Brochure Version 01.00 IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution?
Over many decades, the broadcast industry has experienced its fair share of technological revolutions Analog to Digital, SD to HD and now UHD. Perhaps the most seismic of all these is the current migration to IP based broadcast workflows. 2
IP can impact on many areas of broadcast operations: One key area is IP-based content contribution. This is an area where many have doubts. For all of IP s benefits and its impressive developments in the content distribution area, many have continued to doubt IP s ability to handle the contribution and production sides of the business. Whether it s questions regarding bandwidth capacity requirements or ultimate reliability within mission critical broadcast applications there are doubts raised about the wisdom of adopting such a radically different approach to this essential broadcast application. IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? This is an area of significant technical development leading to rapid evolution of new content contribution platforms and workflows. Whilst these concerns may have been valid in the past, there is a need today for better understanding of what is possible and practical in terms of IP-based contribution. Worldwide, broadcasters are under pressure to reduce costs and optimize resources both people and equipment while still being efficient in their production workflows, including both live and prerecorded content. And there is a growing need to future-proof media infrastructures in ways that will support the launch of new broadcast and OTT services. Largely, the debate over IP value in broadcast workflows is complete. IP offers the opportunity to revolutionize the way that content of all types is transferred within facilities, between facilities, countries and continents. It offers broadcasters the ability to increase their channel count, customize ad insertion to suit local audiences, distribute to many more platforms and other ways to create significant new revenue streams. Rohde & Schwarz IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? 3
IP contribution networks for broadcast Traditionally, contribution broadcast networks have used microwave and satellite feeds to deliver signals from the event location to the broadcast studio and master control room (MCR) to repeater stations. These are still highly viable methods, and they remain in the broadcaster s toolkit. However, with the growth and maturity of IP networks, there is a third reliable option for delivering high-quality contribution content over IP. Some of the keys to broadcast-quality reliability over IP include extensive error correction, diversity, low latency, redundancy and robust encoding/decoding. With the improved speed and reliability of IP networks, careful planning results in high-quality contribution feeds that are reasonably priced and can be established quickly. Cost is always a consideration. Fortunately, because most commercial buildings now have Ethernet cabling, IP links are easier than ever to use. Even if cabling has to be added, the components and skills needed to create the links are low-cost and readily available. A suitable Internet connection can be provided by the local cable company or other commercial IP bandwidth provider. Because these links are more or less standard commercial IP networks and not a dedicated video-only network, no special installation skills are required, which helps keep installation costs low. With the improved speed and reliability of IP networks, careful planning results in high-quality contribution feeds that are reasonably priced and can be established quickly. 4
Balancing cost and performance in an IP world Some of the inherent advantages IP links may have over traditional satellite and microwave remote feeds, include simple return paths for control and intercom, as well as computer networking for Web access and email. If ENG crews tend to work frequently at certain locations (city hall, sports arenas, police stations, auditoriums, etc.), these locations can be wired for IP connectivity with much higher capacity and control capability. The system can even be extended to backhaul the cameras, using, for example, five links over a GigE pipe for remote production, eliminating the need for a complete satellite feed OB truck. Particularly for live events, the ability to reach end users not just through television but also on a number of connected devices has become critical to success in the coming years. Today, consumers want to consume media on various platforms and at times that suit them. There is a mixture of significant opportunity and risk associated with this: get it right and you can connect with a new audience that is hungry for high quality media and prepared to pay for it. Get it wrong and your audience become frustrated and quickly start to search for new more nimble media channels. Audiences strive for the best live content, made available on the widest range of devices but is this a realistic ambition now? In today s multi-platform OTT-centric world the question of how to support live content contribution and primary distribution has become a massive issue. Rohde & Schwarz IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? 5
