Media Flows over IP

SCTE Feb2019

Media Flows over IP

The VB440 IP probe is a breakthrough in its support for the monitoring and analysis of high-bitrate uncompressed media flows over IP. With both ST2110 and ST2022-6 transports, the VB440 provides network operators, digital media organisations, production studios, master control centres and outside broadcast vehicles and venues with an analytics solution for numerous streams and multiple technologies in real-time and in parallel. It enables production teams to continuously survey all layers of media transportation on an IP network and facilitates quick rectification of potential problems; both packet loss and jitter can be identified, for example, helping to maximise Quality of Service (QoS).

The increasingly distributed nature of broadcasting, uniquely enabled by the transition to IP – and especially remote production – are especially facilitated by the VB440.

With support for interface speeds including 10, 25, 40, 50 and up to 100 Gigabit on dual interfaces, even the largest of media networks can be accommodated with analysis of SD, HD i and p, HD HDR, 4K and 4K HDR and above. ST2022-7 redundancy is also monitored and analysed with ports connected to both primary and secondary networks. PTP is provided with ST2059-2 clock analysis, clock source detection/listing and clock accuracy and class, providing troubleshooting and continuous monitoring of critical clocking in a production network – including accurate path-delay for individual flows.

To enable users to obtain the maximum possible value from the VB440, Bridge Technologies provides Instrument View – a unique tool in the industry, and a radically new user interface for the VB440 that provides an innovative way of viewing the behavior of uncompressed real time media. While other solutions are aimed at those who are technically highly proficient, Instrument View brings deep, intuitive understanding to non-experts. In a broadcast world still not fully familiar with, and comfortable with, IP, Instrument View can make an essential contribution towards helping the industry leverage the technology and reap its benefits. Significant attention has been given to Instrument View’s highly visual user interface such that the information it delivers can be intuitively understood and acted upon by non-experts.

By providing detailed picture, audio and ancillary data, users can have absolute certainty about the performance of the underlying network infrastructure. Instrument View is designed to increase user confidence in content quality by enabling media professionals and others to view packet behavior in an IP environment with unprecedented accuracy and speed.  The packet information also contains real-time SMPTE 2022.7 redundancy analysis, showing the precise correlation between the primary and secondary flows of ST2110 streams.
Instrument View can, for example, be used in outside broadcast/remote production environments where it allows the production team to actually see uncompressed media content in real time and to ensure it meets the highest standards in video and audio. In a mixed HDR/non-HDR environment, for example, it can be used to assure optimum colorimetry. Audio – synched to video – can be both seen and heard to assure perfect sound quality. It is compatible with any digital video/audio combination from SD through HD to UHD.

Browser-based and also touch screen-capable, Instrument View is adaptable to a range of use cases. Bridge Technologies has developed three innovative implementations of the interface that are appropriate for rack-mount, desk mount or table-top mount. IP makes them easier to deploy in, for example, locations that are remote from the production center.

Also available from Bridge Technologies is Remote Data Wall (RDW). Depending on the size or complexity of the network being monitored, RDW can spread from a single screen to multiple screens in a videowall format – but requires no specialist skills to install. It allows those responsible for network monitoring and management to quickly and easily create a visual representation of network activity, enabling potential problems to be rapidly identified and appropriate corrective action taken.

Because it is HTML5/browser-based, Remote Data Wall does not require specialist hardware or cabling. It can be viewed locally – in a control room, for example – or remotely from a distant location. Significant flexibility is provided to users in enabling them to select precisely which data should be displayed, and how.

Data can also be gathered from outside sources – from third-party systems, for example – and external information sources such as weather stations, personnel management systems, and booking schedules. The VB440, Instrument View and RDW will be on show at NAB 2019 on the Bridge Technologies booth (SU6702).