Media Links, manufacturer and pioneer in Media over IP transport technology, announces today that in partnership with Seiko Solutions Inc. and Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. they have successfully conducted a unique demonstration of IP transmission of the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting –Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard using Precision Time Protocol over a Single Frequency Network (SFN). ISDB-T is a Japanese standard for digital television used by the country’s television networks.
The three companies demonstrated the transmission of ISDB-T broadcast transport stream signals using PTP - Precision Time Protocol, a next-generation protocol for highly accurate time synchronization. Precision Time Protocol support enables the distribution of synchronous signals which are an absolute requirement for proper operation of Single Frequency Networks (SFN). SFN is a wireless network that broadcasts the same content on the same transmission frequency from multiple broadcasting stations. A Single Frequency Network is a means to extend the broadcasting coverage area without the use of additional frequencies.
A first demonstration of its kind in Japan using PTP master/slave synchronization, it was concluded that it results in the straightforward implementation of delivering content to the transmitting stations over an SFN network without major modifications of the SFN architecture. For uninterrupted broadcasting, especially in times of disasters, a more robust and resilient network is critical to distribute important public information. This technology implementation can be used for sending broadcast content over unstable paths including maritime/ocean transmission or long-distance low quality paths. Therefore, building a microwave base station is not required and this infrastructure can be implemented relatively quickly.
Work will continue toward the commercial realization of Single Frequency Networks (SFN) in Japan based on ISDB-T, IP and PTP.
The actual demonstration was carried out in two phases; a direct connection phase which verified the modulation/demodulation quality followed by a long distance transmission phase which confirmed the timing stability of the content.
Media Links’ MDP3020 SFN IP Media Gateway was used in the demonstration and is designed for IP distribution of digital television broadcasting signals. The MDP3020 uses the SMPTE 2022-2 standard for video signal distribution and supports Hitless Switching, enabling highly reliable IP transmission. Seiko Solutions provided the PTP equipment which is essential for very precise and accurate time synchronization, and Mainichi Broadcasting System operates the core terrestrial broadcasting network in Japan’s Kansai region.
