In This Issue ... BeaconSeek SNG Course Galaxy-15 ... It’s Back! It’s FNG Clever … Networked COFDM Links L INE O F S IGHT - W INTER 2010 T HE O CCASIONAL S ATELLITE N EWSGATHERING N EWSLETTER - I SSUE 17 IBC R EVIEW J ONATHAN H IGGINS T he annual IBC show in Amsterdam in Sep- tember was very busy, reporting over 48,500 visitors, up 3,000 from last year. (though remembering attendance includes exhibitors). Somewhat belatedly, here’s a re- view of the more interesting products that caught my eye. Starting off at the Vislink stand, Advent were showing their LT120, the low-cost 1.2m aluminium reflector version of their carbon-fibre driveaways, which we previewed in the last edition. Vislink’s Director of Product Marketing Ashley Dove told me that the surface tolerance of this antenna meant that it met the same performance standards as their carbon-fibre equivalent — a very impressive claim. Apart from the reflector, the rest of the antenna looked very similar to its carbon-fibre brothers, but sells at a significantly lower cost. New at IBC was the Advent NewsLite 6000, a portable, IP-enabled SNG terminal designed for use with current and new lightweight an- tenna systems. This modular solution promises the performance of high bandwidth contribution feeds with the flexibility of BGAN-type news- gathering. It’s fully controlled through a laptop, which, of course, is both good and bad ... The unit has been designed to be highly configurable, so that customers can specify the system to meet their needs and aren’t re- stricted by a “one-size-fits-all” product. This gives customers a choice of traditional satellite connectivity along with the addition of Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connectivity, MPEG2 and H.264 SD/HD encoding and decoding, and the ability to add a wireless camera receiver as well. Ashley proudly claimed “NewsLite is highly configurable and more versatile than traditional suitcase and manpack solutions, and will sig- nificantly reduce operating costs. NewsLite includes the latest enhancements to our Ad- vanced Mobile Gateway functionality to enable high speed internet access and two-way office network extension into the field; while IP-over- ASI means more bandwidth efficient file trans- fer over satellite.” The box seems very impres- sive, though a broadcaster would need deep pockets to be able to afford a number of these for field use. Vislink launched their Advanced Mobile Gateway AMG2100 in 2009 as part of their (Continued on page 3) • Consultancy • Training • Project Management • Systems Integration • Market Studies • Regulatory Affairs Advice Advent NewsLite 6000 (stripy ears in top photo not included in price !) Advent LT120 Antenna
Transcript
In This Issue ... BeaconSeek SNG Course
Galaxy-15 ... It’s Back!
It’s FNG Clever …
Networked COFDM Links
L I N E O F S I G H T - W I N T E R 2 0 1 0
T H E O C C A S I O N A L S A T E L L I T E N E W S G A T H E R I N G N E W S L E T T E R - I S S U E 1 7
IBC RE V I E W J O N A T H A N H I G G I N S
T he annual IBC show in Amsterdam in Sep-tember was very busy, reporting over
48,500 visitors, up 3,000 from last year. (though remembering attendance includes exhibitors). Somewhat belatedly, here’s a re-view of the more interesting products that caught my eye.
Starting off at the Vislink stand, Advent were showing their LT120, the low-cost 1.2m aluminium reflector version of their carbon-fibre driveaways, which we previewed in the last edition. Vislink’s Director of Product Marketing Ashley Dove told me that the surface tolerance of this antenna meant that it met the same performance standards as their carbon-fibre equivalent — a very impressive claim. Apart from the reflector, the rest of the antenna looked very similar to its carbon-fibre brothers, but sells at a significantly lower cost.
New at IBC was the Advent NewsLite 6000, a portable, IP-enabled SNG terminal designed for use with current and new lightweight an-tenna systems. This modular solution promises the performance of high bandwidth contribution feeds with the flexibility of BGAN-type news-
gathering. It’s fully controlled through a laptop, which, of course, is both good and bad ...
The unit has been designed to be highly configurable, so that customers can specify the system to meet their needs and aren’t re-stricted by a “one-size-fits-all” product. This gives customers a choice of traditional satellite connectivity along with the addition of Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connectivity, MPEG2 and H.264 SD/HD encoding and decoding, and the ability to add a wireless camera receiver as well.
Ashley proudly claimed “NewsLite is highly configurable and more versatile than traditional suitcase and manpack solutions, and will sig-nificantly reduce operating costs. NewsLite includes the latest enhancements to our Ad-vanced Mobile Gateway functionality to enable high speed internet access and two-way office network extension into the field; while IP-over-ASI means more bandwidth efficient file trans-fer over satellite.” The box seems very impres-sive, though a broadcaster would need deep pockets to be able to afford a number of these for field use.
