In Broadcast - November 2013 - 50

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 25 - NOVEMBER 2013

N E W S

InTECH
Uplink Technology On The Move Cont.

50

Marathon by German production
company Tividoo for regional
public broadcaster SWR's online
coverage. The race was covered
by a combination of emerging
technologies. Tividoo ﬁlmed the
event from a car alongside the
runners, and then held post-race
interviews with the runners in the
main square. The car was ﬁtted
with a Viprinet Multichannel 510
Router that can bond up to four
4G networks as well as a Ka-Band
satellite connection. This created a
WLAN around the car. While moving
and ﬁlming the runners 4G uplink
connectivity was used, augmented
with Ka-Band when stationary at the
end of the race. An iPhone 5 with
the LiveU LU-Smart app and an
LTE SIM was attached to a steady
rig and a stabilised car mount and
used for the actual video capture.
Financial pressure is a key reason
for the switch to mobile phone
technology. As Ronen Artman, VP of
Marketing, LiveU observes: "Using
satellite for uplinking has been - and
still is - considered expensive and
has tended to be the preserve of
Tier 1 broadcasters."
Even then, while viewed as ideal,
satellite uplink still has its limitations,
as Artman says: "This is ﬁne for
major, planned events but not so
great for breaking news."
The expectation that mobile
networks may sometimes be ill
suited in their naked form is also
borne out in real life scenarios.
Martin Weber, Channel Sales
Director of miniCASTER, explains:
"I can get 1.5Mbits upstream in my
ofﬁce but in the centre of Munich
in a crowed place you never know
if you will get any bandwidth
suitable for streaming. If you only
get 80K per SIM you still get

miniCASTER uses
the NewsSpotter
Ka-band

"nothing" close to broadcast quality
even when bonding 12x SIMs." He
concludes with a warning about
the unreliability of even seemingly
strong signals: "I have seen
bonding-systems do 2Mbit and then
drop to 700kbits and stay there for
two minutes."
For this reason, miniCASTER
is wedded to ka-band 10Mb
transmission. For others, however,
bonded 3G and especially 4G
(LTE) is an alternative to SNG but

The Dejero + Nucomm Connect Live
transmitter is a hybrid solution

in difﬁcult conditions it can require
secondary bandwidth.
Jon Landman Teradek's VP of
Sales outlines their approach: "The
typical bonded uplink is as stable
as the cellular towers in the area. To
provide redundancy in challenging
environments such as professional
s p o r t s s t a d i u m s , Te r a d e k
bonding units can aggregate
up to six network connections
simultaneously. In addition to 3G/4G
LTE modems, broadcasters can
also bond Ethernet, BGAN, and
WiFi connections for additional
bandwidth, especially when cellular
towers are out of service."
As well as employing Teradek's
clever workaround approach (which
is also utilised by Dejero's LIVE+),
LiveU focuses on maximising the
quality of experience by leveraging
available network resources.
According to Artman: "The uplink
backpack or handheld device
continuously, and in real-time,
monitors all available links and
adaptively controls the content
generation, protection, and
multi-link scheduling functions.
"Instead of relying on a
single unreliable link with a
single point of failure, multi-link
bonding technology improves
the reliability, data throughput,
and service coverage,
minimising the inherent
risks of losing
connectivity. Users
c a n t r a d e - o ff
between resiliency
and throughput
for better performance.
The device controls
the available links and

determines how
best it can utilise
each of them."
Cellular bonding
suppliers
are quick to
acknowledge
that in the most
remote areas,
mobile network
transmission
may never be
an option and
satellite systems
using BGAN
technology can
already offer a
cost-effective Cobham's Explorer 710 is designed to take advantage of
Inmarsat's BGAN HDR platform
solution.
The Broadband Global Area
solutions to traditional SNG. Often
Network (BGAN) is Inmarsat's global
this involves the combination of
satellite Internet network designed
multiple broadband, WiFi and
for portable terminals which connect
cellular networks to achieve a robust
a laptop computer to broadband
upstream signal. Streambox goes
Internet in remote locations.
further still, with its Avenir Mini 2
Unlike many other satellite
hybrid bonding encoder, which
services, a BGAN terminal can easily
was announced at IBC 2013. It
be carried, making it a good ﬁt for
supports ten embedded modems
broadcasters. Since 2005, BGAN
and has an 'All-mode' feature that
platform has had a major impact
supports bonding of 3G/4G, Wion newsgathering, enabling live
Fi, BGAN HDR, Thuraya, V-Sat,
broadcasts from every corner of
Skylogic and ViaSat.
the planet. Going live in Q3 2013,
Where cellular conditions are
the new high data rate (HDR)
good the new Avenir can rely on
version takes streaming rates to
3G/4G networks, where image
new heights. Introduced at NAB
quality is of secondary importance
this year, Cobham's Explorer 710
but being live is essential, BGAN
is designed to take advantage of
is available.
the enhanced service.
Where broadcasters anticipate
However, while availability,
mobile network issues and require
quality live pictures, high bandwidth
portability and a reliable link are
strong factors supporting the case
satellite services still have a
for BGAN, it is no panacea. An
fundamental role to play.
uplink speed of 650kb/s does not
So, for premium news contribution,
deliver broadcast quality standard
remote crews are still very much
definition television, although
reliant on traditional ﬂyaway kits.
in emergency situations, news
As a consequence, systems such
organisations are often willing to
as Holkirk's TP120 antenna system
accept the compromise of a poor
remain a vital part of the inventory.
picture over no picture. Like Teradek,
Cobham has a cunning workaround
to deliver improved image quality: its
Explorer 710 has the ability to bond
the signals from multiple terminals
to achieve IP streaming rates of 1
Mbps or even higher.
In terms of portability and price
sensitivity, cellular bonding systems
have immense attraction to news
crews that are expected to deliver
breaking news from every location
at ever lower cost. The variability of
mobile networks, however, means
that broadcasters are selective
over when and where to deploy
such systems. Similarly attractive
in terms of size and planet-wide
signal availability, BGAN technology
is a tempting proposition; however,
the bandwidth is a limiting factor
reducing its appeal.
What is evident is that
Avenir Mini has the ability to bond all
manufacturers are looking to provide
available networks including: 3G/4G,
broadcasters with alternative
WiFi, Internet and Ethernet

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