Automation will help shape the future of SMPTE ST 2110 broadcast environments, according to the expert panel who spoke as part of TVBEurope’s webinar on simplifying IP deployment.
The webinar focused on a number of areas, including the benefits of automation, overcoming the skills gap when moving from SDI to IP, and the use of HDR in live productions.
As part of the discussion on automation, James Rivers, senior solutions engineer at Imagine Communications, discussed how 2110 infrastructure can easily fit into the EBU’s Media Exchange Network. “I think it’s a no-brainer to have automation and programmatic implementation of the customer’s infrastructure going forward,” added Rivers.
“It’s no longer a case of buying x number of boxes, and they’re always running 24/7. Going forward, you’ll be able to spin up, spin down elements of your system, and 2110 plays very nicely into that.”
Shifting to an IP fabric also enables broadcasters to have multiple studios connected to multiple control rooms, compared to an SDI router’s capacity to connect just one studio to one control room.
“There are benefits from an organisation and budget standpoint, being able to share the studios, share the equipment. A lot of that requires automation, especially if you were going to share a studio and share a control room between multiple productions, that turnover time becomes significant,” added John Mailhot, SVP, product management at Imagine Communications.
“The idea of throwing and catching whole productions between different rooms is a goal that many people hope for,” he added.
Sky Italia’s move to a 2110 network
Luciano Consigli, head of production engineering at Sky Italia, agreed with Mailhot’s point, adding that automation and the sharing of resources have been key to the thinking behind the broadcaster’s move to a 2110 network.
Sky Italia began its transition to SMPTE ST 2110 by first creating an island and is now starting to move all its infrastructure to IP. “We are [aiming to complete] the installation of the IP routing infrastructure in six months. It’s quite quick,” he explained.
“We are operating 24/7, so we are still live. We don’t have any possibility to stop our operations. So the idea is to move one studio, one gallery, every month and complete the migration within ten months. Six months is to install the core and ten months to complete the gallery integration. Two of the galleries will be fully IP from scratch.”
The skills gap
The panel also discussed the issue of the skills gap when a broadcaster chooses to make the move to a 2110 network.
Gerard Phillips, technical lead systems engineering at Arista Networks, offered a warning to broadcasters. “Too often, I see an SDI replacement, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s an SDI replacement with an IP core, which nobody understands, and that doesn’t work.
“I know it’s more complicated and maybe it costs more money at certain scales. It takes a while to get there, but goodness me, there’s incredible business value at the end of it,” he added.
According to Steve Hope, project manager for Megahertz, Sky Italia is a perfect example of how a broadcaster should consider adopting a 2110 network. “I would probably start by building an IP island.
“Build 2110 islands, because if you correctly implement that, it can be a really good approach, where good offline time is given to allow workflow and staff development without interfering with live systems straight away.”
The full webinar is available to watch here.