Vislink launched their Advanced Mobile Gateway AMG2100 in 2009 as part of their
(Continued on page 3)
• Consultancy
• Training
• Project Management
• Systems Integration
• Market Studies
• Regulatory Affairs Advice Advent NewsLite 6000 (stripy ears in top photo not included in price !)
Advent LT120 Antenna
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010
W elcome to a rather late edition of Line Of Sight, delayed by … well, various things
really. And sometimes finding enough suitable
material for a specialized newsletter such as this means that it’s better to delay rather than produce something that leaves readers feeling disappointed.
I offer a rather belated review of IBC - I know, it was four months ago, but better late then never. The show had a few interesting features in the SNG domain, but nothing really outstanding.
I was particularly intrigued by a develop-ment in terrestrial ENG microwave shown by Cobham, and so Stuart Brown has kindly writ-ten a fascinating piece on networking wireless cameras.
Another guest writer, Rob Stanley, has also written about his company Sat-Comm’s new low cost SNG flyaway targeted at the North Africa and Middle East market.
But the satellite halls (and outside area) at IBC did display some noticeable gaps, which shows that the recession is still affecting our business, though a number of exhibitors I spoke to seemed fairly upbeat and com-mented on hopeful prospects.
In the last issue we covered the sad story of Galaxy 15 - and in this issue, we can report
a happy ending (probably). Another satellite operator has suffered a little since the last issue – Eutelsat lost W3B on launch, though since it was fully insured and replacing three satellites in one slot that can still struggle on for a little while, they seemed fairly laissez-faire about the incident.
In October we ran another successful SNG course here in Luton, UK. These twice yearly courses are now a permanent fixture in our calendar, and we look forward to our next course on 17-19 May. Of course, our Sling-Path online SNG training program grows with increasing support from satellite operators such as Intelsat and SES.
As always (and I always say it), I hope you enjoy this edition – and feedback is always welcome. Aspiring writers of articles are al-ways welcome to offer ideas - it’s not that difficult. This is a newsletter for the industry, and as many ideas as possible should be aired within it. ◙
and automatic embedded audio switching, It also has a tally output for external cues, runs off 12V, and weighs 4.8kg.
At the e2v stand they were showing a new white box, so beloved of HPA manufacturers. This white box is a new compact lightweight BUC for SNG applications, called the Stellar TS — though it’s actually made by ST Electronics (Singapore), with whom e2v have entered into a reseller agreement to offer their BUCs into the SNG market in Europe.
Designed to be mounted on the feed arm, the TS range is said to consume less than 285W of prime power for a 40W BUC, and is available in Ku and C-band versions.
These compact SSPAs get more interesting every year as the power requirement reduces, at least for SD transmission, as the satellites get more sensitive.
Murraypro is a UK manufacturer of various and audio monitoring equipment, and at IBC they launched their Test Chest 3G, a very in-triguing box of tricks.
Described as “an engineer’s go-anywhere tool”, this clever little battery-operated box pro-duces a virtually instantaneous video/audio analysis on its high resolution screen.
The intriguing “Which-Wire?” detector auto-matically identifies the type of signal applied to its input and displays the video and audio along with a banner identifying the detected standard in less than a second, with the stereo speakers activated when embedded audio is present.
The Test Chest 3G automatically awakes from slumber when any video signal is de-tected.
terrestrial microwave offering, and it was on show at IBC. The AMG2100 is a bi-directional out-of-band gateway which provides IP connec-tivity over multiple wide area network pathways to support file transfer and remote van man-agement.
The AMG2100 provides an extension of the newsroom network out into the field, offering full Ethernet router functionality with VPN tun-nelling and eight Ethernet switch ports.
A Wi-Fi connection may also be activated to provide local WLAN connectivity; the AMG2100 supports a range of wide area connectivity stan-dards, including 8-VSB, Wi-Max, EVDO and UMTS.
NewsLite’s design is IATA weight compliant for airport baggage handling, and its modular electronics support a broad range of satellite antennas. The system on display at IBC was a “two box” sub-23 kg solution when combined with a 1m Advent Mantis antenna.
On the SIS LIVE stand there were a couple of interesting looking products. First was a flat panel antenna, uPak, not primarily targeted at the broadcast market, but developed by SIS in conjunction with Astrium, part of EADS.
uPak is an integrated and compact, fully automated Ku-band VSAT terminal that pro-vides high-speed data communications for internet connectivity, video transmission and VPN connectivity.
It has an integrated iDirect modem, and unusually for a flat-plate antenna, is not spread-spectrum operation but has such a low power output that the intrinsically poor sidelobe performance of flat-plate antennas will not cause interference to adjacent satellites.
With single button operation the unit can be used by anyone with little or no training. uPak is lightweight and portable, designed to be trans-ported as airline checked baggage or in a ruck-sack for remote field operations.
