Continued. Read the first in the part the article IBC 2016: set-top boxes and subscriber devices.
SATELLITE OPERATORS
SES together with Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI (Germany) demonstrated at their stand 10Kx2K panoramic video transmission via satellite to various devices. The signal at the SES stand was broadcasted to UltraHD screen and a few VR-devices. The user can select a viewing angle, zoom, and other parameters. Signal recording was performed using OmniCam-360 camera (manufactured by Fraunhofer HHI) and transmitted via satellite Astra 19.2° E The stand visitors could go into the virtual world, as if it was a sporting event, concert, etc.
The simplest explanation of VR technology growing popularity is that it can give the consumer access to content or bring him to a place where they can not get himself. For example, to a football match on another continent or in another country. And the number of seats in the stadium or in the hall is usually limited. However, content from VR camera delivered to fans via satellite allows them to be virtually present at the sporting event, and not on the side of the field with a limited view, but right in the center of the stadium.
In addition, SES has summed up competition for the best design of satellite dishes which started before. The company announced three winners among 18 proposed projects at the press conference before the exhibition opening. Finalists of the competition were Shudong Deng from Imperial College (London) for the Dragon model, Robert Edwin Rouse from the Royal College of art for the Blossom model (flower) and Julian Goldman from Pratt Institute – for Calla who tried to reflect the principle of «because useful can be beautiful». Now the company is going to implement the prototypes into a full-featured version of the “dishes”. Perhaps, these non-standard models will appear in Ukraine soon.
In addition, at the press conference there was announced a new media service platform MX1 360. MX1 company appeared this year as a result of the merge of RR Media and SES Platform Services (SPS). MX1 360 service platform is the tool to manage and deliver content for media users. The solution allows users to manage and monetize its delivery ensuring broadcasting of a bigger number of viewers at a bigger number of screens in various locations around the world. By the way, the number of households where content via SES satellites is delivered increased from 256 to 317 million households (127 million DTH-households + 148 million via cable operators + 42 million of IPTV- households) for the period from 2011 to 2016.
SOLUTIONS FOR TESTING, MONITORING AND MEASUREMENTS
RT-RK Institute for Computer Based Systems (Serbia) presented RT-AV4K – the solution for STB/DVB/Blu-ray-devices monitoring and testing. Hardware developers implemented capture and streaming of audio/video signals (up to 4K / UHD) via 1 Gbit/s network. HDMI is supported. The solution allows simultaneous testing a few devices, as well as to monitor the broadcast systems via Ethernet. The software solution RT-Harness & HbbTV test suite represented by RT-RK is also interesting. The system checks the compatibility with HbbTV 1/1.5/2.0 specifications, and is mostly focused on the testing of hybrid TV services. The solution includes approximately 1,000 test cases.
IMF Analyzer software solution by IRT organization (Institut fur Rundfunktechnic, Germany) for the analysis and validation of IMF (Interoperable Master Format) is expected in October. IMF can be considered as a new SMPTE standard for audio/video content storage and delivery. IMF set typically includes a variety of different audio and video files with metadata, including files with different resolutions, video codecs etc. The rate of such streams check is 16 fold quicker than normal playback in real-time.
At the stand of Media Motive (NetCom Group division) there was presented the system for analysis of streaming audio/video M3t [m3 tau] for the STB, consoles and any other devices with HDMI output. The solution provides monitoring and analysis of the signal level at devices and is optimized for broadcasters and software developers.
StreamLabs announced Stream Multi Probe software and hardware solution for monitoring the quality of TV and radio broadcasting and content delivery for satellite, cable networks and IPTV networks, as well as OTT networks in real time (expected in February 2017). In this solution DVB-T/T2/C/S/S2 is supported. Signal recording from different sources is available.
Monitoring system for the radio and television broadcasting stations was presented by Kathrein-Werke KG (Germany). Kathrein Smart Monitoring uses special sensors to control parameters of the transmission system components in real time including signal strength and quality depending on weather conditions. We would like to note that the solution can be used not for the antenna equipment of Kathrein brand only but also for any other antenna systems by other manufacturers.
Tektronix demonstrated Prism solution which is optimal for broadcasters who are switching from SDI to IP.
Delivery is expected in IV quarter. Prism can be used to analyze, diagnose and correct errors in SDI and IP.
Guramex (Georgia) presented TV-01 videotester.
This solution has integrated wave monitor and video and audio signals generator. GVMS12 control panel and untitled modular scalable panel were also present at this stand.
The same interesting thing is measuring equipment presented by Hamlet company – portable generator Enterprise VX2 Microflex Mach2 with 3G/HD/SD, HEVC, H.264/MPEG- 2, OTT support. 4K-switches MSC-UXD88L and MSC-XD88L were also of interest.
Phabrix presented Phabrix Qx that is combining analyzer, generator and monitoring tool (examples of monitoring for IP 2022-6 were demonstrated at the stand).
