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.

TORONTO—Integrators have begun using the Imagine Communications Selenio Network Processor (SNP) software-based processing platform to provide a high-density on- and off-ramp for the Panasonic KAIROS IP live video production platform, Imagine Communications said today.

“Today, live production companies are striving to achieve maximum benefits from the move towards an all-IP infrastructure without the need to dispense of existing hardware, and implementing proven, hybrid solutions helps to ease the transition,” said John Mailhot, CTO Networking and Infrastructure at Imagine Communications.

“The seamless interoperability between the SNP and KAIROS is a perfect example of this type of solution," he continued. "We have already seen a number of successful SNP/KAIROS implementations delivering tangible operational and commercial benefits.”

The 1RU SNP platform offers a broad range of processing functions, handling conversions between SMPTE ST 2110 and SDI, including 12G-SDI, up-, down- and cross-conversion between HD and UHD and SDR and HDR, Imagine Communications said. 

It also offers an HDR-capable production multiviewer personality, SNP-MV, which can integrate content from different video formats and HDR systems into a consistent display environment. The latest SNP release incorporates JPEG XS compression capabilities, it said.

Panasonic’s KAIROS platform offers an open architecture system for live video switching with complete input and output flexibility, resolution and format independence, maximum CPU/GPU processor utilization and ME scalability. As a native IP, ST 2110 system, KAIROS supports transitions to live IP workflows, the company said.

When used with KAIROS, the SNP platform can convert a large number of SDI sources, multiplexing them onto a single fiber connection, eliminating the complication of a COTS switch. This set up could be used in applications where KAIROS and the SNP platform are spread far apart, such as in OB production or on campus installations, it said.

Imagine Communications is a KAIROS Alliance Partner. The alliance encourages vendors to collaborate in areas like SMPTE ST 2110 interoperability and device connection verification.

More information is available on the Imagine Communications website. 

DUBAI, UAE—Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) in March went live with an Imagine Communications disaster recovery (DR) solution that ensures business continuity and protects the broadcaster’s program archive at its backup center in Al Thaid, UAE.

At the IP-SDI hybrid disaster recovery site, SBA, formerly called Sharjah Media Corp., is using software-defined technology in a primarily IP-connected environment, said Imagine. The site provides full DR for four SBA TV stations, which also rely on an Imagine playout solution.

The new system will support a software-defined network-based expansion of SBA’s operations, including new channels to reach fresh audiences in the Emirate and throughout the region, said Imagine.

“This project is a really important step on our migration path toward IP networks and virtualization,” said Aisha Alzareef, SBA director of broadcast technology and information systems. “Collaborating with Imagine helps us ensure that our technical and operational teams understand the challenges of these new technologies.”

The implementation of the new IP-centric DR solution puts SBA “in a great position to prepare plans for future developments and the complete migration of our main playout center,” he said.

The new DR site maintains perfect synchronization with the broadcaster’s main site and provides full content mirroring, said Imagine. This is the system’s main benefit because the design provides for a seamless switchover in the event of a problem.

SBA is using the Imagine Versio virtualized integrated playout solution, providing a geographically dispersed operation as the centerpiece of its DR deployment. The Versio software runs on commercial off-the-shelf hardware from Hewlett Packard Enterprises. The setup provides full automation and playout in addition to server and content management, graphics, storage, master control switching and management of synchronization and mirroring.

To support its legacy SDI infrastructure, the broadcaster is relying on a Platinum VX router and Selenio MCP processing platform. The design provides for SDI-IP conversion. An Epic MV multiviewer provides SBA with a comprehensive means to monitor the entire operation.

SBA is using an Imagine Magellan SDN Orchestrator software control system to manage and control its legacy infrastructure as well as incorporate next-gen technologies, switching and interworking between HD, Ultra HD and uncompressed, real-time SMPTE ST 2110 streams, Imagine said.

ROMAGNA, ITALY—Global Production is a provider of top-end outside broadcast facilities for a range of productions, in its native Italy and around Europe. Increasingly, its clients are demanding Ultra HD (UHD) capabilities for their productions, which tend to be the biggest shows and events.

While many outside broadcast companies compromise on Ultra HD, using up-conversion on some of the cameras to provide the capacity, Global Production took the opposite view. If it was going to build a UHD truck, as its customers demanded, then it would be uncompromised. It wanted to build a unit that would support as many as 30 4K cameras natively. The company turned to systems integrator Chromaline to develop a solution.

BEYOND CONVENTIONAL

It was a challenging because the limiting factor in building functionality into an outside broadcast truck is that we have to live within the size and weight limits that we can take on the roads. We can start with an epic wish-list, but it has to be practical. What Global Production needed would simply be impossible using conventional technologies.

The only solution was to make everything ourselves, relying on software solutions when possible to maximize space. That implied a hybrid architecture, using both SDI and IP connectivity.

To maximize processing in software, we needed to keep signals in the IP domain as much as possible, while providing traditional interfaces where necessary to work with other systems. To achieve this, we used Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP).

The SNP is a standards-based processor built on FPGA hardware to host software which defines its functionality. It provides four processing blocks in a single 1RU cabinet, with each block acting independently, capable of being reconfigured on the fly for maximum agility. The SNP acts as a seamless interface between the SDI and IP environments, and as an IP-capable signal processing platform.

ALL IN FOUR RACKS

Our design for the new truck uses four SNPs for SDI/SMPTE ST 2110 conversion, signal processing, and HD/Ultra HD up and down conversion. Doing all of that in just 4RU was a huge boost to our weight-and space-saving requirements.

The infrastructure is managed by the Magellan SDN Orchestrator software control system from Imagine, which also supplied the Platinum IP3 router, integrating mixed-format video and audio routing, multiviewers, synchronization and audio multiplexing.