Aimed directly at broadcasters was SIS LIVE’s RouteCase, an ingenious compact multi-channel video and audio mixer with comms costing €6,500 (US$8,500)
RouteCase is a compact 4 channel HD/SD SDI production unit incorporating the latest in vision mixer technology with audio mixing facili-ties. SDI 480/576 formats can be accepted in HD mode via 2 inbuilt upconverters with fully synchronous mixing between all inputs. Video monitoring is via a 15” HD LCD multi-viewer
(Continued from page 1)
“ The intriguing
‘Which-Wire?’
detector
automatically
identifies the type of
signal applied to its
input ...”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 3
IBC RE V I E W
SIS LIVE uPak
SIS LIVE RouteCase
“ … it can be
really difficult to
be sure that you
have interference ”
“It’s like a
motorized
antenna,
but without the
motors ...”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 4
Via its high-resolution LCD touch-screen, the usual range of 10-bit resolution SD/HD SDI or composite test signals can be generated, including 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ration circles for monitor setup, as well as a moving ident can to highlight frame freezes on decoders and syn-chronizers. A DVI port provides simultaneous Digital & Analogue outputs, enabling the use of an external PC monitor.
The Test Chest 3G also incorporates a scope with a 25Hz—10MHz frequency response using a separate BNC input which fully supports
the use of a switchable x1/x10 probe if required.
An audio pod is in-cluded to extend the Test Chest 3G to include the standard audio input and output connectors, and is capable of generating simultaneous analogue stereo test signal as well as an AES test stream. A
neat trick offered by the Test Chest 3G is the ability to listen to the audio presented to this scope input, enabling it to be used as a very high impedance audio signal tracer.
It also has a clapperboard feature to test for lip-synch errors, and a TDR for detecting cable faults.
At around €4,800 (~US$6,200), it’s not cheap but it’s really very neat and has just about all the video/audio test and measure-ment functions you’d want to hand - and there’s a rack-mount version available as well.
On the Cobham Domo stand there was a very intriguing full-mesh ENG microwave system being shown, which has exciting potential in connecting wireless cameras together at an
event that could then be uplinked from an SNG truck or flyaway. A full explanation is given in the article from Stuart Brown of Cobham Domo elsewhere in this issue.
Finally to the Sat-Comm stand outside, where they were showing their Fast News Gath-ering (FNG) flyaway, designed for use with ASBU’s MENOS network. As Rob Stanley of Sat-Comm has contributed a piece on the FNG ter-minal elsewhere in this issue, I shall leave it to him to explain its features.
However, as Tim Williams of Sat-Comm helpfully explained “It’s like a motorized an-tenna, but without the motors”.
Overall the show was fairly average, with signs that the recession is still biting. Notable by its complete absence was ND SatCom, one of Europe’s leading SNG companies, seemingly deciding to abandon the premier European broadcasting show - an indication of things to come for ND ? ◙
IBC RE V I E W
Sat-Comm FNG
WH A T IS TH A T? N E W I N T E R F E R E N C E I D T O O L
A new online tool for helping chase down potential interference has been launched
by SUIRG (Satellite Users Interference Reduc-tion Group).
Interference is something that affects us all at one time or another, and if you’re not well versed in what interfer-ing carriers or phenom-ena look like, it can be really difficult to be sure that you have interfer-ence.
The Signal Interfer-ence Characteristics Tool (SIC) is available on their website (www.suirg.org), and provides a range of sample spectrum analyzer plots illustrating different types of interference.
Based on real life events, the tool illustrates a number of different interference scenarios and what the trace would typically look like.
The plots shown on the SUIRG website might help you get some idea of what the prob-lem is and how to tackle it.
The SIC is a picture book of sample plots each representing various types of interference.
The book allows selecting a specific type of interference, if known, or the user can step through the plots until they locate a plot that closely represents their ongoing problem.
The SIC is a living tool where additional examples will make the
tool even more valuable to the satellite indus-try.
SUIRG ask that if anyone has examples of interference to submit the spectrum plot(s) along with a short description and corrective measures taken for consideration for the tool.◙
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 5
I nmarsat has announced its next generation satellite fleet is due to start operation in
2014. Unlike its previous satellites however, the Inmarsat-5 fleet will operate in the Ka-band.
The new service running on Inmarsat-5 will be called Global Xpress and will offer speeds of up to 50Mbps to mobile terminals.
Inmarsat BGAN services are an important element in the SNG toolbox, and the possibility of high-capacity links on an on-demand basis will raise high expectations in many newsrooms at some point in the future.
Inmarsat’s CEO Andrew Sakawaty an-nounced “Global Xpress will be faster and less expensive than current Ku-band market offer-ings, it will be delivered to smaller and cheaper terminals and be the first offered on a seam-less, global, end-to-end basis with high-quality of service.”
