical angle and how are you addressing those? 

Ray: The approach we are taking, with 2 cameras and the correspondent (myself) shooting the eclipse while doing live play-by-play and interviews with people is a recipe for anything to go wrong. But pushing the envelope is rewarding, especially on a live broadcast.

Having said that, as a photojournalist and a guy who can talk with anchors back in NY on live TV, I feel this immerses the viewer, gives them totally unique access and perspective into the wonder and beauty of the eclipse & how the phenomenon is captured, all live. My biggest challenge is framing the sun properly so that it can make its way from the bottom edge of the left-hand side of the screen and make its way diagonally to the upper right quadrant of the frame, or screen. The latter will allow the viewer to see the eclipse properly and will give me room to do quick interviews with spectators while the eclipse is happening. Now, I'll have to be diligent in getting my eye into the viewfinder about every 20 seconds to monitor the framing and exposure. If cloud cover is robust and the sun dips in and out, then the challenge of exposure will be significant. Anything easy usually never has a big payoff anyway, so, that's my mantra in this coverage.

TVT: What did you learn from the ring of fire eclipse coverage last year?

Ray: Speed, I was reminded how fast the event happens & how ready one must be technically. We are talking about the speed of the moon's orbit moving at about 2200 mph, of course the effective speed at the surface is less and varies but that's why an eye needs to be in the camera frame & the adjustments are constant, required by the photojournalist to properly capture. The eclipse in April will last around 4 minutes, which as we know, is an eternity in the world of television, so its laser focus technically and mentally in the lead-up, during the vent and after. I'll need a cold one when this coverage is complete:)

TVT: Any other technical details? 

We are covering this eclipse like a sporting event. Live action, play-by-play, color commentary, stats, live interviews, dynamic graphics and fan reaction. Looking forward to the challenge and excitement of this event. Fox Weather will have teams across the country, the coverage will be like no other.

Techniques used in newsgathering have changed substantially in the past 20 years, and the same is true for live production. The same mobile technology that shapes what we carry in our pockets has made it faster and easier than ever to cover a breaking news story across town.

News and live-production operations have embraced mobile technology with a vengeance, and it is now widely used across the industry. And every year at the NAB Show, there are sleeker, faster and more capable products.

Staying Connected
Everything hinges on the word “faster,” as we want our news to be right now. The broadcaster who wins the “right now” race is probably the broadcaster that gets the most views.

“With the proliferation of news websites, apps, and social media, audiences expect updates to be shared almost in real-time,” said Matt Scully, director of product management at Dejero. “For film, television and commercial production, teams can leverage a reliable, ultra-fast connection to enable real-time collaboration with dispersed teams and accelerate delivery of content from the set directly to post-production, regardless of location—thus reducing the number of people required on set, and unlocking huge cost-savings.”

Scully pointed out that Dejero’s EnGo 3x with GateWay mode lets news crews broadcast breaking stories, quickly transfer files to prepare and upload packages while in the field, and set up high-bandwidth access points for multiple devices.

With the ability to get signals on the air quickly comes an increasing number of signal sources. Selecting among sources that grow in number can quickly cause a broadcaster to outgrow its source switcher, so TVU Networks will be showing its new solution: TVU MediaHub. MediaHub accepts various input formats ranging from SDI, NDI, SRT and TVU Grid to YouTube and more. It can scale and direct outputs to multiple destinations in formats such as RTMP, HLS, TVU Grid and Facebook. MediaHub can be scaled up or down as needed, and charged by the minute as it is used.

“We’re eager to see how this platform will enable content creators and broadcasters to innovate and engage their audiences in novel, exciting ways,” said Paul Shen, CEO of TVU. “MediaHub is a portal to endless broadcasting possibilities.”

Election Coverage
LiveU will be at the NAB Show demonstrating techniques for election coverage, as well as the company’s latest cloud remote production and sports workflows. The LiveU booth will also host several sessions from leading LiveU EcoSystem partners covering a range of contemporary use cases and workflows, including cloud-remote production, content aggregation and AI-augmented production.

“This will be a record-breaking year for live IP-video, with a very strong roster of global sports events, dozens of elections and other high-profile events all contributing to its growth,” said Steve Wind-Mozley, chief marketing officer at LiveU. “Everything we will showcase at the NAB Show is designed to shorten workflows by reducing complexity and effort, and to add efficiency.”

Virtual studios can make a small space seem much bigger—and the same space can be news one moment, the weather report next and sports after that. Making it all work seamlessly in a live production is the key to virtual production.

ENCO will highlight its Qimera live virtual production and augmented-reality solution for broadcast and production studios. Qimera simplifies the complexities of virtual studio production, enabling broadcasters and content creators to produce immersive content with ease.

“This year, we will highlight how broadcasters can utilize Qimera for augmented reality in addition to virtual production,” said Ken Frommert, president of ENCO. “We will also debut an AI-generated virtual anchor within a 3D space. This is an example of how Qimera blends the physical and digital worlds.”

ENCO will also debut enCaption Sierra, an automated turnkey encoding and captioning system, made possible through ENCO’s recent acquisitions of DoCaption, according to Frommert.

“There will be new features for Sierra that push the boundaries of what has been possible in captioning, and these will be announced closer to NAB. However, we are packing Sierra into an all-in-one system that includes a closed-captioned encoder along with live, automatic captioning software.”

Cloud Environment
EditShare will feature its cloud production and editing service called FLEX, including FLEX Cloud Edit and FLEX Cloud Sync. FLEX Cloud Edit provides media asset management, software-defined storage, and virtual workstations in a cloud environment provided by AWS. FLEX provides a completely open hosting environment, so users are free to use whatever editing software they prefer.

Collecting the news for a local station used to be done entirely in-house, using microwave trucks that beamed a narrow signal back to a dish on a tower at the station. Similarly, live production frequently used satellite uplink trucks to transmit a signal that was received on a big dish at the station—as much as possible, the signal and its processing was kept in-house. That way the engineering department and management could be sure that the station had as much control over the signal path as possible.

In the past 10 to 15 years, that has all changed. Now, news remotes usually use public cellular carriers to send the signals over the internet, often shipping them to cloud facilities for storage and/or processing. Today it is possible to produce a newscast in the cloud with only some anchor feeds coming from the station’s studio.

And don’t be surprised if even that changes in the next couple of years. 

Register for the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas at https://nabshow.com/2024/

LONDON—BT Media and Broadcast has added LiveU IP-video support to its switching capability to provide dynamic live content sharing alongside its LiveU field units, benefiting its sports, remote production, news and live event customers, LiveU said today.

The move brings together LiveU’s Reliable Transport (LRT) protocol with BT’s wider content and distribution network, covering Internet Protocol (IP) and Serial Digital Interface (SDI), creating a seamless experience for customers, it said.

BT Media and Broadcast moves up to 24,000 hours of content each day through its International Media Centre at BT Tower in London. Its FacilityLine works in the uncompressed SDI domain—from SD to 4K—operating as the backbone for U.K. broadcast services, as well as linking broadcasters and the global production community.

BT has installed LiveU receiving and decoding technology to create direct receive and transmit capabilities. The collaboration will power multiple use cases, ranging from enabling LiveU users to reach takers who don’t currently use its technology to providing additional resiliency alongside traditional fixed links using LiveU, it said.

Content takers, wherever they are in the world, can benefit from a cost-effective and ad-hoc service and still access the global hub of English language content. BT Media and Broadcast is now able to provide a simple link to live content, whether SDI or LRT, to smaller broadcasters and channels that don’t have a master control room or live gallery but want live content to increase viewer engagement, it said.

“This collaboration opens up an exciting range of content sharing possibilities across sport, news and many other verticals. For ad hoc events, LiveU customers can easily send their feeds to BT Tower for secure, reliable sharing,” said Dom Wrona, head of portfolio and GTM at BT Media and Broadcast.

“Extremely reliable feeds can also be made available for remote production anywhere in the world," Wrona continued. "By working together, we will enable LiveU users to distribute their content to more customers through our network and people who want access to that content can get it via our connectivity.”

