Where are we with transporting 4K content over IP networks? We look at some of the issues associated with 4K and the network, and some of the potential solutions.
If AV technology is ever going to meet the requirements of the IT world it has to be able to transport content over standard networks efficiently, reliably and at the highest quality. But, first, why would anybody want to move 4K over IP? In the residential market, sales of 4K TVs are vastly outstripping the availability of 4K content.
In the commercial and institutional sectors, a proven business case for 4K content is not easy to make outside of very specific applications. These can include industrial design, visualisation, data mining and simulation. These applications are all characterised by the requirement to capture and display a huge amount of data. Emerging applications, like telemedicine, that demand detail in the image will also be early adopters of 4K technology.
As in the consumer market, professional 4K display technology is running well in advance of other elements in the production and distribution workflow. The problem is particularly acute in respect of the transport medium for video and audio, and the corresponding bandwidth availability. Interestingly, the beginning of the 4K workflow, content acquisition, is now well provided for, as is the end – the displays. It is everything in between where there are deficiencies in provision. Distributing and managing 4K uncompressed video in a network situation is still very much an issue.
AptoVision’s BlueRiver+ allows the distribution of 4K at 60 fps and 4:4:4 colour sampling on a 10 GbE network.
Compression and latency
While the concept of distributing video over IP has been around for a while, it has only been possible with high compression and latency. At ISE 2015 first encountered AptoVision – a developer of specialist chip sets for audio and video transport. AptoVision’s solution is said to transmit uncompressed or lightly compressed video over IP switches with virtually no latency. The technology has the potential to accelerate adoption of IP transport in the AV industry because it allows users to implement standard IP components in the AV network using switches and routers.
At InfoComm, AptoVision showed its new FPGA-based chipsets – a range it calls BlueRiver NT+. The idea is to use standard Ethernet infrastructure and equipment to move audio, video, control, USB and even Ethernet signals from source to sink. To do this, each source must have a transmit box to encode the signal for IP transport and each sink device must have a receive chip to decode for display.
BlueRiver NT is a rival to the HDBaseT technology adopted by other developers, including Crestron’s DigitalMedia solution, AMX’s DGX, and Extron’s XTP. These all require proprietary circuit switches and the AV signal traffic is not IP routable. At InfoComm, AptoVision introduced its latest – BlueRiver NT+.
BlueRiver+ allows the distribution of 4K at 60 fps and 4:4:4 colour sampling on a 10 GbE network. Compression is generally used only where latency and image quality are not critical, mostly for video.
DVIGear previewed its DisplayNet uncompressed AV-over-10GbE solution at InfoComm.
IP issues
Distributing video over a standard Ethernet network can be problematic as the flow of data is asynchronous. Buffering is used to overcome the problems of bursts of data arriving at different times, but this adds latency can reduce low frame rates. SMPTE has a solution for this – 2022 encapsulates an SDI signal in an IP wrapper with timing – but this is limited to baseband audio and video signals.
AptoVision has developed an alternative solution – Adaptive Clock Re-synchronization. This is a multiplexing technique that weaves in the audio, video, 1GB Ethernet and other signals, along with an embedded clocking mechanism. This can recover the clocks for both audio and video at the decoder end with only a few lines of latency while remaining fully genlocked to the source clock.
To date, AptoVision has announced partnerships with DVIGear, ZeeVee, Aurora Multimedia, Grandbeing, AvenView and IDK Corporation but others are expected soon. DVIGear previewed its DisplayNet uncompressed AV-over-10GbE solution at InfoComm.
Network components
4K signal distribution requires twice the bandwidth of 2K distribution, and consequently places more stringent infrastructure demands. An important consideration can be whether the cable can deliver 4K content over HDBaseT, at the distance required, without introducing more errors than permitted by the HDMI specification. Some cables designed to meet the HDMI error specification are proprietary, and are not always suitable for other networking purposes.
