❝ Fibre optic has grown as a core component of any productions as HD and , now , 4K / UHD require
increased bandwidth beyond copper cable .❞
May 2018 DISTRIBUTION 21 agement and network management , of which Riedel is focusing on the first two . “ Finding devices and connecting their signals over a network are factors that are crucial in the new IP world , where it ’ s hard to imagine using anything but fibre ,” he says . “ Connections are already at the 10 / 40Gb range on most devices ( a 40Gb QSFP is effectively 4x10G SFPs bonded together ) and we saw the first 25 / 100Gb devices at this year ’ s NAB Show .”
IP , O ’ Neill believes , is beginning to come of age , compared to as recently as 2017 . “ If you asked me this time last year what I thought about IP , I would have said that we ’ re only really pretending at this point ,” he ponders . “ Sure , some signals were being converted into formats such as SMPTE 2022-6 , but they were still being routed and processed like SDI signals .”
Today , there are high-level installations that uses switchers instead of video routers . And while O ’ Neill believes that it will take some time before people fully make the transition , telcos are already able to provide enough bandwidth for a true remote production .
This is exciting , he says , as it is going to allow the utilisation of equipment to really be ramped up in the future . “ Incidentally , I think full utilisation of investments will be one of the biggest challenges for content creators and equipment buyers over the next five years .”
As for how fibre infrastructures can be best set up , O ’ Neill offers a simplistic approach : “ The rule is to install only fibre , and install twice as much as you think you will need ! And as a side note , if anyone tells you to install multimode fibre , get them out as quickly as you can . There are practically no devices that use multi-mode fibre anymore , because it simply can ’ t support the bandwidths that single mode can .”
As for copper cabling , it is becoming obsolete — in most instances , fibre is much cheaper than copper cabling , strand-forstrand , and a strand of fibre can offer 50 times the signal density that a coxial cable does , O ’ Neill points out , while describing a proliferation of “ anything-over-fibre ” devices . “ It doesn ’ t matter if the device is a pure electrical-to-optical ( EO ) converter , a proprietary system ( like Mediornet ) or an IP network — there is no signal that you ’ re using today that can ’ t be sent over fibre .”
He goes on to illustrate how most camera manufacturers are now offering some form of camera-to-CCU connection that can go purely over fibre . Even for
Lynx Technik ’ s greenMachine provides two fibre ports , a feature also prominent in the company ’ s yellobrik products – all geared towards supporting different bandwidths in IP infrastructures .
Copper cabling is becoming obsolete — in most instances , fibre is much cheaper than copper cabling , strand-for-strand , and a strand of fibre can offer 50 times the signal density that a coxial cable does .
those who do not , camera cableto-LC converters are readily available . And for sound consoles , the majority comes with a stage box of some kind that supports fibre connections .
“ There is no good reason to be running copper cable for anything other than power ,” O ’ Neill reiterates . “ If you are building a new facility , make sure you install fibre points in every corner of the stage floor .
“ Then , just buy the break-out boxes you need , instead of patch bays . Just think of all patch bays that are wired up , fixed to a wall , and hardly ever used . Wouldn ’ t it be more efficient and cost-effective to have a ‘ throw down box ’ of some type that can plug directly into a fibre point on the wall ? Today , it might be a mic rack , tomorrow a camera , and next week , a return video feed for a director .”
He also advocates for a policy of “ buying smart ”, in contrast to “ buying cheap ”, and to challenge the assumptions that have kept TV stations running for the past 50 years . “ As all of us face tighter budgets and increased demand for high-quality content from our customers , we ’ ll have to focus on utilisation of all of our infrastructure . This include not just cameras and vision mixers , but also cabling . In other words , if you have cabling that is sitting idle , you ’ re basically throwing money away .”
The competition of the future , O ’ Neill concludes , will not be coming from familiar sources like other TV stations or outside broadcast ( OB ) providers with similar equipment . Instead , it will be the Googles or Netflixes of the world , backed by large amounts of capital . “ They will be able to make the choice to get the best systems available , and TV stations who do not adapt fast enough are setting themselves up to fail .”