BT Media and Broadcast also has the ability to send/receive live feeds via LiveU Matrix, the company’s next-gen IP cloud content sharing platform. This will be available to BT Media and Broadcast customers in the future, it said.

The company has also acquired multi-camera LU800 field units, expanding its in-the-field contribution options for customers. These are available for hire from BT Media and Broadcast.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The 2023 Pacific Games, Nov. 18-Dec. 2 in Honiara, Solomon Islands, were successfully broadcast live to viewers in numerous participating countries and beyond using LiveU's IP-video EcoSystem, the company said.

Pacific Games 2023 organizers were attracted to LiveU's technology because of its cost-effectiveness, flexibility and the use of LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport), which enabled live broadcasts to be distributed with the highest resiliency to a disparate array of broadcasters and other takers across the Pacific Islands as well as Australia and New Zealand, LiveU said.

The LiveU team was on-site throughout the games, providing engineering and operational support, it said.

The Pacific Games, established in 1963, span 24 sports, including archery, athletics, basketball, football, judo and rugby. They are intended to strengthen bonds between the Pacific Islands and surrounding nations through sports.

Historically, the world feed has been transmitted via satellite and produced centrally with select content. The organizers of this year’s event relied on reliable IP distribution over the open internet using LiveU Matrix's fully managed service with multiple feeds, encompassing all the content produced at different venues, the company said.

LiveU's compact 5G LU300S encoders were deployed for point-to-point transmission; LiveU Ingest was used for cloud recording on-site; and the rackmount LiveU Transceivers provided uplink and point-to-point transmission, it said.

"These games mean so much to so many people. For many of the competing territories, it's the only time their teams compete internationally,” said Paul Vunituraga, broadcast manager for Pacific Games 2023. 

“We were looking for a cost-effective and efficient alternative to satellite and were excited by the opportunities enabled using LiveU's IP technology. The results speak for themselves. Despite the challenging environments on the island, the quality and scope of the live production remained at the highest level throughout the games. We could focus on covering all the different sports with engaging live content, while expanding our reach to new takers with full peace of mind."

More information is available on the company’s website. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—TBS Japan has deployed LiveU’s On-Site Production solution in combination with Starlink satellites for TBS Japan's live production of the Japanese variety show “Ousama no Brunch,” LiveU said today.

Produced by TBS ACT, the production arm of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), the prime-time show was broadcast live from one of Japan's largest theme parks to millions of viewers nationwide.

LiveU's On-Site Production solution, with its Mobile Receiver, integrated in this instance with Starlink, enabled a resilient, cost-effective, wire-free setup. The integration expands the possibilities for on-site productions in areas where wired network lines are not available and network conditions are challenging, the company said.

Part of LiveU's network-agnostic EcoSystem, On-Site Production enables LiveU's set of IP-video solutions to be connected with other best-of-breed IP and satellite networks.

High-quality live feeds were delivered from numerous LiveU LU800s and LU600s field units around the park to the LiveU receivers installed in the production truck. Multiple mobile and satellite networks were used. LiveU supported the overall deployment and pre-tests at the on-site production venue with local partner NTT Communications Corp, it said.

"We used LiveU Mobile Receiver for on-site production at the large theme park in the Kanto region,” said Keiichi Shiota from TBS ACT.  “By using LiveU Mobile Receiver, we were able to receive live video in a vehicle using mobile and satellite networks (Starlink) without the need for wired network connections. We believe that LiveU Mobile Receiver expands the possibilities of on-site production in locations where it's not easy to prepare a wired network line."

LiveU also announced it will exhibit at InterBEE 2023, Nov. 15-17, outside Tokyo, in Hall 5, Stand 5406.

More information is available on the company’s website.

The term “live production over IP” covers a lot of territory, but the basic idea is that IP circuits are used for at least some of the signals in the production. In some studios that are built for IP production from the ground up, IP circuits are the primary pathways, and the gear directly connects to these IP circuits.

Just about any type of production can work with IP technologies. Examples of productions that use IP techniques range from the highest-level sports and events, down to local news and talk shows. Although more traditional SDI systems are still practical and in wide use, IP-based systems are here to stay.

One huge benefit from IP techniques is the ability to get remote feeds very quickly and at low cost. What used to take an expensive satellite feed can now be set up in seconds inexpensively from anywhere in the world using an IP feed.

“On my way home from [a major sporting event in] Australia, I could not help marveling at how much has changed over the last decade,” said Karlheinz Amberg, director of global events for Lawo. “Each event has become a milestone, as cutting-edge technology is deployed at the request of host broadcasters. ST2110 IP and remote production have become the de-facto standards for today’s international broadcast centers.”

Smaller Footprint
One of the benefits of increased use of IP technology for large-scale broadcasts is that the gear has a smaller footprint.

“One might argue that thorough planning allows operators to prepare enough hardware for global events, yet last-minute requests and changes of plans are difficult to address in this way,” Amberg said. “Besides, who wants to justify the carbon footprint of shipping additional devices to where they are needed in a matter of hours? 

At this year’s global events, Lawo’s HOME Apps took center stage, according to Amberg.

“For one recent event, it was decided to run them on 10 Dell servers (10U in total),” he said. “We used them for 60x HOME UDX apps to downconvert 3G ST2110, 1080p HDR streams to 3G ST2110, 1080p SDR, 1080i SDR and other flavors of broadcast video.”

Amberg said that when the entire planet is watching, the slightest glitch may trigger tirades of irate remarks by the director, the CTO, the organizing committee, and the sponsors who pay substantial amounts to be associated with a flawless experience.

“I think it’s fair to say that any match, race, hockey tournament, motorcycle event, etc., of global interest you have watched over the last 20 years has involved a considerable amount of Lawo gear,” Amberg said.

Stepping in When Satellite Can't
BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, used Matrox Video’s Monarch EDGE encoder technology, coupled with GlobalM’s SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) distribution platform, to televise the state funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II across the U.K. a year ago. 

The workflow began with Monarch EDGE multichannel encoders. Most live content ready for distribution entered master control as SDI feeds, and an EDGE E4 quad-channel, 4:2:2 10-bit encoder captured and contributed four high-quality, low-latency streams—main and reserve domestic feeds, and main and reserve international feeds—to the GlobalM streaming platform.

The GlobalM orchestration network then distributed and transmitted the SRT-enabled feeds, including backup and redundant paths, to international rights-holders across the globe, while the master control monitored all streams in real time with the GlobalM web dashboard. During the 12-hour broadcast, GlobalM did not drop a single packet, providing worldwide BBC audiences access to 12 hours of high-quality, uninterrupted event coverage.

Spending associated with satellite contribution and distribution has historically been restricted to events that warrant its expense and complexity, and fewer and fewer broadcasters are equipped with the necessary satellite-receiving equipment. In the case of the queen’s funeral, rights-holders with no satellite capability still needed to access the signal in the same quality as satellite would provide.

“The BBC would not have been able to meet the demand for the content without the EDGE/GlobalM combination,” said Paul Calleja, chief technology officer and co-founder of GlobalM. “Matrox Monarch EDGE’s high-quality and low-latency encoding support on the GlobalM private IP backbone gave BBC Studios complete stability and quality for each stream, ensuring international rights holders near and far got exceptional event coverage.”

In this case, GlobalM chose SRT, and Monarch EDGE performed flawlessly with this transport mechanism, according to Calleja. In rapid response setups like the queen’s funeral, commissioning is key. Monarch EDGE proved easy to set up and deploy, so that the broadcaster could focus on capturing the event, and not struggle with network configuration.

The highly competent broadcast staff that operates at the highest levels needs to get experience and training in a challenging learning environment. One such program in the United States is at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan.

At FHSU, a faculty-led student crew is tasked with the official television production of all the school’s NCAA Division II sports, which go to paying customers. Therefore, there is no room for error or equipment failure.

FHSU broadcasts everything from football to volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s basketball. The college also has a partnership with a local high school, where the high school pays FHSU to livestream scholastic athletic events that include football, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and track.

“To capture all this sports content across the schools, we use about 10 cameras routed into a NewTek TriCaster TC1,” said Nick Schwien, director of Tiger Media Network at Fort Hays State University. “We use Vizrt/NewTek equipment for all our live productions in-house and off campus, including a TriCaster 2 Elite, a TriCaster TC1, a TriCaster Mini 4K, Viz Engine, 3Play 3P2 and 3Play 3P1, and other components by Vizrt.”

