Ateme, a provider of video compression and delivery solutions, and Austrian broadcast service provider ORS Group have joined forces for the world’s first trial of an IP-based StatMux over 5G Broadcast, increasing 5G Broadcast capacity for live streaming services.
The trial leverages Ateme’s NextGen StatMux technology, which is designed to work with the latest broadcast standards from 3GPP, DVB and ATSC, transitioning from a traditional to an IP-based transport stream environment. ORS Group integrated this solution into its 5G Broadcast Nakolos platform in Vienna, achieving the transmission and reception of a multiplex of five services.
As 5G Broadcast gains traction for enabling linear television on mobile devices, broadcasters face the challenge of efficiently utilising frequency bands of limited width, such as the UHF channels allocated for terrestrial television (6, 7, or 8 MHz). By focusing on small screens rather than home TVs, broadcasters can deliver multiple services within the same band while maintaining high video quality.
Statistical multiplexing remains crucial in this context, offering up to 20% efficiency gains over existing solutions, which allows the delivery of an additional service within the same 5G Broadcast band, according to Ateme and ORS, adding that this enables broadcast operators to offer a broader range of services with an optimal quality of experience.
“The trial successfully showcased the gains it would bring to this emerging market, after an exceptionally smooth integration in ORS 5G Broadcast environment. We are thrilled to collaborate with ORS Group, pioneer of 5G Broadcast, for the integration and maturation of our 5G Broadcast solutions,” said Julien Mandel, Senior Solution Marketing Director at Ateme.
Dr Johann Mika, Chief Innovation Officer of ORS Group, added: “The world’s first test of statistical multiplexing in our operational 5G Broadcast environment in Vienna has shown that spectrum efficiency can be further increased when using 5G Broadcast. This will also contribute to strengthening the future business model of broadcast network operators operating 5G Broadcast. We are excited to continue testing and developing this innovative solution for 5G Broadcast together with Ateme.”
