Claiming to be the first 5G bonding solution designed for sports transmissions and linear channel failover, the OBE 5G Flyaway from Open Broadcast Systems aims to enable sports broadcasters to deliver fibre and satellite picture quality over cellular networks as standard Constant Bitrate MPEG Transport Streams.
Built in collaboration with Zixi and launching at NAB 2024, when paired with Open Broadcast System’s OBE C-100/C-200 encoders the Flyaway can be used to deliver 10-bit 4:2:2 video and audio tracks in exactly the same way as over fibre and satellite. These feeds can then be delivered to existing IRDs via protocols such as Zixi and SRT without the need for vendor-specific equipment. In addition, satellite systems such as Starlink and OneWeb can be used to aid connectivity in remote regions.
The external weatherproof 5G directional routers can be placed up to 100m away to deliver connectivity for those sports broadcasters in areas of poor connectivity, as well as allowing the use of distant cell towers, keeping traffic separate from spectators. This is achieved using a single Ethernet cable, meaning existing cabling can be repurposed without any reduction in signal quality. The 5G Flyaway can also be used as a failover backup for linear channel delivery with critical features such as Closed Captions, SCTE-35 and Teletext all available as normal.
The company says the 5G bonding workflow is already in use for weekly sports transmissions as a replacement to satellite and fibre.