For cameras, FHSU uses a mix of Panasonic, Blackmagic Design, NewTek PTZ and JVC equipment. Much of the gear is mounted in a custom-made Bigfoot cart.

“Our TriCasters handle anything we can throw at them, and they are a great way for college students to learn about productions,” Schwien said. “We are even currently in the process of developing a sports production emphasis at FHSU, which works out well since the gear has been so easy for the students to learn.”

Ease of use and reliability are critical in a learning environment, and Schwien said that the TriCasters and associated gear have really worked out well in that regard.

“The TriCasters also help us stream to many different platforms using an easy setup process that expands our opportunity to reach audiences,” he said. “It helps us engage our loyal audiences and fan bases as well.”

Adapts Better to Last Minute Changes
JAB Holding is a behind-the-scenes corporation that invests in many well-known name brands, such as Panera Bread, Tiffany, Lacoste, Cover Girl and Burberry. With offices spread across the globe, it is time-consuming and expensive to have company-wide face-to-face meetings. For its annual gathering this year, JAB hired Gradient Experience to produce a two-day conference on video using high-quality IP links that featured LiveU encoders and decoders.

“The use of LiveU allowed our team to adapt to last-minute changes in scheduling,” said Corey Protin, head of livestream & studios for Gradient Experience. “When a guest could no longer fly to our London green-screen facility, we simply used a LiveU encoder alongside the LiveU LU4000 4K/quad HD rackmount receiver to bring him/her into the production. We were able to meet the presenters’ needs, without sacrificing our production quality.”

Products for live IP production are among the fastest growing categories in the video industry. Although broadcasters have been able for decades to do remote broadcasts via microwave, IP remote devices give users far more mobility and flexibility. 

An example is the TVU One from TVU Networks, which just debuted at IBC 2023. The TVU One is a portable 5G cellular modem that can work at resolutions up to 4K/60 fps in HDR quality. In addition to supporting 5G cellular modems, the One can also be fitted up to work with Starlink, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and satellite.

The Power of 2110
A major network-owned station on the East Coast recently upgraded its news production to a Ross Video Hyperconverged solution. This included two Ultrix-FR5 platforms featuring integrated Ultrix Acuity production switchers, connected to the station’s existing ST 2110 production network. The Ross gear has been deployed as the heart of two live production studios, which also use the company’s routing systems and multiviewers.

“As rack space was limited, Ultrix delivered a full production solution for two studios in a compact 10RU, connecting easily into the existing ST 2110 network,” said Alun Fryer, technical marketing lead for Hyperconverged Solutions at Ross Video. “The system integrated a full-size Ultrix Acuity production switcher for each studio with the flexibility to repurpose the hardware to multiple smaller Ultrix Carbonite switchers on demand for smaller production jobs.”

Fryer explained why the Ross Ultrix solution was the right for this large broadcaster.

“[Ultrix] integrates video and audio production, signal processing and routing into a compact, adaptable platform,” he said. “The software-defined features allow the customer to adapt the capabilities of the platform to the needs of the facility dynamically, giving them the production flexibility they needed.”

The tools for live IP production cover a lot of turf in the television industry, incorporating everything from familiar-looking devices like production switchers to cloud-based services that were just thought of a few years ago. The competitiveness of the live broadcast business—especially news—means that broadcasters are always going for the gear that will get them on air with news in the fastest, most flexible way possible.

This in turn spurs manufacturers to develop products and systems that give broadcasters that “faster-than-now” capability. IP systems, with their easy integration of wireless and wired devices, is the platform on which faster-than-now is built. 

Want to learn more? Attend TV Tech's free October TV Tech Talk: Advances in Live IP Production, Oct. 19. Register here. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—SBS Golf, a leading South Korean public television sports channel, has turned to LiveU for the live production of its 2023 professional golf tournaments.

The SBS deployment of LiveU's IP-video solutions and on-site workflow replaced traditional Radio Frequency (RF) and cabled-cameras, which require line-of-sight and longer set-up times. That reduced costs and offered increased efficiency, the companies said. 

The production covers over 50 KPGA (Korea Professional Golf Association) and KLPGA (Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournaments. SBS's live coverage is transmitted live on its linear pay-TV channels, digital channels and YouTube Live to millions of golf fans in the region.

For the production, multiple LiveU field units are being used around each golf course, connected wire-free to the LiveU receiver in the production van or other outside broadcast (OB) facility. The camera crew simply turn up on the day with the LiveU backpacks. T

he deployment followed extensive testing of the LiveU EcoSystem underpinned by its LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol. LiveU's reliability was a key factor in the decision to deploy the solutions. 

"We became fascinated by the possibilities enabled by LiveU, seeing that we were good to go so quickly – with lower costs and less work!” explained Young-min Kwon, executive producer, SBS Golf. “There's no heavy labor required before each tournament where previously we had to set up lengthy cables and RF systems, including a crane 40 meters up in the sky. We also saw the resiliency of LiveU's technology for ourselves when the units continued to operate in a thunderstorm on Jeju Island. Our reporter was able to carry on interviewing the players with no interruption."

“LiveU's portability means that our camera crew can follow each player as they take their shots, creating a truly immersive fan experience,” Kwon continued. “It fascinated us that we could even stream live from the halfway houses (snack bars), something we couldn't do before with RF due to signal loss."  

Yaal Eshel, general manager added that “this use case demonstrates the efficiency of our EcoSystem over traditional production methods for golf and other live sports when production teams need to cover so much ground. Using LiveU, camera crews are free to move with the players, transmitting in real-time via the on-site receiver to linear TV and online destinations."

SBS Golf is part of SBS Medianet, a South Korean company by SBS Media Holdings, producing media, broadcast and telecommunication products for non free-to-air networks. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU is launching a new single 4K/Quad HD video receiver for ST 2110 broadcast facilities. 

The company said that the latest addition to the LiveU IP-video EcoSystem is designed to provide an efficient and adaptable way to receive high-quality LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) live content feeds from any LiveU EcoSystem device and then seamlessly output them as 2110-compliant streams. 

The LiveU's LU4000 ST 2110 operates as an all-in-one receiver in the video chain, reducing IT costs, time and overhead while keeping everything in sync.

"IP-video is increasingly flowing through our customers’ entire workflow, so it’s no surprise that nearly all our customers building or upgrading a broadcast facility are thinking ‘IP first’,” explained Yulia Rozmarin, director of product management. “While the benefits of a full ST 2110 live IP-video production facility are clear, our customers have also reported that complexity needs careful management. For this reason, we're delighted to be able to reduce this complexity, removing the need to manage and maintain separate receivers and transcoders and simplifying the flow between LRT and ST 2110. Now our customers can connect the powerful creative possibilities opened up by the LRT powered LiveU EcoSystem directly with their SMPTE ST 2110 facilities in a much simpler and more robust manner."

Building on LiveU's LRT protocol, the receiver enables a resilient, low latency IP-to-IP workflow for receiving a single 4K video feed or up to four full HD live feeds, adding to the operational scalability of ST 2110. The LU4000 ST 2110 can be swiftly deployed regardless of network configuration. Tasks have been automated to shorten the workflow, including the routing, switching and processing of separate bonded video, audio and data streams, LiveU reported. 

The LU4000 ST 2110 is fully NMOS-compliant, making device discovery and control easy. The product architecture future-proofs it to allow further workflow simplification developments, providing customers with complete peace of mind and effortless upgrading.

For provide redundancy, LiveU said that the LU4000 ST 2110 adheres to the highest 2022-7 SMPTE-defined path redundancy standard. Customers benefit from stable stream transmission along with the consistency afforded by hardware-based Precision Time Protocol (PTP) feed synchronization, again providing complete peace of mind via rock-solid operation.

LiveU will be at IBC2023 in Hall 7, Stand B.19. To schedule a meeting or guided tour, visit get.liveu.tv/ibc2023/. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—At IBC2023, LiveU and Neutral Wireless will demonstrate the results of a groundbreaking private 5G collaboration showing the benefits of private 5G networks for live event coverage.

