Video: HbbTV and ATSC 3.0 sees broadcasters striking back

Should HbbTV and ATSC 3.0 be seen as the last flailing attempts for over-the-air broadcasters to remain relevant, or an important step forward in terms of keeping in step with changing viewership? Both technologies enable traditional broadcast to be mixed with internet-based video, entertainment and services as part of one, seamless, experience.

ATSC 3.0 has taken hold in the US and some other countries as a way to deliver digital video within a single traditional VHF channel – and with the latest 3.0 version, this actually moves to broadcasting IP packets over the air. HbbTV, on the other hand, is more commonly found in Europe and Asia with deployments in nearly 40 countries.

ATSC 3.0 is ready for deployment in the US and is now at a turning point. With a number of successful trials under its belt, it’s now time for the real deployments to start. In this panel discussion as part of the IBC 2019 conference, we hear that CES 2020 will be the time to listen out for major ATSC announcements.

The approach to digital TV in most other places, through DVB, is to bring together many broadcasters in to one multiplexed signal. In the initial iterations of DVB-T, broadcasters have banded together under the same name: In the UK and Australia, for instance, it’s ‘Freeview’. So when moving to something like HbbTV, in contrast to the ATSC plan, it’s natural to do the same.

This panel brings together companies who are pushing the technologies forward from Europe and the US.

Watch now!

Speakers

Mary Ann Halford Mary Ann Halford
Senior Advisor,
OC & C Strategy Consultants
Richard M. Friedel Richard M. Friedel
Executive Vice President, Technology & Broadcast Strategy,
21st Century Fox
Anne Schelle Anne Schelle
Managing Director,
Pearl
Vincent Grivet Vincent Grivet
Chairman,
HbbTV Association
Oliver Botti Oliver Botti
Head of International Business Development and Innovation,
FINCONS GROUP

Video: 5G Broadcast Trials using FeMBMS

5G was certainly a topic of discussion whilst people are hunting for use cases and trying to understand how it will actually work. 5G case studies have started to emerge, not least the Roland Garros example plus more in this 5G special from Digital TV Europe

In this talk we hear about the 5G TODAY project’s unique field trial for 5G Broadcasting. The project partners Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation (Bayerischer Rundfunk, BR), the Broadcast Technology Institute IRT, Kathrein, Rohde & Schwarz as well as Telefonica Germany who are are jointly testing broadcasting options for future 5G technology. The new large-area 5G field trial in the Bavarian alpine region is covered by two high-performance transmitters located in Ismaning and on the top of the Wendelstein mountain. Both operate with 100 kilowatts effective output power (technically: ERP). With the help of the high transmission towers and the high power of the transmitters (High-Power-High-Tower-Concept, HPHT), the large-area broadcasting of TV programs can be tested based on the new broadcast mode FeMBMS (Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service). The FeMBMS broadcast mode allows far-reaching and inexpensive distribution of popular content across large coverage areas with a radius of up to 60 kilometres.

Watch now to see how FeMBMS is being used and the results achieved.

Speakers

Thomas Janner Thomas Janner
Director of Product Management Transmitter Systems
Rohde & Schwarz
Thomas Schierbaum Thomas Schierbaum
PR Manager,
IRT
Christian Sautter Christian Sautter
Senior Director R&D Product Management,
Kathrein

Video: ST 2110 Test and Measurement Super Session

This IP Showcase super session consists of six presentation from six different vendors which focus on specific aspects of test or measurement that is unique for ST 2110 environment. It is worth noting that these are technology presentations, not product presentations.

The session is led by Willem Vermost from EBU. He describes what kind of issues we need to solve in a SMPTE ST 2110 environment in terms of testing and monitoring. He speaks about PTP accuracy, traffic shaping (SMPTE ST 2110-21) and SMPTE ST 2022-7 redundancy.

Next, Michael Waidson from Tektronix focuses on Precision Time Protocol (PTP) which is a cornerstone of synchronisation of IP media networks. He walks us through Best Master Clock algorithm, boundary and transparent clocks plus PTP fault finding. (You might also want to watch the Monitoring and Measuring IP Media Networks presentation by Michael which we recently published on The Broadcast Knowledge.)

Furthermore, Jack Douglass from PacketStorm talks about ST 2110-21 traffic shaping measurements. He also shows how to use network emulation tools for testing ST 2022-7 link redundancy (the same data is sent through two separate paths of network emulation that are synchronised together, then burst loss are generated using RTP sequence number, with the least important bit different on both paths).

The next speaker is Ståle Kristoffersen from Bridge Technologies. He focuses on live performance monitoring in a ST 2110 network – does the signal make sense? (IP headers, RTP headers, ST 2110-20/30/40 essences), do all of the signals arrive? (packet loss, monitoring packet loss on 2022-7 links), does the signal arrive on time? (late can be just as bad as a packet loss) amongst others.

Moreover, Kevin Salvidge from Leader shows the differences in monitoring in an SDI and an all-IP facility. He compares single essence per BNC with multiple essences per fibre, synchronous and asynchronous transport and causes for errors (cable loss and impedance mismatch vs error packet loss and network overload). He also emphasises the need for accuracy of PTP and explains how to measure it.

Last but not least, Adam Schadle from Video Clarity walk us through video / audio performance and quality methods. He shows how to use picture and sound quality objective tests to understand network behaviour.

The presentations are followed by Q&A session.

See the slides here.

Watch now!

Speakers

Willem Vermost Willem Vermost
Senior IP Media Technology Architect
EBU
Michael Waidson
Application Engineer
Tektronix
Jack Douglass
VP Marketing and Business Development
PacketStorm
Ståle Kristoffersen Ståle Kristoffersen
Lead Software Developer
Bridge Technologies
Kevin Salvidge
European Regional Development Manager
Leader
Adam Schadle
Vice President
Video Clarity

Video: General Codec Update

People are relentlessly trying to find better ways to compress video. For some, better means lower bitrate. For some, this means faster processing. But for everyone, this means new codecs and new standards.

Andreas Rossholm from Eyevinn Technology gives us the ‘lay of the land’ and explains the factors looming large in the minds of those who are developing the new standards.

Perceived Quality (QoE) is influenced by many factors, so is a moveable, translatable feast when it comes to pinning it down to a number. Andreas also talks about objective and subjective measurements are both valuable and so very different. We also see the advance from 2017 into 2018 of HEVC and AV1 with a look at the things to look out for when you hear about the results of a test. This will help you work out whether the results apply to you, or whether you need to do your own.

Andreas does a great job of explaining the types of things codecs are trying to minimise and the tools they’re using to succeed.

With a final look to the future and how codecs like AV1 and HEVC will perform, Andreas reminds us it’s not just about the codecs but also about how you use them; per-title parameters or per-shot?

Watch Andreas’ Talk!

Free Registration Required

Speaker

Andreas Rossholm Andreas Rossholm
Media Specialist Consultant,
Eyevinn Technology