CAMTESTER tester for CAM-modules was presented at the stand of Rabbit Labs.
Bridge Technologies company presented a portable monitoring device NOMAD, as well as several solutions: SDIoIP on all IP-Probes, VB440-V IP Probe (dual ports 40 Gb/s), 100G IP-Probe Technology Preview (Ethernet 100 Gbit/s) with monitoring and analytics available.
Marshall Electronics presented a portable HDMI signal generator V-SG4K with 4K@30p support. 32 test signals are available from the box, and Promax Electronica SL demonstrated HD Ranger 3 with HEVC, DVB-T/T2/S/S2/C/C2 support.
SOLUTIONS FOR CONTENT PROTECTION
At the moment, solutions by Conax (part of Kudelski Group holding) are used by 425 operators in 85 countries (140 million subscribers). This was announced by company representatives during a press briefing at the exhibition. So, Conax has signed 16 new contracts during the last year, and the number of chipsets supporting Conax Cardless has now reached 150.
This company pays the main attention to Contego that provides the rapid deployment of new pay-TV functions and the simultaneously reducing the operator’s CAPEX index (operating expenses and capital investments).
Autumn was marked for Conax by the addition of Conax Cardless support to Ali, Broadcom and Mstar chipsets. And she Conax Cardless technology has become the most commonly used among many operators around the world. By the way, the integration of HEVC technology to Ali chip was designed to help a developing markets (including India, Africa, Latin America) where bandwidth is a key parameter for the of quality services provision.
The details of recent changes and benefits that appeared in the unified Conax Contego security hub for the operators (including multi-DRM, IPTV, cloud services and solutions to create watermarks for safety) were considered as well as there was announced information about several new key consumer projects .
The platform based on cloud solutions by Contego is integrated, modular and highly scalable platform that provides content security.
Deployment of Conax Cardless solutions at the Philippines (Cignal Provider) and India (Dish TV India, SITI Cable operator) and Conax Contego (TB Communications Trend Ltd operator and Telekom Srbija company) should be noted as the last implementations by Conax. In particular, Telekom Srbija has chosen this solution due to the planned launch of DVB-T2 pay-TV.
Now a lot of products by different companies are available on the market (Widevine, Play Ready), and these solutions provide access to different devices. But it’s a quite hard deal to search for content protection methods for each product by particular company. Conax Contego Multi-DRM «all in one» solution can be of help here.
Contego as a Service is a flexible content protection service that allows operators of any level to accentuate the business, giving the tasks for content protection for outsourcing.
What’s new in Contego as a Service? Conax Contego is offered as a cloud service managed by Conax professionals. DVB, OTT, IPTV are supported, it is accessible for all regions worldwide.
Conax Contego is now available in three versions:
- full installation at the customer’s site;
- monitoring and maintenance by Conax, but the user controls the system;
- accommodation, service and management are fully provided by Conax.
Connected Access solution supports 4K/UHD and can be deployed on the already used STB as a replacement for CA/DRM solutions; it provides support for both open and closed devices. As a result, the scope of application the Connected Access in relation to STB is quite wide:
- as a separate DRM client for IPTV;
- as a hybrid DRM client with IPTV/OTT control in one client;
- to create OTT STB only;
- as a new or used DRM client in Hybrid DVB set-top boxes, along with Smart cards and Conax Cardless.
As it was noted at the briefing, Connected Access is ideal premium client for two-sided IPTV. This solution simplifies the implementation of IP based TV services on any platform (such as VoD, nPVR, catch-up).
Conax Contego Multi-DRM simplifies the handling of the operator streams, provides MPEG-DASH support, encryption and Multi-DRM. The solution provides the versatility of the various devices and platforms management: Android/iOS/Windows phones, browsers for Mac/PC, Chromecast, game consoles as well as Apple TV, Smart TV and STB.
Conax Contego Multi-DRM allows you to choose what a security client to install: native DRM or Conax DRM.
Conax GO Live solution with native DRM support is the optimal solution for operators implementing OTT services. It’s use significantly reduces time for market penetration and costs of deployment. This is the solution for streaming to iOS and Android based devices which now supports Chromecast and AirPlay and monitoring system. Operators can run OTT services in less than 30 days, and statistical data available to the operators allow to analyze the behavior of subscribers (viewers) in detail and optimize the performance of services.
MONITOR FOR BROADCASTERS
NHK stand (Japan Corporation, the Broadcast, Japan) was notable in Future Zone pavilion, as always. This time, not by presented solutions but … by prohibition of any photography at the stand. The reason was the Olympic theme of broadcasted video that was shown on the stand. Meanwhile, NHK launched test broadcasting in Super Hi-Vision format (8K) on August 1, and broadcasts fragments were demonstrated at the exhibition. The switch to a full-8K broadcast in 2018 and Olympic Games in 2020 in Tokyo broadcast are the nearest company’s plans.