Content distribution networks business solution or cost center? One IP-based solution is a commercial content distribution network (CDN). The new multi-platform distribution business model has created significant growth in operating costs. Just a few years ago, broadcasters only had the costs of a single transmission to cover. Today, CDNs represent a large and growing cost center as the number and diversity of viewing devices grows and grows. The term CDN is an umbrella term spanning different types of content delivery services: Video streaming, software downloads, web and mobile content acceleration, licensed/managed CDN, transparent caching, and services to measure CDN performance, load balancing, multi-cdn switching analytics and cloud intelligence. Content owners such as media companies and e-commerce vendors pay CDN operators to deliver their content to their endusers. In turn, a CDN pays ISPs, carriers, and network operators for hosting its servers in their data centers. For broadcasters, the whole issue of CDNs has become a major cost generator and can have a significant impact on their operating costs and therefore their profitability. 6
Harnessing the public internet for content contribution how does it work? The ideal solution for most broadcasters would be the ability to operate live content contribution and primary distribution over the public internet. For many years this has been practical, but now some technology companies are developing new and radically different approaches to commercial CDNs. These concepts enable internet-based contribution to become a new way to augment and sometimes entirely replace existing contribution and distribution networks such as satellite and fiber. The Internet is an unmanaged network and suffers from packet loss, but this is a major problem when streaming live content. This is particularly a problem, when distributing live streams across long distances from one country to another country, or continent. When using user datagram protocol (UDP) for content distribution, packet loss immediately results in visual artefacts, dropouts or even interruptions of several seconds simply because UDP is unreliable. In contrast, transmission control protocol (TCP) is a reliable protocol. Therefore, it is used as basis for HTTP and all protocols for over-the-top (OTT) streaming. When using TCP, packet loss immediately results in reduced bandwidths and thereby reduced saturation of your link simply due to the inherent design of TCP. This becomes worse when using TCP on long-distance links. When streaming to the end users client devices, adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) helps to overcome this problem by switching to a stream with lower bitrate. This does not help, if you want to distribute or contribute your content using the original bitrate providing the highest quality. GMIT, a Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary, has developed a solution to this challenge by utilizing servers that employ a proprietary protocol to overcome these problems. This protocol, the designated RelayCaster streaming protocol (RCSP), is fully Internet-compliant and works with all existing IP network infrastructure. Using RCSP as streaming protocol between two RelayCaster servers allows for the optimized transmission of IPTV streams to remote company sites, data centers, or networks. Streams received on one side are transparently provided again on the other side. In between, an arbitrary Internet link is used. OTT streaming, ABR and RelayCaster work together efficiently: In each data center, streams received by RelayCaster are forwarded to OTT streaming servers providing streams to end users devices that are nearby (in terms of Internet distance). This approach can be scaled. Users can create their own CDN: IPTV streams from a central data center are redistributed to various intermediate and terminating data centers that are spread around the world. Even though it is utilizing the public, unmanaged IP networks, RelayCaster enables secure and reliable data contribution. It empowers users to create flexible and scalable do-it-yourself content delivery networks and by doing this it offers attractive levels of OPEX using internet capacity in such a creative way. Rohde & Schwarz IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? 7
MediaChoice: Internet-only contribution network for Dutch local broadcasters A growing number of early adopters are already integrating RelayCaster within their broadcast operations. Many are reaping rich rewards from their pioneering attitude to IP-based contribution and distribution. One example of this is MediaChoice a Netherlands-based broadcast service provider. After an extensive review of all available technologies for live contribution over unmanaged public Internet links, MediaChoice is pioneering the use of RelayCaster as the operating platform for a service for local broadcasters in the Netherlands. The service is available at regionaalmediacenter.nl and allows regional broadcasters to bring their live signal to a central data center. This data center acts as media hub allowing the TV content to be made available to large