By James Careless

In the past, broadcasters only had to worry about transmitting one-way video signals via satellite. to compete in today’s fast-paced information universe, however, broadcasters must be able to integrate video and data into coherent transmission streams for global and simultaneous delivery, and do so in ways that are both efficient and cost effective. And as if that was not enough, the broadcast arena is expanding beyond the traditional home television set, opening up new revenue opportunities in other markets.

Fortunately, such solutions are in the marketplace for assisting global broadcasters with their operations. Gone are the days of simple transmissions. Now, content managers are in need of products and services that can handle higher bandwidth material, automate its dissemination to as many locations as needed, and streamline the broadcast scheduling of hourly, daily and weekly programming. Through software products and various turnkey solutions, today’s broadcasters have access to tools that not only ease the integration and delivery of combined video/data streams, but also save money through intelligent bandwidth scheduling, signal encoding/decoding and transmission resource management.

The Video/Data Transmission Problems

In creating multimedia transmission products for broadcasters, satellite solution vendors had to confront and resolve a number of problems. The one that tops the list is the combining of video and data information into a single transmission feed. By converting digital video into Internet Protocol-based (IP) information, allowing it to be seamlessly transmitted alongside IP-based data, is now turning this obstacle into a competitive solution.

Another issue facing broadcasters is satellite signal latency. Though nothing new, this problem is magnified when Internet-standard TCP/IP data is thrown into the content mix. Being a computer network-based protocol, TCP translates signal delays as proof that the network connection is congested. Even though it is not congested, the nature of TCP/IP transmission means that the data feed does not fill the available bandwidth.

To solve the problem of signal latency, companies such as Mentat Inc. have developed solutions to handle transmission delays. Mentat’s SkyX Gateway is a product that sits between an incoming TCP/IP connection and a satellite router. When IP data comes into the SkyX Gateway, the unit converts it to the Xpress Transport Protocol (XTP); an alternative IP data protocol that travels easily across satellites. At the receiving end, another SkyX Gateway terminal converts the XTP data back into TCP/IP, sending it down into the host network just as if nothing had happened.

"[Our] software also compresses the incoming data, so that it requires less bandwidth," says DC Palter, Mentat’s vice president of sales and marketing. "We refer to this process as ‘Winzip on the fly’. At the receiving end, the data is decompressed before being decoded from XTP into IP. The result is faster, more reliable data transmission via satellite, all in a manner that is invisible to the actual users."

One of Mentat’s SkyX customers is NBC News. In 2003, NBC News incorporated the company’s product in its news bureaus in Baghdad, Kuwait City, Qatar, Jordan and Tel Aviv. This Middle Eastern network was then connected back to NBC’s New York headquarters via the Telstar 12 satellite. With this network in place, NBC News now had a high-speed two-way path for transferring video, audio, voice and data files. It is a system that remains in use today.

"We needed to turn our satellite network into a seamless, reliable data pipe and the SkyX Gateway was able to do that for us," says Stacy Brady, vice president of network news field operations for NBC News. "Once the SkyX Gateway was installed, we couldn’t tell the difference between being physically located in Kuwait or at our headquarters. An effective, high-speed data network is a big advantage in news gathering."

A third problem facing broadcast clients is complexity. They want satellite solutions that are quick to deploy and easy to use, especially when sending them to news hot spots. To answer this problem, content service providers are offering transmission packages for news on the go.

BT Broadcast Services, for example, has developed BT Satnet. Capable of transmitting digital video (MPEG-1 through MPEG-4), voice and data, BT Satnet "is a push-button uplink unit that can be deployed as a flyaway unit, or a mobile that fits on top of a car or truck," says Jonathan Wing, BT’s head of satellite broadband markets. "With BT Satnet, all you do is plug in your digital feed–say a camera with microphone–and push one button. The BT Satnet then turns itself on, deploys and locks its antenna onto the right satellite; the network dynamically allocates satellite capacity, configures the equipment at both the send and receive location, and makes the connection automatically. The BT Satnet can also be connected to a laptop computer to handle data transmissions, voice, or IP-processed video streams."

To date, BT Satnet has been deployed by CNBC Europe, BSkyB and Sky Italia. CNBC uses a BT Satnet in a news van located in Frankfurt, Germany, while BSkyB has deployed some BT Satnets with its news crews.

"We’re pleased with the flexibility and portability BT Satnet has given us," says John Turner, CNBC Europe’s director of operations. "We’re able to quickly deploy the unit anywhere in Europe and instantly transmit coverage of key financial and business events back to base and our audiences throughout Europe and the United States."

"BT Satnet made it possible for us to achieve far more within our budget than would have been possible using traditional equipment," says Sky News Spokesperson Jackie Faulkner. "Having BT Satnet units to cover the Iraqi conflict meant coverage of wider individual events, with less effort than would otherwise have been the case."

"Sky Italia relies on BT Satnet throughout its extensive 24 hour news network," adds Wing. "The first U.S. network sale has been signed and is in final discussions regarding delivery."

