Broadcast Beat Magazine 2018 NAB Show Edition | Page 51

request the missing packets. Finally, the protocol also has a built-in level of redundancy. Together, those elements make for the ultimate in reliability across all possible IP-based networks, including the public internet. requires the best possible RF radio combined with the highest-gain antenna. In bonded cellular, having a high-gain antenna means the signal is more likely to get picked up by a cellular tower. In the Real World Besides providing high reliability in any environ- ment, this one-of-a-kind transport protocol lets users record, store, and forward HD contents at low bit rates. Furthermore, it provides the biggest pipe to transport video content by bonding up to 11 IP connections, including eight cellular, two LAN, and one Wi-Fi. The LAN connections can be a telecom circuit, public internet, satellite, and more. These benefits translate to greater speed and agility for broadcasters. Many broadcasters have requested a full-band- width return video and audio transmission path to help facilitate interviews and send program or teleprompter feeds from master control to the field. To answer that need, this protocol will soon transport video and up to eight channels of audio bidirectionally. There are plenty of bonded cellular solutions out there, but one of the things that makes this solution special is its patented high-gain, long-range antenna technology, which elimi- nates cross-coupling and interference compared to consumer USB modems. Just like with tra- ditional wireless, not all radios and antennas are created equal, and any good wireless link This technology is already in use with resound- ing success. The best example of the protocol’s magic: A&E’s highly popular “Live PD,” a ground- breaking docuseries that captures and streams live video of police officers on patrol in six juris- dictions around the country. “Live PD” is a REMI production that, on a typical weekend night, runs as many as 36 live camera feeds back to a New York-based control room at A&E headquarters with perfect genlock and lip sync. The major challenge was how to produce this live cop show cost-effectively and home-run all those cameras from multiple police vehicles simultaneously — sometimes from a police car in a high-speed chase going 130 miles per hour. With so many feeds, traditional satellite or micro- wave links are not only cost-prohibitive, but they do not provide the necessary mobility and flex- ibility for such a production. The “Live PD” crew relies on bonded cellular with this one-of-a-kind protocol to achieve what no other system could: simultaneous transmission of as many as 36 live video streams at a time up to 3,000 miles away, with perfect multicamera gen- Broadcast Beat Magazine • www.broadcastbeat.com • 51