Crosspoint helps TV3 migrate its contributions to IP with Riedel solutions

To facilitate video contributions from different locations, Crosspoint is helping Television of Catalonia (TV3) to implement solutions Riedel within the framework of a transition from an SDI to IP environment.

The nodes that come into play are the TV3 studios, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Parliament of Catalonia, Catalunya Ràdio and the Camp Nou and thanks to Embionix technology (now Riedel) an obsolete proprietary solution that transported baseband video over dark fiber is now replaced.

Actualmente se usa 2022/06, con algunas señales redundadas con 2022/7. Embrionix (Mediornet-IP) permite realizar una adaptación sin cambios en el workflow, manteniendo la calidad, pero sobre una tecnología de futuro.

Toni Comerma, head of Infrastructure and Communications at SECA, comments that "they are services that have been in production for more than 20 years and that we manage thanks to our highly specialized technical team. With Embrionix we began testing in 2016 and we discovered that it allows us a very flexible configuration. None of the headquarters has the same configuration and this solution allows us to adapt to the needs. Furthermore, it does not imply a large up-front investment and has a very high density since it only requires the physical space of the communications switch."

Embrionix-Riedel SFPs (Mediornet-IP) are used over the 16-port Extreme Networks X620 switching infrastructure in remote locations and over two 48-port X670s in TV3 studios. These switches are used because they fit perfectly into the already created network, although they are not a solution that allows evolution towards 2110 because they do not support PTPv2 and are not supported by the usual orchestrators.

This project started in 2019 and for the location of the Parliament of Catalonia, TV3 was clear that, as it was the first experience in uncompressed video production, they needed a simple and reliable solution that preserved the workflows used in-house. This priority revealed SMPTE 2022/6 as the option to choose, since it is easier to manage and is equivalent to the solution that was already being used. Furthermore, by transporting contribution signals between two SDI environments, the advantages of 2120 would not be taken advantage of and would add great complexity to the entire project.

Future proof

La solución de 2022/6 para contribución demanda un ancho de banda que en muchas ocasiones es un lujo inalcanzable. La radio televisión pública catalana tiene una infraestructura de fibra oscura activa desde hace muchos años, algo poco habitual, y que le da la oportunidad de trabajar con un ancho de banda de gran capacidad. Aún así, lo habitual es trabajar con señales comprimidas, como ya lo hacen en muchas ubicaciones. La compression jugará un papel importante, incluso en la parte de producción, y dentro de poco veremos como el 2110/22 ayuda a la popularización de la tecnología IP, bajando los requisitos de red y por consiguiente, el precio.

Projecting towards the future, the Catalan Corporation of Mitjans Audiovisuals considers different options, depending on the application, as a complement to SDI/SMPTE 2110, such as SRT for the contribution part through the internet or NDI as an alternative in production.

Comerma señala que “lo más importante es identificar la necesidad. No toda la contribución va a hacerse sobre SRT. Es una buena solución para internet, pero en líneas dedicadas quizás no sea necesario. Lo mismo ocurre con NDI: es una gran herramienta pero tiene sus límites y no puede plantearse como solución universal para producción, de la misma forma que, probablemente, no deba considerarse SMPTE 2110 como una solución universal para todos los casos. Van a coexistir y, en función de la necesidad, se escogerá uno u otro”.

Actualmente, TV3 prueba el primer control basado en IP con NDI y AES67 looking for maximum flexibility and low costs. The fundamental objectives of this project are to get in touch with these technologies and learn what they can contribute to productions that, due to budget, could not be carried out with a more traditional cost scheme. Crosspoint has also collaborated with TV3 on this project by providing the hybrid NDI/baseband Routemaster control solution from Rascular Technology.

A future on IP

It is already a reality that the entire audiovisual industry is migrating to IP. SDI is no longer recommended as a medium or long-term investment. As a result of its experience as a manufacturer of OEM SFPs for the broadcast industry, Embrionix was the pioneer in proposing solutions for IP since 2010, even before the development of the SMPTE standard.

Now, fully integrated into the Riedel portfolio, in this migration, solutions such as SDI to IP and IP to HDMI gateways will be essential, as they are capable of reducing installation costs and drastically minimizing the volume of equipment.