The private 5G standalone network that will be on display at IBC2023 was used during the Coronation of HM King Charles III.

"What stands out here is the reliability and scalability of the solution for high-quality live coverage at crowded events and other extreme situations, explained Dan Pisarski, LiveU's CTO. “Unlike previous private wireless technologies, this set-up is plug-and-play and avoids all the complexities that organizations have previously experienced. Our portable encoders could be used everywhere on the Coronation route, giving viewers a front-row viewing experience. A big shout out to the Neutral Wireless team for their technical expertise, and to our own support team, who made sure everything worked smoothly on the day. We are delighted that IBC gives us the chance to offer a peek into our technical collaboration."

The Coronation of HM King Charles III saw the teaming up of the BBC with LiveU and Neutral Wireless to leverage the world's largest single-use private 5G standalone (SA) network for reliable, high-quality live broadcasts. 

At the Coronation, LiveU, in partnership with Neutral Wireless, provided a reliable and scalable solution for the BBC, FBS (Foreign Broadcast Services), and other world media outlets, overcoming many of the challenges normally associated with network congestion at large-scale live events. A Neutral Wireless private 5G network was deployed on a temporary basis to deliver extremely high reliability, availability, and utmost peace of mind to broadcasters.

The private network also enabled broadcasters to deliver live wireless contribution pieces from anywhere along The Mall, with coverage provided from Admiralty Arch to outside Buckingham Palace itself. The scalability of the network architecture also meant additional LiveU portable encoders could easily and swiftly be added in different locations. This was a great example of the broadcast use case for P5G networks, highlighting the benefits they can bring across large live events, such as concerts and sporting events, to name but two.

On Coronation Day, the spectrum used was made available from Ofcom using a Shared Access License and separate from the public networks.

“The Coronation deployment of Neutral Wireless’ pop-up 5G private network of seven connected cells combined with LiveU’s hugely reliable 5G bonded live streaming encoder provided broadcasters with uncontested connectivity that was dedicated exclusively for their workflows,” Dr Cameron Speirs, CEO of Neutral Wireless, explained. “Gone was the challenge of ‘will there be enough network coverage on the day’ and back to simply focusing on delivering standout broadcast coverage of this historic event. Testimony to the success of this deployment was that the complexity of the private 5G network was transparent to the broadcast users: they simply popped a Neutral Wireless 5G SIM card into their LiveU units and got on with business as usual – except without the usual bandwidth worries!"

Additionally, 20 international news broadcast outlets utilized the private 5G service for their Coronation coverage. This is considered very efficient use of radio spectrum to support so many devices from so many broadcasters.

LiveU's IP-video connectivity suite incorporates other innovative third-party solutions, including network slicing and the use of Low Earth Orbit satellites such as Starlink. These advanced connectivity solutions are part of the LiveU EcoSystem that spans contribution, production and distribution.  

The BBC and partners, including LiveU and Neutral Wireless, are shortlisted for the IBC2023 Innovation Awards (Content Creation) for their project "Building a pop-up 5G network for the coronation of King Charles III".

The LiveU/Neutral Wireless collaboration can support future large events, providing reliable wireless live coverage with dedicated private 5G connectivity. 

To find out more, schedule a demo at the LiveU stand at IBC2023 (7.B19). 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The European League of Football (ELF) is streaming up to six live games every game day to its digital platform via a full cloud-based production with the assistance of the LiveU IP-video EcoSystem.

Multi-cam LiveU LU800 field encoders are deployed at venues where needed with LiveU SmartData providing optimal data management with terabyte capacity, the company said.

Managed entirely in the cloud by German production house novel.media at its office in Munich,  the productions are supported by LiveU’s German partner netorium, which prepares units and provides on-site support, it said.

Headquartered in Hamburg, ELF is a professional American Football League for Europe that’s in its second season using LiveU encoders and production support from novel.media. Last year, games were produced on-site. Transmission was done using LiveU’s bonded cellular encoders.

This year, novel.media moved the entire production chain into the AWS cloud. The scalability of LiveU's EcoSystem allows the production team to add units as needed, and its open architecture enables live signals to be integrated seamlessly with ELF's existing Vizrt's Viz production tools, LiveU said.

Fans access games on Game Pass, ELF’s digital platform. Viewership and monetization are growing, the company said. 

“American football is growing in popularity across Europe. To start off, we had eight teams competing with plans to expand to 24 teams in 2026. Scaling the live production wouldn't have been possible without the flexibility offered by LiveU and, together with novel.media, we can add as many LiveU units as we need to the cloud production, said league CEO Zeljko Karajica. 

“We can create more creative live content with minimal cost and effort, increasing our revenues. Providing accessibility to more games, we're continually building our audience as fans can follow their favorite teams on a weekly basis.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU will show its latest IP video solutions and integrations with other tech providers, including solutions that encompass 5G, the cloud and AI, during IBC 2023, Sept. 15-18, at the Amsterdam RAI.

The company will feature its latest live video workflows and collaborations in contribution, production and distribution for sports, news and other live productions and will focus on how the LiveU EcoSystem brings greater efficiencies across workflows while reducing time to air, LiveU said.

The offerings include flexible remote and on-site production solutions that leverage IP bonding and cloud workflows to remove the hurdles associated with traditional production and to replace those workflows with easy-to-use, high-quality and affordable solutions. All LiveU IP-video solutions are built on the LiveU Reliable Transport protocol (LRT), it said.

At the core of the LiveU EcoSystem are openness and interoperability, which the company will highlight during IBC 2023. 

Specifics include:

• LiveU Studio, a cloud IP live video production service that natively supports LRT. The scalable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering makes it fast and simple to create and distribute content across a myriad of digital channels. 
• LiveU Ingest, a cloud solution for ingest offering automatic recording and story metadata tagging for live video. Accelerating time to air, LiveU Ingest speeds up converting assets into digital media and increases production efficiency.
• LiveU Matrix, a next-generation IP cloud video distribution service. The global private video distribution system can advance content monetization and provide instant access to creative possibilities. 
• LiveU field units, supporting dynamic content acquisition. The company will show its LU800 with up to four 1080p60 frame-synced feeds or one 4Kp60 feed from a single unit; the compact and portable LU300S HD/4K; and the Solo PRO offering one-touch wireless streaming.

See LiveU at IBC 2023 Stand 7.B19.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE has inked a deal with LiveU to provide the IP bonding technology and cloud-based services that the broadcaster said will improve its content gathering capacity and production efficiency. 

As part of the agreement, LiveU is supplying more than 150 units, including multi-camera LU800s, compact LU300Ss and LU-Smart mobile applications, along with multiple instances of LiveU Ingest for automatic recording and metadata tagging of stories for RTVE’s use in domestic and international capital cities around the world, including across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Given the scale of the project, RTVE carried out an in-depth examination of the technologies’ capabilities working with LiveU and LiveU's local partner, Sinopsys Distribución Integral SAU (SDI). After the rigorous product testing process across the market, RTVE published the tender dossier, with the contract awarded to LiveU, the companies said. 

Laura Llames, Country Manager for LiveU Spain, said: "We are delighted to have secured this important account in such a competitive environment, with the additional help and expertise of our partner, SDI. Our EcoSystem enables our customers to think and work differently, providing highly cost-effective and flexible ways of collecting and processing content. This, in turn, greatly enhances the viewer experience, enabling the capture of more and varied news and sports from across the country and internationally.”

The network has four main national centers: two in Madrid, one in Barcelona and one in the Canary Islands. RTVE's Torrespaña center in Madrid serves as the main hub and is where most of the signals pass through and therefore hosts a significant number of the servers, including LiveU Ingest. These main hubs account for approximately 50% of the field units. Each main center also has LiveU Video Return technology installed, which allows the field teams to instantly see what is being broadcast.

RTVE's territorial structure also has smaller regional center in the capitals of each of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, which, in addition to those served by Barcelona, Madrid and the Canary Islands, include Andalusia, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, Aragon, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Murcia and Extremadura. 

