DISTRIBUTION
December 2018
To maximise service delivery, Harmonic offers solutions such as the ViBE CP3000 DSNG encoder, which combines an efficient
SD/HD encoder and a DVB-S2X modulator.
of a standard Ku-band transpond-
er. It then recomposes it on the
receiver side, combining multiple
carriers into one, making it large
enough to maintain the efficiency
gain of statistical multiplexers on
a bouquet of 4K/UHD channels.”
DVB-S2X is the latest stand-
ard modulation evolution and
in comparison with DVB-S2, its
predecessor, DVB-S2X can im-
prove spectrum efficency by 20%
for DTH applications and 50%
for contribution, David Mouen,
senior market manager, broadcast,
Harmonic, points out. “RF channel
bonding can bring additional gain
to a 4K/UHD statmux, improving
the 4K/UHD density by 22%,” he
adds. “On the compression side,
new standards are released on a
regular basis, offering more tools
and increased efficiency.”
Mouen cites the example of
the MPEG compression standard,
where each generation provides
twice the boost in efficiency,
compared with the previous one.
He also charts the evolution of
the MPEG standard, which began
with MPEG-2 in 1995 at the start
of digital TV delivered in SD.
This cont inued on wit h
MPEG-4/AVC in 2004, which
was initiated by HD, and then
HEVC/H.265, which was devel-
oped between 2013 and 2016, in
part due to 4K/UHD. The next
iteration of the MPEG standard
is VCC, which is expected to be
released in 2020.
“Given that there are a wide
range of legacy TVs and set-top
boxes (STBs) in the field, all gen-
erations of the MPEG standard
have to be supported,” Mouen
explains. “For a given standard,
the compression implementation
is specific to each technology
provider and can be continuously
improved. Software-based encod-
ers are easier to upgrade.”
Leveraging the Human Visual
System, Harmonic developed the
EyeQ content-aware encoding
technology. By reducing video
traffic by up to 50%, the EyeQ
solution delivers “significant”
Opex and Capex savings. The next
big step for Harmonic will be the
implementation of artificial intel-
ligence (AI) and machine learning
(ML) algorithms in the encoders.
Based on offline deep learning, the
encoder will automatically detect
the scene type and apply optimised
compression parameters. The
incre mental expected gain is 20%,
according to Mouen.
He a ls o h i g h l i g ht s how
complementary tools, such as
statistical multiplexing, can be
used to optimise bandwidth. This
in turn provides better video qual-
ity while increasing the number of
channels by 25% in a DTH, digital
terrestrial television (DTT) or
cable pipe. “Statmux can be opti-
mised by dynamically allocating
the bandwidth left free by bursty
data components to the video
pool,” Mouen elaborates. “While
getting the benefits of statmux, it
is also possible to fix an average
bitrate to each channel, which
is important when the service
of broadcasting is based on the
bitrate.”
To maximise service delivery,
Harmonic offers contribution
encoders with embedded DVB-
S2X modulators. For instance,
the ViBE CP6000 contribution
platform can encode and multi-
plex up to six SD/HD channels in
a single stream and then modulate
it in DVB-S2X.
Harmonic also offers a ViBE
CP3000 DSNG encoder that com-
bines an efficient SD/HD en-
coder and a DVB-S2X modulator.
Mouen describes: “Our 4K/UHD
HEVC/H.265 contribution solu-
tion is based on the ViBE CP9000
dual encoder and the RD9000
decoder, and our distribution en-
coders and solutions feature com-
pression technology optimised for
broadcast and over-the-top (OTT)
applications.
“Harmonic’s Electra X media
processor family supports SD,
HD and 4K/UHD formats, and
MPEG-2, MPEG-4/AVC and
HEVC/H.265 codecs for broadcast
and OTT multi-screen delivery.”
Completing the line-up is the
VOS media processing platform,
which allows content and service
providers — of any size and on
any platform — to leverage the
latest advancements in software
and cloud technology.
VOSSW Cluster is a com-
prehensive software solution for
hybrid cloud operations that sup-
ports an entire range of market-
leading microservices, including
ingest, playout, compression,
encryption, packaging, origin
server. VOS360, on the other hand,
is a video software-as-a-service
(SaaS) that covers the entire media
processing chain, enabling simple
playout and delivery of live, time-
shift, cloud DVR and video-on-
demand (VoD) streaming services.
Both Harmonic and Newtec
also place a heavy emphasis on
Carrier ID, or as Newtec’s Massart
❝ On the compression
side, new standards are
released on a regular
basis, offering more
tools and increased
efficiency. ❞
— David Mouen,
Senior Market Manager,
Broadcast, Harmonic
says, prevention is better than
cure. “Although interference only
affects a fraction of Satcom opera-
tions, when it happens, it can be
catastrophic, potentially putting
the company’s reputation at stake
and causing economic damage.”