Inmarsat goes on to claim that they hope to offer 10Mbps connectivity to an antenna the size of an iPad (20cm). The highest speed links will be to larger antennas on ships and aircraft.
However, as with other broadband offerings, the link will probably be asymmetric, with the remote-to-base having a much lower throughput — which is the opposite way round to that re-quired for SNG.
The announcement by Inmarsat that they
are going to be spending US$1.2 billion over four years on launching and establishing the network comes at a time when there are a number of Ka-band satellite broadband satel-lite services launching over the next 5 years.
Inmarsat have placed a contract with Boe-ing to build the three satellites for the Inmarsat-5 fleet, based on the HP-702 bus.
Though before anyone gets too excited, it’s worth remembering that BGAN was launched six years ago, but the speeds originally prom-ised have only just been reached in the last year or so.
And of course, nobody knows how much this service will cost. ◙
IN M A R S A T-5 T H E N E X T G E N E R A T I O N
“ … the link will
probably be asym-
metric … which is
the opposite way
round to that re-
quired for SNG ”
bility to share resources, and produce and transmit content to and from remote locations across the Middle East and North Africa.
MENOS was launched at the beginning of 2009.
ASBU performs the role of Access Network Provider with its hub installed in Algiers, and is the largest feed and file exchange network for broadcasters, encompassing the entire Middle-East/North-Africa and Europe. Arabsat has provided satellite capacity via BADR-4 (Ku-band) and BADR-6 (C-band) satellites.
MENOS is a full IP satellite-based system
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 6
S at-Comm has been producing SNG flyaway systems for some 10 years. Our goals have
been to produce simple, compact and depend-able solutions.
The development of our Gazelle FNG range has been in response to a demand for a cost-effective ‘first responder’ newsgathering termi-nal.
The range is not intended to replace the flexibility and power of a full-blown flyaway, but to provide a simpler, more portable and afford-able solution.
In particular, the system will stream video at higher bit rates than that currently possible using Inmarsat or Thuraya L-band terminals, while benefiting from the efficiency and rela-tively low cost-per-bit of commercial Ku-band space segment.
The main driver for the Gazelle develop-ment was a requirement from Newtec for a low cost, FNG (Fast News Gathering) portable satel-lite newsgathering terminal, to operate on their MENOS satellite video contribution platform.
The MENOS (Multimedia Exchange Network Over Satellite) exchange network has been de-veloped by the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) jointly with Arabsat and Belgian satellite equipment manufacturer Newtec to deliver the ASBU’s 28 member broadcasters with the capa-
FI L L I N G A HO L E I N SNG R O B S TA N L E Y
“ The range is not
intended to replace
the flexibility and
power of a full-
blown flyaway, but
to provide a simpler,
more portable and
affordable
solution ....”
“ Few vendors
produce small form
factor H264
encoders that include
the professional
signal interfaces and
flexible encoding
options that are
essential to the
broadcaster ”
“ MENOS is a
full IP satellite-
based system that
can support any
transmission
application required
by broadcasters …”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 7
F I L L I N G A HO L E I N SNG that can support any transmission application required by broadcasters using DVB-RCS and DVB-S2 technology with the statistical multiplex-ing of data, voice, television, and radio signals to ensure optimum efficiency in satellite band-width usage.
These include both ‘live’ and file transfer SNG contribution uplinks to studios, primary distribution from studios to headends, interna-tional radio and TV exchange between studios, and not least, support for archiving video and audio content.
It also offers value-added IP-based services such as permanent two-way satellite IP connec-tivity between all remote stations, VoIP, corpo-rate VPNs, and an integrated billing system. Different classes of terminal have been defined depending on the intended usage.
A number of European SNG manufacturers, including Sat-Comm, have now been approved to supply uplink equipment as part of the MENOS system.
We dubbed the MENOS FNG version of our terminal ‘Ghazala’ after the Arabian gazelle, reflecting its fast and nimble attributes.
The Ghazala FNG uses a Newtec modem to deliver a H264 encoded video stream of up to 1Mbps over the Ku-band MENOS platform on Arabsat 5A. With the combined efficiencies of the satellite platform and modem, achieving this level of throughput requires only a 1.2m VSAT antenna and a 4W BUC to cover most of the Arabsat 5A “Pan-Arab” footprint.
Ghazala combines a Newtec-supplied pack-age consisting of a NTC/2232 L-band modem, IP router and VOIP telephone, to which we add a H264 encoder, PC server, and flyaway an-tenna to produce a basic MENOS FNG terminal.
It also contains useful facilities such as a built-in DV interface, and a wired beltpack inter-com, which makes use of the MENOS VOIP net-work.
