THE PRO PERSPECTIVE: JUNE 2008
NAB and InfoComm: The Same, But Different
As you read this, InfoComm looms just around the corner in sizzling hot Las Vegas. But it’s barely six weeks since 2008 NAB show, also in Las Vegas. With that in mind, I’d like to pick out some technology trends I saw at NAB that should also be in evidence at InfoComm and beyond.
These trends will have an impact on the pro AV industry, one way or the other. Most of them will have an even bigger impact on the consumer electronics marketplace, and as you know, that tail wags the dog these days.
NAB used to be a hardware show back in the old days. Companies like Sony, Ampex, Bosch, Panasonic, Ikegami, JVC, Grass Valley, and others would show off their fancy new cameras, VTRs, switchers, routers, and graphics generators to the assembled throngs, hoping to walk away with a fat check from NBC, CNN, CBS, ESPN, or an international network like NHK or the BBC.
Today, the show has evolved into a technology showcase, giving equal weight to hardware and software solutions. The fact that video can be delivered over so many different “pipes” has brought not only direct-broadcast satellite and cable platforms onto the NAB stage in recent years, but also Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), which generated a lot of buzz at the show.
I started out scanning the booths of prominent manufacturers to check out digital video encoders primarily for terrestrial (ATSC) and IPTV delivery, and found that basically everyone had at least one MPEG codec “solution” out for inspection. Harris, Thomson, Tandberg, JVC, Toshiba, IBM, and Motorola were just some of the big names in MPEG, and IPTV was the star of the show.
For those readers who aren’t familiar with IPTV, it’s simply a way to deliver video, audio, and data packets (plus clock bits) over private and public networks using standard Internet protocols. IPTV is fast catching on in Europe, but is off to a much slower start in the USA, with only Verizon and AT&T in contention (and Verizon’s system isn’t even true IPTV!).
There are dozens of ways an IPTV infrastructure can be designed and implemented, but they all need one thing: Lots of bandwidth. If IPTV service providers are to convince digital cable subscribers to make the switch, then the IPTV system must offer the “triple play” of voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony, high-speed Internet access, and digital television including HDTV and video-on-demand at a competitive price.
That usually means private and not public networks, preferably using fiber optics as the backbone. Of course, fiber backbones need to be overbuilt in cities and suburbs, traveling along the same utility poles as cable TV, twisted pair, and DSL connections (which AT&T uses for their U-Verse service).
NAB had IPTV “solutions” galore and even a dedicated IPTV pavilion in the front of the LVCC Central Hall. Coincidentally or not, it was smack in the middle of the Content Production area. But you could find IPTV products in all three halls, ranging from simple encoders to full-fledged content servers and asset management solutions.
One clear trend was the preference for MPEG4 encoding, which apparently is twice as efficient as MPEG2 (and the latter has been standardized for 15 years!). I didn’t see a single IPTV platform using anything other than MPEG4 encoding. Indeed, I even spotted several MPEG2 to MPEG4 transcoders.
Since IPTV is still in its infancy, it can afford to adopt whatever codec it wants. So too can satellite broadcasters, as their set-top boxes are proprietary. Cable MSO’s aren’t as flexible, as not all their customers use set-tops, and of course terrestrial DTV broadcasts must remain in the MPEG2 domain for now as none of the integrated DTVs out there support MPEG4 decoding.
One outstanding demo of MPEG4 encoding was provided by Fujitsu and conducted during the CBS Engineering Breakfast. The company’s IP-9500 encoder was performing real-time AVC (H.264) encoding of a 1920x1080i broadcast signal at a constant data rate of 9 Mb/s with minimal blocking artifacts and mosquito noise — half the rate used for ATSC broadcasts.
Will you eventually confront an IPTV installation? Bet on it. And while you’re at it, better start thinking about wiring your new installations and some of your “retros” with optical fiber (yes, here I go again!). Single-mode optical fiber is now the same price as Cat 5 wiring, and fiber crimping quick-connects with .02 dB insertion losses are widely available.
The fact that Extron, Kramer, and Communications Specialties all had two or more fiber transmitter/receiver combos and interfaces at NAB 2008 is proof that fiber solutions are ready for our market, if we’re smart enough to use them. The broadcasting world moved to fiber and Cat 5 a long time ago to complement high-speed digital coaxial interfaces, so optical fiber is “old hat” to broadcast systems integrators.
In our industry, we seem to prefer unshielded twisted pair (UTP) interfaces, which are nice for moving HD-resolution display signals several hundred feet at a time. In contrast, single-mode optical fiber can carry HD-SDI (1.458 Gb/s) streams over a mile and a half with only 3 dB of attenuation. That’s a significant improvement and one that adds plenty of expansion capacity for system upgrades.
The last trend, and one which I can’t give any clear predictions about, is mobile delivery of video programming. Suffice it to say there was just as much interest in Mobile DTV as there was in IPTV (and they can be the same thing in the home), with numerous demos by content providers (Qualcomm, Verizon, AT&T, et al) and hardware/software providers (LG/Harris, Qualcomm, Samsung, et al).
As was the case last year, I took to the streets of Las Vegas to see the LG/Harris MPH mobile video demo, using variable-rate and quarter-rate encoding and the vestigial sideband modulation (VSB) system to bring video to LG cell phones and small car displays. The system worked well enough that minor dropouts were only seen while traveling 50 miles per hour on Desert Inn Road under the convention center.
These are similar results to what I saw with Samsung’s A-VSB mobile DTV system last year in demonstrations at NAB and CES. Both systems compete with Qualcomm’s MediaFLO, operating on UHF channel 55 nationwide, and the DVB-H standard that is coming into use in Europe.
How the heck will mobile TV affect my business? you’re probably wondering. The answer is in two ways: First, directly, if your customers want to distribute AV content throughout a building or campus to mobile players, and second, indirectly, if they want to take mobile video content from a handheld device and play it through that new AV system you just dedicated.
Are you ready to make either, or both connections? Do you understand the basics of WiMax? MediaFLO? DVB-H? It might be a good time to start boning up on each of these systems, as well as MPH and A-VSB. While you’re at it, better take a refresher course in ATSC (terrestrial) DTV, as some clients may want to include ATSC channels on private TV networks, along with locally generated DTV content.
Boy, this industry just gets more complicated with each passing year…
Copyright ©2008 Peter H. Putman / Hanley-Wood Publications. All mechanical and electronic rights are reserved. This article also appears in the April 2008 issue of Pro AV magazine.
