Transcript
Efficient Native Digital Video Transport for the Media and Entertainment Industries Leveraging the CN 4200® and optical networks for real-time high-definition video transport
Broadcasters and television and motion picture producers look to reduce HD content delivery cost and complexity
Benefits
Broadcasters and film and television producers face the common challenge of transporting High-Definition (HD) video content. Broadcasters are constrained by short-range microwave services and costly satellite services, which offer sub-par reliability and service quality and create high latency.
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Accelerates and secures HD content delivery
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Improves production house ecosystem collaboration
Film and television studios are hampered by terrestrial leased-line services and routerbased networks that are not suitable or robust enough for native HD video delivery. Since compressing HD Serial Digital Interface (SDI) for transmission over lower-bandwidth networks degrades signal quality, many studios distribute HD video on tape for rendering and viewing—a wasteful and inefficient process.
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Eliminates outmoded tape distribution methods (costs and delays)
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Avoids lower-bandwidth leased lines (compromised signal quality)
Ciena’s CN 4200 FlexSelect® Advanced Services Platform Family enables broadcasters and producers to leverage optical networks for real-time, HD video transport in native format, without compression. With the CN 4200, broadcasters can transmit live content more reliably and economically, with higher service quality (no uplink/downlink delays) compared to satellite services. Television and motion picture studios can exploit electronic delivery to improve collaboration among post-production teams, eliminate tape-based distribution methods, and cut costs.
Production HD/SD-SDI
Live TV Studio
Production
HD
/SD
HD/SD-SDI
Metro/Regional
Broadcasters >
Overcomes satellite cost, reliability, and service quality concerns
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Links network affiliates in a cost-effective manner
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Establishes permanent venue links (stadiums, government halls)
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Creates new revenue opportunities (rent out broadcast facilities to private businesses)
Ad Agency
Play-out Center
Satellite Uplink
bE ASI, G
(HD/SD-SDI, ASI, GbE)
I -SD
Film and Television Studios
I SD-SD
ASI, GbE
Long-haul Carrier
IT Managers >
Exploits a single platform for multiple services (video, storage traffic, server traffic)
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Allows flexible configuration (any service, any port, any time)
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Delivers native format HD SDI with no signal degradation
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Deploys quickly and easily (universal SFP, push-on connectors, auto speed detection)
PoP
Venue HD/SD-SDI HD/SD-SDI ireless Tape/W
“The Scene”
News Studio
Studio
Figure 1. CN 4200 film and television post-production application
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A
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Application Note
Efficient Native Digital Video Transport for the Media and Entertainment Industries
Metro
Long-Haul
Metro
SD-SDI
SD-SDI
HD-SDI or SDTI
HD-SDI or SDTI
Venue
Studio TDM/DWDM
Switched TDM/DWDM or Packet
TDM/DWDM
Figure 2. Ciena 4200 broadcast television application
Ciena’s CN 4200—Uncompressed, Native Video Content Delivery
Motion Picture and Television Post-Production Applications
The CN 4200 is the only optical service delivery platform to transport native SD-SDI, HD-SDI and DVB-ASI video signals over standard fiber-optic networks with original signal quality. The CN 4200 HD Video Card delivers HD video in its raw, uncompressed format, over metro and regional distances with no bit errors, and boasts industry-leading jitter/wander/drift control for optimal video quality. In broadcast applications the HD Video Card is used to transport video from venue to studio, studio/live broadcast center to studio/live broadcast center, or studio/live broadcast center to a video head-end or satellite distribution point. In film and video post-production applications, the card is used to distribute content among video post-production teams.
Television and film studios rely on geographically dispersed teams to assemble and edit content. A team in one facility may specialize in dialogue editing; a team in a second location may add music tracks; and a group in a third city may generate visual effects. Efficiently disseminating HD video content across distributed teams is a difficult task. Conventional leased lines and router-based networks are ill-suited for HD video content. HD video files are too large to transport over copper leased-lines, and conventional router networks are incapable of streaming uncompressed HD video signals. Compression only leads to degraded video and audio quality. As a result, many studios distribute HD video content on tape—a costly, inefficient method.
The CN 4200 HD Video Card is designed for flexible, costeffective deployment. The card features universal video SFP transceivers that support multiple video types, formats, and rates to simplify product ordering, configuration, and sparing; supports automatic video speed detection to eliminate manual configuration mistakes and hassles; and uses convenient SFP push-on connectors for straightforward installation. Because the card supports native video signals, IT managers can keep pace easily with the latest video compression algorithms.
The CN 4200 allows producers to improve productivity by using dark fiber or managed optical wavelengths for realtime, HD video transport, as shown in Figure 1. With the CN 4200 producers can:
An extensible solution, the CN 4200 enables a variety of applications in a single platform. For example, a production services company can leverage the CN 4200 to transport HD and SD video plus Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and Fibre Channel connectivity—all over the same wavelength.
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Boost post-production team efficiency and output
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Improve location-to-studio collaboration (real-time
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Stream HD video in native, uncompressed, undisturbed format
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Accelerate content delivery and eliminate tapes, couriers, and manual processes
review of dailies) >
Part of an integrated, end-to-end optical product family, the CN 4200 can be deployed in conjunction with other Ciena platforms such as the CoreDirector® FS Multiservice Optical Switch, and leverage advanced switching and protection features to bring carrier-class service availability to privatelymanaged networks. In addition, Ciena’s ON-Center® Network and Service Management Suite provides unified management for the entire Ciena optical product portfolio.
Reduce post-production costs and delays
Broadcast Television Applications Forward-looking broadcasters seek more efficient and costeffective ways to transport live HD content. Conventional satellite services are expensive and fraught with limitations; satellite uplink/downlink delays can cause unnatural pauses and “talk-over” that impede live interviews; poor weather conditions can impair satellite feeds; and scheduling transponder time is inconvenient and inefficient.
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Efficient Native Digital Video Transport for the Media and Entertainment Industries
The CN 4200 enables broadcasters to improve service quality and availability by leveraging dark fiber or managed optical wavelengths for real-time, HD video transmission, as shown in Figure 2. With the CN 4200 producers can: >
Leverage optical networks for real-time HD video transport (news, sports, interviews, cameo feeds)
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Improve service quality (no uplink/downlink delays)
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Boost service reliability and availability (service not impacted by weather)
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Eliminate dependencies on outside service providers (turn-up
Conclusion The CN 4200 helps broadcasters and producers overcome HD content distribution challenges. Broadcasters can improve service quality, reliability, and cost by replacing satellite links with dark fiber or managed wavelengths. Producers can eliminate antiquated tape distribution methods and use optical networks to deliver original-quality content efficiently to dispersed post-production teams. The CN 4200 is the only optical service delivery platform capable of transporting HD video in uncompressed format over metro and regional distances with original signal integrity.
service on demand)
Specialists in practical network transition ... from complicated to automated.
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Ciena may from time to time make changes to the products or specifications contained herein without notice. © 2009 Ciena Corporation. All rights reserved. AN046 9.2009