There are cables on the market that are suitable for both purposes. An example of a robust and reliable dedicated CAT7a, 4K cable is the Crestron DM Ultra Cable. This is said to deliver error-free 4K HDMI signals via HDBaseT over longer distances than other category cables. Typical CAT5e cables can only transmit 4K video reliably up to 50 metres. The DM Ultra Cable exceeds the HDMI specification, which allows less than one pixel error per billion, for HDBaseT distribution of 4K content up to 100 metres.
The DM Ultra Cable is a CAT7a shielded twisted pair cable engineered to deliver optimum performance for 10 gigabit Ethernet, and is said to be perfect for applications that requires high-performance category cable. Installation is simplified using DM-CONN-20 connectors, which don’t require any tools or crimping.
InfoComm announcements
The big news from DVIGear was the preview of its DN-100 series, developed in partnership with AptoVision. The DN-100 Series transmitter and receiver will begin shipping September 2015 at a suggested retail price of less than $1,000 per endpoint.
The company also showed its MXP Series matrix switchers. These are non-blocking cross-platform switchers that are completely modular. Several frame sizes are available enabling I/O arrays from 8×8 up to 80×80. Using a high-speed digital routing engine, the MXP Series can support 4K / 30p signals simply by installing the available 4K I/O cards.
DVIGear also exhibited a wide range of 4K video signal extension technologies. Among these are DVIGear’s long-reach copper cables, CAT-X twisted pair extenders, and fibre optic extenders. The SHR Series HDMI and DVI copper cables support 4K / 30p up to ~25 ft. (7.5 meters), while the HR Series DisplayPort cables support 4K / 60p up to ~50 ft. (15 meters).
Several twisted pair extenders are available that use HDBaseT technology to extend 4K / 30p up to 330 ft. (100 meters). DVIGear’s DVI-7520 and DVI-7525 are provide a simple, cost-effective way to extend uncompressed video, audio, IR and RS-232 as well as Ethernet all over a single CAT-X cable.
Black Box demonstrated three 4K-ready switching and extension platforms for broadcast and post-production applications at InfoComm. Black Box 4K-ready KVM solutions are designed for single-cable connectivity.
The DKM FX digital matrix switching system supports SDI, HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, and single- or dual-link DVI signal extension. The system supports 4K resolutions with modular interface cards for DisplayPort extension over CATx or fibre cable. The system also supports peripheral signals such as USB, RS-232, and audio.
The KVM switching and extension system provides signal management over an Ethernet LAN infrastructure. Planned system endpoints allow video signals with 4K resolution to be added to existing deployments.
The Dual-Head DisplayPort KVM Extender (ACU5800A) provides extension of DisplayPort video with 4K resolution, USB, and audio up to 500 feet. This extender supports DisplayPort Dual Mode which converts the received video signal to HDMI or DVI. The MediaCento IPX product line will support 4K resolutions this summer. These devices will enable 4K video extension over an IP network.
Crestron product manager Stijn Ooms argues that the latest generation is AV solutions can be configured to work equally well in IT networks.
Opinion
AV solutions for the IT channel
It wasn’t so long ago that there was a widespread belief in IT that colleagues from the AV community were pretty much ‘dinosaurs’, cling to outmoded proprietary standards and legacy networking technologies. Crestron product manager Stijn Ooms argues that this is no longer the case, and that the latest generation is AV solutions can be configured to work equally well in IT networks.
Recent announcements by Crestron and AMX of partnerships with Microsoft to integrate Surface Hub with meeting room control solutions highlight the difficulties, and indeed pointlessness, of differentiating between AV and IT solutions. Is Surface Hub an It or an AV device? Of course it’s both, and represents an opportunity for both sets of technology suppliers to exploit the growth in ‘huddle space’. For these to work efficiently, technologies with an AV pedigree – including room booking and control – have to be integrated with the stock in trade of the IT provider – networks, servers, desktop and mobile devices and standard applications and operating systems.