Among the new products on the stand, the organic OLED display of 130″ size jointly developed by Astro Design and LG Display companies was demonstrated for the first time. This display was composed of a 65″ 4K OLED panels and had extremely light weight and super-thin design (thickness of 1 mm). The image had high contrast and a completely black background.
Given the need for access to audio and video content for all population groups, including people with vision and hearing problems, NHK intends to provide audio description for all their broadcasts with the option of broadcast language selection. An example of such a decision was presented at the NHK stand. In addition, NHK demonstrated Integral 3D TV stereo display (OLED panel) with its own content and group of speakers for the 22.2 multichannel audio system (jointly developed with Sharp Corporation).
The displays presented by Shenzhen Konvision Technology (China) for rack mounting will be optimal for stationary and mobile studios. Signal displaying as a bar graph, in the vector and the wave forms are among the features of KRM-404A model. This model of KRM-5X line has 4.5″ display (4 screens), 1280×720 resolution, viewing angle of 170 degrees, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, HDMI are supported. KVM-2460D LCD display for premium level broadcasters was introduced by the company in KVM-6X line. 1920×1200 resolution, the viewing angle of 178 degrees, 3G/HD/SD-SDI are supported; HDMI is available. Firmware update and remote control are performed via Ethernet.
Logic TV (Korea) presented HDR prototype of LUM-310R (expected in spring 2017). 31″ monitor supports 4K, HDMI, 12G/6G, has a viewing angle of 178 degrees; tools for calibration are supplied.
The prototype of 55″ UHD monitor LUM-550M was also presented with 4K support (3840×2160@60p/59/94p/50p) and a viewing angle of 178 degrees. Time code and firmware update via USB are available. HDMI, 12G-SDI, 3G-SDI, 4K/60p, as well as upscaling from SD/HD/FullHD to UHD are supported. The model is expected in November.
Ruige presented TL-D3100HD 4K-monitor of 31″ size and the signal display in vector form and auto-calibration color system.
Lilliput demonstrated 5.5″ on-camera monitor Q5 with IPS-matrix, only 20 mm thickness and 1920×1080 resolution and a viewing angle of 160 degrees; HDMI, SDI are supported. Signal displaying in the wave/vector form and timecode are available.
Postium Korea company presented a number of new professional 4K displays: OBM-U170 (17.3″) and OBM-U240 (23.8″). These models support 12G-SDI, 3G/HD- SDI, HDMI, viewing angle of 178 degrees. Ethernet, USB (for color calibration and firmware updates), RS-422 are available.
Flanders Scientific presented DM240 – the most advanced model of broadcasting LCD display ($ 3995, is expected in October). 1920×1200 resolution, the viewing angle of 178 degrees, 3G/HD/SD-SDI , USB, Ethernet, timecode are supported, video analyzer is available; power consumption is 29 W only (maximum 48 W).
PBM-224-4K (24″, 4K/UHD) was among the new models by Plura Broadcast. 12G/3G/HD-SDI, HDMI are supported; fast response time for dynamic movies; viewing angle is 178 degrees.
Beijing Hualin Stone-Tech company (China) demonstrated a 8.9″ on-camera LCD display MY-M090S (Maya line) by Shenzhen Technology Mosle. This is the best choice for “cinematic” camera that supports 1920×1200 resolution. Vector/waveform signal displaying, audiometer, timecode, turning image function, zooming, etc are available here. 3G-SDI is supported; viewing angle of 178 degrees, HDMI, control via RS485/Ethernet are available. Power consumption is 18 W.
Beijing Osee Digital Technology (China) presented several broadcasting displays (some of them with Wi-Fi): LCM-E156 (15.6″, FullHD), LCM-E170 (17″, FullHD), MVM-200 (20″, FullHD) and LMW420-4K (4K).
Thus, MVM-200 model is a high-performance broadcasting LCD display with screen split into 4 parts, a viewing angle of 178 degrees and LED backlight.
ANTENNAS
I DO IT company (Korea) Company presented SAT> IP antenna (10.7-12.75 GHz) with a horizontal/vertical polarization for use in motion under the SELFSAT brand. As the company representatives assured, this is the first antenna in the world that can be used on a moving transport (bus, car, etc.). The streamlined shape of the antenna due to its aerodynamic design is optimal for installation on the bus roofs, this will provide passengers with constant access to the Internet and online-TV. The solution is adjusted to Hotbird/Astra1/Astra2 satellites, and is offered for 8/16/32 users; DVB-S/S2, HD/UltraHD are supported.
IPcopter company (Germany) presented AutoSAT IP – motorized antenna system for the KA-SAT, mountable on the vehicle roof. The solution provides airing in just 5 minutes. Positioning is performed in the automatic mode and provides download/upload speed up to 10 Mbit/s and is designed to withstand wind speeds up to 72 km/h.
Surface Heating Systems company (United Kingdom) presented Skyware de-ice 74 mm satellite dish.
The jacket heated by a pocket power bank presented here can be also interesting for the specialists in setting up equipment.
To be continued…
