AVIWEST, a global provider of video contribution systems, today announced that it will host an IBC virtual event, IBC Digital Week, for video professionals, who will get a first look at the company's brand-new products and innovative solutions such as 5G mobile transmitters, video contribution encoders, and an all-in-one package for live streaming. IBC Digital Week will take place from Sept. 11 to Sept. 16. Throughout the four-day event, attendees will be able to participate in online demonstrations, live and interactive webinar sessions, one-on-one meetings, and exchange ideas with the company's technical team.

A team of ten world-leading broadcasters, collaborating as part of IBC’s Accelerator Innovation Programme, today revealed plans for a ‘proof of concept’ demonstration of a series of 5G-enabled remote broadcast production use cases, live from Amsterdam on Thursday, September 10th, 16.00pm BST/ 17.00pm CET.

Nevion, award-winning provider of virtualized media production solutions, announced today that it is involved in the External Stakeholder Board (ESB) of the EU-funded 5G-VINNI (“5G Verticals INNovation Infrastructure”)initiative headed by Norwegian telecom service provider Telenor. Working together with project member British Telecom (BT), the UK-based telecom service provider, Nevion is helping evaluate the performance of 5G (the Fifth Generation of Cellular Network Technology) for use in agile media production for broadcasting.

PHABRIX, a worldwide leader in test and measurement instruments, is pleased to announce that its newest innovation, the QxL 25G IP rasterizer, is now shipping. Launched in April 2020, the QxL is the world’s most flexible UHD-25G rasterizer, created to address the needs of professional broadcast media IP networks in a compact form factor.

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that it will partner with SES for technology upgrades associated with the SES transition plan filed with the Federal Communications Commission on June 19, 2020. SES and Harmonic will work together to fast-track this deployment, freeing up spectrum for 5G while simultaneously enabling SES's C-band customers to maintain the quality and resilience of their critical video services. This network transformation is based on Harmonic's powerful software solutions for satellite video delivery.

Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global leader providing OTT and TV platforms, content protection, and advanced data solutions, announced today that its secure video player, validated by studios for multi-device content protection, supports the delivery of virtual reality (VR) and 8K video over 5G networks. The player offers seamless integration with third-party systems to enable flawless 360-degree video experiences, from the point of capture to distribution. It has been successfully deployed by PCCW Media, a leading, fully integrated multimedia and entertainment company headquartered in Hong Kong, for its new VR content.

According to a recent global survey of broadcasters, 82% believe that cellular networks like 5G will eventually replace traditional broadcast distribution like DTT/DTV and satellite as the preferred way to access TV content, with over a third (37%) of these respondents expecting this to begin happening within 1 to 2 years.

The survey, conducted on behalf of Nevion, the architects of virtualized media production, discovered that 10% still anticipate that it will take more than three years for 5G to overtake traditional services but the vast majority (94%) of broadcasters agree that 5G will likely increase the consumption of content.

The participants of 5G-Virtuosa, the EU-funded project exploring 5G and virtualization in broadcast production, announced today that the first technical step of the initiative has been completed at Nevion’s Service Operations Center (SOC) in Gdansk, Poland. The step involves the integration of multiple products from various vendors, with most of the work done remotely because of the COVID-19 situation.

The purpose of the EU project VIRTUOSA is to explore “Scalable Software Defined Network Architectures for Cooperative Live Media Production exploiting Virtualized Production Resources and 5G Wireless Acquisition”. In practical terms, this means demonstrating through real-life examples how 5G can be combined with virtualization concepts to enable broadcasters to produce live content (such as sports or music coverage) more efficiently and cost-effectively across locations, to meet growing consumer demand.

A global poll of broadcasters conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Nevion, the architects of virtualized media production, has found that over a third (39%) of respondents expect their organization will be ready to adopt 5G within a year, while a further 53% believe they will be able to do so within the following year.

Broadpeak®, a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, today announced its 5G video work with MobiledgeX, Inc., a Deutsche Telekom-founded company making the edge widely available and easier to access. Broadpeak has deployed its virtual BroadCache Box local caching technology for mobile networks via the MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud platform that aggregates more than a dozen global mobile networks to expose one common interface to developers. As part of MobiledgeX's early access program, Broadpeak has successfully tested its virtual BroadCache Box applications on MobiledgeX's federation of edge networks, demonstrating the ability to reduce video delivery costs and improve QoE for mobile video delivered over 5G networks.

