inside track ian hudson
The move to digital transmission has
introduced new levels of complexity
when it comes to ancillary data
transmission. Ian Hudson - CEO of
MicroVideo - reports.
Data management
M
any of us have lived management facilities, often providing data streams within the encompassing
through the transition management on a worldwide scale. programme or transport stream. When
from analogue to Now there is the opportunity to encoded to an ASI stream the VBI data
serial digital within manage data insertion centrally or is separated from video signal and
the broadcast chain locally - at cable headends for sent out as separate data packets in
and more recently example - or pretty much any what is termed the vertical ancillary
from analogue to digital transmission; combination of the two. Although data space or VANC. Data can also be
the latter coinciding, in part, with the there are many cost benefits to this, inserted into the ASI stream (into the
take up of HD. Of course the move to
Above: Ian Hudson,
CEO of MicroVideo.
the increased complexity has, for VANC) with the relevant timing
digital transmission provides Below: the some time, needed careful information added to the header to
opportunities for broadcasters but has
MicroVideo card.
consideration. This is particularly true ensure accuracy of, for instance,
also introduced new levels of in the case of data management; data switching of equipment or display of
complexity when it comes to ancillary inserted must be in a format and subtitles. This is especially useful
data transmission. Thus far, while position where not only the customer, where one particular point in the
custom solutions provided by experts but the customer’s customer can find chain receives and transmits
like ourselves have clearly worked, and use it. The transmission chain can programmes in an MPEG form,
they have not necessarily been either now be so multi-stranded that this has negating the need to decode and re-
technologically elegant or truly cost- been no easy task. encode in order to insert data.
effective. This situation is further complicated What the situations described above
Throughout these moves from by transmission in multiple standards. - and there are some lesser issues too
analogue to digital there has always The majority of broadcasters are - have resulted in is a huge raft of
been the need to control remote looking to HD but many countries still one-box solutions for each data type,
equipment - be it a set-top box in require SD. The industry as a whole is proprietary in nature, that mean only
viewers’ homes or a remote server at moving to digital transmission but expense and design headaches for
a playout centre - to provide there is still plenty of analogue engineers.
information such as teletext or transmission to be found, and of MicroVideo has, for the past 20
subtitles to the end user, to add course you can now have the added years, been at the forefront of data
metadata, idents or cues to the
broadcast or insert timecode, AFDs,
By developing
headache of mobile and IPTV to insertion, decoding and manipulation
parental controls or proprietary data.
a unique
consider. All parties involved in and has worked with broadcasters and
making, managing, uplinking or service providers around the world. Its
There was a somewhat bizarre belief
one-card transmitting need data: data to new HDB 300 series is a complete
in some quarters that, with the
hardware
control, inform, synchronise and much platform designed as an
advent of HD and digital transmission,
platform,
more. There is therefore a need to HD/SD/DVB/ASI-compatible, multi-
much of this data would no longer be
required. For those of us in the real
costs are
insert, decode, move and convert data function inserter, decoder and bridge
world, not only are most traditional
lowered and
between formats to enable each user that allows data to be inserted, read,
within the chain to make use of that manipulated or converted as required.
formats still often required, but more
unnecessary
data. By developing a unique one-card
data is being transmitted. Not only is complexities There is also the added hardware platform, costs are lowered
more data being transmitted, the
eradicated in
complication, or should that be and unnecessary complexities
transmission chain has become
one stroke.
opportunity, of DVB or ASI insertion. eradicated in one stroke. It simply
significantly more complex in terms Digital transmissions do not carry VBI - doesn’t matter where or what you
of the opportunities it provides to the method via which data is carried insert, MicroVideo’s platform can
insert data at multiple points. at the outset of SD or HD programme handle all of the above allowing
Much of this coincides with the creation - instead the data is broadcasters to insert, read and
continuing rise of larger content separated and carried as individual manage data anywhere in the chain.
18 l ibe l January/February 2009 l www.ibeweb.com
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