Welcome to the NAB’s 2020 Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology (BEIT) Conference Proceedings. The papers offered here have been presented at the annual BEIT Conference at NAB Show, the world’s largest trade show for the media content creation and distribution industry.
The BEIT Conference program is established each year by the NAB Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference Committee, a rotating group of senior technologists from NAB member organizations, along with representatives from the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE). The 2020 BEIT Conference Committee roster is available here.
The content available in the BEIT Conference Proceedings is covered under copyright provisions listed here.
2020 Proceedings Topics
- Advanced Advertising Technologies
- Advanced Emergency Alerting
- Artificial Intelligence Applications for Media Production
- Broadcast Facility Design
- Broadcast Workflows
- Converting to Ultra HD Television Broadcasting
- Cybersecurity for Broadcast
- Designing Cloud-based Facilities
- Emerging Radio Technologies — On-air and Online
- Improving OTT Video Quality
- IP Conversion: Broadcasters’ Research & Recommendations
- Managing HDR and SDR Content
- Media over IP: Security and Timing
- New Directions in IP-based Media Systems
- New Spectrum Issues
- New Technologies for Sports Coverage
- Next Gen Academy I: The Broadcast/Broadband Revolution
- Next Gen Academy II: Transport Matters
- Next Gen Academy III: Next Steps
- Next Gen Academy IV: Planning for SFNs
- Next Gen Academy V: Implementing SFNs
- Next Gen Academy VI: PHY Layer Issues
- Next Gen TV Audio
- Optimizing the OTT User Experience
- Refining Radio Delivery
- TV Repack and Next Gen Transition Preparation
- Using 5G Broadcasting for Content Delivery
- Using 5G Technologies for Media Production
- Using Artificial Intelligence for Closed Captioning
- Using the Cloud for Live Production
Other Proceedings
Public Demonstration on Future Television Using 5G FeMBMS-Enabled Transmission - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Using 5G Broadcasting for Content DeliveryWith 5G technologies emerging, broadcasters are re-thinking the ways to get quality content delivered to the consumer, targeting different types of connected devices. Besides, public demands on the new kinds of media such as High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 3D immersive audio are getting increasingly higher. In that matter, the need to get these concepts working together is highlighted. This work advances a report about the first 5G FeMBMS, MPEG-H and HDR enabled terrestrial transmission in Brazil, detailing the technologies used, comparison with current standards and discussion over this new broadcast scenario.
Leandro Pacheco | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Bruno Martins | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Carlos Cosme | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Leonardo Chaves | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
J?ssica Santana | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gabriel Melo | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Pedro Leite | TV Globo | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Security for Discovery and Connection Management of ST2110 Media Devices - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Media over IP: Security and TimingWhile the networked media open specifications (NMOS) allow for easy adoption from the broadcast industry, they are fully documented and would easily allow man-in-the-middle attacks to retrieve vital device information, such as IP addresses for accessing control ports. Usage of those control ports by unauthorized personnel could lead to disruptions in the production chain.
AMWA BCP-003 can be used to encrypt all API traffic with TLS to initially prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. As there are many cipher suites to choose from, this paper describes why the current list of suites was chosen to cover both best security and compatibility with legacy broadcast equipment with minimal computing performance. The paper will then explain how a broadcast facility can practically deploy the needed Public Key Infrastructure and how devices that are installed after initial deployment can be added.
Furthermore, we will focus on AMWA IS-10 as a means of specifying authorization mechanisms to secure access to NMOS APIs such as IS-04, -05, or -08. We will also explain the current concept of an authorization server and how it can issue tokens for controllers and nodes. In this way, we can secure NMOS nodes against unwanted access for starting/stopping/configuring media endpoints. The choice of API for finding the server and retrieving tokens is closely linked to other NMOS APIs, in order to allow for fast adoption.
Arne B?nninghoff | Riedel Communications GmbH & Co. KG | Wuppertal, Germany
SNMP in the Broadcast Plant - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Broadcast Facility DesignThe Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) was created as a means to monitor and control devices in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. SNMP is widely used in Information Technology (IT) environments and is becoming popular in broadcast equipment. This proposed paper and presentation seeks to provide a familiarity with the SNMP protocol fundamentals, commands, system components, and implementation of SNMP in the broadcast environment to provide a robust monitoring and notification alerting environment from IT devices to the transmitter.