This, he explains, is the reason
why Newtec has implemented
Carrier ID to fight interference.
“DVB-CID Carrier Identification
(CID) is a signal embedded into a
video or data transmission path.
It allows satellite operators and
end-users to identify the source of
an interfering carrier in minutes,
rather than in weeks,” Massart
highlights. “Whenever faced with
an instance of interference, em-
bedding a Carrier Identifier (CID)
into the single channel per carrier
(SCPC) will help to pinpoint the
source of interference quickly to
resolve the issue.”
DVB-CID is standardised by
the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI) as TS
103 129 and is endorsed by the
US Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), making it a
requirement of newly manufac-
tured modulators since September
2017. Newtec was an active mem-
ber of the DVB Working Group
in the definition of the Carrier ID
standard, and was one of the first
companies to have it implemented
on all of its SCPC modems.
Interference between radio
frequency signals is a big issue for
satellite transmissions, cautions
Harmonic’s Mouen, who identi-
fies causes to be bad equipment
configuration, failure or malicious
intentional jamming. The goal of
the DVB-CID standard, thus, is
to help operators quickly identify
the emitters involved in the inter-
ference.
Mouen continues: “CID is a
robust code included in the RF
signal delivered by the modulator
that contains data, enabling the
satellite operators to quickly and
easily identify the source of an
interfering transmission.
“The CID includes a Global
Unique Identifier, GPS coordi-
nates, latitude and longitude co-
ordinates, phone and additional
data. DVB-CID is supported by
Harmonic’s ViBE CP3000 single-
channel contribution encoder and
modulator, as well as ViBE CP6000
multi-channel contribution en-
coder and modulator.”
For ARRIS, the company of-
fers its Modular Uplink System
to enable global operators to
deliver modern satellite services.
Specifically, the Modular Uplink
System comprises a broadcast
network controller, transport
ARRIS’ Modular Uplink System is designed to
enable global operators to deliver modern
satellite services. Specifically, the Modular
Uplink System comprises a broadcast network
controller, transport multiplexer, satellite
smartstream encryptor modular, and event
manager for secure uplink transmission.
15
multiplexer, satellite smartstream
encryptor modular, and event
manager for secure uplink trans-
mission.
Together with the ARRIS
ME-7000 encoder platform, the
Modular Uplink System provides
“complete security” across a full
range of satellite service formats,
informs Mark Schaffer, senior
director, product management.
“The ME-7000 multi-channel plat-
form achieves new levels of video
compression efficiency to improve
video quality while lowering cost
and power usage per channel.
“These advantages effectively
reduce total cost of ownership
for operators. Meanwhile, the
platform remains scalable and
future-ready, enabling a simple
upgrade path to new codecs, such
as HEVC/H.265, to assist in ad-
vanced 4K/UHD deployments.”
One of ARRIS’ key goals is also
to continue improving encoding
technologies to address the evolv-
ing needs of global operators,
adds Mark Cabrales, director,
product management, ARRIS. The
company’s technologies, he adds,
leverage the latest techniques to
support a variety of current, future
and legacy video formats while
improving overall efficiency. “For
example, our ME-7000 platform
provides HEVC/H.265 encoding
capabilities, which can offer up
to 50% improved efficiency over
MPEG-4/AVC.
“For mats li ke DVB-S2X
16APSK modulation can pro-
vide up to 30% improved effi-
ciency over DVB-S2 8PSK. And
transcoding in the Integrated
Receiver Decoder enables the
correct compression format to be
delivered to each multi-channel
video programming (MVPD)
operator.”
Emphasising how ARRIS’ in-
novation centres on the ease and
efficiency of catering to a modern
range of satellite delivery paths,
Cabrales further describes the
ME-7000 as a multi-codec, multi-
channel and multi-format encod-
ing platform designed to support
the many permutations of satellite
services and formats — today and
in the future.
The platform enables multi-
channel support for MPEG-2,
MPEG-4 and HEVC/H.265, as well
as new techniques such as multi-
bitrate profile outputs for use in
OTT or adaptive bitrate (ABR)
set-top environments — both
simul taneously and in a single RU.
In the case of HEVC/H.265, the
ME-7000 not only supports HD
and SD channels, but provides
a high-density (up to 24 4Kp60
channels in 1RU) capability for
4K/UHD support. It also supports
high HDR across formats (HLG,
HDR10 and Dolby Vision) within
the platform.