❝ Efficiently transporting high-quality video from the field is critical to today ’ s broadcasters , and HEVC / H . 265 is the video compression standard that the industry is shifting towards .❞
www . apb-news . com
8 WEDNESDAY
@ ConnecTechAsia2018
27 June 2018
Dejero enables critical connectivity in the field
Bogdan Frusina , founder of Dejero ( BroadcastAsia2018 Booth 6F4-04 , with partner Ideal Systems ), explains how the company is building on technologies such as IP and HEVC / H . 265 to support live remote productions around the world .
What do you think are some of the key challenges faced in live remote production today ? Bogdan Frusina : Connectivity , flexibility , and bandwidth , as well as compression options .
Live remote production crews face connectivity challenges all the time , be it the location , terrain , weather , or situational factors , such as events with large crowds that may compete for bandwidth . This means field crews need to be able to reliably connect to an IP network , whether satellite , cellular , fibre , Wi-Fi , or a combination of these , to successfully broadcast live .
The pressure is on to capture ‘ once in a lifetime ’ moments live — but if you cannot establish a reliable transmission path to send your video back to the broadcast studio , there is no moment — not to your network ’ s viewers anyway .
Reliability , flexibility , and ease-ofuse are the key requirements when covering such events — especially when the location is on mountainous terrain , with crowds who can overload the cellular networks , or in adverse weather conditions , or indeed , all three .
Getting access to a large enough ‘ pipe ’ to be able to transfer broadcast-quality video is crucial in live production from remote locations .
What are some of Dejero ’ s highlights at BroadcastAsia2018 that will attempt to address these challenges ? Frusina : We will be featuring our latest blended connectivity solutions for crews working in the field , including new encoding / decoding equipment with HEVC / H . 265 video compression technology in support of live and file-based broadcast and media workflows .
Our mobile connectivity solution , GateWay , facilitates collaboration and integrated workflows as if the field crews and home-based crews are working in the same central location . Remote production crews can access newsroom and media asset management ( MAM ) systems , communicate with colleagues using VoIP , view return video , as well as many other possibilities enabled with reliable and secure Internet connectivity . Dejero GateWay effectively connects to multiple cellular networks to create a ‘ virtual pipe ’ with enough bandwidth to send and receive large amounts of data . We will be introducing a six-modem version of GateWay to BroadcastAsia visitors this year .
In addition to HEVC / H . 265 and frame rate enhancements , the recently deployed Dejero Core 5.0 software , which runs on our equipment , now enables operators in the field to rename clips recorded on Dejero transmitters , making them easier to find and manage at the broadcast faci lity . An option to record at 12 Mbps and 15 Mbps has also been added to provide even higher picture quality when needed .
Can you elaborate on Dejero ’ s HEVC / H . 265 strategy , and is AV1 another technology that you are looking at ? Frusina : Efficiently transporting high-quality video from the field is critical to today ’ s broadcasters , and HEVC / H . 265 is the video compression standard that the industry is shifting towards . As the demand for higher resolution video , such as 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) continues to grow , HEVC / H . 265 promises to be the answer — claiming up to a 50 % improvement on encoding efficiency over its predecessor , AVC / H . 264 .
To deliver this level of performance , HEVC / H . 265 requires significantly more compute , up to 10
❝ Efficiently transporting high-quality video from the field is critical to today ’ s broadcasters , and HEVC / H . 265 is the video compression standard that the industry is shifting towards .❞
times the compute compared with AVC / H . 264 , which means increased power consumption and increased look ahead ( or delay ). This is not ideal for live applications such as remote newsgathering , where encoding and transmission devices need to be highly mobile , power-efficient , and operate with low delay encoding . Adopting HEVC / H . 265 is a major step forward as the demand for higher resolution / better picture quality increases and we have factored in that trade-off between performance and practicality in our implementation .
Dejero has introduced a number of innovations , including adding HEVC / H . 265 to our popular EnGo mobile transmitter with a software update . It combines auto-transport and adaptive bitrate encoding technology with HEVC / H . 265 . Broadcasters can now take advantage of the enhanced efficiency of HEVC / H . 265 compression to provide higher quality video at lower bitrates .
Dejero PathWay , an HEVC / H . 265 capable rack-mount encoder / transmitter , was also recently introduced , which supports 1080p at 25 / 30 / 50 / 60 fps . The increased frame rates deliver smooth , high-motion video preferred by broadcasters for sports and eSports coverage .
With the trade-offs that live remote newsgathering presents , it becomes critical to look beyond what fixed function , hardware-based encoders can deliver and to leverage the efficiencies of HEVC / H . 265 , while applying techniques such as real-time adaptive bitrate control and auto transport mode , where resolution
❝ For live remote productions , accessing reliable connectivity to transport video over IP is critical .❞
— Bogdan Frusina , Founder , Dejero
and bitrate can be changed on-thefly within the transmission .
As for AV1 , it is still early days for that codec , and we will certainly monitor its advancement . While it promises enhanced performance , it will require significantly more compute than HEVC / H . 265 . We anti cipate it will be some years before we see implementation in real-time , portable applications with low-power constraints , which is required when contributing live content from the field .
You also spoke at APB ’ s IP Master Class on June 25 . Can you give us a summary of your presentation and explain why the transition to IP is important for the broadcast industry ? Frusina : The move towards IP workflows is driven by the flexibility and scalability that broadcasters need in order to provide even more high-quality content with budgets that are under pressure . For live remote productions , accessing reliable connectivity to transport video over IP is critical . Bi-directional data transfer is becoming critical too , as it offers greater workflow efficiencies .
In my presentation at the APB IP Master Class , I outlined some of the new workflows that are now possible , such as accessing newsroom and MAM systems from the field , viewing return video , and enabling VoIP communication between field crews and the main broadcast facility , in addition to fast file transfer . But this really is just the beginning of what is possible . Extending these capabilities to the field enhances productivity , ultimately saving broadcasters time and reducing their costs — key goals in today ’ s environment .