Sony continues to deliver IP Live Production solution interoperable with industry standards SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS IS-04/05

Asia Pacific, 9 April 2018 – Sony continues to invest in fully interoperable IP Live Production solutions by expanding its High-end Live Production solutions portfolio, offering compatibility with both SMPTE ST 2110 Media Transport standard and NMOS IS-04/05 devices discovery and management protocols, on top of development of Networked Media Interface (NMI). Furthering its commitment to support open standards, Sony is adding new offering to its range of live production system solutions. System cameras, multi-format switchers and production servers will support both IP and 12G-SDI interfaces to deliver ultimate flexibility. The Live Production solutions are also growing with the latest remote control panels and a system controller license.

New devices to accelerate the transition to IP Live Production

As the industry’s transition to IP continues to gather pace, Sony is introducing a new flagship video switcher, the XVS-9000, which supports both IP (SMPTE ST 2110) and 12G-SDI in 4K as well as hybrid system of both, for large sporting and entertainment events. Offering up to 80 inputs and 40 outputs in 4K, and up to 160 inputs and 80 outputs in HD*, the XVS-9000 addresses the demands of advanced 4K and HD productions and the rise of High Dynamic Range (HDR) content with the freedom of choice of the latest interfaces.

The new HDCU-3100 camera control unit (CCU) will also support SMPTE ST 2110 in HD and offers IP capability to a wide range of system cameras – from HDC-4300 with BPU-4000 series including new BPU-4500A baseband processor unit (BPU), through to HDC-2000 series and the HSC Fiber System cameras. This new CCU features tally, intercom, and audio and video returns support all over IP on top of the regular CCU features.

In addition, Sony supports SMPTE ST 2110 in HD for current XVS-multi-format switchers family, while the HDCU-4300 CCU will be supported from 2019 onwards.

Sony is further developing SMPTE ST 2110 4K compliant products to meet the growing demand for 4K Live content production. Its new BPU-4500A BPU builds upon the features and specifications of BPU-4500, equipping users with an optional slot to accommodate either SMPTE ST 2110 or NMI option boards. This provides customers with the flexibility to use either interface, depending on the system requirements.

Expanding the upgrades across its IP Live Production solutions, Sony is also enhancing its IP Live System Manager, a software that not only rationalizes the control and configuration of the networked production devices, but also the management of the network itself to meet the severe requirements of professional live production over IP networks.

The system now also supports NS-BUS, an open routing control protocol to communicate with other equipment and systems. This IP-based management protocol allows cross-point switching, source names and tally support from an external management system, making it easy to monitor multiple streams while they are transmitted over the network at any location.

Furthermore, Sony will be displaying three new control panels at Sony’s stand at NAB – the MKS-R3210, MKS-R1620 and MKS-R1630, which will be controlled via IP Live System Manager and support new NS-BUS. This transforms the production system into a turn-key solution for routing video and audio streams while operating in a traditional manner.

An agile and future- proof solution

Sony’s vision to pioneer interoperable solutions – meeting both present and future needs of broadcasters whilst offering customer choice – drives its dual investment in IP and SDI technologies.

Offering customers with greater flexibility and wider choice, Sony is expanding its 12G-SDI compliant products. In 2018, the 12G-SDI interface will be available for the XVS-9000, XVS-8000, XVS-7000, XVS-6000 multi-format switchers as well as the BPU-4500A, BPU-4000 BPU, the HDCU-4300 CCU for HDC-4300 camera, and the PWS-4500 multi-format AV storage unit.

“We remain fiercely committed to offer our customers with choices, which is why we continue to promote new architecture opportunities offered by IP, whilst also recognizing the importance of 12G-SDI. Being able to integrate both IP and SDI interfaces provides customers with the ultimate flexibility to design modern live production facilities, utilizing the solutions best-suited for their needs, rather than purely based on the interfaces they’re compatible with,” commented Takuma Wada, Head of Content Creation Solutions Marketing, Professional Solutions Company (PSAP), Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Limited. “We’re empowering our customers to build more agile, flexible and cost-effective systems that can really rip the benefits of these state-of-the-art technologies.”

Ensuring and contributing to interoperability

As the founder of the IP Live Alliance – which now boasts over 70 manufacturers – as well as a founding member of the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and a SMPTE member, Sony has played an active role in contributing to the development, adoption, standardization and refinement of standards and protocols for live production over IP. The company continues to work with AMWA to support NMOS IS-04 and NMOS IS-05 specifications and other future enhancements.

The support of standards will be presented at the NAB IP Showcase booth with various vendors. Sony has also recently conducted interoperability tests with Evertz covering SMPTE ST2059 PTP, ST2110 HD, NMOS IS-04 successfully. An NMOS-based joint demo will be available at Evertz booth during NAB.

IP Live Production system is continuously adopted globally

• NEP Australia has decided to install HDCU-3100 CCU with HDC-4300 camera and BPU in their IP OB Van. NEP is using HDC-4300 cameras in four of its IP OB vans, which connect back to a central hub in Sydney and Melbourne containing XVS switchers. NEP has been using this setup multiple times a week for regular broadcasts that are produced then delivered to the broadcaster via SMPTE ST 2110.

• Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (PTS) understands that the key to success is having an efficient workflow alongside reliable equipment that delivers the best, in order to satisfy the growing and ever-changing demands of the industry. As such, PTS has selected Sony as its partner for its 4K/IP OB truck and studio, with Sony’s IP Live at the heart of the workflow. The equipment line-up includes HDC-4300 cameras, XVS-8000/7000/6000 switchers, PWS-4500 servers, BVM-X300 OLED monitors, NXL series converter as well as IP Live System Manager (LSM).

• Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has adopted IP-based live production in their 4K studio, expecting enhancement in workflow efficiency from live video to non-linear editing. KOCCA succeeded in building a system that produces both HD and 4K by adopting Sony’s HDC-4300 cameras, XVS-7000 switcher, PWS-4500 server, HDRC-4000 HDR converter, BVM-X300 OLED master monitors, NXL series converter, and IP Live System Manager (LSM).

• Touch Video Live Broadcast (TVLB) China, a production house in Beijing, has purchased two sets of Sony 4K/IP OB Van, to be delivered in August 2018. Each OB Van is fully equipped with 24 sets of HDC-4300, 4K/HD system cameras capable of HDR. A maximum of 48 cameras can be utilized for 4K HDR production with the two OB Vans working together, which is expected to be deployed for big sporting and entertainment events.

• Shangdong TV China has just finished its first production on Air recently via a large studio that is around 1200 square meters. Equipped with eight HDC-4300 and six HDC-2570 cameras, the IP Remote Production (REMI) studio capable of 4K HDR production was delivered by Sony in February 2018.

Innovation in live remote production

Visitors to NAB will be able to witness Sony’s latest live production innovations in action through a live remote production demonstration. At the Sony booth (C11001), an operational IP-enabled remote live production team will be connected to a team in Atlanta, where a processing room and exclusive Wide Area Network (Century Link) will be used to showcase Sony’s IP Live Production solutions, which can connect control rooms at broadcast facilities with live event venues over a thousand miles away, without compromising latency, switching or reliability.

* The number of I/O will differ according to the interface.