Topics to be covered include the following:
– Introduction to the SNMP Protocol
– SNMP System Components
– Implementing SNMP in the Broadcast Plant Infrastructure
– Securing SNMP
– Summary/ConclusionsWayne M. Pecena | Texas A&M University ? KAMU TV & FM | College Station, TX USA
The 5G opportunities for contribution and Digital News Gathering applications - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Using 5G Technologies for Media ProductionThe paper will be focusing on detailing how 5G features can be implemented in such a way that significant value can be delivered for Contribution and Digital News Gathering (DNG) applications, including remote production capabilities. 5G is likely to be another transformative piece to consider in the context of the on-going industry migration toward IP (typically SMPTE 2110) and IT (COTS appliances).
Such applications, which mostly take place in the context of live events, are extremely demanding, not only considering the usual very high bandwidth and very low latency requirements but more generally from quality of service (including service continuity) and related operational costs standpoints: increase the former (QoS, continuity) while reducing the latter (costs). While those technical aspects are not new, as they have driven innovation for more than 20 years, the on-going migration of TV production infrastructures from specialized links and equipments toward IP (SMPTE 2110) and IT based ones (COTS appliances) is opening new opportunities which, jointly with what 5G features are bringing as well as considering cloud ones, will be significantly transformative for the Contribution & Digital News Gathering market segment. Additionnally, such an evolution will significantly reduce the barrier to entry for contribution and DNG applications not only at the benefit of TV production businesses but also at the benefit of local/regional content offerings, especially live coverage.
5G is enabling the following opportunities:
– Deployable ad hoc 5G networks:
– Wherever frequencies are available and can be allocated for such operations. Actually, on a regional basis, 5G frequencies will enable such ad-hoc operations, leading to limited stickiness to 5G telco operators from an ?air interface to point-of-presence? standpoint, while focusing on where telco operators bring the most valuable assets for such applications: reliable core network distribution.
– Whenever latency is a key element, telco core networks will enable dramatic latency improvement over conventional satellite contribution links.In-situ connectivy, connecting capture to remote production capabilities without the need for costly wired infrastructures which still may make sense for top events and regular/scheduled operations (e.g. league sports, permanently wired infrastructures) but not necessarily for event-based production wherever there is no permanently wired infrastructures. This is a significant barrier to entry for live programming, especially for regional/local TV broadasters/channels. 5G, with sllicing and QoS management capabilities is enabling cost-effective live production wherever there is poor pre-existing infrastructure.
– The capability, with 5G slicing, to combine content transport and processing through “Service Function Chaining”.Mathieu Lagrange | b<>com | Rennes, France
Philippe Lemonnier | b<>com | Rennes, France
Ludovic Noblet | b<>com | Rennes, France
The Coming Transformation of TV Newsrooms to Include ATSC 3.0 Emergency Alert and Information Distribution - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Advanced Emergency AlertingIn many parts of the world, governments play the primary role of providing alerts and information to the media. In the United States, the media — in the form of broadcast news departments ? plays the larger role of acquiring and curating information from the multitude of governmental and non-governmental sources.?
US News departments validate this information and present it to multiple platforms, including in most cases, digital platforms. There is no other contender for this role ? one would have to be built, and if it was doing only emergencies, the lack of constant use would likely put a largely unused and unrehearsed organization in a critical role at a critical time.
The new capabilities of ATSC 3.0 will enable TV newsrooms to more aggressively take the lead in being the live information dissemination source during local? emergencies.?
