Broadcast Facility Design

An Open Platform for Media Over IP Network Load Testing with Off-the-Shelf Hardware - $15

As the media industry continues to transform and adopt media over IP solutions, the importance of proper testing and verification of network performance and timing infrastructures cannot be overemphasized. The SMPTE ST 2110-21 standard sets strict timing and jitter requirements that depend on predictable network behavior. The acceptable network load level limitations for particular video formats used in a facility must be tested and verified before commissioning the facility. However, broadcasters and system integrators often skip this step due to cost and the unavailability of equipment that can generate adequate network traffic load and proper traffic profiles. This creates a need for a cost-effective solution that enables broadcasters to perform acceptance testing of their media over IP networks as close to the real-world load, traffic patterns, and network scenarios as possible. This paper is the first in the series of publications to propose a solution for media over IP network load testing using off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software. The proposed solution allows for generating specific media traffic profiles, ensuring that the performance of the traffic shape and network timing is adequately tested and verified, leading to a more reliable and robust media over IP infrastructure. The paper explores the hardware, software, tuning, and integration needed to build such a testing platform. Future publications will explore that traffic patterns and real-world testing.

Ievgen Kostiukevych | European Broadcasting Union | Geneva, Switzerland
Pavlo Kondratenko | European Broadcasting Union | Geneva, Switzerland
Thomas Kernen | NVIDIA | Zurich, Switzerland
Willem Vermost | VRT | Brussels, Belgium

Redefining the Control Plane - $15

NEP is engineering a global media platform as the convergence of technology rapidly changes all the rules. This paper is a real world look behind the challenges and solutions to modern broadcast architecture that led to the development of TFC (Total Facility Control), NEP’s proprietary platform controller. These are unprecedented times as the industry is disrupted throughout the value chain. Consumer technology has exploded the demand for content and is revolutionizing the ways in which it is consumed. Broadcast technology continues to respond, driving faster innovation and more cost-effective solutions. These forces converge at the inevitable embrace of software defined workflows, established IT technology and a growing trend towards COTS hardware. Yet how ready is the industry for this change? The collapsing of the traditional control layer and decentralizing of processing, creates serious burdens for any enterprise efforts. Building a scalable, automated, and secure control plane requires a new approach.

This paper explores NEP’s approach to modern broadcast architectures and applies the real-world experience gained in the development of TFC and deployments worldwide for some of the biggest sporting events and broadcast facilities.

Dan Murphy | NEP Group | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Unified System Design - $15

Over the past two decades, the media industry has needed to adapt to new IP delivery methods that enable high-quality content to be delivered over private networks and the internet. More recently the transition to IP has progressed further upstream in the media supply chain with the wide availability of network hardware that can support uncompressed video over IP in the form of SMPTE ST 2110. However, in this transition to a future where all media flows are carried over IP networks, the methods used for design and documentation have not been able to keep up. New approaches and tools are required.

Lukas Odhner | NTC, A Deloitte Business | Los Angeles, California, United States