telecommunications providers, ISPs and other operators to add new channels to their IPTV and Internet/OTT offering. To enable a cost-effective solution, all contribution and distribution is carried out over inexpensive consumer level public Internet links, such as DSL and DOCSIS. Furthermore, to enable reliable and secure transmission of the live stream, the RelayCaster technology is used to build a fully redundant service with independent data centers. Regional broadcasters subscribing to the service can choose an all-inclusive package from MediaChoice, handling the complete contribution pipeline for a monthly fee. Already, around 120 local broadcasters are being supported using RelayCaster, and MediaChoice now plans to extend the service. We are very satisfied with RelayCaster, so it was an easy decision for us to select this solution again for the second phase. Ferry Ouwendijk, CEO of MediaChoice 8
DOCSIS 3.1 Maximum data throughput Rohde & Schwarz is your reliable long-term partner with proven DOCSIS 3.1. solutions. Rohde & Schwarz IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? 9
Fuelling the IP revolution the need for better understanding Whilst companies such as MediaChoice are exploiting the potential of IP-based content contribution and distribution, the real sea-change will happen when this technology moves into the mainstream. For this to happen, broadcasters must have basic knowledge of how IP networks function, especially when securing bandwidth through service provider networks. A knowledge gap can become all too apparent when engineers and equipment operators well versed in established point-to-point systems don t speak the same language as IT experts. IP s flexibility to adapt to market demands, efficient use of bandwidth, reduced operating expense, ease-of-service and application integration also make it the best converged network technology. Capable of meeting the requirements of both real-time and file-based video services, not only in secondary distribution networks such as IPTV over residential broadband, but also increasingly for primary distribution and contribution networks, the future for proven IP-based contribution and distribution platforms looks very positive. 10
RelayCaster a practical IP contribution solution for today s broadcasters Launched at IBC 2017, the latest version of RelayCaster features integrated SDI/ HDMI input and encoding features which add further value to this remarkably cost-efficient live content contribution platform. Now with RelayCaster, reliability of contributing and distributing live content via unmanaged networks is significantly improved, as packet loss issues are efficiently resolved. RelayCaster enables the replacement of expensive, dedicated links or contracts with CDN service providers. In contrast to these services, RelayCaster is not limited to certain regions or data centers. RelayCaster enables distribution of content across any distance, to any place that is reachable by Internet infrastructure. With optional encryption, data streams will be protected between all senders and receivers. RelayCaster targets live content producers and aggregators, as well as live content service operators and OTT operators. It extends the reach of live streams to a global scale, harnessing the power of the Internet as a flexible and cost-effective means of content contribution and distribution. The terms HDMI and HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and the HDMI Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC in the United States and other countries. Rohde & Schwarz IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? 11
About Rohde & Schwarz The Rohde & Schwarz electronics group offers innovative solutions in the following business fields: test and measurement, broadcast and media, secure communications, cybersecurity, monitoring and network testing. Founded more than 80 years ago, the independent company which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, has an extensive sales and service network with locations in more than 70 countries. Sustainable product design Environmental compatibility and eco-footprint Energy efficiency and low emissions Longevity and optimized total cost of ownership Certified Quality Management ISO 9001 Certified Environmental Management ISO 14001 Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG www.rohde-schwarz.com Regional contact Europe, Africa, Middle East +49 89 4129 12345 customersupport@rohde-schwarz.com North America 1 888 TEST RSA (1 888 837 87 72) customer.support@rsa.rohde-schwarz.com Latin America +1 410 910 79 88 customersupport.la@rohde-schwarz.com Asia Pacific +65 65 13 04 88 customersupport.asia@rohde-schwarz.com China +86 800 810 82 28 +86 400 650 58 96 customersupport.china@rohde-schwarz.com R&S is a registered trademark of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG PD 3607.8418.92 Version 01.00 December 2017 (as) Trade names are trademarks of the owners IP-based broadcast contribution and primary distribution revolution or evolution? Data without tolerance limits is not binding Subject to change 2017 Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG 81671 Munich, Germany 3607841892 3607.8418.92 01.00 PDP 1 en