Video-over-IP transport has inherent QoS challenges. These challenges are becoming more prominent as the industry landscape rapidly evolves. Broadcasters and media companies are embracing networked production models and tapeless production to significantly reduce their operating expenses and streamline their automation processes. In addition, with a dramatic increase of Internet video traffic and new premium OTT services, very high-capacity media CDNs are emerging. This creates huge opportunities for telecom and media operators, but they need valid networks to capitalize on emerging media and video opportunities.
Opportunities exist in the entire transport network from production and contribution, distribution to delivery and include professional media contribution, tapeless production, cloud broadcasting services as well as premium CDN/OTT delivery networks. And it is not just live video, more and more non-linear data traffic, including video files stored in the IP infrastructure and huge file transport, turn the telecom and media networks into a more IT-based workflow environment. However, these huge data streams are extremely real-time sensitive and require a service aware media network with high-quality, low delay and at the same time reduce the complexity of managing network capacity.
The company will showcase the following new products to address the above important industry trends, issues, questions and opportunities at NAB 2012:
Launching a Nimbra 310 – Compact Access MSR
The Nimbra 310 is a compact one-box access media switch router for true multi-service transport of media and data services, targeting the increasing demands for transport of real-time sensitive media and data applications with guaranteed QoS.
Applications range from high-end video services such as studio production and contribution, to broadcast distribution in IPTV/ Cable TV or DTT/Mobile networks. Due to its attractive pricing it is well suited for use as a remote access for video contribution or in DVB-T/T2 distribution networks and fills a gap between simple video IP media converters and the higher end MSRs for aggregation/core use.
Improved Service-Centric Network Management with Preemption
Preemption in the Nimbra MSR network enables the operator to have complete control over which services can be preempted, and guarantees that the establishment of one video service does not affect existing video services. It will only affect services that the operator has explicitly configured as preemption candidates in the case of network congestion. The preemption functionality in Nimbra Vision caters for the dynamic capacity behavior in Nimbra MSR networks by allowing low priority services to be preempted to ensure the establishment of higher priority services, without affecting the QoS. Additionally, in IP or Ethernet networks without MSR capabilities, any service can preempt any other service of the same or lower priority making traffic engineering cumbersome.
Launching Hitless Switching - flexible alternative to service protection that ensures seamless user-experience
Building on the company’s comprehensive set of service protection alternatives, Net Insight will introduce Hitless 1+1 Protection Switching for both Ethernet and video services in the Nimbra MSR node. Within the service, two copies of the stream are diversely routed through the network to one destination node. In the case of a network failure, the destination Nimbra MSR switches over to the other path while retaining output frequency, phase and packet sequence. Hence, network failures are completely hidden from the end user of the service as well as any downstream equipment.
JPEG2000 Video Access Module with the highest port density and flexibility on the market
The company will demonstrate its JPEG2000 video access module, which supports compression or decompression of up to two 3G-SDI, four HD-SDI or eight SD-SDI channels on one single board. In addition to JPEG2000 compressed video, the module can uniquely run all uncompressed SDI and ASI video formats, ranging from 2 Mbps ASI to 3 Gbps 3G-SDI per port. A fully equipped Nimbra 688 unit can host up to 120 video ports that can be individually configured for compressed/uncompressed, video format, frame rate and direction, which makes it the most scalable and cost-efficient video transport solution on the market. Encoding is done frame-by-frame to ensure high quality and low latency and the unique synchronous Nimbra ensures 100 percent guaranteed QoS transport.
CDNs and OTT
The company will also address the opportunities for service providers related to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and Over-the-Top (OTT). This opportunity will grow as consumers continue to compliment broadcast TV with OTT services, which in turn will put pressure on service providers’ networks in which real-time 100 percent QoS is required. CDNs are a natural extension of the Net Insight Nimbra platform since it enhances QoS in media-rich networks. The Nimbra solution reduces the need to build out a network based on caching, which significantly reduces the cost for service providers. Content can be stored centrally in a CDN network to deliver the highest possible QoS and ultimately – Quality of Experience (QoE).
Remote Workflows
Net Insight is driving the trend toward remote workflow in production environments with transport solutions that deliver the required real-time, low latency content with 100 percent QoS. Remote workflow solutions significantly improve efficiency, cost savings and quality of both remote production environments and live event production. As a result, covering a larger number of live events is now possible and editing during the content production lifecycle is more efficient. In the fall of 2011 Net Insight, together with TeliaSonera International Carrier, demonstrated remote production of a sport event on a distance of 1500 km between Stockholm and Amsterdam.
Event Contribution
Furthermore, the Net Insight Nimbra platform has been used in large sporting event implementations such as: the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, the 16th Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou, the IAAF World Championships in Athletics 2011 in Korea, the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand and the FINA World Championships in July 2011 in China. Net Insight is also supporting broadcasts for the upcoming summer Olympics through its media operator customers.
Video Transport in the government sector
Net Insight delivers the Nimbra carrier-class media switch router (MSR) to support video transport to the U.S. Library of Congress. The Nimbra platform is used to transport video from the house and senate fiber ring location to the Library of Congress's National Audio Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC). Net Insight provides Nimbra equipment, installation, training support, and technical support to ensure continuity and compatibility with the existing equipment.
DTT
Net Insight has successfully forged industry trust for delivering DTT networks as it continues to win international orders for national DTT implementations lately from: Sri Lanka, Slovenia, Sweden, Cyprus, Poland, Argentina and Morocco. Net Insight has more than than 25 wins in Digital Terrestrial TV from all regions in the world. Net Insight has implemented the world’s first all-IP DVB-T2 network for the national media operator Teracom AB in Sweden.
Visit Net Insight at booth SU3919, to see the demos and speak with executives to learn more about what Net Insight is doing in this space.
About Net Insight
Net Insight delivers the world’s most efficient and scalable transport solution for Broadcast and IP Media, Digital Terrestrial TV, Mobile TV and IPTV/CATV networks.
Net Insight products truly deliver 100 per cent Quality of Service with three times improvement in utilization of bandwidth for a converged transport infrastructure. Net Insights Nimbra™ platform is the industry solution for video, voice and data, reducing operational costs by 50 per cent and enhancing competitiveness in delivery of existing and new media services.
More than 130 world class customers run mission critical video services over Net Insight products in over 50 countries. Net Insight is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm. For more information, visit www.netinsight.net