The Ghazala FNG is supplied to ASBU mem-bers via Sat-Comm’s MENOS sales partners, Omniglobe (EMEA) Ltd.
Sat-Comm also produce two other versions of the terminal. The DVB Gazelle is a more con-ventional flyaway, with SD and HD capabilities, MPEG-2 or H264 encoding, and is designed for higher transmit power application using DVB-S2 modulation.
It is available with a variety of solid state and tube based RF power options. The iGazelle provides a simple video streaming platform for live contribution feeds using iDirect VSAT net-works. A hybrid transmission monitor and booking platform
In common with all of our flyaway systems, the Gazelle range includes a comprehensive monitoring system, and the AVM-4 was purpose built for the unique requirements of this new terminal. The AVM-4 has a high brightness, daylight visible 12” LCD video monitor, stereo speakers and LED PPM meters.
Since the MENOS platform allows the direct booking of transmissions from a web-server
built into the terminal, we built miniaturised PC hardware into AVM-4 and added a keyboard. Operators use this to make bookings, and it also supports the SC-300 ‘Sat-pointer’, a power-ful antenna pointing tool with a graphical user interface. The LCD screen is simply switched between display modes to show either the in-coming video, or that of the internal PC screen. Compact MPEG-4 encoding options
Our requirements called for a small, stan-dards compliant H264 encoder to deliver a video stream ranging from rates as low as 400kb/s. Few vendors produce small form fac-tor H264 encoders that include the professional signal interfaces and flexible encoding options that are essential to the broadcaster.
For the most part, small encoders are aimed at the CCTV market where such limita-tions don’t appear to be much of a drawback.
However, we quickly recognised that the IP-900E from Fujitsu fitted the bill, with excellent encoding performance and reliable interopera-bility.
When first we looked at it, in most respects it was perfect, with low power dissipation and a comprehensive set of encoding options, but initially it lacked the exact combination of video resolution and stream rate that we needed. We worked through these issues with Fujitsu, who responded quickly with software updates to add the encoder settings that we needed. Packaging & Construction
Field experience in some of the more ex-treme newsgathering environments has led us to look extremely carefully at our component
Sat-Comm Ghazala
“ …not all
H.264 systems are
created equal – it is
possible to make
exaggerated claims
about latency …
but be left with truly
awful picture
quality”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 8
visit slingpath.com
E vent coverage and newsgathering in the broadcast industry was revolutionised in
2001 with the introduction of Digital Wireless Camera Systems.
The Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (COFDM) modulation scheme used to transmit the signals enabled true Non-Line Of Sight (NLOS) op-eration for the first time – giving producers complete freedom of movement and the ability to ‘go live’ from previously unusable loca-tions.
The loss of cables not only afforded less rigid parking require-ments for SNG vehicles, it meant quicker rig/de-rig times, hence better utilisation of staff and facili-ties.
Ten years on, little has changed in terms of the technology used to power these systems in the broadcast industry. However, in the surveillance sector there have been some exciting developments, all of which are applicable to broadcasting. The purpose of this article is to explain some of these and ex-plore how they might be deployed within the broadcast environment.
Since its acquisition of domo Ltd in 2005, Cobham has become the market leader for COFDM products within the surveillance sector and, as such, has been at the forefront in de-veloping these new technologies. In recognition that much of this technology is equally applica-ble to broadcasting,
Cobham have now formed a focussed team to bring these to market in form-factors and with features broadcasters can easily use. The
build standards required for the defence and law enforcement industries and the efficiencies gained through larger volumes, will be reflected in a new range of high quality, cost-effective broadcast products due to be launched in early 2011.
H.264 Encoding MPEG-2 has served the wireless camera industry well, however increasing pressure on available spectrum, the introduction of High Definition and the widespread adoption of H.264 encoding in SNG systems are forcing users to look at H.264 as the encoding engine for the next generation of wireless camera systems. Traditionally, H.264 encoders have been too large and power-hungry to be con-sidered for wireless camera use –
these problems have been overcome, with com-pact designs requiring lower power consump-tion, typically 10W, appearing on the market.
Latency/delay has always been an impor-tant factor for users of these systems and early H.264 encoders had latencies typically in ex-cess of 500ms, unacceptable for large multi-camera events where very noticeable lip-sync problems can occur through mixing cabled and wireless cameras. For newsgathering applica-tions, adding this delay to those already pre-sent in the SNG Encoder and satellite hop would make live 2-ways impossible. New en-coding techniques are now being implemented which will see delays drop below 100ms, mak-ing H.264 a usable option for the first time.
But what are the real benefits of switching to H.264? First of all, it is important to note that
NE W COFDM TE CH N I Q U E S S T UA R T B R O W N
and packaging choices. Since elevated tem-peratures are inevitable, minimising heat gen-eration within the terminal case, and ensuring adequate ventilation, are particularly important.
