September 2014
www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEurope 15 Workfl ow
SDI is history as IP enters the space race
The promise of complete IP-based production is here, so for how long is it worth sticking with SDI, particularly if you want to broadcast UHD? Adrian Pennington reports
H
istorically, Internet Protocol (IP) has been pervasive in the broadcast world for non-realtime fi le transfers or end device streaming, but the demands of TV production seemed beyond its capabilities. However, increased bit rates for HD and UHD, the move towards commoditisation and technology change has put pressure on conventional interconnects such as SDI and HD-SDI. The technology is now there for broadcasters to build end-to-end transmission, production and distribution chains using IP technologies, extending virtualisation out of the data centre and into the fi eld.
While some argue that SDI – the serial digital interface – protects broadcast business investments and is a proven technology, others think it is an anchor that slows progress and keeps costs artifi cially high. So must SDI die? Is this a case of when, not if? And what will be the drivers and business cases? Those in favour of not throwing SDI out wholesale maintain that it is comparatively simple, well understood and secure. “Getting rid of SDI will mean completely redefi ning the whole value chain of the media industry,” says Bruce Devlin, CTO AmberFin (part of Dalet). “At almost every point in the chain where we have to be realtime, you’ll still fi nd SDI.”
UHD was trialled over DTT and IP from Brazil and Glasgow sports events by the BBC
Sony has stated its intent to add IP connectivity to its production products
While SDI has already been eliminated for most offl ine, batch-based workfl ows and non-linear editing, in live television SDI is still going strong. There’s also a security issue: media as data is arguably more prone to hacking. In a big IT infrastructure, you may not know that data is being copied illicitly until it is too late. Consequently, Devlin feels the decision to
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