When video content is streamed from a location closer to end users, latency and network congestion are reduced, resulting in higher video bit rates, faster start times, and uninterrupted viewing sessions. By using Broadpeak's virtual BroadCache Box, content providers can significantly boost subscriber QoE for video delivered over next-gen mobile networks. This supports engagements with an expanding crop of OTT players eager to reach subscribers anywhere.

LiveU today unveiled its all-in-one production-level field unit for live news and sports coverage. The LU800 combines multi-camera production and superior video and audio capabilities with mission-critical transmission in a native 5G unit. Designed from the ground up to unlock 5G potential, the unit offers unparalleled quality of service and resiliency.

The LU800 supports up to four fully frame-synced feeds in high resolution from a single unit, using powerful IP bonding of up to 14 connections. The unit also offers the highest-quality video performance, with up to 4Kp60 10-bit HDR transmission for optimal color depth and richness, as well as up to 16 audio channels for high-end productions.

TVU Networks, a technology and market leader in IP and cloud based live video solutions, today announced that its flagship TVU One cellular mobile transmitter is now shipping with an integrated 5G modem. TVU has partnered with major commercial network carriers including South Korea based KT Corp and modem module manufacturers such as Canada based Sierra Wireless in identifying 5G modems for its TVU One HEVC/H.265 1080p HDR and 4K HDR models. In addition, the TVU One operating with 5G modems was fully stress tested under various use conditions in locations such as China and Korea during development.

"We are fortunate to be working with the very est partners in developing embedded 5G modems for our TVU One to bring to the industry. From the very beginning, our transmitters were engineered to support 5G, and we’re excited to be able to offer full cellular broadcast transmission capabilities on 5G networks with our flagship TVU One today,” said Matt McEwen, VP of Product Management, TVU Networks. “Despite the challenging circumstances we are all facing, our focus continues to be on supporting our customers and the larger community with business continuity initiatives and our announcement today is an example of that commitment.”

LiveU technology has been selected by NTT DOCOMO, INC. for live video streaming as part of its value-added customer services offered over its newly-launched 5G network. Japan’s number one mobile operator will be promoting a variety of LiveU’s HEVC bonding transmission products in a combined bundle using DOCOMO’s 5G and 4G connectivity. The solution offers high-quality and reliable low delay video streaming for broadcasters, sports productions, enterprise, government and other organizations.

LiveU was chosen as its streaming provider after DOCOMO conducted extensive 5G tests to verify the real-world impact of the next-gen network on live 4K broadcasts. Leveraging DOCOMO’s 5G network, LiveU HEVC bonded technology was proven to deliver super high data rate communications, lower latency and higher capacity.

SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System), a leading national South Korean television and radio network, turned to LiveU’s integrated 5G technology for its live election day coverage in South Korea last week, utilizing the advantages of KT’s (Korea Telecom’s) premium live broadcasting solution with its 5G network. SBS chose LiveU for its field-proven video transmission quality and reliability, provided by its core HEVC hardware encoding.

SBS deployed LiveU’s 5G-integrated high-end LU600 HEVC units in the most congested areas, representing the first broadcaster to leverage KT’s 5G-Premium QoS solution. Live streaming provided by the MNG (mobile newsgathering) units reached the highest performance levels. SBS was able to secure the new network path, guaranteeing fast and reliable connection without any interruptions. In other congested areas, SBS used LiveU’s compact LU300 HEVC units together with the LiveU Xtender integrated antenna solution to maximize the network capture, ensuring high-quality streams.

Following the International Skating Union (ISU)’s postponement of the 2020 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in South Korea, the China Short Track Speed Skating team decided to go ahead and organize a ‘Simulation Game of the ISU Championships’ in Beijing. Tencent Sports, the main broadcaster responsible for the live production and public broadcast, turned to LiveU to implement a remote production solution, deploying only the necessary equipment on site, including the cameras and wireless transmission units. All the rest, including production, contribution and distribution, was handled by Tencent personnel back in the studio in Tencent’s technical center.

This was challenging work within the strict limitations of the COVID-19 outbreak. The event organizer closed the stadium, didn’t allow an audience to minimize the risk of people gathering in one place, and limited the number of essential staff onsite. Tencent Sports used four LiveU LU600 HEVC bonding units, which provided solid high-quality live video streams with low delay. All the streaming came to a single high-density LiveU server, with the same delay, optimizing LiveU’s Precision Timing™ in its at-home production solution. With support from China Unicom, 5G signal was also available in the field – all the LiveU units combined both 4G and 5G connectivity to ensure optimal streaming conditions.