TVU 5G Solutions Bring Live Broadcast Of Excavation Of Ancient, Sunken Ship From Bottom Of Yangtze River

5G technology from TVU Networks, a provider of cloud and IP-based live video production technology, helped make underwater archeological history in China in November. The Shanghai Media Group (SMG) live broadcast the entire excavation of one of the country’s largest ancient wooden sailing ship from the evening of Nov. 20 to the morning of the 21st. Submerged for more than 150 years on the seabed of the Yangtze River, it is also the best preserved, with more than 600 relics recovered from it.

Because of restrictions on underwater archeological salvaging and the ship’s on-board conditions, the broadcast faced many challenges: no communication or network signals on site, difficulty capturing the subject and key images underwater, uncertain timing when ship would be fully excavated, and restrictions on the number of production crew.

SMG developed a detailed solution which included a container-style temporary studio with microwave transmission equipment inside. Drones and on-site cameras were set up, with the multi-camera signals received at the container studio, switched by the project’s director, and microwave transmission equipment in the studio transmit the live signal to an OB vehicle parked on the nearest embankment.

To ensure a stable signal return from the OB van, SMG adopted the TVU G-Link point-to-point encoder and TVU Router multi-network aggregation router, which provided real-time transmission of the main and backup signals from the van to SMG’s studio in Shanghai for final production and broadcast. A TVU Transceiver server in the Shanghai studio received the live signal. TVU Router also provided high-bandwidth network access for the OB Van, aggregating 5G and 4G networks from multiple operators and employing TVU’s patented IS+ technology for optimal bandwidth. TVU G-Link used the on-site network provided by TVU Router to return the signal to the SMG studio in Shanghai with high bit rate and sub-second delay.

“We are proud to play a part in this incredible moment in Chinese underwater archeology,” said Paul Shen, TVU Networks CEO. “Thanks to the strength of our IS+ multi-network aggregation technology, SMG was able to realize multi-network bandwidth from the banks of the Yangtze River and deliver this remote event live to viewers across the country.”

Live images went out on Shanghai’s Dragon TV, Scotland’s STV, China’s Kankan News and other new media platforms and broadcast channels, conveying the history of the salvaged ship to a global audience.