Broadcast Audio/Video Distribution

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER Managing the Future in Broadcast Audio/Video Distribution

2 March 22, 2016 MANAGING THE FUTURE IN BROADCAST A/V DISTRIBUTION 3 OLD IS NEW 3 THE PRIORITY COMPROMISE 4 EARLY ADOPTERS & HIGH RISK 4 CONCLUSION 5 As a leading provider of audio/video (A/V) Baseband and IP connectivity products, PESA offers a wide selection of multi-path streaming products, routing switchers, matrix switchers, extenders, converters, media extenders, and signal processing gear to support government, military, industrial, commercial, medical, broadcast, and mobile truck applications. From large to small-scale A/V routing and extender products to multiple IP streaming appliances, PESA offers a diverse suite of AV products, all of which are supported by 24/7 technical support. PESA is located in Huntsville, Ala., with regional sales offices throughout North America and China. Our cost effective solutions are available around the world through our industry leading team of Channel Partners offering local support and installation. Learn more about us at Follow us on: LinkedIn: 2

3 Managing the Future in Broadcast A/V Distribution The Broadcast and A/V industry finds itself engaged in a world of rapidly changing industry dynamics driven by skyrocketing user experience expectations, fast paced innovation and ever changing business models. The key driver in this transformation is the rapid pace of technology and the race towards implementing cost effective, flexible, reliable platforms for new content delivery distribution. The insatiable appetite for access to content; anywhere, anytime, on any platform is unprecedented. Organizations find themselves eager to deliver new and better experiences for their customers, to meet an ever increasing demand. Higher resolutions, mobility, sophisticated content production, social networking, and non linear programming are but a few elements of the new paradigm that is affecting the traditional broadcast business model. The world of SDI distribution and IP based IT departments worked for many years as independent islands with different cultures, but things have changed considerably. Not only has IP based workflow driven change, but the ubiquity of the internet as a distribution platform has shifted IT closer to the core of traditional broadcast. The environment is complex with multiple varying formats and protocols having to work together while maintaining stringent latency, reliability and performance metrics. This article examines the evolution of IP infrastructures shifting towards the SDI core and reflects on possible business and technical considerations. The intent is not to conclude upon an architecture nor do a deep dive on competing technologies, but to stimulate the conversation regarding the considerations broadcast managers need to accommodate in order to position their companies for the future. Every organization investing in a platform needs to reflect upon and identify their unique business, operating and strategic goals, budgets, effects on organization and core competencies, workflow, and best fit. As each implementation is different, each company must make the best decision based on both current and future objectives. Old is New The technology shift occurring in Broadcast and A/V is not entirely based on new technology, but rather evolving IP and SDI capabilities driven by faster networks and more capable chipsets. Moore s Law is having an impact! Networks have evolved from 1G to 10G with over 40G available at a premium price. These speeds are not merely superfluous, but are needed to lay the foundation for an increasing number of compressed 4K plus signals. New, more advanced compression algorithms are available to help manage bandwidth while large SDI matrix chipset development is advanced to the point where we are now delivering 12G per dedicated port (4K-60 uncompressed) with higher speeds planned for the near future. Anyone with IT or networking experience knows the everyday challenges of supporting a data network. IP is not a simple protocol, nor is an IP network easy to get right. There is a reason why office workers have traditionally had IT Support numbers posted on their phones! Shifting that environment to include and support video, depending on the implementation, can be relatively simple to down right crazy complex. When video is added to an IP network requiring low latency, multiple varying file formats, converters, real-time bandwidth management, and bridging across multiple networks, the environment is complicated. 3