Low power components with high tempera-ture ratings, and powerful thermostatically con-trolled fans have been used throughout the unit.
The Gazelle FNG electronics case uses a version of a ‘Sat-Rack’. Made by CP Cases (UK) and dimensioned to our specifications, this well-ventilated case combines a shock-mounted aluminium rack frame with a tough, fabric covered outer shell.
Thermal tests have been carried out, prov-ing reliable operation of the electronics pack in ambient conditions of up to 50 deg. C.
Each Gazelle FNG terminal comes with a 1.2m carbon fibre SNG flyaway antenna, the Sat-Comm 120Ku Mk III. This compact and lightweight unit fits into two foam filled cases 23kg cases.
(Continued from page 7) The full range of Sat-Comm Gazelles made their debut at IBC 2010, and the first produc-tion units are already in service. ◙ Rob Stanley is Business Development Director for Sat-Comm Ltd.
FI L L I N G A HO L E I N SNG
“ Typically, a
well-engineered
H.264 system
should deliver a 30-
50% efficiency
saving over a
comparable
MPEG-2 system ”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 9
not all H.264 systems are created equal – it is possible to make exaggerated claims about latency and/or encoding efficiency, but be left with truly awful picture quality. Clearly there is little point in adopting H.264 if the system has to operate at MPEG-2 bit-rates in order to offer comparable picture quality – buyer beware!
Typically, a well-engineered H.264 system should deliver a 30-50% efficiency saving over a comparable MPEG-2 system – that means a 30-50% reduction in bit-rate for the same pic-ture quality. Optimum efficiency tends to occur at lower bit-rates – ideal for wireless camera systems, with the added bonus that at these low bit-rates, 4:2:0 encoding often gives better results than 4:2:2.
For SD, a typical ‘News’ bit-rate of 6Mbps can be reduced to 3-4Mbps whilst for HD, a typical bit-rate of 15Mbps can be reduced to 9Mbps – enabling the more robust QPSK modulation to be used. On fast-moving shows where Steadicams are often used in extremely challenging environments, switching to higher bit-rate H.264 gives stunning quality, not previ-ously achievable in a single DVB-T channel.
Another application is the growing use of 3D in event coverage. Using H.264, it is possible to multiplex two HD signals (left and right eye) into a single DVB-T channel – this was used for the first time in the coverage of the recent Ryder Cup golf tournament.
Finally, in simpler, single channel SNG sys-tems where no baseband manipulation of the signal is required, it is possible to encode at the camera-back and simply modulate the ASI stream directly onto the satellite – thus avoid-ing a decode/re-code cycle with its accompany-ing increased delay and picture artefacts. Custom Modulation
I imagine many wireless camera users read-ing this article will be aware of the chronic shortage of RF channels at large events. This is the effect of a double whammy. In recent years there has been a spending spree by the large telcos, gobbling up precious 2GHz spectrum for mobile data services such as 3G, LTE and Wi-MAX.
Also, wireless cameras are somewhat a victim of their own success – their ease of set-up/use, promoting rapid take-up by both estab-lished broadcasters and users previously wary of using wireless technology. The bit-rate reduc-tions made possible by H.264 cannot be fully exploited by standard DVB-T systems, as band-widths are set at 6, 7, and 8MHz and it is not possible to fit multiple signals into a single 10 or 12.5MHz channel allocation.
At Cobham, we have developed Narrow-band modulation with a bandwidth of 2.5MHz (3.5MHz is in development). LPDC error correc-tion (from DVB-S2) is used to give performance at FEC 2/3 equivalent to DVB-T’s Viterbi at FEC
NE W COFDM TE CH N I Q U E S
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 10
1/2. At 16QAM with an FEC of 2/3 it is possible to transmit a bit-rate of 4.8Mbps.
As 4.8Mbps H.264 gives equivalent picture quality to approx 7-9Mbps in MPEG-2, it is therefore possible to transmit Broadcast quality SD pictures in a 2.5MHz bandwidth. This, in turn, enables 3-4 SD channels to be transmit-ted in a single 10 or 12.5MHz channel alloca-tion.
The narrower bandwidth gives increased power density, lower channel noise and a re-
ceiver sensitivity of -94dBm – only 1dB lower than a typical DVB-T system running at QPSK, FEC 1/2. The implications for event coverage and busy newsgathering assignments are obvi-ous.
Even lower bandwidths of 1.25MHz and 625KHz are available for non-broadcast quality requirements, such as talent reverse vision, autocue or reverse viewfinder feeds. In the near future, the addition of DVB-T2 modulation will significantly increase bandwidth flexibility.
