Broadcasting

Managing the migration to digitised workflows

Broadcasting is moving away from analogue workflows based on videotapes, to digital file-based workflows supported by IT solutions. While this offers considerable opportunity to increase operational efficiency and reduce cost, it also raises some significant IT and administrative issues, such as how you manage the transition to new infrastructure and how you work with new file-based systems.

Managing the migration to high-definition services

The migration from standard- to high-definition television is driven by the demand for high-quality content. This naturally increases the technical demands on your underlying infrastructure. Video and audio signals, whether compressed or uncompressed, are very sensitive to jitter, delay and data loss. Furthermore, high-definition services dramatically increase the number of signals you are required to send, as well as the amount of bandwidth required for each signal.

Consolidating infrastructure while maintaining quality

Broadcasters now require multi-service networks that support standard voice and data services, as well as media contribution and distribution. In the past, this requirement has been satisfied in an inefficient manner, utilising multiple infrastructures, each with its own separate support system. Consolidating all services onto one platform can greatly enhance financial and operational efficiencies.
 

Increasing quality while reducing costs

The proliferation of HD video has created the impression that fibre networks are the most efficient means of  delivering high-quality video content from producer to viewer. However, the need for ubiquitous delivery of content is increasing the demand for point-to-multipoint networks based on the simplest physical connectivity. Ethernet networks offer an ideal medium for cost-efficient delivery of high quality video transmission from one location to another - or to several others simultaneously.

Multiplied distribution, simplified delivery

We enable broadcasters to simplify the contribution and distribution elements of the broadcast network, facilitating the transfer of multiple file formats, across multiple geographies and platforms, to numerous end-user devices..

Offering real choice in a niche market segment

Colt offers real choice in a specialised market segment by providing:

• a combination of off-the-shelf products, complemented by bespoke solutions, matched to and designed for exact user requirements
• multiple broadcast formats and IT protocols integrated over a single link
• support of native industry interfaces including ASI, SD / HD-SDI
• uni- and bi-directional streams
• uncompressed or compressed feeds
• high quality compression based on JPEG2000
• highly secure and resilient architecture over a range of topology and connectivity options
• low latency, low jitter connectivity - ideal for real-time HD and SD transmission across Europe and beyond
• more media PoPs on our network than any other provider
• enhanced with BT and Hibernia interconnects offering unrivalled global one stop shop
• Highly scalable set of managed IT services supporting on demand compute and storage solution

Colt broadcast media solutions deliver benefits that run through your entire enterprise and beyond, extending to the ways in which you collaborate with partners and deliver content to end-users. The details of these benefits can be elaborated under the following headings:

• Reliability
• Quality
• Security
• Simplicity
• Value

Reliability

The reliability of the solutions we build for you is a fundamental attribute of our network architecture. Our new range of broadcast media solutions is delivered over Ethernet infrastructure, which is both highly dependable and simple to deploy, even in networks that stretch across international boundaries. In addition, we have chosen JPEG 2000 as the image compression standard and coding system for our broadcast media solutions. The combination of this codec and our marketing leading Ethernet network platform provides the perfect combination of flexibility and reliability to cater for even the most demanding broadcast requirement.

Finally, our Service Level Agreements (SLAs) provide an added level of assurance, delivering the optimum level of service across your network and applications.

Quality

Quality of video transmission is of paramount concern in broadcasting, and the trend towards HD services is increasing the demands on quality. However, ensuring the highest quality of video transmission involves consideration of numerous underlying factors.

Speed: speed of transmission is inextricably linked to the quality of the content delivered. This is because speed dictates whether latency and jitter degrade your transmission. At Colt, we have tested our network between major European cities, achieving the lowest latencies in the market on a number of routes. To put this in perspective, we can provide latencies of below 50 milliseconds, even though the minimum accepted industry standard is between 100 and 400 milliseconds, depending on the class requirement.

Latency & jitter: latency and jitter are the important performance measures for video broadcasting because a smooth, high-quality transmission depends on an uninterrupted flow of messages. If delays occur or packets are lost during transmission, it will severely impact the delivery of video content. Resulting picture pauses result in a poor experience for your customers. Colt can ensure the low latency, low jitter transmission across Europe over our layer 2 Ethernet platform.

Security

Security is a challenge for all business users of wide area networks, but even more so for media businesses. Much of the danger lies in public IP networks, where packets of data, holding your precious media content, are open to  some risk.

Colt broadcast media solutions, which are provided over a private Ethernet network; remove a number of the pitfalls of public IP networks.

Simplicity

It no longer makes sense for you to run separate networks to handle your voice and data communications requirements, and media contribution and distribution needs. You need one network than can support everything.  Consolidation gives you simplified network infrastructure as well as greatly enhanced financial and operational efficiencies.

Colt's Ethernet platform offers just that, allowing you to deploy one network that caters for all of your needs..

Value

The cost of distribution is a key driver both for the development of rich multimedia content and its extremely diverse consumption by end-users. Developers are increasingly seeking to maximise return on investment by distributing the same content in  different formats to  different delivery channels, e.g. broadcast TV, online portals, gaming zones and other universal devices.

Our Ethernet-based solutions provide you with the most valuable fulfilment of your diverse broadcast needs, Ethernet being a common technological factor across producers and recipients.