NETWORK SLICING AT THE CORONATION
LiveU gear was used to deliver coverage of the King’s coronation in May 2023 over both public and private 5G networks. A network slice of a public 5G SA network was carved by Vodafone for feeds of more than 20 ITN cameras in front of Buckingham Palace and along the Mall to be transmitted back to ITN’s London HQ through LiveU’s cellular technology. Separately, the BBC team broadcasting the event joined forces with Neutral Wireless to pop up what was then the world’s largest single-use private 5G SA network. LiveU’s 5G-bonded livestreaming encoder was once again called into action with a Neutral Wireless 5G SIM card inserted into each LiveU unit. Pisarski says: “What stood out was the reliability and scalability of the solution for high-quality live coverage at crowded events. Unlike previous private wireless technologies, this set-up was plug-and-play, avoiding all the complexities organisations have previously experienced.” SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Orange are also arranging a series of private 5G networks at venues in Paris. These serve dual purposes, providing both Olympics broadcast coverage as well as countering anticipated spectator mobile saturation during the opening ceremony. This will see 10,000 athletes parading down the Seine in boats watched by 400,000 spectators with smartphones in hand. Cameras on each boat will live transmit footage over Orange’s private 5G. A unique application was trialled at Wimbledon 2023, where Vodafone headsets enabled visually impaired fans on Centre Court to watch live footage streamed from local TV cameras over 5G. The game footage was enhanced to suit the person’s specific sight profile. A VIEW TO THE FUTURE The advent of 5G technology in broadcast, media and entertainment industries has undoubtedly unleashed a wave of possibilities. Its ultra-fast speeds, low latency and high capacity have revolutionised content delivery, production workflows and consumer experiences. It has enabled seamless livestreaming and new AR applications, as well as providing a far stronger framework for remote production and personalised content delivery. However, the journey to fully leveraging the potential of 5G is ongoing. Challenges such as infrastructure deployment and regulatory frameworks remain to be addressed. Additionally, concerns regarding privacy, security and equitable access must be carefully navigated. As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see further innovations in immersive experiences, interactive storytelling and real-time content creation.
TRIAL RUN IN SPAIN A live concert by Spanish singer Israel Fernández gave a chance for UHD Spain to test drive 5G contribution and cloud production. A TVU RPS One unit contributed UHD-HDR signals, which were then mixed in the cloud for remote production. Subsequently, the content was distributed via 5G, employing multiple transport methods including terrestrial (DVB-T2), satellite (DVB-S2) and internet (OTT, HbbTV), enabling access on TV, PCs, tablets and mobile devices. Emili Planas, CTO at Mediapro, says of the test: “Very soon, the production model we have tested will become the standard for covering live events with the highest UHD-HDR quality – leveraging the capabilities of 5G and delocalised operations through connected resources.”
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