NE W COFDM TE CH N I Q U E S
Typical live coverage set-up using single COFDM channel
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The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have obviously put news crews in
“We transmitted on the hour, every day of The Ashes Cricket live into Sky Sports News programs, and the trans-missions were dual path MPEG-4 HD with a total transmission time of over 11 hours per day. The Holkirk TP120 performed perfectly and passed all Optus satellite approval tests”
TP120 Fly-Away operational at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane, Australia, delivering The Ashes Test Cricket in glorious HD
The TP120 antenna system from Holkirk is renowned for its compact size, light
weight and powerful performance which
has been designed to excel in today’s demanding SNG market place.
Peter Baker Managing Director PBG Broadcasting
“This system
enables up to 8
radios to
automatically
connect to combine
in a fluid, self
forming, self
healing mesh ...”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 11
“ … a bi-
directional
COFDM system
has been developed
which takes care of
everything on one
single frequency …”
Bi-Directional COFDM Traditional wireless camera systems trans-
mit a COFDM signal in a single direction from the camera to the receive point. If camera con-trol (iris, blacks etc) is needed, this is sent via an additional UHF channel which must be booked and paid for. If the presenter requires an IFB, this is also sent via an additional UHF channel. Add camera operator’s talkback, auto-cue, reverse vision etc and it quickly becomes very expensive and un-manageable, even if the additional RF channels are available.
The surveillance market is particularly de-pendent on 2-way communications and opera-tors are generally unskilled. A system as com-plex as the one described above would be im-possible to deploy.
To address this, a bi-directional COFDM system has been developed which takes care of everything on one single frequency. Applying this technology to broadcasting would enable the next generation of wireless camera systems to be fully integrated – offering all the facilities available on wired cameras, but utilising a sin-gle COFDM channel.
Set-up is easy, just dial in the frequency and away you go. Not only would such a system save valuable bandwidth (and hence time and money), the bi-directional system allows con-stant communication between the camera and base units, enabling such techniques as dy-namic power control and dynamic modulation control to minimise near/far effects, prolong battery life and extend range. COFDM MESH networks
An exciting development of the bi-directional system has been the recent intro-duction of the COFDM MESH.
This revolutionary system enables up to 8 radios to automatically connect to combine in a fluid, self forming, self healing mesh. The ra-dios within the mesh exchange data on a single frequency, simplifying frequency management.
The entire mesh occupies just 2.5MHz of band-width (3 and 3.5MHz also available, with 8MHz in development).
The radios employ the unique Cobham COFDM modulation scheme and therefore offer excellent RF penetration and performance in the presence of multipath.
The mesh radios can provide up to 4Mbps of IP data (data rate depends on mode, number of nodes and range between nodes). This avail-able IP data rate can be used to exchange IP data traffic between nodes and bit-rates will be increased, as development of the system con-tinues. The highly flexible mesh topology means that data can be exchanged between nodes in a point to point or multi-point fashion; range can be extended by using nodes as repeaters.
There are many immediate applications for this technology in broadcasting, the most obvi-ous being a development of the bi-directional system described previously. If additional range is required, this can be achieved by simply add-ing extra nodes as repeaters – the system will auto-configure and send data back to the base unit by the best available route, allowing news-gathering organisations the ability to react quickly to rapidly changing news environments.
In addition to the transmission of video, IP distribution is now a common requirement in Outside Broadcasts – either to extend studio or newsroom facilities out to the field, or as a method of controlling remote equipment, much of which now has IP control capability.
At Cobham, we are very much looking for-ward to rolling out these pioneering wireless camera solutions into Broadcast platforms over the coming months. These exciting develop-ments are only the beginning … our customers will, no doubt, find many more applications for these ground–breaking technologies. ◙ Stuart Brown is Broadcast Systems Director for Domo Products at Cobham Surveillance.
Mesh system used in motor racing coverage
NE W COFDM TE CH N I Q U E S
“ G-15 is now
responding to
commands and
ground controllers
have restored
telemetry with the
spacecraft ”
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 12
AR E WE SO L D O R NOT?
I n the last issue, we reported a couple of com-pany buy-outs that in the end don’t seem to
have happened for various reasons — what a volatile business environment we live in. So here’s an update, with some other company news as well. CPI
After an announcement last May that Com-tech Telecommunications had made an offer of US$472 million for the CPI (Communication & Power Industries Inc.) group, which includes the CPI Satcomm division, it all fell through.
Comtech previously acquired Xicom, CPI Satcom’s principal competitor, and it was thought-provoking as to how they were going to handle the two businesses.
Then suddenly on 7 September, a joint press release announced “Comtech Telecom-munications Corp. and CPI International, Inc. today announced that they have terminated the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 8, 2010 ... The termination was by mutual agree-ment of the companies and was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Comtech and CPI ... As part of the termination, Comtech has received a termination fee of US$15 million from CPI ... Comtech and CPI will remain independent, publicly-held companies”.
