Video: Scalable IP Architectures for Live Production and Playout

For many building a good network for a 2110 or other media-over-IP standards is new and a bit scary. But if there’s one person who knows how to do it, it’s Arista’s Gerard Phillips who’s here to go through the basics and build up the network needed for a large and scalable network.

Scalability is the heart of this, because life does change – your company grows, technology pushes you from SD to HD to UHD etc. So you need to build scalability in from the beginning. Getting this right comes down to choosing the right hardware and having the right architecture.

Gerard looks at switch architecture and bandwidth both in the switch and of the network cables. He then looks towards ‘hub and spoke’ Vs monolithic switch design. What are the pros and cons to each and which is right for you?

SDN – Software Defined Networking – is also a key ingredient in such a network. This is where the routing decisions of the switch infrastructure is taken out of the switches because they have automatic and blinkered algorithms and takes it to a server which has a complete overview of the whole system. For a broadcaster who deals with critical signal chains – this is usually the best approach to give determinism and safety to the network.

PTP – Precision Time Protocol – provides the foundation of the 2110 standard and is therefore very important to studio installations being used to replace black and burst. What are the best ways to distribute this and how can you deal with redundancy?

These topics and more are all covered at this IP Showcase presentation from IBC 2018.

Watch now!

Speaker

Gerard Phillips Gerard Phillips
Systems Engineer,
Arista Networks

Webinar: Blockchain – A framework for the secure exchange of digital assets

Blockchain, often cast aside as a mere hype word, won’t be gone from our lives just like ‘cloud’ and ‘AI’. However it can’t be said that sometimes it’s applied without thought to its true value. Here, IBM Aspera look at where blockchain can actually fit within broadcast.

Blockchain, simplistically, allows you to verify the authenticity of something in a very secure and reliable way, so its applicability to retail and logistics is clear. However, in broadcast we deliver millions of programmes, adverts, trailers, rushes each and every day both to screens and behind the scenes. So if it can disrupt and improve other industries, why not outs?

Blockchain is interesting in not just in its features but also how it does it. In this webinar we’ll see some of that, understanding what how it works and what a ‘trusted business network’ looks like.

James Wilson and Jonathan Solomon will explain the encryption and key exchange that underpins the technology and how this offers improved asset tracking and even execution of commercial and legal terms.

Register now!

Speakers

James Wilson James Wilson
Directory of Engineering,
IBM Aspera
Jonathan Solomon Jonathan Solomon
Strategic Initiatives Engineer, Streaming
IBM Aspera

Video: Beyond SMPTE Time Code – the TLX Project

SMPTE Time Code started off in the 1970s and has evolved yet in some ways remained unchanged. It is key to electronic video editing, and has found application in many other fields and industries including live events. This is Armin Van Buren explaining how he uses SMPTE timecode in his live DJ sets.

The more we push technology, the more we demand form timecode, so now there is the TLX project (Time Label, eXtensible) which seeks to define a new labelling system.

The webinar will provide an overview of the emerging design, and is intended to provide a preview for potential users, and to encourage participation by those with expertise to offer.

Peter Symes, the host, covers:

  • The history of timing
  • What SMPTE ST 12 is and its evolution
  • The concept of TLX
  • Use of PTP & provision for extensibility
  • What types of data can TLX convey
  • Q&A!

Watch now to hone your knowledge of the SMPTE timecode that already exists and to get ready to understand TLX.

Speakers

Peter Symes Peter Symes
Consultant,
SMPTE Fellow
Joel E. Welch Joel E. Welch
Director of Education,
SMPTE

Video: Running live video with FFmpeg

San Francisco Video Tech welcomes Haluk Ucar talking about live video streaming. How do you encode multiple resolutions/bitrates efficiently on CPUs and maximise the amount of channels? Is there value in managing multiple encodes centrally? How can we manage the balance between CPU use and VQ?

Haluk discusses a toolset for Adaptive Decisions and looks at Adaptive Segment Decisions. Here he discusses the relationship between IDR frames and frequent Scene Changes.

Haluk covers a lot and finishes with a Q&A. So if you have an interest in Live Streaming, then Watch Now!

Speaker

Haluk Ucar Haluk Ucar
Director of Engineering,
IDT