Diversified

Most engineers feel the cloud isn’t quite ready to handle the dynamic nature and complex timing requirements of local stations, which frequently go live, and concerns linger over centralizing their content in cloud storage in case of connectivity failures or other emergencies. Pictured: Encompass provides multichannel playout services from its operations centers in Atlanta, London and Singapore.

TV stations are still putting most of their dollars into on-prem hardware for master control functions, with their cloud investments aimed at OTT and disaster recovery. Pictured: Imagine recently partnered with Vizrt to integrate its cloud playout software with Vizrt’s live production tools.

Fox has created a modular 2110 system that ties into U.S. operations for its upcoming World Cup coverage. Both Fox and Telemundo, which has U.S. Spanish-language rights to the tournament, will see a series of firsts when the Cup launches in Qatar next week.

Broadcasters are more receptive than ever to buying their tech on an opex basis, but that doesn’t mean the capex model is anywhere near extinction, nor has a standard definition of software as a service settled in across the industry.

NDI may have been built as a means of bringing video workflow to the masses, but broadcasters have embraced it to be a viable alternative to the ST 2110 uncompressed IP standard and as a more cost-effective way to add routing capacity to SDI plants.

Attendance may have been almost halved by the pandemic, but tech vendors felt the more intimate environment allowed them to conduct business on a more productive level. On the show floor, the continued shift of broadcast workflows to the public cloud dominated many discussions, while others focused on NextGen TV’s pressing need to monetize.

Station groups lag behind larger networks in investing in new IP routing systems despite interoperability hurdles being overcome and IP gear prices falling. But the new infrastructure may end up being more horsepower than they need. Above, a control room at NBCUniversal’s Boston Media Center in Needham, Mass. The facility handles four businesses in the market — WBTS (NBC), WNEU (Telemundo), New England Cable News and NBC Sports Boston — on one common IP-based technology platform.

Vendors say broadcasters are increasingly looking to expand virtualization of their operations across the whole chain, and they’re also seeking to take that virtualization off-premises, either in their own master control hubs or the public cloud.

Broadcasters are embracing IP workflows as a “ramp to the cloud” and are still contending with variable costs and concerns over security, latency and interoperability, not to mention the different skills that labor must bring to bear. However, IP workflows can bring benefits like scalability, flexibility and security to broadcasters, such as NBCU Boston (above).

COVID-19 has had numerous tectonic effects on broadcast technology vendors, from accelerating a move to IP- and cloud-based systems to making for much uncertainty and probable consolidations ahead.

Next year should see broadcasters making advances in the continuing move to IP, greater use of cloud platforms and significant progress for two new wireless technologies: ATSC 3.0 and the various 5G services being rolled out by wireless carriers. Above, a Sony camcorder and prototype 5G transmitter were used to test camera backhauls over Verizon’s 5G network during a recent NBC NFL broadcast.

Larger networks and sports broadcasters are in the vanguard of IP routing, but local stations are following more slowly. Business needs are driving the pace of transition, and HD-SDI routers are far from disappearing. NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations’ new facility for WCAU-WWSI, its Philadelphia duopoly, uses Grass Valley control software and IPG (IP gateway) cards working with Cisco switches to bridge the HD-SDI and IP worlds.

The global news giant has built the first major broadcast facility to be completely based on the SMPTE 2110 IP networking standard. “The idea behind going IP was to get everything across CNN’s facilities connected,” says Bob Hesskamp, EVP of broadcast engineering for Turner. “The other reason we did this was we wanted to build a facility that wasn’t out of date on Day One, that was software-configurable, expandable and easier to make changes to.”

Playout has taken a leading role in early IP deployments around the world. As master control technology providers work to transition customers, they are focused on providing platforms that can operate on premises, fully in the cloud or in hybrid set-ups.

The new WCAU-WWSI facility, set for a grand opening sometime this fall, is IP-centric and is designed to not only give the two stations a more efficient space with a common technology infrastructure, but to give their personnel new flexibility in creating content for today’s multiplatform world.