Another company that is providing support for an IP world is Lynx Technik , which announced itself as a member of the Alliance for IP Media Solutions ( AIMS ) earlier this year . This , says Sebastian Schaffrath , CTIO of Lynx Technik , is an “ obvious move ” as SMPTE ST 2110 proves itself as the de facto standard for uncompressed video over IP .
“ With greenMachine , Lynx Technik provides a versatile software-based processing platform that is ideally suited for both SDI and IP infrastructures . A SMPTE ST 2110-capable version of green- Machine has already been tested by some customers using Lynx Technik ’ s app-based processing , as well as AMWA NMOS control of greenMachine ,” he adds . greenMachine is Lynx Technik ’ s concept of a video and audio processing platform . The processing hardware is a generic processing unit with a certain set of inputs and outputs , as well as processing power . By installing different apps , the greenMachine units can be turned into a tailored processing unit .
Its hardware also provides two fibre ports , a feature also prominent in Lynx Technik ’ s yellobrik products , as the company looks to support different bandwidths in IP infrastructures . “ Customers planning new infrastructures are already looking at 25GbE and 100GbE , and using 10GbE for edge devices ,” says Schaffrath . “ IP-based infrastructures will see tremendous growth in the coming years as customers have started with initial IP infrastructures , while real greenfield projects are rare .” Migrating existing infrastructures will be a major challenge , he acknowledges , while highlighting how Lynx Technik is continuing to develop products to facilitate the migration from SDI to IP . “ As a provider of processing infrastructure , Lynx will also be a central processing and core component in a facility .”
In live production environments , greenMachine enables operators to distribute signal processing power across several hardware systems , thus eliminating a single point of failure . “ In live production environments , security and fail-over safety is critical , which determines the choice of redundancy ; for example , SMPTE 2022-7 , as well as the choice of signal types ; for example , 2-SI UHD versus square-division UHD connections ,” Schaffrath concludes .
For Bexel , an NEP Broadcast Services Company , fibre optics continues to be a core speciality offering , and represents a key area of growth . The company supply custom announce booth kits with fibre solutions that can handle multiple video , audio and data signals .
In a recent expansion of its fibre-optic rental inventory , Bexel invested in a quarter of a million feet of fibre-optic cable . This ranges fom TAC-4 to TAC-72 strand cable , plus SMPTE camera cable , as well as fibre transport solutions from Multidyne and Studio Technologies .
Tom Dickinson , vice-president , technology , Bexel , explains : “ Fibre optic has grown as a core component of any production as HD and , now , 4K / UHD require increased bandwidth beyond copper cable . Extended cable lengths and increased signal count are increasing the demand for higher capacity fibre optic .”
One of the key components of Bexel ’ s recent investment is the acquisition of Multidyne
❝ Fibre optic has grown as a core component of any productions as HD and , now , 4K / UHD require
increased bandwidth beyond copper cable .❞
— Tom Dickinson , Vice-President , Technology , Bexel
SilverBULLET fibre transport solu tions , designed for the transmission of SD , HD , 3G and 12G-SDI signals on a single-mode fibre . Bexel is also now deploying the VF9000 fibre transport system with 12 HD 3G-SDI and one Ethernet path over two strands of fibre . For conversion and reconversion back to SMPTE standards , the Multidyne “ Hut SMPTE to tactical fibre cable ” has been added to Bexel ’ s HDX Shed fibre inventory .
As for Bexel ’ s fibre strategy when it comes to the transition to IP , Dickinson says : “ Fibre signals are a conversion of an electrical signal to optical for long distance and increased signal capacity . IP is an easy transition ; it is just another electrical signal .
“ One reason for the purchase of the Multidyne solutions is that they provide an Ethernet channel — a basic building block for some IP signals .”
And to prove the effectiveness of fibre in a live set-up , Bexel recently provided fibre-optic hardware , cable and engineering for the coverage of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) All Star Game in Los Angeles .
Dickinson elaborates : “ Bexel ’ s primary fibre responsibility during the game was to design , implement , manage and maintain all video signal transport from the broadcast compound to inside and around the Staples Centre .
“ We managed more than 500 individual fibre strands during the week , consisting of Tac-72 , Tac-48 , Tac-24 and Tac-12 ST / ST cables . In addition to the fibreoptic paths , we provided a variety of hardware components to faciliate the signal movement between mobile units , studio set locations , courtside camera positions and executive screening areas .”