Putting Pressure on the Pipes
The Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material .
This now infamous speech from United States Senator Ted Stevens regarding how the internets' work has been widely ridiculed across the internet, and rightly so. But at the heart of his woefully confused metaphor is a grain of truth; whilst it's easy to see data as an invisible, magical and limitless resource that pings around the world unimpeded, the reality is that it is subject to very real limitations; physical, logistical, financial and in relation to the fundamental laws of physics. Just like your bathroom plumbing.
So, short of expanding the pipes', what's to be done when it comes to moving increasing volumes through an inherently limited infrastructure? The answer is straightforward in principle, but somewhat more complex in practice: don't expand the plumbing, condense the water. (Obviously we don't actually condense the water, then we'd have heavy water - and drinking that is a very bad idea).
But if we step away from our plumbing metaphor for a moment and return to the more familiar world of data, then there are a range of ways that we can ensure that a) the data is made as small and efficient as possible without a loss of quality, and b) when it does meet a blockage', it doesn't back up and cause a mess all over the broadcast room floor (there's those plumbing metaphors creeping in again).
At Sencore, our focus is on delivering both hardware and software products that facilitate the efficient movement of video-based data - making use of all available technological tricks to maximize efficiency, effectiveness and reliability. But what exactly are those technological tricks and how can they help broadcasters reduce costs and improve service quality?
Public plumbing
Sometimes the issue isn't how big your pipes are, but more the fact that you don't know who will be using them at any given time. Private CDNs (content delivery networks) ensure that you keep the riff-raff off your plumbing and leave it free and clear to handle only your data, but they carry with them one central problem: they're hugely expensive.
Making use of the public internet is the alternative. But it's a cluttered space out there, and moreover, it's designed to handle not just video data, but all different kinds of data - all of which behave in different ways and carry with them different priorities and needs in relation to how they operate. There are two particular concerns: how do you make sure that pieces turn up (or at least, assemble) in order, and what do you do if bits go walkabout on their journey to the final destination, and have to be re-summoned? (With that re-summoning taking precious extra time).
Enter the scene: Zixi, SRT and RIST - the latest generation of streaming protocols which aim to deal with those two concerns in the most efficient, effective way, taking account of the very specific data demands of video and the consumption concerns of discerning viewers. Allowing broadcasters to leverage the lower OpEX costs of public internet delivery whilst still ensuring acceptable QoS for viewers, these advanced encapsulation methods maximize quality and minimize latency, and are crucial to effective public internet video delivery.
At Sencore, we've put support for these protocols front and center across an extensive range of products - not just in our hardware, but also in our software solutions - in particular, Centra Gateway.
Rolling with the punches
Another way of dealing with the uncertainty of network traffic and load is to alter the nature of what you choose to send based on conditions at the time. Higher resolutions deliver higher quality, but they demand higher bitrates. This means that in challenging conditions the decision always has to be an ultimate trade-off between latency and quality - the broadcast engineer's perpetual see-saw. But who should make the decision about this trade-off, where, and how? That has always been the complicated question.
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) takes the complexity out of the decision by automating it. By encoding at a range of bitrates (encapsulating within them various levels of quality) and then using adaptive bitrate technology, neither the engineer nor the viewer needs to consider the trade-off or take any action to implement a solution: the ideal balance between quality and latency is automated and adjusted in real-time, providing a seamless switch with minimal-to-no impact on viewer experience.
Again, integration of this technology into Sencore products is key: hardware such as the Omnihub XMINI or the CMA 1820 facilitate either ABR encoding or monitoring, ensuring that viewers are constantly provided with the best possible form of the content - without them or the engineer ever lifting a finger.
Clever codecs
And leaving perhaps the most obvious solution to last - simple (but not-so-simple) data compression. Compression standards continue to advance in a remarkable manner, condensing data to increasingly small levels, whilst eliminating the tell-tale signs that used to accompany heavy compression; artefacts, distortion, noise and errors. A multitude of compression standards exists, but perhaps the most significant on the market at the moment is JPEG XS. This visually lossless compression standard condenses files at a ratio of 10:1, significantly reducing the bandwidth requirements of ST 2110 or SDI transmissions.
And again, no surprise, this is another technolog
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
16/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: FUJIFILM Execs on GFX ETERNA 55 Camera, Importance of Shallow-Dept...
16/10/2025
Squash's Most Ambitious Broadcast Production To Be Deployed at Comcast Busin...
16/10/2025
Main Street Sports Group Inks Deal With Omaha Productions, Launches Original-Con...
16/10/2025
A Historic Precursor? FIFA, HBS, DAZN Offer an Inside Look at Production of FIFA...
16/10/2025
Prime Video Offers Sneak Peak at New NBA on Prime StudioThe massive 13,000-sq-ft, two-story studio features a LED regulation half court and hoopBy Jason Dachman...
16/10/2025
SVG Remote Production Forum Draws Record Crowd for Visit to PGA TOUR Studios, De...
16/10/2025
BitFire's Ben Grafchik on How Growing Cloud Workflows Are Impacting the Live...
16/10/2025
AI technology is advancing quickly, bringing both new creative possibilities and...
16/10/2025
In 2017, Imani Ellis launched CultureCon, a conference that's become a must-attend event for more than 10,000 diverse creatives and Black professionals to c...
16/10/2025
It might still be a little early to break out the tinsel and mistletoe, but Spotify's already queuing up some holiday magic. This year's Spotify Singles...
16/10/2025
Earlier this year, our in-house publishing imprint, Spotify Audiobooks, put out ...
16/10/2025
VAMPIRE has been integrated onto GM Defenses Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), providing a mobile solution to effectively and affordably counter small drone threat...
16/10/2025
The AgilePod mounted on the host aircraft....
16/10/2025
60% say infotainment systems are a critical purchasing or leasing consideration,...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign, which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and ...
16/10/2025
Roku has added several new features to its user interface and operating system meant to make it easier to discover and personalize content, the company said....
16/10/2025
NEW YORK CNN has announced that its All Access subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Oct. 28, providing audiences with a centralized destination for CNN&...
16/10/2025
Student Spotlight: Alan Villanueva The graduate student and saxophonist, who performed on Natalia Lafourcades Latin Grammy-nominated Live at Carnegie Hall alb...
16/10/2025
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced the third cohort of members. The new members include Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Vegas Golden Kni...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and c...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK Australia's Nine Network and the NHL today announced a media partnership that will bring the world's premier professional ice hockey league to ...
16/10/2025
Parks Associates has released new data showing that nearly half (45%) of U.S. internet homes watch free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and 89% of U.S...
16/10/2025
TROY, Mich. -New data from J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Study shows that residential wireless internet providers are growing...
16/10/2025
TV's most charming detective drama * Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investi...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Thailand's Legendary Outlaw Returns: Tee Yai: Born to be ...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Christmas Is Just Around The Corner: Home For Christmas Season...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Trist n Ulloa Stars in El crimen de Pazos, the New Netflix Ser...
16/10/2025
ABS Completes Redomiciliation to Dubai Development Authority as Part of Strategi...
16/10/2025
This Saturday October 18 Katja Mia will burst onto the radio airwaves for the first time as she joins 2FM. Katja will be standing in for Bl thnaid Treacy on Sat...
16/10/2025
This October, RT is delighted to support Wexford Festival Opera, Babor International Arts Festival for Children, Open House Dublin and 36 other arts and cultu...
16/10/2025
GeForce NOW is more than just a platform to stream fresh games every week - it offers celebrations for the gamers who make it epic, with member rewards to sweet...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
Putting Pressure on the Pipes