Each of these regional broadcasters regularly contributes live news and sports to the channel's production. Each field unit benefits from the inclusion of LiveU Intercom and DataBridge capabilities. In December 2022, RTVE sent units to its correspondents around the world for international content gathering.

"We have worked very closely with SDI to secure this important and exciting deal from RTVE," Llames added. "It has been a complex process and we continue to work closely with SDI as both companies have developed a close relationship with RTVE. We understand the requirements, and the way the broadcaster works, and this provides us with a clear way forward as the relationship continues to evolve, along with our technology roadmap. We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with RTVE.”

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has announced the launch of its new fully cloud-native IP live video production service, LiveU Studio, which is the first to natively support LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport). 

LiveU will be showing the solution during the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas. 

LiveU Studio is a fully scalable, SaaS solution and is designed to make it easy to create and distribute more live content across a myriad of digital media channels, the company said. It supports multiple IP video protocols and provides live switching, audio mixing, graphics, remote guest management, and one-click distribution to up to 30 different, simultaneous digital destinations. 

The solution leverages the high quality, low latency LRT™ protocol across the entire workflow – from contribution and production to distribution. 

LiveU Studio gives content creators a competitive advantage by meeting the growing demand for high-quality and engaging live content, while optimizing their existing resources. They can simply create, edit, and distribute shows from their browser anywhere via the intuitive web interface, and generate multiple revenue streams. Live feeds from the field, used for primary content, can be utilized to create engaging secondary content in a cost-effective, agile manner. Residing in the cloud, the service enables teams to work collaboratively on simultaneous projects worldwide, scaling up their capabilities to deliver more content while paying only for what they need, LiveU said. 

An early user of LiveU studio Jeffery Zotz, chief engineer, KAUZ-TV, a CBS affiliate, said, "Studio takes the LiveU workflow to the next level. It simplifies getting more content for on-air/livestream to cover big events or breaking news." 

LiveU Studio is built on the foundation of the easylive.io platform, acquired by LiveU in 2022. Customers can stream from any LiveU device directly into the LiveU Studio without the need for a dedicated decoder. Other protocols and contribution encoders are also supported by LiveU Studio.

"Audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented with more choices of what to watch, where to watch and when to watch,” explained Philippe Laurent, VP Product, Production Services, LiveU (previously CEO & co-founder of easylive.io). “Engaging sports fans with secondary content is critical for securing sponsorship deals and other monetization opportunities, especially for tier 2/3 sports teams and leagues. Expanding viewership with impactful branded content is important for other use cases too, such as pop-up channels. With our solution, customers can do more for less effort, time and cost, leveraging their existing field deployments. They can be up and running easily from day one, having complete versatility." 

LiveU Studio will be showcased at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas (Booth #N3058). To schedule a meeting, visit: https://get.liveu.tv/nab2023/. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN), following its successful completion of the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) process.

The company’s LiveU Central cloud management platform software met the AWS standards for reliability, stability, security and operational excellence, the company said.

Joining the APN allows LiveU to work more effectively with AWS and offer customers cost-effective, flexible and feature rich cloud video workflows, it said.

Customers will be able to benefit from ground-to-cloud video solutions using LiveU's portable encoders managed by LiveU Central as the unified management tool, powered by AWS, it said.

Bringing greater agility to cloud-based workflows allows customers to shorten time-to-live and to manage live video from anywhere, using the self-orchestration capabilities, it said.

LiveU's solutions are built on the LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol.

The APN is a global community of partners that leverages programs, expertise and resources to build, market and offer solutions that use best practices to deliver the optimal customer experience, it said.
"LiveU is proud to join the APN Program as an AWS Partner,” said Gideon Gilboa, LiveU chief product officer. “This is an important step for us in our continuing journey to deliver deeper, cost-efficient, flexible and scalable IP video workflows. AWS provides specific guidelines to ensure consistent high quality and security within its ecosystem and we're delighted to have successfully completed the AWS FTR review process."

More information is available on the company’s website. 

The role of the cloud is now well entrenched in broadcast and cinema production, but some traditional tools remain. This gives flexibility to production workflows that would have been unthinkable 15 years ago, when everyone’s attention was focused on the digital/HD transition.

At the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, there will be something old and something new. One of the latest technologies is the use of “volumes” to provide hyper-realistic backgrounds for live and cinema production.

The following is a sample of new production gear that will be shown in Las Vegas next month. 

Knocking Down Barriers
Pixotope, a provider of virtual production software solutions, will showcase its Graphics XR Edition, which includes a range of tools that simplify setup and operation in connection with the use of LED volumes, by reducing the technical complexities and associated resource costs of XR workflows and environments.

“With XR Edition, Pixotope is knocking down a major barrier to virtual production adoption by addressing the challenges that have previously made it difficult to leverage XR outside of major blockbuster productions,” said David Dowling, chief revenue officer of Pixotope. “It effectively removes the need for proprietary hardware, bringing users an off-the-shelf XR solution that enables bigger, better stories with greater ease.”

Blackmagic Design will roll out its line of network storage solutions, including Cloud Store, Cloud Store Mini and Cloud Pod, all of which let users share media files between multiple users on a global scale. The devices also understand proxy workflows, allowing a whole timeline and its media to be shared in minutes with responsiveness similar to a directly connected drive.

“We noticed how other storage solutions on the market didn’t offer the performance needed by the feature film and TV industry, so we took it upon ourselves to build something for our customers that’s not only fast but also reliable, portable and accessible in terms of costs,” said Bob Caniglia, director of sales operations for the Americas at Blackmagic Design. “The resulting Cloud Store, Cloud Store Mini and Cloud Pod are easy to set up and use, while providing secure access to media files globally with syncing and sharing media via Dropbox and Google Drive, allowing users from around the world to collaborate.”

Open Architecture
Panasonic will feature its Kairos line of IP-based production switchers. Kairos is an IT-based open architecture platform that enables functional enhancements and control linkage with external devices by adding software. At the show will be the next-generation Kairos Core 200 and Kairos Core 2000 mainframes, which offer improved functionality and performance, including many more inputs and outputs, improved video-processing performance and enhanced file-storage capacity.

Avid will be on hand to demonstrate its Maestro suite of graphics design and production tools for broadcasters. From news tickers and data-driven visuals to interactive and augmented reality content, Maestro provides solutions and tightly integrated workflows to add content on-screen in a coherent and engaging way.

LiveU will focus on flexible workflows such as remote/decentralized production, and cloud-based management and distribution help to allow delivery of high-quality, dynamic live content. LiveU will also showcase its latest 5G offerings and cloud-based solutions, which use the company’s low-latency, high-quality transmission protocols.

Rolling out its latest NDI-capable switchers is For-A, which will introduce the HVS-190, a 1-M/E version of the company’s flagship HVS-490 video switcher. As with the HVS-490, the HVS-190 also supports high-bandwidth NDI and NDI HX input and output. In addition to these switchers, FOR-A’s MFR-3100EX all-in-one production center, ClassX graphics, Insight media server, and SOAR-A live production platform are all upgradeable to NDI.

Ross Video will feature its 12G ready Ultrix FR12, the latest version of its award-winning Ultrix Router. The FR12 router has an integrated production switcher that allows customers to build an infrastructure with greater flexibility, performance and integration. The Ultrix FR12 is targeted at studios, OB vans and flypacks.

Monetizing Content
Dalet will highlight its Dalet Flex media asset management and workflow solution, which lets users seamlessly produce, curate, orchestrate, archive, deliver and monetize content. With its new mobile app, FlexMOBILE, you can bring the power of Flex to your fingertips with the ability to find, preview, comment, review and approve your assets from anywhere.

TVU will demo its RPS Link Encoder and Channel Plus. The RPS Link Encoder provides multicamera, synchronized remote production capability, targeted for use in remote locations where reliable wired IP connections are unavailable or inadequate. Channel Plus, a cloud-based playout service with integrated ad sales support, enables broadcasters to create live and VOD channel programming from a simple web browser with minimal training and experience.

Matrox will spotlight its ConvertIP line of 4K distribution products that can send zero-latency 4K over 1, 10, and 25 GbE cabling systems. Built on Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX), ConvertIP encoder/decoder line supports 4K60 4:4:4 IP signal transport.

