ROME—Following a competitive public tender process, Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the national public broadcasting company of Italy, has awarded Imagine Communications a three-year frame contract to support its transition from SDI to IP.

The agreement, which was done through local systems integrator Allyn Srl, positions Imagine’s Selenio Network Processor (SNP) as a core building block in Rai’s migration to SMPTE ST 2110 across its master control rooms (MCRs) and production control rooms (PCRs).

“Our move to IP is a long-term transformation, and we need a platform that will let us migrate at our own pace without disrupting operations,” said Stefano Marchetti, head of playout and network engineering at Rai. “Imagine’s SNP provides a practical foundation for how we want to build and manage our IP environments going forward — one that enables incremental deployment, operational continuity, and long-term scalability.”

As part of its modernization strategy, Rai is migrating key areas of its production and playout infrastructure from SDI to IP, carefully selecting technologies that enable a scalable and operationally sound transition. Under the frame contract, the SNPs will serve as gateway, conversion, multiviewing, and master control devices for newly deployed IP environments. Rai will also leverage the SNP with JPEG XS compression capability to support production-quality, low-latency connectivity between facilities, including links to outside broadcast vehicles.

SNP was selected for its ability to consolidate multiple critical functions into a single, highly flexible platform, helping streamline workflows in IP-based MCR environments. The unique SNP design enables it to be easily reconfigured with different personalities and upgraded in the field with new functionality. Its broad interoperability with third-party ST 2110 equipment was also a key factor in meeting Rai’s tender requirements.

At Rai, some SNPs will serve as IP gateways and some as low-latency, HDR-capable production multiviewers, which enable content from different video formats and HDR systems to be integrated into a consistent display environment. Other SNP devices will be configured with the Master Control Lite (MCL) personality, delivering branding, live graphics, and full master control functionality within the framework of the industry-proven platform. SNPs configured with JPEG XS compression will enable Rai to reduce the cost of video connectivity between facilities by using less bandwidth for signal transport.

“We are proud to support this multiyear project, which is a great example of how broadcasters are approaching IP migration in a thoughtful, incremental way,” said Mathias Eckert, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA and APAC for Imagine Communications. “SNP was designed specifically for this kind of transition, allowing customers to move from SDI to IP with confidence, interoperability, and clear operational benefits.”

The initial SNP orders will support deployments at two sites: the creation of an IP backbone for Rai’s Turin MCR and an IP infrastructure build-out at a facility in Rome. Over the duration of the three-year contract, multiple additional orders are anticipated as Rai expands its IP transition across a wider network of sites, ultimately spanning more than 25 locations nationwide.

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

The innovative deployment was designed to enhance RAI’s production capabilities across its extensive network of production centers and regional stations, making it one of the most sophisticated intercom setups in Europe, the companies reported. 

RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, operates four major production centers in Milan, Naples, Rome, and Turin, along with 23 regional stations. As the fifth-largest media company in Europe, RAI manages 14 TV channels and 23 regional feeds, providing a comprehensive broadcasting service to the nation. 

RAI required an intercom solution that could handle the complexity of its productions, from major live events to small studios. The solution needed to provide a centralized management mechanism, integrating each sub-system into a single multi-studio environment. Additionally, the intercom terminals had to offer robust and reliable wireless operation, Clear-Com reported. 

Video Progetti proposed and deployed a full Clear-Com system based on the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix and FreeSpeak II wireless system. Each of the five galleries (control rooms) has its own Eclipse matrix, interconnected in a peer-to-peer fashion via IP using RAI’s standard IT network. This forms a seamless integrated system with a sixth matrix, referred to as "POOL," managing all shared resources like wireless beltpacks and studio panels independently from each gallery. These functionalities are embedded into the Eclipse matrix, eliminating the need for additional middleware or orchestration. The wireless FreeSpeak system can be shared across all galleries and studios as required, Clear-Com explained. 

"Clear-Com's solutions have proven to be transformative for the team’s production capabilities," said Francesco Struzzi, sales director Video Progetti. "The integration and flexibility of the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix and FreeSpeak II wireless system have significantly enhanced our ability to manage complex productions seamlessly across multiple locations." 

In addition, the use of the 1.9GHz frequency allows for a robust and interference-free radio system. Clear-Com's optimized DECT technology ensures interference-free wireless communication between transceivers and belt-packs. The ease of use of the solution is further enhanced through the HCI API, which allows for control from third-party automation systems, making system reconfiguration quick and easy. The Clear-Com solution includes configuration software (EHX) with a client-server topology, allowing multi-user access with varying levels of permissions. EHX also provides telemetry data on RF signal statuses, battery levels, and alerts to ensure maximum reliability, Clear-Com said. 

Dynam-ECTM software offers an additional operational management layer with a customizable graphical interface and drag-and-drop functionality. 

The deployment of Clear-Com’s products supports mid-large scale studio facilities, allowing for maximum scalability, flexibility, and coexistence of the same solution across different studios and galleries. For remote production of sports events and major OB productions, the compatibility of standardized radio frequencies abroad and the ability to interconnect with other systems showcase Clear-Com's long-standing tradition of openness and versatility, the companies reported. 

The Italian public broadcaster RAI will start broadcasting on Multiplex B in the DVB-T2 HEVC standard on August 28, according to Marco Rossignoli, president of Aeranti-Corallo, an Italian association representing around 150 local television broadcasters. 

In particular, Rai Storia, Rai Scuola and Rai Radio 2 Visual programs channels will be broadcast exclusively in this new standard. Within this mux, Rai 1 HD, Rai 2 HD and Rai 3 HD will also be broadcast in simulcast (in DVB-T2 HEVC) on channels 501, 502 and 503, the association said. 

The August 28th transition marks the first move towards DVB-T2 transmissions, which will provide increased bandwidth that could allow broadcasters to simulcast more channels. 

While many Italian TV sets are not capable of receiving DVB-T2, the final switchover is currently required to be completed by the end of the 2025. 

Rossignoli explained that "at this point, the transition to the new technology can no longer be postponed, in order to allow the local broadcaster to have adequate transmission capacity for broadcasting of its programs in high definition. To date, in fact, with the current DVB-T/MPEG-4 transmissions, the local television broadcaster has too little radio space to be able to transmit programs with adequate technical quality. We need to accelerate the transition of the entire Italian television system to the new standard."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RIO DE JANEIRO—Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) came to Rio with six Brianstorm eStudio virtual studio applications in an effort to boost its coverage of the Olympic Games. RAI has set up two complete virtual studios that will provide augmented reality applications and smart data for distribution to RAI 2, RAI Sports 1 and RAI Sports 2 channels.

The Brainstorm eStudios are installed on purpose-built For-A workstations with internal adjustable delays and tracking systems customized by Tecnopoint and Cartoni. The work stations receive video feeds from studio cameras and external cameras located at different Olympic venues.

The eStudio toolset helps real-time graphics requirements and enables design and real-time playout of virtual studio and 3D graphics.

Both of RAI’s virtual studios are located at the International Broadcast Center in Rio.