Integrated Microwave Technologies (IMT) and Dejero uncovered a joint technology and product partnership at the 2013 NAB Show. The resulting product, the Dejero + Nucomm Connect Live transmitter, is a camera-mounted bonded cellular and microwave system for electronic newsgathering (ENG). The Connect Live transmitter is a combination of IMT’s coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM) technology and Dejero’s adaptive bitrate cellular bonding technologies and portal management system. The Dejero + Nucomm Connect Live transmitter is manufactured by IMT. “Our effort is basically on the hardware,” said IMT vice president of operations Todd Hansen (pictured left). “There are eight antennas designed into the housing for bonded cellular, four different cellular providers, four modems. In addition to that we’ve added a COFDM microwave link as a backup.” Connect Live is powered by Dejero’s LIVE+ Core Software. “What we brought to this partnership was our bonding technology that bonds all those modems,” said Todd Schneider, COO, Dejero (pictured right). “We can put up to four LTE modems in there. As well there are Ethernet connections on the product, which we can bond. There’s also built-in WiFi, so we can bond all those connections together and use them all at the same time.” For day-to-day news coverage, users can employ the bonded 3G/4G links to transport live HD video back to the station. The transmitter features adaptive bitrate and bonding technologies to compensate for changing network conditions by adjusting frame rate, resolution, encoding rates, and streaming parameters. This enables the system to bond up to four cellular 3G or 4G LTE networks, as well as any combination of WiFi, Ethernet or Ka-band satellite to provide maximum throughput for video transmissions. The Connect Live device has a boot-up time of less than 30 seconds. Through Dejero’s Intelligent Connection Management, the Connect Live transmitter automatically manages the dataflow across each connection to realise the desired latency while maintaining a high-quality picture. At start-up, the Connect Live transmitter will auto-convert the signal from HD to SD depending on network conditions. Initiating a transmission is as simple as attaching the Connect Live device and power supply to the camera, selecting the desired latency and video quality, and pressing the Start button. Depending on the operator’s specific needs in the field, latency versus video quality can be quickly tuned between interview, balanced, and high quality preset modes via the Connect Live five-inch, high-resolution touch-LCD display. In COFDM mode, the unit covers the entire BAS 2GHz band. Additionally, the unit is available for the 5.8-GHz non-licensed band. IMT has outfitted the Connect Live hardware with an RJ45 Ethernet connector, allowing it to be configured to stream video over VSAT terminals. Back in the studio, the Dejero LIVE+ Broadcast Server receives and decodes the transmissions and outputs realtime genlocked video from the Connect Live transmitter. The LIVE+ Portal provides realtime statistics, monitoring, and switching capabilities in the cloud. www.dejero.comwww.imt-broadcast.com
