SUPPLEMENT
ST-2022-6 VS I
t’s all very well proposing that we climb on board and take advantage of increasing port speeds, but understanding the industry standards is paramount when considering using IP to carry uncompressed video and audio. With ST-2022-6, just over 76 per cent of the original SD-SDI signal is active video. The rest is auxiliary data and TRS (Timing Reference Signals). ST-2110 removes TRS and its associated blanking to save bandwidth and uses PTP (Precision Timing Protocol) as the basis of timing. As IP is format agnostic, ST-2110 has the potential to deliver boundless opportunities - for example, video could be processed in the studio at the same time HDR metadata is processed in the public Cloud. ST-2110 also allows for more intelligent and economic use of bandwidth across a network. For example, there’s little point in having an audio console subscribe to multiple 1.5 Gbit/s HD video streams using SMPTE ST-2022-6 when all it needs are 2110-30 audio streams. For many customers, particularly those involved in production and live production, SMPTE ST-2110 offers clear benefits over ST-2022-6. However, not everybody is involved in production or live production and so for those customers, continuing to use SMPTE ST-2022-6 going forward may well prove preferable.
IV | TVBEUROPE MAY 2019
IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO TRANSITION? ● Your business relies on attracting and retaining subscribers as well as advertising revenue. In order to be competitive, you must continually provide content in the highest quality available, which means being able to provide the best services to your subscriber base, which in turn may mean being able to provide content in new formats such as UHD, HDR, WCG and Virtual Reality. An IP infrastructure supporting ST-2022-6 and/ or ST-2110 can provide this technical agility without requiring ‘fork-lift’ infrastructure changes. ● You’re a speciality sport broadcaster, who needs to add extra channel capacity for the duration of a major sporting event. Not having to permanently expand your existing physical infrastructure would be a huge advantage. Using IP and moving some services to the Cloud could prove to be the most cost-effective route here. ● A regional news broadcaster has typically upgraded their technology every 10 to 20 years. From SD to HD and now to the prospect of UHD, the costs involved in adopting an IP infrastructure could far outweigh the benefits. n