22 DISTRIBUTION
March 2018
2017 a year of streaming successes for Globecast
Global solutions provider Globecast has hailed 2017 as one of streaming successes after it completed a range of projects , including golf ’ s Ladies European Tour ( LET ).
Globecast began working with LET ’ s TV production partner U . COM Media in 2016 , and extended the partnership across 2017 . Globecast provided several services for each of the season ’ s events , including supplying the satellite capacity covering the distribution of each event , which was in turn downlinked in London .
The content was then transcoded and streamed live to You- Tube . In tandem , the live stream was delivered to a cloud-based editing platform , where the content was clipped and repackaged for distribution on social media networks . Since then , Globecast has also begun offering this service with the availability of its liveSpotter short-form video-ondemand ( VoD ) content clipping technology .
Simultaneously , Globecast turned the live transmission around for delivery to multiple satellites for full global coverage . It also pro vided a file-transfer service , enabling U . COM Media and its affiliates to download all the content from Globecast ’ s FTP site for further use .
Liz McParland , commercial
director , contribution , Globecast , said : “ Our customers want a broadcast-like , HD-quality experience for their streaming viewers . It makes a lot of sense to customers to take advantage of multiple services at the same time from us .
“ If we are already processing their content , it is really straightforward for us to then transcode it for live streaming and prepare it for file transfer . Of course , with some customers , we also provide complete production services .”
McParland also suggested that the content distribution market has changed , particularly , if not exclusively , with sports . “ Streaming is such a valuable way to reach audi-
Since 2016 , Globecast has been providing several services for golf ’ s Ladies European Tour ( LET ), including supplying the satellite capacity covering the distribution of each event .
ences for niche content , potentially then driving linear TV distribution , though in its own right , streaming can achieve big audiences ,” she continued . “ Even with Tier 1 content , streaming is very powerful as a promotional tool , creating a buzz and driving interest — the key is providing a quality audience experience .”
PHOTO CREDIT : ISTOCK BY GETTY IMAGES
Who are the top teleport operators of 2017 ?
The World Teleport Association ( WTA ) has published its annual rankings for the Top Teleport Operators of 2017 . The annual ranking of companies by revenue and revenue growth are compiled by surveying teleport operators around the world , as well as referencing the published results of publicly-held companies .
The Global Top 20 ranks companies based on revenues from all customised communications sources and includes operators of teleports and satellite fleets .
In order from largest to smallest , the Global Top 20 of 2017 are :
1 . SES 2 . Intelsat 3 . Eutelsat 4 . Telesat 5 . EchoStar Satellite Services 6 . Global Eagle 7 . Telespazio 8 . Globecast 9 . Singtel Satellite 10 . Thaicom
11 . Encompass Digital Media 12 . Hispasat 13 . Arqiva 14 . Optus 15 . SpeedCast 16 . Russian Satellite
Communications 17 . Globecomm 18 . AsiaSat 19 . Measat 20 . Telenor Satellite
Of this list , Global Eagle , Globecast , Encompass Digital Media , SpeedCast and Globecomm do not operate satellite capacity .
NEP Group enters the race with Equinox
When the broadcast rights for horse racing on British television recently switched channels , outside broadcasting ( OB ) specialist NEP Group seized the opportunity to create what it calls “ one of the UK ’ s most advanced OB trucks ”.
Named Equinox , the truck is capable of meeting every requirement for the live broadcast of race meets , without additional support , added NEP Group . While at the heart of its technical infrastruc- ture is the intercom expertise of OMNEO IP technology , Equinox is also built specifically to meet the challenges of broadcasting British horse racing .
Paul Fournier , head of sound for NEP UK , explained : “ The broadcaster wanted to run the truck in a very specific way , so we built this truck to deliver everything they wanted to achieve .
“ Rather than having to accommodate a separate voice track /
The NEP Group ’ s new Equinox OB truck is being used to broadcast live horse racing in the UK .
TeamCast enhances support for ATSC 3.0 LDM feature
TeamCast ’ s Vortex II exciter now supports Layered Division Multiplex ( LDM ), an optional technology of the new ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer standard .
LDM allows the transmission of two signals over a single RF channel — one signal ( the Core Layer ) addresses receivers with difficult receiving conditions , while the other signal ( the Enhancement Layer ) targets receivers in good receiving conditions .
TeamCast ’ s Vortex II exciter now supports Layered Division Multiplex ( LDM ), an optional technology of the new ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer standard .
Prior to this update , Vortex II was already in use across the US for powering ATSC 3.0 pilot projects and many other projects linked to the Spectrum Repack in the country . Several pilot projects are now in place to evaluate LDM in the real world , reported TeamCast . This includes a project sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters ( NAB ) and the Consumer Technology Association ( CTA ) in Cleveland , Ohio , USA . The Comark transmitter there was recently upgraded with a Vortex II and is now ready for field evaluation of LDM .
Eric Pinson , business unit manager , TeamCast , said : “ We ’ re excited to continue to empower the field testing of the amazingly rich ATSC 3.0 technology with our Vortex exciter . The introduction of LDM as a simple software upgrade demonstrates that this exciter is continuously evolving in the direction broadcasters may expect , as a future-proof investment , even beyond its dual ATSC 1.0 / 3.0 feature .” recording replay truck , everything is done out of this single vehicle , and the use of IP simplifies how everything works .”
Inside Equinox , an RTS ADAM modular matrix frame equipped with a 64-channel OMI OMNEO matrix interface card offers up to 272 ports , providing a Dante backbone for the OB truck ’ s communications workflow . In addition , the frame hosts five AIO-16 analogue interface cards , a MADI-16 Plus interface card and two TBX-Tribus cards for connecting Equinox with other trucks in the NEP fleet . Ten 32-key KP-5032 keypanels have been integrated into the vehicle , alongside a further 31 16-key KP- 4016 panels .
Elaborating on the benefits of working in an audio-over-IP environment , Fourner said : “ OMNEO , which facilitates the use of Dante audio , has really taken off in the broadcast world over the past two years . The choice of OMNEO means that we benefit from vastly reduced cabling — all a KP-5032 or KP-4016 keypanel needs is a Cat-5 Ethernet or a fibre connection .
“ Even if we have a long-distance run over kilometres , we can fibre it . In fact , many of the horse-racing grounds serviced by Equinox are now being retrofitted with permanent fibre , so if you need to position a panel somewhere on site , then it ’ s easy to do so .”
The use of Dante audio also makes it easy to provide preview boxes for the director and producer — by simply pinning them in the Dante audio network through the RTS system , Fournier maintained . “ Because we have Dante cards in our desks , there ’ s no patching involved — everything just appears on the network , so you can pick it up , make an IFB out of it and pass it on .”