During the design and implementation phase, engineers from Imagine worked closely with our team to realize the vision and to deliver all the functionality our customer expected in a practical solution. The truck has been on the road since September 2018, covering a broad range of sports and other events.

One event in particular provided a spectacular challenge for the new unit. At the Ferrari Challenge World Final in Monza, the organizers set up a shootout to see if a variety of technology solutions could deliver a whole range of outputs from standard definition to Ultra HD and HDR. Most important, it wanted to see complete consistency, not least in color rendition, across every format.

To deliver all these outputs means multiple transformations in software, all running inside the SNPs. The clients were insistent that they should be able to see every single available standard at the same time, with completely consistent results. The big test came with the familiar Ferrari red trademark. I am delighted to say that the new Global Production truck ensured it looked exactly the same on every output.

This exciting project was far more than just a huge outside broadcast truck. It is an entirely new way of approaching production and systems integration, giving the crew a familiar look and feel in full 4K Ultra HD.

Nicola Dall’Asta is the CEO of Chromaline, a systems integrator based in Romagna, Italy. He can be reached atnicola@chromaline.it.

For more information, visitimaginecommunications.comor call 866-446-2446.

DUBAI—Omantel, the national telecom company in Oman, has completed an upgrade based on IP contribution and distribution technology from Imagine Communications, the company announced this week.

The enhancements increase the performance and resiliency of Omantel’s contribution and distribution networks, which rely in large measure on Imagine’s Selenio Media Convergence Platform (MCP).

Selenio MCP makes it possible for media companies to combine baseband digital audio and video and compressed and uncompressed IP media into a common workflow. Omantel is using the network technology to link 55 sites via dedicated fiber, providing HD contribution and distribution services to studios and transmission centers throughout the country. It uses the same Selenio MCP to support backhaul operations for remote productions.

The upgrade replaces ageing transmission technology with Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) technology via the Selenio MCP. The upgrade supports both digital video and long-distance connectivity over fiber from the same 3RU chassis.

[Read: Imagine Boosts Selenio One With ABR Capabilities]

Omantel is also benefiting from the Selenio MCP solution’s support for baseband and IP protocols, which makes it possible to use the same device for both SDI and MPEG-2 transport streams for broadcasters, thus reducing complexity.

Besides feeding all terrestrial transmitters in Oman, the company’s network provides contribution circuits for live broadcasts. For instances in which live contribution is required beyond Omantel’s coverage area, Imagine has provided portable kits to extend the network.

The Omantel project was completed in Q3 2017.

More information is available on the Imagine Communications website.

LAS VEGAS—This year’s NAB Show will undoubtedly be focused on transitions—the one to IP and the cloud as well as the one to new evolving business models. What Imagine Communications hopes to do is talk about the exact types of migration strategies that the industry needs to get itself from point A to point B.

That’s the basis for the company’s focus on practical innovations at the NAB Show, according to Glodina Connan-Lostanlen, Imagine’s chief marketing officer. “We recognize that a lot of transition is happening, and we recognize that customers need to be able to go through them at their own pace.” At the exact time that the industry is looking at next-gen solutions, they’re also looking for a real-world way to migrate to new technologies and business strategies, she said.

LONG-TERM PRIORITIES

The annual NAB Show offers a chance to kick the tires, so to speak, and see first-hand how these next-gen technologies interweave with existing facilities, and why accelerating (or slowing down) the migration might make good sense, depending on the company and their long-term priorities.

Take for example the transformation that’s happening in playout. “It’s a segment that used to [require] a multiproduct solution [to] launch channels, and now one can [utilize] a more compact solution that relies on software modules,” Connan-Lostanlen said.

Or take the revenue opportunities that come from next-gen advertising solutions. “[The industry] is really moving together traditional adverting linear workflows with the digital ad insertion technology,” she said. Disappearing are those scenarios where a salesperson selling the digital platform is totally separate from one selling linear advertising.

In these areas as in others, there are potential monetization improvements and cost efficiencies that happen with the adoption of next-gen technologies that are able to compress and streamline, she said. And yet on the other hand, companies nearly always have existing legacy products and infrastructures that need to be properly considered as part of the migration.

One key example is the transition in North America to the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard, she said. “If broadcasters today want to take advantage of ATSC, they [need] to be on digital platforms with very efficient workflows to be able to leverage that,” she said.

NEW BUSINESS & PRODUCTION TOOLS

This year, the company will be showcasing a number of new tools in the areas of advertising, playout, live production and the cloud. In the advertising arena, Imagine plans to introduce new business development tools such as the xG Scorecard business analytics tool, the new xG GamePlan cloud-based ad inventory optimization solution and AdTech solutions.

On the live production networking front, Imagine plans to show new features within the Selenio network processor as a means of addressing the gap between baseband and the IP world. Other options on display will be the hybrid SDI-IP Plantium IP3 router and the UHD-ready EPIC MV multiviewer.

“We are supporting a hybrid solution of routing/multiviewing in terms of how you take this to the IP world,” Connan-Lostanlen said. The company plans to participate in the IP Showcase initiative that will be at NAB alongside industry standards groups like AIMS and SMPTE. Imagine will do a deep dive discussion into standards like the recently approved SMPTE ST 2110-20 uncompressed video transport and the ways to go about ensuring interoperability between different receivers.

The company will also present a series of seminars in its booth on ATSC 3.0, solutions for monetizing inventory and dynamic ad insertion.

For playout, Imagine will show its Versio playout system and Versio IOX sharable and scalable storage solution.

In its booth in the South Hall, Imagine also plans to showcase solutions in cloud microservices technologies, routing, master control, graphics, storage and inventory management.

Imagine will be in Booth SL1516.