Vizrt will highlight its AR and virtual studio capabilities in live production through Viz Virtual Studio and Viz Engine 5. Together, Viz Virtual Studio and Viz Engine 5 enable the creation of interactive 3D virtual sets, AR graphics, and mixed reality presentations, elevating audience experience through XR with hyper-realistic quality.

“Viz Virtual Studio in combination with Viz Engine 5 is a game changer for visual storytellers,” said Chris Black, head of brand and content at Vizrt Group. “Presenters can simply walk through 3D spaces, while the camera follows them and captures the interaction with XR infographics in an XR set that illustrates the story.”

NewTek will showcase the latest in its TriCaster line at the 2023NAB Show. On display will be the new Flex Control Panel, TriCaster Mini X, its sports replay solutions, and more. CaptureCast, the company’s flagship lecture capture solution for enterprise and education technology, will also be available.

Teradek, which will exhibit as part of the Creative Solutions Group in the North Hall, will focus on 4K with the debut of Prism Mobile, a camera-back video encoder with integrated cellular bonding, delivering 4K HDR live video from the toughest network environments. 

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

LiveU will demonstrate its complete suite of live video services, ranging from contribution and production to distribution, at the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas.

The enhanced LiveU video production ecosystem is built on LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT) protocol, which offers low latency, high quality and solid resiliency.

During the NAB Show, the company will feature what it’s calling “a world-first production approach” based on LRT across the entire workflow.

The company also will showcase its on-demand subscription solutions for seamless cloud, on-prem and hybrid workflows, which lower costs, reduce time to air, increase audience engagement and distribute to multiple channels at the same time. LiveU also will feature its latest 5G and cloud-based solutions, it said.

See LiveU at 2023 NAB Show booth N3058.

To book a demonstration at the NAB Show go to the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—In a notable advance in the transmission of live video over 5G networks, several tech partners joined forces to trial live video transmitted over 5G slices that were automatically and dynamically set-up according to real-time analysis using single and bonded modems. 

The partners involved were LiveU, L.M. Ericsson, Nokia, and the University of Patras (UoP), under the Horizon Europe 5G-Solution project. 

The partners involved in the trial noted that one of the most promising mechanisms in 5G Stand-Alone (SA) networks is “slices”. 

In essence, this is the ability to provide as high performance as possible, or QoS, to authorized users, end-to-end within the cellular radio and Core network, they explained. This means that QoS-centric applications, such as live uplink video transmission for event coverage – from news to sport and beyond – have a higher probability of receiving the needed QoS for ultimate signal stability on location. 

Achieving this outcome raises, however, several important tech questions, they noted. How can these slices be allocated and managed and how can the 5G cellular operator provide the QoS level it guarantees to multiple broadcasters over a specific slice in a certain location?

“One of the technical obstacles to the wide deployment of slices is the static/fixed allocation of resources (spectrum, QoS within the network borders), and dynamic, per-demand management of slice allocation,” explained Baruch Altman, head of 5G Technology Projects at LiveU, said,  This has not been automated yet. Hence the theoretical 5G benefits for remote production at scale have up to now not been fully realized.” 

In this trial, transmitting over 5G slices that were automatically set-up according to real-time analysis was achieved using several LiveU multi-cam LU800 field units and a network management process called Zero-Touch-Automation (ZTA), LiveU reported. 

Each unit transmitted up to four independent camera feeds simultaneously by bonding multiple modems, networks or slices. One of which was a slice specially configured for broadcasters’ uplink video contribution. The ZTA mechanism dynamically allocated in real-time 5G slices according to LiveU units’ transmission needs and the network overall load.

The ZTA mechanism, specially designed by Ericsson, identified in real-time changes in the network performance resulting from the increased upload demand, the companies said. It then notified the network management orchestrator (CDSO, by Nokia), which drove the reconfiguration of the network (deployed by UoP) by setting-up a special upload-oriented slice. 

Modems in the LiveU units automatically identified the newly available special slice, started using it, and LiveU bonding algorithms began transmitting live video packets using this dedicated slice. Bonding this slice with the “best-effort” slices or commercial networks allowed each of the LU800s to transmit four video streams concurrently and at a high quality, with stable bandwidth and latency. Bonding special slices, in real-time, with other modems, networks and bandwidths was instrumental in maintaining video continuity and overall QoS throughout and to reduce the spectrum needed from the new slice, the companies said. 

This trial further demonstrated that even with adaptive ZTA of dedicated “guaranteed performance” slice allocation, bonding transparently and agnostically multiple modems, networks and slices is needed so that broadcasters can enjoy the highest level of video quality and reliability in these congested areas, under changing conditions and over any network configuration.

“These pioneering tests demonstrated how remote production can benefit from real-time, adaptive 5G/6G end-to-end dedicated slice allocation with the highest QoS possible,” explained Altman. “Currently, only cutting-edge solutions like LiveU’s field units can make optimal use of such advanced 5G capabilities and convert them to immediate value for the customers, while supporting network operators’ need for efficient operations. This collaborative achievement emphasizes again LiveU’s leadership at the forefront of 5G technology development for its broadcast, sports, government and other customers.”

FORT MYERS, Fla.—5G cellular service is widely available in populated areas and starting to have an impact on broadcasters from acquisition to distribution. Think “5G” and you’ll most likely think of fast smartphone downloads, home internet service or 5G bonded (or aggregated) cellular systems in a way similar to 4G bonded/aggregated cellular. But 5G is different and will be much more different as standards evolve.

5G for Acquisition
Using mobile network operator (MNO) cellular networks for acquisition is nothing new. 4G was, and in some areas, still is how a remote signal gets back to home base. However, 5G offers advantages in data rate and latency to enable 4K UHD, but not as much as you would think. Cellsmart’s mid-2022 “Global Cellular Performance” study of real-world conditions found that, globally and on average, 5G upload speeds only showed an increase of 55% to 31.27 Mbps over the 4G global average. This is in contrast to 5G download speeds of 241.61 Mbps. 

“5G is prioritized for downloading—upload speeds are not significantly maximized,” said Rob Waters, global director of sales at Dejero. “For our 5G bonded systems, it’s all about the lowest latency with the highest bandwidth, that’s where multiple antennas per modem really comes in as a powerful weapon.”

However, Dan Pisarski, CTO at LiveU adds that “there’s still a few other tricks up 5G’s sleeve. “The 5G protocol’s fixed deterministic latency of the network is an overlooked gem,” he said. “With MEC [multi-access edge computing], for example, latency can go from 60 ms to below 10 ms. The challenge is the entire latency budget. But taking the first hop to sub 10ms, we can increase redundancy by adding a bit more latency. This provides exciting applications for broadcasters.”

The Cellsmart study also showed that the cellular frequency being used has a significant impact on upload speeds. “Where results have been taken in areas with mmWave, there are dramatically different results including downloads in excess of 800 Mbps, uploads in excess of 250 Mbps and latencies of sub 10 ms.”

According to TVU Network’s founder and CEO Paul Shen, the upload speed you get depends on where you are. “Unless you’re in a populated area, you won’t see 5G mmWave deployment. Suburban and rural areas don’t present a financial incentive for telcos to use mmWave. Plus, some versions of 5G with sub-6 Ghz deployment use the same spectrum as 4G/LTE.”

While LiveU, Dejero and TVU have different technologies for 5G, there’s one thing all three agree on: For the end-user, operating 5G is basically the same as operating 4G, whether it’s someone acquiring footage or the organization receiving that footage. All three are seeing interest in 5G from similar populations. “Both existing 4G customers and those producing sports in 4K are looking strongly at 5G,” said Shen. “Existing customers are beginning to notice performance degradation using 4G, especially in mission critical situations.” 

It is a sentiment echoed by Waters. “Our existing 4G users are looking to upgrade and future-proof themselves. While 5G doesn’t give all advantages now, potentially it will as more 5G is rolled out. Plus, sports producers want to use 5G instead of satellite.”

5G offers greater reliability than satellite with 5G at over 95% vs. traditional satellite at 90%, according to Shen. “News is great at adopting new technologies,” added Pisarski. “The day after any MNO makes an announcement, we get calls asking ‘can we use it?’ from our news users.”

