SVG Sit-Down: NESN's Fahad Haider on Planning for a 4K HDR Future With The Switch
13/10/2020
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - 8:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Last month, NESN announced that it had selected The Switch's high-performance hybrid fiber/internet network to replace its existing satellite distribution platform. The move improves the flexibility of NESN's video-distribution network and lays the groundwork for the New England-based regional sports network to deliver broadcasts in 4K HDR in the future.
SVG sat down with NESN CTO/VP, Engineering, Fahad Haider to discuss The Switch deal, what it allows the network to do immediately that was not possible before, and what it means for the network's 4K HDR future.
NESN's Fahad Haider: [Upgrading distribution] has enabled us to produce and distribute native 4K HDR games and other programming in 2021 and beyond.
Why was NESN looking to upgrade distribution capabilities? What were some of the key capabilities you were looking for in this future solution?
NESN was utilizing satellite transmission for a long time. NESN's future roadmap includes several new initiatives, such as 4K, gaming, and more. We could have achieved some of this via satellite, but the cost of doing it via satellite was very high. More important, with new transmission [capabilities], we wanted to enhance video compression as well as optimize video-transport bandwidth. We evaluated several solutions by many different vendors and researched several new video-compression, -encoding, and -transport methods. We found that moving to fiber and IP transmission would be the best path forward for us.
Why did NESN opt to make this upgrade with The Switch?
NESN has a long-time relationship with The Switch. We evaluated many vendors, and most offered great solutions that NESN could utilize. However, The Switch's solution stood out due to their existing network reach to most MVPDs' headends.
What does this enable NESN to do that you couldn't do before? How does The Switch's IP network boost your operations compared with a satellite distribution platform?
We had only one single satellite path to headends via satellite. We were limited to the available bandwidth on the transponder. With our 4K plans, we had to spend a lot more to get one more channel transmission on a new transponder. In addition to this, our satellite uplink used to be interrupted occasionally by severe weather in New England. With The Switch's network, we were able to establish point-to-point fiber and IP backup to our affiliate partners. Additional bandwidth needs were also fulfilled by fiber network. Any future expansion is going to be easier with the IP network and new platform.
How did this partnership come about? What was your research process, and what were you looking for in a solution? Why did you choose The Switch?
We sent an RFP to several vendors in this business. After evaluating each response and researching the solution offered by each vendor, we selected The Switch because of their already existing point-to-point network inside most MVPD headends. Their proposed solution was robust, and the new platform enabled us to enhance our video compression with low latency and made adding new services easy.
What services is The Switch providing in addition to connectivity?
We use The Switch to backhaul our Red Sox and Bruins road-game feeds. In addition to this, we recently partnered with The Switch to transport our OTT streaming services to our new app and website partners.
How are you working with your affiliates and partners to implement this new platform for NESN?
The process of working through the transition with affiliates and partners was cooperative, educational, stressful at times, but ultimately very rewarding. It was an opportunity to work with new affiliate personnel in engineering and programming, learn and understand their near- and long-term technology plans, find work-arounds and solutions for obstacles and pressing deadlines, and ultimately realize the new delivery system works. It was great to be able to enjoy the sense of relief and fulfillment that accompanied that.
What are your long-term plans when it comes to 4K HDR, and how does moving to The Switch's IP network enable you to make that upgrade in the future?
NESN's plans include producing and airing our live games and programming in 4K HDR. We have already upgraded NESN to [SMPTE ST] 2110 IP infrastructure, upgraded to 4K HDR-capable production-control room. Our studio is 4K HDR; we upgraded to AES67 audio and upgraded to 4K HDR master-control playout and 4K transmission. All this has enabled us to produce and distribute native 4K HDR games and other programming to our viewers in 2021 and beyond.
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/10/13/svg-sit-down-nesns-fahad-haider... |
See more stories from svg |
More from Sports Video Group
22/04/2024
NEP Battles Weather to Keep the Going Good for Grand National Coverage
NEP battles weather to keep the going good for Grand National coverage By Adrian Pennington Monday, April 15, 2024 - 11:48 Print This Story The 2024 Grand...
22/04/2024
ITV Racing Under Starters Orders Live at the Grand National Festival
ITV Racing under starters orders live at the Grand National Festival By Adrian Pennington Friday, April 12, 2024 - 09:10 Print This Story The Grand Nation...
22/04/2024
Inside the Deal: EFL Fans to View Enhanced Broadcasts For the Next Five Seasons as IMG Becomes Official Production Partner
Inside the deal: EFL fans to view enhanced broadcasts for the next five seasons ...
22/04/2024
To 4G, or Not To 4G: EMG on Bringing the Iconic 2024 London Marathon to Viewers Globally
To 4G, or not to 4G: EMG on bringing the iconic 2024 London Marathon to viewers ...
22/04/2024
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor Industry insights from key leaders on the NAB Show exhibit floor By SVG Staff Mond...