4 The Priority Compromise A key enabling technology driver has been the decreasing price of high speed networks. While 10G networks which support 3 uncompressed at 3G or 1 uncompressed 4K-30 at 6G have come down in price, 40G plus networks are prohibitively expensive for many, and in an IP environment, it is all about the network. IP needs large pipes. Compression is required for transmitting more than three 1080p signals through a 10G pipe. For the vast majority of applications compression is fine, but no matter how efficient the algorithm, bits are removed from the video stream as a compromise to size. The decision of compressed versus uncompressed video is an important consideration and comes down to the priorities of the company. The main advantage of IP is reduced cabling as multiple devices can be connected to a shared network port. Adding a device to the network is physically easy, if there is bandwidth available on the network at that location and in the main switch. The one important consideration is that each additional device adds load to the network and can adversely impact overall performance. Think of the IP router as the big pipe. Its limit is defined by the size (total bandwidth) of the router itself. As IP is point to point in a shared medium, priorities and quality of service (QoS) levels are important to ensure the end user gets what they expect. Network management then becomes a critical success factor in the world of IP. This differs from an SDI router that uses a matrix switch dedicating every input and output to a committed isolated port speed. This is often referred to as deterministic switching, and unlike IP, bandwidth is not shared. Currently, we see SDI routers moving from 3G to 12G with over 25G backplanes. SDI routers have an extremely high capacity and throughput. As each pipe is dedicated to a single transmission, no sharing, it can be thought of as a plug and play implementation versus a network implementation. With every port connected to a device, more cabling is required; however, SDI to IP encoders are used to connect devices similar to an IP router network topology. This type of implementation will simplify overall cabling requirements. SDI routers are defined by their size, which can now extend up to and beyond 1152x2304. This is in stark contrast to an IP router that is defined by its internal bandwidth, where the number of channels is dependent on the configuration of channels. If a large IP router is used for uncompressed 4K-30 (6G per channel), the router will have a lower capacity compared with implementing compressed 4K-30 (1.5G or lower per channel). The size of the IP router pipe is fixed just as the number of I/O ports are fixed on an SDI router. Early Adopters & High Risk Indeed, there are early adopters, the higher risk profile players that pave the way for others. This is positive as it pushes the industry, raising the bar. It also can cause confusion in the marketplace as standard setting can lag implementation timelines. Often, standards bodies don t move fast enough due to the negotiations and process required. As they say, the market waits for no one! However, it is important for the customer to have options and flexibility when making important investment decisions today. Don t get trapped. If your needs include the greatest flexibility possible, then ensure decisions are not made that can lead you down only one path, either from a technology or vendor perspective. Open systems generally are more advantageous to closed (proprietary) systems as it allows for more innovation from a larger pool of players and talent. We are seeing the makings of two camps, Aspen and AIMS, as Broadcast alliances form to manage IP infrastructures.. 4

5 We live in a world of many protocols and formats within a single infrastructure. Multiple sources need to connect and communicate with various types of destinations. Both IP and SDI cores need converters. For SDI signals to pass thru an IP router, they must be encapsulated. For SDI routers to connect into IP, there must be encoders. This will not change. The goals of Aspen and AIMS, along with various compression engines, JPEG2000, H.264, H.265, TICO, AVB, etc., are to create a world where multiple formats can co-exist. The fact is the world is complicated and multiple formats will not go away. There will never be a completely homogenous IP world, just like there has never been a homogenous SDI world. Some vendors are pushing an SDI/IP Hybrid co-operative environment, bringing the best of both worlds to a solution. PESA is one of them. For many, this makes perfect sense as it seems like a logical next step in technology evolution, cost of ownership, delivery of service, and education. An SDI/IP Hybrid co-operative environment allows time for standards to mature, and more sophisticated management and control solutions to be designed and implemented. Conclusion Management and Control cannot be overlooked. Ultimately, the system must have the intelligence to make the connection between any source and destination, independent of the protocols or conversion required to make it happen. In the world of IP, priorities and guarantees must be met regarding service levels in the network. Being a dynamic environment, this is not easy. Years ago autonomic computing was being worked on by both Intel and AMD. The goal was self healing computers that could recognize that a system or subsystem may be failing before it fails, and fix it without operator interference. As the complexity of IP networks in Broadcast and A/V expand, I do see this type of sophistication required. As it stands now, expect higher support infrastructure requirements for a full IP implementation. This will improve over time. At the end of the day, the winners, ultimately, are the consumer that have greater flexibility and choices in the marketplace. Howard Sutton, P.Eng, MBA, CFA Howard is Chairman of PESA. He also serves as Chairman of Embotics (cloud management) and is President of Tera Capital, a portfolio management company. 5

6 United States (Head Office) 103 Quality Circle, Suite210 Huntsville, AL, Tel: +1(256) US Toll Free: +1 (800) PESA Toronto 90 Allstate Parkway, Suite 404 Markham, ON. L3R 6H3 Tel: +1(905) PESA China YuFei Plaza Room 704, Dongzhimen Waidajie 42 Dongcheng District Beijing, , China (PRC) Tel: (+8610) As a leading provider of audio/video (A/V) Baseband and IP connectivity products, PESA offers a wide selection of multi-path streaming products, routing switchers, matrix switchers, extenders, converters, media extenders, and signal processing gear to support government, military, industrial, commercial, medical, broadcast, and mobile truck applications. From large to small-scale A/V routing and extender products to multiple IP streaming appliances, PESA offers a diverse suite of AV products, all of which are supported by 24/7 technical support. PESA is located in Huntsville, Ala., with regional sales offices throughout North America and China. Our cost effective solutions are available around the world through our industry leading team of Channel Partners offering local support and installation. Learn more about us at Follow us on: LinkedIn: All brand names, product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. PESA disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. PESA is not responsible for errors in typography or photography PESA, Huntsville, Alabama