There’s another consideration for high-profile events: a private 5G stand-alone non-public network (SNPN). “Millimeter wave is very wide spectrum, so cell phone operators can easily dedicate service to a private network on an ad hoc basis,” said Shen. “We did that for an 8K project.”

Waters adds that private networks are the easiest to set up. “There’s no cable runs, giving you very short setup time.” 

It should be noted that MNO-based SNPNs are not the only type of private network—and most are in test and trail phases, according to Pisarski. “A real private network means somebody with their own hardware on a frequency they have access to.”

Pisarski is referring to CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service), spectrum from 3.5 GHz-3.7 GHz the FCC set aside for private 5G networks. This spectrum, along with SIM cards, can be leased from third parties that are licensed (priority access license or “PAT”) or used unlicensed (general authorized access or “GAA”), which is subject to the most interference. “All that’s needed is a popup antenna and a few computers to run the network,” he said.

5G for Distribution
This is where the phrase “5G Broadcast” comes into play, and it’s not the best term to describe how 5G can be used for distribution. Does “5G” mean the technology or the device? 

As MNOs’ 5G are unicast networks, there’s a difference between “a connected device” that sporadically sends requests for data needing to be downloaded and a significant number of connected devices that are all streaming content at the same time. The more devices simultaneously connected to a 5G cell downloading data, the less bandwidth each device gets, as they all have to share that unicast data capacity. 

Enter “5G Broadcast” from DTT broadcasters to 5G devices with an ATSC 3.0 (aka “NextGen TV”) receiver chip. 

“Today, the number of commercial smartphones with an ATSC 3.0 chip is 0%,” said Mark Aitken, senior vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group and president of ONE Media. “But ATSC 3.0 will find its way into billions of devices that require data of some sort: cars, phones, smart cities and more.” Aitken is a true believer in what ATSC 3.0 can bring to quality of life.

Aitken does, however, have a Mark One Android smartphone evaluation sample with an ATSC 3.0 receiver chip, giving him the ability to watch stations broadcasting ATSC 3.0. “We wanted a chip that could live in a mobile device, with its operation and power needs,” he said. “We wanted efficient web app coding, for it to draw less power and run on lower level devices.”

Watching an ATSC 3.0 station is as simple as tapping on an app. Sinclair has their own open source app, another is the NextGen Broadcast App. In addition to live TV, stations provide frequently updated weather, news or other content. 

ATSC 3.0 receiver apps are simple. “It’s A/344 of the ATSC 3.0 standard,” says Aitken. “It’s nothing more than a uniform ATSC 3.0 browser with HTML5.” According to the standard, “A Broadcaster Application is used herein to refer to the functionality embodied in a collection of files comprised of an HTML5 document, known as the Entry Page and other HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, image and multimedia resources referenced directly or indirectly by that document, all provided by a broadcaster in an ATSC 3.0 service.”

According to Aitkin, “Sinclair’s app has the same features as TV sets with ATSC 3.0 tuners, except it’s been adapted to the small screen with gesture swipes and wipes for navigation. This is really about a more ideal user experience. There’s less friction to the nature of access to services available...there is a quality aspect to the user experience.” 

Broadcasters as ‘Pseudo’ 5G MNOs?
Graziano Casale, senior sales manager for transmitters at Rohde & Schwarz agrees with Aitken that it’s all about a better quality of experience for the consumer. 

“ATSC 3.0 plays into the 5G ecosystem and vice versa,” he said. “The main benefit is that [MNO] 5G broadcast technology is in the same chip already in the device, while ATSC requires an additional chip.” 

Casale is referring to “5G Broadcast/Multicast,” which R&S and Qualcomm demonstrated at IBC 2022, but is not yet commercially available. It uses UHF spectrum to broadcast to 5G smartphones. While there’s potential for revenue, it comes at a cost.

ATSC 3.0’s 6 MHz does not comply with those in the current 3GPP 5G specification, the lowest being 3 MHz—that’s half your spectrum. 

Simply, 5G Terrestrial Broadcast shares the DTT spectrum to provide other services. You could sell that 3 MHz of spectrum to an MNO to deliver media from your transmitter using the 5G chipset already present in smartphones. Of course, that leaves you with 3 MHz for actual television, which today could be a 720p signal. But in the 3.0 future, 3 MHz should deliver more. 

There must be a reason for manufacturers and MNOs to want a 3.0 chip in 5G smartphones and other mobile devices. There will need to be more work done on 3GPP and a reason for MNOs to lease your spectrum. 

When it comes to 5G for broadcasters, it just depends on what you want to do and when you’ll be able to do it.

MANCHESTER, U.K.—Debrouillard Television, a U.K. video services company, relied on LiveU technology to assist Fox Sports capture the experience of 2022 FIFA World Cup fans at a venue here during key matches, including the England-USA match Nov. 25.

“Fox Sports is one of the host broadcasters for this tournament,” said Debrouillard Television owner Jonathan Young. ”There are fan parks around the world for fans to gather and watch the matches on big screens since they can’t physically be at the game."

“This has become very popular with fans, as well as with broadcasters who can capture the live supporter reaction footage gathered at these events," he continued. "The example that really fired imaginations was the fan park event during the European Championship football tournament with England fans in Hyde Park, London. It had been done in the past and continues to be a benchmark for excitement.”

Young’s company selected Road to Victory, a fan park on the edge of Manchester, U.K., for the fan reaction. The venue guaranteed high ticket sales, dynamic lighting, multiple big screens and special animations, the company said. 

The first fan experience covered was for the England vs. USA Group Stage, Group B game, which fell on Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. Fox Sports anticipated this being a highly watched game. Fan reactions during later matches as the tournament progressed were also covered in the same way, it said.

“We spent a lot of time checking out the venue, not least the connectivity. We also tested during a previous match there, and LiveU absolutely worked. Because it’s almost subterranean – it’s built into disused railway arches – we had to ensure connectivity as this was a high-profile event for Fox Sports,” said Young.

Owning multiple LiveU units and a LiveU server, Debrouillard used a 5G-enabled LiveU LU800 to guarantee maximum bandwidth. Making the application all the more challenging was the presence of 6,000 fans, many of whom used their mobile phones to stream footage, and the concrete, steel and brick used to construct the venue, it said.

The LU800 was configured with a mix of 5G and 4G SIMs (subscriber identity modules) in addition to an Ethernet connection. A second LiveU LU800 offered redundancy. The feed was sent to Fox Sports for integration into its coverage, the company said.

“5G was a real advantage for us, not only for the inherent bandwidth and the LU800’s capabilities, but because so few consumers use it at the moment and in such a tricky environment, this gave us even more bandwidth and resilience,” said Young. “Fox Sports is very happy with the results we achieved, both in terms of the technical excellence and the vibrancy and sense of occasion the footage added.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU has announced that fans of the motorsport U.K. speedway are now benefiting from ExStream Media’s decision to drastically improve the quality and reliability of its streaming output by deploying LiveU’s LU300S field units.

Based in Middlesbrough, UK, ExStream Media’s co-owners Martin Hunter and Ben Duffill, began exploring the possibilities of live streaming speedway races from around the UK. 

British Speedway’s top league (of three) already had from very good coverage by Eurosport and Discovery+. While the broadcaster also has the rights for the lower tier leagues, Hunter explained that they wanted to provide more coverage of the leagues to satisfy fans. 

After the broadcaster approved the idea of them working working with the clubs to expand live streaming, ExStream then developed a technical setup using multiple cameras on-site fed into a vision mixer and then streamed live via a CDN. 

“We knew that there would be connectivity issues but given the risk we were taking, we wanted to keep equipment costs to a minimum,” he said. “Although we were using another IP solution, it was low grade and we had many occasions where image quality dropped to an unacceptable level, especially given that we are a subscription service. Then one evening while trying to cover an event our whole system collapsed, failing completely.”

To fix the problem, Hunter reached out to LiveU and LiveU responded quickly, with ExStream having a unit in its hands three days after contact and in time for the coming weekend’s event.

