Harmonic (Hall1.B20) will demonstrate new software-defined video delivery that can be virtualised.
According to Peter Alexander, the company’s chief marketing officer, “all of the technologies and solutions we’ll be highlighting at IBC 2014 are designed to bring simplicity, flexibility, scalability, and efficiency to broadcasters, which is becoming increasingly important as video production and delivery get more and more complex”.
Harmonic claims its new Electra XVM integrated software package is the industry’s first software-based, fully converged, broadcast-ready media processing platform.
Integrating real-time encoding, high-quality branding and graphics, along with transport stream playout for broadcast and multiscreen services, it offers users function integration, increased operational flexibility and unlimited scalability.
Harmonic will demonstrate a real-time Ultra HD encoding and streaming workflow, powered by its HEVC-ready VOS platform. To display it, the company will demonstrate interoperability leading chipset vendors of 2160p50/60 HEVC Main 10 profile encoded Ultra HD streaming.
The ProMedia Origin stream packager/server, highlights simplified delivery of live, VOD and time-shift TV services to all screens.
With the 7.6 upgrade of its Spectrum Mediaserver, Harmonic now supports play-out and storage of 20 instead of 12 channels in a 2-RU enclosure. The small housing also contains up to 32TB of integrated SAS storage.
Enhancements to the Spectrum ChannelPort integrated channel playout system and Spectrum MediaDeck server system are said to improve caption support, monitoring and scheduling capabilities and integrated management tools.
This server and play-out system is geared to transmission, studio production, news and sports highlights and distributed broadcast workflows, that work with higher bit rate compressed video (files), supporting 20 video channels at 50 Mbps or 10 channels at 100 Mbps, with increased SAS storage of approximately 1,200 hours at 50 Mbps.
The MediaGrid shared storage system, allows for collaborative editing and 4K editing.
Harmonic is also introducing DSNG contribution encoders that offer support for both DVB-S2X, and DVB’s Carrier ID standards. The X extension to the DVB-S2 modulation standard allows for higher order modulation up to 64APSK from 32 APSK.
Meanwhile, the new Ellipse 3102 encoder and 3202 encoder/modulator are multiformat, multicodec encoders that support SD, HD, and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC.
They provide broadcasters with a solution that delivers the highest levels of workflow efficiency.
They also feature 3G SDI inputs to support the compression of 4:2:2 10-bit 1080p60 content for contribution applications where pristine video quality is essential.
The licence-based encoders offer a scalable migration path, bringing operational flexibility and business continuity to broadcasters. However there is no word yet about HEVC support for them.
Carrier ID is an anti-jamming measure. By providing an ID with an uplinked signal, unwanted signals can begin to be excluded.