Managing Transmission Traffic Jams

When two broadcasters try to uplink to the same satellite transponder at the same time–a problem known as ‘double illumination’–the result can be chaotic. The two signals will interfere with each other, preventing either from getting through clearly.

This is just one problem associated with the increasing use of satellites by broadcasters. One that will only get worse without some form of signal management. Fortunately, software developers such as ILC and ScheduAll Software have developed such management programs. They act as ‘signal stoplights’ to prevent traffic jams from occurring in the sky.

ILC’s product is a network management system that can work with both new and legacy equipment (satellite and terrestrial), integrating them into an easy-to-control network that can be manipulated using a point-and-click mouse. Likewise, its Maxview product is also capable of remotely controlling distant earth stations, monitoring equipment status and remedying system software faults, and even proposing the most appropriate signal paths based on factors such as time, priority and transmission cost.

"NBC is currently the biggest broadcast user of Maxview," says Mark Krikorian, ILC’s vice president and COO. "They use it to coordinate program and data transmissions between NBC’s New York headquarters and the network’s approximately 200 affiliates across the United States. Maxview also allows NBC headquarters to operate its affiliates’ earth stations remotely–assuring that the most qualified operators are in charge–and helps the network prevent scheduling issues such as double illuminations."

Another U.S. broadcaster using ILC’s equipment to monitor program delivery is PBS. The station has an efficient operation between its primary and back-up satellite broadcast facilities in Alexandria, VA, and its 349 affiliates. Using Maxview’s automation and customization tools, "we are modernizing our control of the PBS facilities that deliver programming to all PBS member stations," says Bill Hull, PBS’ director of satellite operations. "For example, a common occurrence – such as the need to switch traffic from one antenna to another to continue broadcasting in inclement weather – is vastly simplified using the remote, automated control that Maxview gives us."

By far, one of the most challenging operational issues facing broadcasters is program delivery management. With the increase of more complex, real-time content hitting the airwaves, moving such news and entertainment seamlessly throughout a given broadcaster’s network can be daunting.

Companies like ScheduAll have come to the rescue of such situations with the production of a centralized traffic management solution that prevents traffic jams by automating the signal booking process on an end-to-end basis. "We take an enterprise approach to managing satellite transmissions for broadcasters,’ says Rick Legow, ScheduAll Software’s president. "Our process interconnects every aspect of the transmission management process–from initial request through bandwidth planning and resource allocation–to minimize possible planning errors, and accelerate the scheduling process."

And this was used by NBC this summer. The network incorporated ScheduAll for its coverage of the Summer Olympics. Specifically, NBC used ScheduLink software to manage and organize inbound feeds from more than 30 Olympic venues and mobile units; to track content, and to manage satellite and fiber optic feeds to NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Bravo and Telemundo in the United States. According to Errol Foremaster, NBC Olympics’ director of engineering operation and coordination, ScheduLINK helped NBC improve its efficiency by eliminating redundant steps, avoiding scheduling conflicts and automating schedule communications between operations and facilities.

Grasping New Opportunities

But managing an established process for traditional broadcasting networks is only one part of today’s global broadcasting arena. Beyond making networks such as BskyB’s and NBC’s video/data applications move more efficiently and cost-effectively, content service providers are also looking for new revenue-making opportunities outside the classic TV model.

There is money to be made in non-traditional broadcast markets such as retail, for example. In fact, a study conducted by Globecast and the media strategy firm How and Why in London, found that shoppers who are exposed to in-store video promoting a given store’s products–broadcast over a ‘Captive Audience Network’ (CAN)–buy more of these goods than those consumers who don’t see the CAN video. "The estimated uplift in like-for-like sales was 1.5 percent," says the study; "a significant number when the percentage of turnover increase is measured solely as a result of customer response to improvements in the shopping environment." In plain English, shoppers like having something to watch while waiting in the store, and they signal their pleasure by buying the advertised products.

To capitalize on this research, Globecast is developing a video feed-based CAN for distribution via satellite to retail outlets. "The video feed itself will be live," says Jonathan Feldman, GlobeCast’s senior vice president of business development in America. "However the ads will be pre-recorded on a hard drive within each retailer’s receiver, having been sent out overnight via satellite. The ads will be either national or local in nature, promoting products sold within the store itself, and triggered whenever the news feed originator transmits a tone to indicate a break. Not only will this system help drive sales within the store, but retailers will even have the opportunity to sell advertising time to sponsors themselves." At press time, Globecast was finalizing a CAN distribution deal with a U.S.-based news source.

Video/Data Convergence: A Win-Win For Everyone

For broadcasters, combined video/data feeds using satellite-based solutions means more efficient and cost-effective ways to do their business, and to find new revenue sources as well.

For satellite content solutions providers, combined video/data feeds demand new methods for sending and managing such signals. The changing face of broadcasting is indeed churning market growth and time will tell what doors this generation of technology will open for the next in this marketplace.

As Via Satellite’s senior contributing editor, James Careless has covered all aspects of the global satellite industry for more than six years.