Broadcasting News Tech Features Vertical Markets

WORK Microwave’s modem for simultaneous video and data

Utilising DaVid technology, the device reportedly offers simultaneous transportation of data (network connection) and live broadcasting (video content) over a single satellite carrier.

Work Microwave has announced a new combined data and video modem, the DVB-S2 Modem SK-DV. Utilising DaVid technology, the device reportedly offers simultaneous transportation of data (network connection) and live broadcasting (video content) over a single satellite carrier.

The DaVid technology, according to the manufacturer, works by aggregating multiple MPEG transport streams and IP data into a single baseband stream, called multistream, which is then inserted into a broadcast modulator. The single carrier signal is transmitted via satellite by the modulator and then received by multiple receivers that separate and extract specific content parts based on their DVB-S2 Input Stream Identifier (ISI).

The DaVid technology reportedly configures all DVB-S2 baseband parameters independently for each stream, providing users with the flexibility to choose the number of streams that need to be processed.

The combined modem includes several features and capabilities reportedly designed to provide users with maximum bandwidth efficiency and data throughput at all times. The DVB-S2 Modem SK-DV uses Generic Stream Encapsulation according to TS 102 606, which, the company claims, ensures the device is compatible with products from other providers compliant to the DVB-S2 standard and allows users to easily incorporate the modem into existing operations. Additionally, advanced modulation up to 32APSK offers, according to a company spokesman, the most efficient satellite communication for dedicated links, enabling broadcasters to deliver reliable, flawless transport.

Multichannel ACM functionality (OptiACM) reportedly compensates for disturbances in the satellite link due to physical conditions — such as humidity and atmospheric precipitation — through real-time adaptation of transmission parameters according to link conditions, improving data throughput in all usage cases and under all environmental conditions. Additionally, the DVB-S2 Modem SK-DV optimises, the company claims, the amount of usable bandwidth through a traffic shaping capability that controls the volume of traffic being sent over satellite and determines minimum/maximum data rates for each content type. Traffic is differentiated into groups and prioritised with respect to a number of configurable parameters.

Built on a cross-layer system design that applies interlayer communication exchange across the protocol stack, the DVB-S2 Modem SK-DV reportedly operates at an efficient data rate of up to 160Mbps, supporting high-speed data transmission so broadcasters can deliver live high-definition video content over a satellite link — in addition to internet file transfer.

“As the broadcasting and IT worlds converge, the DVB-S2 Modem SK-DV brings the power of IP to broadcasting by enabling broadcasters to deliver live video, IP data, or both simultaneously,” said Joerg Rockstroh, senior R&D Engineer, WORK Microwave. “By using one device to manage ASI and IP inputs, broadcasters now have the ability to support hybrid infrastructures while optimising bandwidth, boosting data-transport efficiency, and significantly reducing operating expenses.”