“The LU300S works exactly as it promises to do,” Hunter said. “We needed to save our business, to be blunt, and this technology has been essential. Now, when we turn up, wherever that may be, we simply turn it on, set up the rest of our gear and off we go. We don’t have to worry about connectivity at all and this has completely changed our mindset. It has freed us up to concentrate on creating better content to keep our subscribers happy. The LU300S achieves for us exactly what we want.”

Weighing just over 900 g (2 pounds), the LU300S offers resilient bonding in a compact and lightweight portable unit, supporting up to 30 Mbps via up to six IP connections based on LiveU’s patented HEVC bonding technology. The mixed feed is sent by the LU300S to a LiveU cloud server, then onto a CDN.

“We come across a lot of people in similar situations to ExStream where minimizing the cost initially becomes a false economy,” explained Malcom Harland, U.K. country manager with LiveU, says,  The end product has to work, and work well, otherwise subscribers churn and both revenues and reputation falter. The LU300S is ideal for these kinds of streaming operations, being powerful, compact and with a mighty punch when it comes to image quality and signal resilience. We’re very pleased that ExStream has benefited from this and that we were able to supply them so quickly.”

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU is preparing to meet a record number of bookings from broadcasters worldwide for their coverage of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which begins Nov. 20, the company said today.

Global broadcasters have booked hundreds of LiveU 5G/4G field units for 4K/HD-quality live coverage of matches. They plan to use LiveU's technology for main feeds from the stadiums with the official CRA (Communications Regulatory Authority) tags, the company said.

LiveU's cloud-based services also will play a role in the production workflows with its LiveU Matrix for IP video distribution of live feeds to global takers, it said. 

Personnel from LiveU are on site to help customers and deal directly with technical issues related to broadcast of the games. The company also will transmit from the fan zones helping to enable fan engagement worldwide, it said. 

LiveU's service hub in central Doha will provide around-the-clock support and rental units with unlimited data plans, together with LiveU local partner Resolution Hire. With a multinational support team, LiveU will be providing on-site local support in multiple languages and across all competition venues, the company said.

"We’ve seen unprecedented demand for our solutions this year, most notably from the football-loving nations of Latin America, as well as from elsewhere around the world. Our goal is to give customers peace of mind with the most reliable, highest quality and flexible broadcast solutions so that they can deliver the best viewing experience to their viewers,” said LiveU vice president of marketing Ronen Artman.

“Our customers will be relying on our solutions for their 24/7 content. With fans eager to see every aspect of the games, LiveU technology will make sure that they enjoy the best viewing experience possible."

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU today unveiled its next-generation Solo PRO portable bonding live encoder, which combines professional 4K and HEVC video quality and high reliability.

The Solo PRO combines up to six IP connections – four 4G/5G cellular modems, Wi-Fi and LAN – leveraging LiveU's patented LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) technology. Enabling a streamlined cloud production with an easy setup, the LiveU Solo PRO can be used for any type of live event coverage, both indoors and outdoors, including corporate, entertainment, sports, government, religious and IRL (In Real Life) streaming. Solo PRO supports content creators distributing on all live platforms, including Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and TikTok, LiveU said.

"Our goal was to deliver a cutting-edge product that will service all streaming needs for years to come, including 4K, HEVC and extreme reliability. I firmly believe that our users will find the Solo PRO is a future-proof investment for their workflow, providing peace of mind for their live streams using proven broadcast-quality technology," said LiveU Chief Technology Officer Dan Pisarski.

LiveU Solo PRO can be used as part of an end-to-end real-time workflow. Users can go live directly from their camera/switcher to popular online platforms and any web destination, the company said.

Weighing just over 2 lbs., the LiveU Solo PRO is a compact, portable unit that can be taken anywhere. Streaming up to 4Kp60 resolution in H.264 or HEVC, the Solo PRO’s HEVC capability offers the same quality in half the bandwidth of H.264, or twice the quality in the same bandwidth, it said.

Limitless coverage is ensured with extended internal battery time, easy-to-use USB-C external battery and flexible carrying options, it said.

LiveU also introduced Solo Stream Tools, an optional add-on package for faster go-to-live streaming productions. This cloud-based package includes support for multi-destination distribution, allowing producers to go live at the same time to multiple social platforms with the click of a button, stream fallback, allowing a switch to a predefined message, and the addition of a logo watermark for enhanced brand visibility, the company said.

"Solo Stream Tools can also be combined with Solo Connect, including modems, routers, data plans and the LRT cloud subscription, which means that you have everything you need to go live in one complete hassle-free package," said Pisarski.

Solo PRO is available in two configurations: HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 2.0 + SDI 12G. 

LiveU will host a special live program, “Solo PRO: The Sequel,” Thursday, Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. EDT. It will include a live Q&A with LiveU CTO Dan Pisarski. More information about the program is available online.

More information is available on the company’s website.

NASHVILLE—Mobile production and audio facilities provider TNDV this week announced its adoption of LiveU rackmount decoders to support its evolving production business requirements, including remote integration model (REMI) production, while minimizing the cost of live acquisition and media networking.

TNDV recently bought a pair of LiveU LU20000 rackmount decoders. The units are used on its trucks and as part of its live production workflow in its Nashville network operations center (NOC).

The company also uses LiveU LU300 HEVC portable field transmitters for live content acquisition and to stream to its trucks and the NOC, it said.

“The simplicity of sharing the LU2000 between studio and remote applications was a major selling point for us,” said TNDV president Rob Devlin. “We can plug these into our network facility infrastructure on short notice and quickly integrate them into a remote broadcast that we manage from here in Nashville.” 

“We can just as quickly unplug it, put it on one of our trucks, and use it as part of a wireless camera system to capture a sports or entertainment event. We can even use it to provide reliable crosstown connections,” he said.

Recently, TNDV embedded two cameras outfitted with the LiveU wireless transmitters along with five wired Hitachi HD5000 cameras for coverage of the ACC Rowing Championship.

The races were recorded and returned to the ACC Network for post-production, with parts airing on a subsequent two-hour ACC Network special broadcast.

“We really wanted to make it more exciting than the traditional rowing event that anyone can watch from the shoreline,” said Devlin. “LiveU’s technology allowed to us get much closer to the action. We added them to what the ACC calls ‘chase boats,’ which placed us right next to the competitors on the lake.”
In the Nashville NOC, the LiveU LU2200 have helped TNDV manage the company’s growing REMI production business.

“We do a lot of live entertainment events, and as usual we had a busy season of concert festivals,” said Devlin. “While it’s not quite as exciting as how we use these on location, the dependability factor in our network facility is critical for REMI productions. Each of these units can take in four remote live HD feeds. It’s more of a set-it and forget-it type of application, but the reliability in performance is very important.”

TNDV leverages the LiveU Central management portal to monitor connections, quality and adjust settings as needed, he added.

The company has even used the LiveU LU2200 to assist with 4K transport over four-mile hop between venues during a concert assignment in Las Vegas.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSAK, N.J.—LiveU will be at NAB Show New York to showcase its cloud production workflow with easylive.io. This will be the North American debut of its integration under the LiveU umbrella. The company says, with easylive.io, LiveU will offer an end-to-end solution for live contribution, cloud production, orchestration, ingest and distribution, serving the needs of customers from global broadcasters to niche sports and entertainment.

LiveU’s demonstrations will include its native 5G live contribution and distribution solutions including the multi-cam LU800 5G production-level field unit, small-sized LU300S 5G video transmission solution, new rackmount encoder solutions (LU810 and LU610S) for vehicles and fixed locations, and rich remote production tools, using the LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT) protocol.

The company will present the easylive.io cloud-based live streaming production studio, alongside its latest cloud-based solutions. These include the new LiveU Ingest solution for automatic recording and story metadata tagging of live video, and the LiveU Air Control solution, serving as a single collaboration solution to get remote guests on-air and live feeds into the system in broadcast-quality.

LiveU Matrix will be demonstrated with its Dynamic Share service, enabling users to share and receive an exponential number of live feeds using the Global Directory of 5,000+ customers in news, sports, entertainment and other vertical markets. The LiveU Matrix Transceiver will also be on hand with up to four flexible in/out SDI feeds, designed for switching between live video distribution and contribution in a single device.

See demonstrations in the LiveU booth #1045.