The biggest live sports events in history have been transmitted over multi-service media networks equipped with Net Insight's Nimbra systems. The platform handles uncompressed HD camera feeds as well as datacom connectivity between the venues and the broadcast centers. The Nimbra platform’s efficiency and reliability make it ideal for contribution applications in live sports.
Market
The introduction of HD into the mix has vastly increased the amount of content that must be transported in live sports. Each uncompressed camera feed consumes at least 1.5 Gbps (720p or 1080i feeds) or as much as 3 Gbps (1080p feeds). When the network capacity is limited JPEG2000 (J2K) compression offers good quality for live events still with a low delay. There is an increasing demand for dedicated feeds to highlight specific locations at major events. There is also a need for ever more datacom traffic between the venues and the broadcast centers. It all adds up to hundreds of Gigabits per second that your transport infrastructure has to support.
Challenges
The major challenges for contribution of Live Events are:
- The handling of a large amount of uncompressed HD or J2K compressed HD feeds in combination with a large amount of datacom connections.
- 100 % reliability. There are no second takes in live events.
- Management and monitoring of the large amount of connections
- Efficient utilization of network resources for nationwide events. The feeds for your live event must coexist in the same infrastructure with your normal video and data traffic.
Net Insight offering
The Nimbra MSR solution offers high-density media network equipment with 8-port HD-SDI/3G-SDI/J2K modules and 8-port Gigabit Ethernet modules. Our Nimbra MSR 600 series chassis which can host up to 16 of these modules. The Nimbra 600 series also offers 4-port STM-16 (2.5 Gbps), 1-port STM-64 (10 Gbps) and 2-port 10 GE ports to connect to dark fiber, WDM or SDH connections for maximum flexibility. Also to connect to public network the 6-port 10/100/1000 Base-X module with its specific error recovery mechanism offers unique possibilities to connect to public network for long distance connections.
You can manage the Nimbra 600 series with NimbraVision software. This offers a complete overview of the installation. It generates alarms on faults and on signal degeneration. Set up and configuration is highly automated. You can make last minute changes easily without adding risk to the production.
Key benefits
The major benefits of the Nimbra platform for live events are:
- High density equipment with support for uncompressed HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, J2K, GE connections in the same chassi.
- Dark fiber, WDM and SDH connections for maximum flexibility.
- Public network connections using 10/100/1000 Base-X and 10 GE.
- Media specialized network management system for central and easy monitoring, configuration and provisioning.