22/04/2024
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO By SVG Staff Monday, April 22, 2024 - 3:18 pm Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlight...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Switch, TATA Communications, Telstra, TVU Networks, Verizon, and More
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the First Time
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
18/04/2024
Ping Pong for the Masses: Bringing an Old Sport to a Brand New Audience With World Table Tennis
Ping pong for the masses: Bringing an old sport to a brand new audience with Wor...
18/04/2024
Fanatical Fans: IMG on Bringing the World of Table Tennis to a New Global Audience for WTT
Fanatical fans: IMG on bringing the world of table tennis to a new global audien...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 17 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
17/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full sw...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 12 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
16/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 3:15 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing,...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrec's Henry Goodman, Solid State Logic's Tom Knowles on Audio in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrecs Henry Goodman, Solid State Logics Tom Knowles o...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switch's George Lopez on Remote Production, The Cloud, and the Future of Connectivity
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switchs George Lopez on Remote Production, The Clou...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveU's Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Light Weight Production
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveUs Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Ligh...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Design's Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Production Switchers, Recent Work in Replay and IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Designs Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Pro...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canon's Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera Control App, Enhanced Use of Free Viewpoint
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canons Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera C...
15/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Monday, April 15, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing, a...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-End Graphics Tech
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrts Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sony's Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connecting Live Production Resources
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sonys Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connect...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawo's Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes Latest on IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawos Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes La...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS' Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Production in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Produc...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses' Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo HZK14-100mm Lens, Adding Cinematic Feel to Broadcasts
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo H...
14/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Sunday, April 14, 2024 - 12:41 am Print This Story The NAB Show kicks off today, a...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions' Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth and Supporting Freelancers with the ProCrewz App
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth an...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appear's Thomas Bostrm Jrgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed McGivern on Backing the Continued Growth of Live Sports
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appears Thomas Bostr m J rgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed ...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagi's Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers to The Cloud and the Exciting Growth of FAST Channels
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagis Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers t...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Video's David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Major Product Intros
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Videos David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Maj...
14/04/2024
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting Solution
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting ...
12/04/2024
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL...
12/04/2024
NAB 2024: Suppliers Continue To Expand Networked-Audio Offerings
NAB 2024: Suppliers Continue To Expand Networked-Audio Offerings New and updated products boast IP and ST 2110, software systems, virtual control By Dan Daley,...
12/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video Chooses Onsite Production Path for Its 27 NWSL Matches
Amazon Prime Video Chooses Onsite Production Path for Its 27 NWSL Matches The streamer made its league debut with the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 15 By Kr...
12/04/2024
ESPN Rides Wave of Women's-Hoops Momentum Into WNBA Draft Production at Brooklyn Academy of Music
ESPN Rides Wave of Women's-Hoops Momentum Into WNBA Draft Production at Broo...
12/04/2024
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mimir's Andr Torsvik on Enabling Remote Collaboration Through the Cloud
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mimir's Andr Torsvik on Enabling Remote Collabor...
12/04/2024
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's D...
11/04/2024
Case Study: Inside ESPN's Monday Night Football AR Graphics Launch
Case Study: Inside ESPN's Monday Night Football AR Graphics Launch By SVG Staff Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 8:18 am Print This Story | Subscribe Stor...
11/04/2024
All Love: Creative Media Producer Jhalen Wingate on Capturing South Carolina Women's Basketball's National Championship
All Love: Creative Media Producer Jhalen Wingate on Capturing South Carolina Wom...
11/04/2024
Miami Marlins Leap Into Artificial Intelligence With 2024 Team Open
Miami Marlins Leap Into Artificial Intelligence With 2024 Team Open The Famous Group played a pivotal role in its third consecutive project with the club By Kr...
11/04/2024
SPORTEL Rendez-vous Buenos Aires Four Weeks Away!
SPORTEL Rendez-vous Buenos Aires Four Weeks Away! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 10:46 am Print This Story | Subscribe...
11/04/2024
Sinclair Turns to Generative AI for Language Translation in Original Content
Sinclair Turns to Generative AI for Language Translation in Original Content Audio for Tennis Channel's Petko Unfiltered will be translated into Spanish By...
11/04/2024
In Final Masters for Sean McManus and Verne Lundquist, CBS Sports Aims To Provide a Grand Sendoff
In Final Masters for Sean McManus and Verne Lundquist, CBS Sports Aims To Provid...
10/04/2024
Viva Las Vegas: Inside the Design of CBS Sports' Super Bowl LVIII Graphics Package
Viva Las Vegas: Inside the Design of CBS Sports' Super Bowl LVIII Graphics P...
10/04/2024
WWE 30,000-Sq.-Ft. Studio Complex Opens; Sony Verona LED Wall Is Deployed for Virtual Production
WWE 30,000-Sq.-Ft. Studio Complex Opens; Sony Verona LED Wall Is Deployed for Vi...
10/04/2024
Inside Look at Sony's NAB 2024 Booth and What Advances To Expect in Cameras, Switchers, the Cloud, and More
Inside Look at Sony's NAB 2024 Booth and What Advances To Expect in Cameras,...
09/04/2024
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most-Watched Hoops Broadcast of Any Kind Since 2019
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most-Watched H...