5G Virtuosa, the EU-funded project exploring 5G and virtualisation in broadcast production, has successfully completed a trial live TV production, including signals from five different locations in Germany and Great Britain.
The third and final phase of the project saw a TV studio set up temporarily in Media Broadcast’s 5G technology centre in Nauen near Berlin.
It received signals from ARD-Sternpunkt in Frankfurt, SWR in Stuttgart and WDR in Cologne, which were sent back via a connection between ARD HYBNET III and the Media Broadcast backbone.
In addition, live images were shot outside Nauen using Sony cameras with a 5G modem and transmitted to the TV studio using Media Broadcast’s local campus network via 5G Blue Box.
A comparable setup was also created at Nevion’s HQ in Ipswich, where the live images were sent via SRT over the internet to Media Broadcast’s 5G technology centre in Nauen.
The project also integrated Bundesliga host broadcaster Sportcast GmBH, to evaluate the technology from a production perspective.
“The cooperation with the three companies involved in 5G-Virtuosain the final phase of the project was extremely valuable for us in terms of the development of application-oriented production and transmission solutions,” said Daniel Wolbers, project manager 5G campus networks at Media Broadcast.
“We are particularly pleased that as part of the final tests in our 5G technology centre, experienced broadcasters, such as Sportcast GmbH in this case, gained insights into the new production possibilities and contributed their expertise in relation to sport.”
Andy Rayner, chief technologist at Nevion, added: “Media Broadcast has made a very valuable contribution to the EU Horizon 2020 5G-Virtuosa project. They have provided a test environment that has been instrumental in helping the project characterise and evaluate the performance of 5G elements and the media services carried on that infrastructure.
“The 5G-Virtuosa project has successfully demonstrated and identified the significant potential of 5G technology to enhance future live media production.”
