tpc marks new milestone towards SMPTE ST 2110

As tpc’s latest outside broadcast (OB) truck, UHD1 HDR is now in regular use having completed its first live broadcast at a match in the Swiss National Hockey League in Zurich, Switzerland last October. The truck leverages IP connectivity, and marks the first step in tpc’s roadmap to move to an all-SMPTE ST 2110 production and delivery infrastructure.

From its base in Switzerland, tpc, the production company and technical service provider for national broadcaster SRF/SRG, manages coverage of a broad range of events, from football to Alpine and Nordic skiing, as well as theatre, concerts and opera.

Flexibility was key when designing the OB truck, as the Swiss company is required to switch from sports to arts on a daily basis.

Furthermore, tpc’s broadcaster clients expressed interest in acquiring the highest quality, including 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) and extended dynamic range and colour gamut, to future-proof content while maintaining its value for audiences.

We are at the beginning of a journey to move all our operations to IP connectivity, declared Andreas Lattmann, CTO of tpc. 

He explained: “It is great to see our new UHD1 HDR truck on the road, giving us both outstanding production quality and valuable experience in developing and operating IP networks. Most importantly, it does all this while looking and feeling like the trucks that our crews have been operating for years.

“[UHD1 HDR] gives us the same performance characteristics and operational look and feel as traditional SDI system, but with all the benefits of IP connectivity and software flexibility — not least, complete format independence right up to uncompressed 4K/UHD high dynamic range (HDR).”

Imagine Communications provided the IP-connected infrastructure using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) switches and hardware, which allowed uncompressed 4K/UHD production when required. Central to this was the Selenio Network Processor (SNP) gateway and video processor. The SNP provides signal processing with complete freedom to select formats by signal or by production, in addition to delivering gateway conversion to external SDI signals.

The UHD1 HDR truck also relies on Imagine’s Magellan SDN Orchestrator to provide control of the complete network, as well as EPIC MV multiviewer for monitoring.

Andreas Kotulek, director, sales, Nordic, Central & Eastern Europe and Russia, concluded: “tpc is an early adopter of IP technology, and knew from the start that open standards and open interoperability were critical.

“We formed a strong bond with them because we demonstrated a commitment to open standards in our active participation in the delivery of SMPTE ST 2110.

“We shared a common vision with tpc that enabled us to deliver the functionality, the performance and the reliability that they demanded through technology — and that helped to streamline their production workflows.”