IBC: 5G直播演示显示工作有待完成

5G is likely to make its earliest impact in broadcasting as a means of supercharging remote production, but the most recent live demonstration showed theres a long way to go before 5G is ready for primetime.

最新的现场演示, 作为虚拟IBC2020的一部分组织, aimed to show proof of concept (PoC) of 5G-enabled remote broadcast production. 包括英国广播公司(BBC)在内的广播公司也参与其中, 半岛电视台, 英国独立电视台, and the EBU with network operators EE and VodafoneZiggo and multiple tech vendors.

演示 had many moving parts but was deliberately and ambitiously designed to get competitor manufacturers collaborating and broadcasters working with network operators.

然而, without being under control of a single organization and with a skeleton crew working under COVID-19 travel and work restrictions, the attempt demonstrated just how much work is still required for 5G to become a rock-solid part of broadcast production.

“在纸面上实现5G很容易，但在实践中很难实现,伊恩·瓦格丁说, 项目负责人和BBC高级技术转移经理. "What we've done together in this experiment is go deep into the art of the possible to understand what capabilities are here and what's needed for the future."

可以说, it was the collaborative nature of the enterprise which delivered most value, 据参与者说.

"We already had a good idea [prior to this test] of use cases and requirements for broadcast ,including controlled latency and dedicated bandwidth under a quality of service wrap, but we didn't realise how many different ways there were going to be of cutting the cake,英国电信体育移动战略总监马特·斯塔格说. “解决这个问题真的很好."

Potential use cases tested by the demo include enabling news reporters to use a 5G-enabled phone to respond quickly to breaking stories, 使用人工智能远程控制相机, 还可以用无人机拍摄更大规模的活动. BBC技术转让和合作经理, Purminder Ghandu, instanced coverage of sports team victory parades from airport to city centre without any physical connectivity.

“未来，我们将有完全基于云的照明生产, 理货, 编辑全部在云端控制,她说.

演示, 开发6个月, tested live 5G links from the RAI (which would have been home to IBC this week), 阿姆斯特丹运河上的船, 以及IBC在伦敦的办公室.

来自RAI, Sony FX9 camera feeds were uplinked via LiveU LU800 cellular bonding terminals over the VodafoneZiggo network to ViacomCBS London HQ and decoded, 然后在NewTek Tricaster Elite生产服务器中混合.

从船上, a live performance by MTV artist Emma Heester was captured with a Mobile Viewpoint supplied AI-controlled camera system, MVP Xcam, 还安装了5G遥控照明和无人机. 所有这些都通过沃达丰ziggo网络运行.

From outside ViacomCBS Amsterdam HQ Sony XDCAMs feeds streaming at 9Mbps were taken into the Sony virtual production cloud with transitions, mix effects and lower third graphics controlled remotely (which could be anywhere but in this case was from the Viacom site). 输出结果被输入到ViacomCBS London.

瓦格丁说:“这是我们最困难的地方. “我们真的很想考虑与非公共网络合作, but we couldn't get the kit in the right place at the right time and get the spectrum to marry up. 我们做了很多实验室测试. 我们知道它是有效的. 但在封锁期间，让它在阿姆斯特丹发挥作用是一步之遥, 我们不得不恢复到Wi-Fi."

In London, IBC chief exec Mike Crimp addressed the demo live via Sony Xperia 5G phone.

不可避免的是，这个演示并非没有缺点. 飞机晚点了几分钟, and when it did go live there was an issue with audio such that viewers couldn't initially hear the presenter. This was put down to a local error rather than anything related to the 5G link.

就在赫斯特开始她的现场表演时，又发生了一个小故障, 几分钟后，feed成功返回.

“我们使用了许多不同的技术和解决方案，”Wagd说in. “有些成功了，有些我们不得不缩小我们的野心."

其中包括雷·威廉姆森(Ray Williamson), 华为产品管理总监, pointed out that "5G can deliver very high data rates and very low and very predictable latency and high reliability, 但不能在所有用例中都做这些事情. 我们当然需要分清轻重缓急，权衡利弊. 我们需要更详细地研究这个问题."

第二个学习是关于运营模式的. Network slicing is required to optimize the network for uplink (contribution) as well as downlink (distribution) of video. Broadcasters need to be sure that the network won't be congested as it currently can be with 4G, 尤其是在体育场馆等通常拥挤的场所.

"Because of software virtualisation we can put a separate signal path from device to production studio over the network and that is going to change the way we do things,斯塔格解释道. "When we put a service wrapper around it, we will move to a broadcast grade network. When you say ‘broadcast to mobile operators' they think eMBMS (one to many) rather than broadcast-grade contribution. We want it to be as simple as typing in a postcode, an amount of bandwidth, and a latency. 我们希望能够购买托管服务."

A key next step is work out with mobile operators how to commercialize 5G broadcast-grade slices, 包括服务包的性能保证.

Williamson also suggested further work was needed on the vendor side to build equipment that would function within specific spectrum slices for verticals like broadcast.

马里奥•里斯, 他是奥林匹克广播服务公司的电信主管, 警告称，广播公司将无法实现5G的所有好处, 这是一项复杂的技术," without the cooperation of mobile and network operators and without knowledge sharing among all the stakeholders.

"Broadcast workflows have a big impact on the network and we need to be mindful of that," he said.