So after a short engagement, the wedding was off.
And CPI had to pay US$15 million to call it off even though Comtech had only incurred about US$1 million in expenses — some say it was due to Comtech having lost a significant U.S military contract in the summer, and there-fore the deal lost appeal to CPI.
Sat-Comm
Again, as we reported previously, Sat-
Comm, the UK SNG manufacturer, had an-nounced that it was being bought by Om-niGlobe Networks (Canada).
Since then, the whole acquisition seems to have fizzled out, though there has not been a formal statement from either company. Unoffi-cial sources say that Omniglobe were dragging their feet, and now the assumption is the deal is off. Or is it ? …
Wavestream
Gilat Satellite Networks, a major VSAT net-work systems company from Israel, bought SSPA manufacturer Wavestream for US$130 million in November.
The industry view is that Gilat wants to get into the lucrative U.S military market, in which Wavestream is already an established player. But industry sources are very surprised at the high valuation of Wavestream.
ND Satcom
SES had been trying to dispose of all or at least a majority share of ND SatCom for over a year. ND SatCom, who as well as manufactur-ing satellite equipment for the military, ac-counts for a significant part of the German-speaking European SNG market.
Finally in October, SES sold 75% of its stake to Astrium Services, which owns the UK’s mili-tary telecommunications satellites and several Earth observation satellite services companies, for an undisclosed sum.
SES is left owning 25% of ND SatCom, and has said the transaction is expected to be final-ized in early 2011 subject to regulatory ap-proval.
Well, that’s the latest - by the next edition,
things will probably have changed again. ◙
visit slingpath.com
I n early April, as reported in the last edition, Intelsat lost control of Galaxy 15 at 133°W,
which provided coverage over North America. Intelsat has now at last regained communi-
cations after G-15 spent nearly nine months cruising around the geostationary arc. G-15 is now responding to commands and ground con-trollers have restored telemetry with the space-craft.
Intelsat announced “On 23 December, the power from the Galaxy 15 battery completely drained during its loss of earth lock and the Baseband Equipment (BBE) command unit reset, as it was designed to do. Shortly thereaf-ter Galaxy 15 began accepting commands and Intelsat engineers began receiving telemetry in our Satellite Operations center. We have placed Galaxy 15 in safe mode, and at this time, we
are pleased to report it no longer poses any threat of satellite interference to either neighbouring satellites or customer services.”
The satellite continues drifting, but Intelsat expects to quickly stabilize the craft's orbit and return it to commercial service.
Between April and December, G-15 drifted past by more than a dozen operational C-band communications satellites owned by Intelsat, SES, Telesat and Satmex — but fortunately, satellite operators reported no significant dis-ruptions in communications.
Intelsat and Orbital Sciences, the satellite manufacturer, had anticipated the system re-setting back in August, but G-15 carried on functioning until December.
The original cause of G-15’s failure is still formally undetermined. ◙
IT’S BA C K! — GA L A X Y 15 RE BO OT
Line Of S ight - Winter 2010 Page 13
BE A CO NSE E K RU N S SE V E N TH PU B L I C SNG CO U R S E I n October we held the seventh of our popular
Basic SNG Operations courses — we hold these every year in May and October.
As usual the course was held in the delight-ful surroundings of the postgraduate campus of the University of Bedfordshire on the outskirts of Luton in the UK, some 30 miles (50 km) north of London. We had students from the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands from a variety of backgrounds.
The students underwent three days of very focussed training, starting with a very intensive day of classroom training on satellite principles covering generally and specifically SNG uplink-ing theory — it was early evening before we finished.
This was followed by two days of practical exercises, including learning how to use a Suunto Tandem compass/clinometer, what to look out for on a site survey, and rigging and using a flyaway as well as a small SNG truck. The exercises on the flyaway took up much of these two practical days.
By the end of the course all the students were able to competently assemble and oper-ate the Advent 1.9m Mantis flyaway system kindly provided by Vislink News & Entertain-ment. Students carried out a number of trans-missions and routine operational checks on both Telesat and Eutelsat.
In addition students were shown an SNG truck provided by PBG Broadcasting.
Instruction is carried out on with a compara-tively large antenna so that the students fully experience the hands-on reality of critical ad-justments and measurements.
They have to accurately and consistently point a completely manual flyaway antenna at the correct satellite and deal professionally with satellite operations centres. We limit numbers to only six participants so that everyone has the opportunity of using the system and talking to the satellite operator.
The next course will be on 17-19 May 2011 (see back page) - so if you’re interested in at-tending, please get in touch with us soon. ◙
