In Broadcast - March 2016 - 54
54 www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 3 | March 2016 InStudio Demanding Migration To IP Systems Integration - Part II In the second examination of systems integration, Contributing Editor Adrian Pennington turns to migrating the industry to IP and finds that an SI's combined IT and engineering skills are more in demand than ever... O ver the years, broadcasters have had to cope with huge technological change - the shift to colour, digital and high definition to name just a few. So why should the move to IP based technology be any more problematic? While IP is perhaps not the obvious format for video signals, the sheer power of computer hardware and equally powerful data compression can deliver advantages that mean that the transition to IP is inevitable. According to leading systems integrators, the broadcast industry is in a state of confusion, hype and hesitancy around the direction of technology. It is clear that on many levels, such as engineering and operational aspects, new complex skill sets have to be adopted to move forward with the change to IP. "SIs have to transform," warns Tom Swan, Sales & Marketing Director at dB Broadcast. "The industry is undergoing fundamental changes and its boundaries are rapidly eroding, however it will still require deeply skilled media IT specialists to elicit business requirements, and transform these into solutions." "...The industry is undergoing fundamental changes and its boundaries are rapidly eroding" Tom Swan dB Broadcast While coaxial is 'plug and play', IP is the exact opposite. Broadcast engineers need to work closely with IT experts to design futureproof infrastructures - and that's where the SI comes into their own. "SIs necessarily work at the cutting edge of broadcast technology," says Swan. "Ensuring that they remain well informed, and able to incorporate the latest thinking and techniques is naturally important." According to Swan, there is no 'ready to work' solution for broadcast IP. In order to switch to IP, companies need to work with professionals with both media and IT expertise in order to configure any piece of IT hardware with any broadcast and production platform. "If a typical broadcast facility wants to migrate away from existing, industry-specific SDI and reference distribution infrastructure, then the industry still doesn't have all of the standards in place that it needs to support an open stream exchange, control, and architecture," he asserts. "Most broadcasters aren't interested in the level of vendor lock-in current solutions entail." The likely order of IP migration will see post begin the charge, followed by studios, playout, and then live production. According to David Phillips, Business Development Director - Systems Integration, Gearhouse Broadcast, there are a number of full IP systems now operating, with post-production leading the way. "End users and SIs are learning from A temporary studio at Al Jazeera in Qatar (Gearhouse) Broadcast presentation facility at TBN UK in London, designed and equipped by ATG Danmon UK these in the way that they have been implemented. These early adopters need to be able to demonstrate robustness and reliability of their IP systems, and that the economic aspects of them were achieved, before we see widespread migration from others." Using IP infrastructure for broadcast applications has many potential advantages, such as using standard IP hardware and software, though customised broadcast applications and configurations are still required. Gearhouse says the rate of IP/IT development means SIs are required to constantly re-evaluate designs for broadcast systems, though the industry is still some way from having a full IP integrated infrastructure available end-to-end for all broadcast applications. "SDI continues to have its place, though the expected rate of adoption of UHD/4K systems will likely accelerate the migration to a full IP infrastructure," explains Phillips. Working Proof 'Does it really work?' is a common question from customers regarding IP-based solutions. Therefore SI's are stressing the importance of demonstrating the stability of IP infrastructures. Broadcasting Center Europe's (BCE) broadcast and IT engineers teamed up in order to run several proof of concepts for TV and radio broadcasting, as well as studio and live production (the first being a demo at IBC2014 with Level 3 and Sony). "This step is paramount to identifying any flaws in these infrastructures and to gain trust from the market," says BCE, Marketing Manager, Laurent Seve. Recently the SI has been working with its suppliers, partners and customers to develop 'over IP' solutions. At the same time it is building new headquarters in Luxembourg and is planning to integrate an IP infrastructure to ensure "perfect communication" between the production, post-production, broadcast, telecom, transmissions and IT areas. "Showing a platform which runs smoothly will not automatically trigger new projects," observes Seve. "Customers need to be sure that the integrator has access to both the knowledge and the technology. For BCE, IT and broadcast engineers have always worked together since the development of tapeless infrastructures. Both worlds have the complete know-how for this type of workflow. For other SIs, there will be an obligation to team up with IT providers and to form strong partnerships." For clients to gain total confidence in IP/IT networking of systems it is also imperative that the major industry manufacturers start working together. "This is a huge paradigm shift and, with that, a huge mind-set and skills shift for the industry," says Swan.
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