Sky Italia has migrated its Rome operations centre to SMPTE ST 2110 video infrastructure with NMOS integration and JPEG XS compression based on Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) and Magellan Control System.
The broadcaster is also leveraging Imagine’s technology to connect the Rome facility with its headquarters in Milan.
As part of a technology refresh, the pay-TV operator chose to deploy a turnkey, open-standard solution that supports uncompressed IP video and audio signal routing within the facility; JPEG XS compression for high-quality, low-latency inter-facility connectivity; and NMOS-based orchestration of all networked connected devices.
At the core of the new system, Imagine’s SNP serves as an IP gateway, a signal converter and a JPEG XS encoder/decoder, enabling ultra-low-latency, production-quality signal transfer from Milan to Rome and vice versa, said the company.
A Calrec audio router featuring native ST 2110 connectivity has been integrated into the system to handle audio shuffling and mux/demux of the high number of audio tracks within the video streams. The routing infrastructure leverages an Arista spine-leaf architecture, with uplink to central cores.
Quality of service is guaranteed via the bandwidth management API supported by Imagine’s Magellan Control System, which provides orchestration of multiple streams and control of ST 2110 devices across the network through NMOS.
“Migrating to a modern, IP-based infrastructure as part of a planned facility refresh was a forward-looking but practical decision that has delivered multiple, immediate benefits,” said Gabriele Ubertini, director of group origination and distribution platform, Sky. “The flexibility of the 2110 standard and NMOS protocol inherent in the Imagine platforms enabled the fast, easy deployment of a best-in-class, seamlessly integrated system that has improved our operational efficiencies and will enable us to easily scale as our business requirements evolve in the future.”