ATSC 3.0 will enable newsrooms to do the following:
? Transit video and rich media directly to mobile devices
? ?Wake up? a device when an emergency alert is carried
? Enable viewers to adjust which alerts wake up their devices
? Target emergency information to specific areas, and not others
? Target specific devices
? Stream live video and rich media (evacuation maps, instructions to devices
? Coordinate emergency information across all station channelsMichael E. Bouchard | ONE Media / a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group | Hunt Valley, MD, USA
The OnRamp to Video Production in the Cloud - How Openness, AI and Security Will Facilitate Better Storytelling Workflows - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Designing Cloud-based FacilitiesWe have seen cloud computing enable live streaming and VOD. What we have not seen is end-to-end production and post-production workflows in the cloud. That is until now. This presentation will explain why ?now? is the time to migrate production and post-production workflows into the cloud, the advantages this brings, and what users need to know about open systems/APIs, security and AI to avoid pitfalls as they onboard their workflows and their businesses into the cloud.
To illustrate the points, the presentation will deconstruct a real-world, relevant cloud production scenario – the ATP Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament, featuring the top-ranked tennis players in the world. Each year, hundreds of thousands of sporting events are broadcasted worldwide on traditional broadcast television while simultaneously being streamed over the Internet. Edited highlights videos and recaps are a key part of this coverage, and with the rise in second screen viewership and alternative ways to consume content, such videos are more important than ever to the economics of sports TV. Traditionally, the producers and editors who produced these videos travelled to the sports venue, or at least went to the place where the video signals were being ingested and recorded.
By moving the Monte Carlo Masters production to the cloud, the broadcaster created a dynamic, scalable collaborative ?post-production facility in the cloud? that allowed producers, editors and supervisors to work from anywhere in the world. The case study portion of the presentation will touch upon:
– How moving to the cloud amplified the broadcast opportunities beyond the live event
– Point out where there were real opportunities to enrich content through AI
– Best practices for using open systems to facilitate a secure, the multi-vendor workflow
– The cost-benefit analysis resulting in cost savings and improved production efficienciesAndy Liebman | EditShare | Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Stephen Tallamy | EditShare | Boston, Massachusetts, United States
The Podcast Promise: Topic Extraction for Monetization and Brand Targeting - $15
Date: April 26, 2020Topics: 2020 BEITC Proceedings, Artificial Intelligence Applications for Media ProductionAudio content is having a renaissance. Of course, commercial broadcast, internet, and satellite radio are still important media, but podcasts ? those episodic bites of content that cover every topic under the sun ? are exploding. By some estimates, at least a million podcasts are being produced every year, and they?re reaching eager listeners on every type of smart phone, tablet, and computer as well as smart cars and ?connected home? platforms. But it?s not only the volume of podcasts that?s exploding, it?s also the variety of the content.
With so much content geared to many varieties of audiences, podcast producers are starting to realize the staggering potential for monetization. And likewise, direct-to-consumer advertisers are seeing dollar signs through a nearly untapped medium that is reaching virtually every demographic. The problem with a typical podcast, however, is that it?s a (sometimes hours-long) block of unstructured information. Until now, extracting content from a podcast that can be exploited with targeted advertising has been difficult if not impossible, since it has required human listeners to go through the program and tag specific topics. Also, by their nature, news, sports, and general interest podcasts are not ?long-tail? content and typically have a short shelf life, which has made topic extraction even less worth the effort. But new AI technologies are changing that equation.? ? Linear radio programmers can also use this technology to find interesting topics to curate and repurpose into new podcasts that will create even more inventory to cater to their audiences.
In this presentation, we?ll describe how new AI technologies are smoothing the way for brands to connect to their core audiences and immediately experience an uplift in engagement and revenues. Likewise, AI engines are? enabling content owners to monetize valuable content, even programs that appeal to super-niche audiences. By creating a powerful, multivariate search index to specific topics mentioned in the podcast, the AI tools enable brands to zero in on exact points in the program in which their products are likely to get the biggest reception. Take for instance, a podcast on homeopathic medicine and a brand that offers a homeopathic remedy for a specific condition. When the podcast reaches a specific point where that condition is mentioned, the AI platform tags that point for the ad buy. In other words, AI can connect the brand with consumers in exactly the right time and place in the podcast.
This session will be rebroadcast on the?BEIT Express?channel?on May 15, 2020?at 12:30 a.m.?and 8:30 a.m.?EDT (UTC -4).
Ryan Steelberg | Veritone, Inc. | Costa Mesa, California, United States