Ooms says that new interdisciplinary Crestron technologies are designed to support this trend. Fusion InSite provides facilities managers with interactive, real-time 360-degree 3D visualization of entire buildings across the enterprise and the status of individual spaces. It provides managers with complete 360-degree 3D visualisation of the entire corporate campus. They can then “drill down” to view each building on the campus, each floor in the building, each room, and all the technology in the rooms.
They can check the status of and control devices in the room, such as occupancy or daylight sensors, turn lights on or off, and view lighting levels and set room scenes – and perform all these functions anytime, anywhere, with Crestron Fusion Cloud Edition. Managers can view all occupied or vacant rooms, as well as rooms that are booked, but vacant, so they can be released for use, increasing productivity in the process. It’s also possible to tell whether a space is being used appropriately – is a VD facility, usually the most expensive in the company, being used for VC, or just as a general meeting room?
Cutting edge
To avoid the accusation of using obsolete technology platforms, Crestron has developed its new solutions are in line with current IT thinking, For example, Fusion Cloud Edition is always “on” and available, no matter where. Simply entering a unique URL allows users to access all the power and functionality of Crestron Fusion. Optional multiple, redundant servers are available for additional backup security.
Crestron Fusion allows knowledge workers to view room availability and book spaces on the spot using a scheduling touch screen at the room entrance. Managers can use Crestron Fusion to streamline help desk operations and perform preventative maintenance on every AV device in the room, ensuring maximum uptime and productivity. Crestron Fusion also provides valuable analytics and reporting of real-time and historical energy usage, enabling organizations to make intelligent and informed energy saving decisions.
AMX technology also simplifies the meeting experience with technologies that control the meeting environment and integrate that environment with an organisation’s IT infrastructure. AMX solutions include user interfaces for managing the room technology, switching and control systems for distributing audio and video content during meetings, digital signage systems for distributing information throughout an enterprise; and software solutions that simplify the configuration, monitoring and maintenance of AV systems.
AMX argues that long before a meeting takes place, the various components of the collaboration technology need to be configured or programmed to work seamlessly together. To that end, AMX is incorporating Surface Hub into its popular Rapid Project Maker (RPM) software, eliminating the need for integrators to undertake expensive custom programming in rooms with Surface Hub. Using RPM, customers can easily set up these new rooms to be monitored and maintained in real time over the IT network with AMX’s Resource Management Suite (RMS) software.
Before people start to use the rooms for meetings, they will need a system for locating and booking available conference rooms. By integrating Surface hub with RMS, organisations can augment Surface Hub’s native calendaring and scheduling functions by placing scheduling panels directly outside the room, Like Crestron Fusion, AMX RMS will also enable IT organisations to remotely monitor equipment usage, troubleshoot performance issues and remotely power down equipment in order to save energy.
But to be truly cutting edge there has to be a role for mobile. With Creston’s Pinpoint, users can perform all the calendar and scheduling functions they previously could only perform at their desks, anywhere, anytime, from their mobile devices. On entering a room for a scheduled the room can automatically “wake up” to your personal room settings preferences (set through an app interface) and start the meeting.
The user can take control of everything in the room from the same app – AV, lights, temperature, and shades. Launch Crestron AirMedia (AM-100) and start a BYOD presentation. For a scheduled videoconference, tap the app to automatically turn on the room display, lower the shades, dim the lights, and dial up the invited attendees.
The quality issue
With the current state of technology, the IT sector’s reliance on IP and streaming technologies (see the previous piece) the transport of video and audio content over a network continues to raise red flags among AV professionals refusing to compromise on quality.
The thinking behind Crestron’s Digital Media 3.0 was to give the customer reassurance. “The days of traditional multiple-platform AV systems are over. Now, your customers want to deploy, manage, and maintain every device in every room on a standardized, managed AV network,” said Fred Bargetzi, Crestron CTO.
To deploy digital AV on the network requires a set of core technologies to ensure standardised implementation, a consistent user experience, maximum uptime, and visibility to every device in every room across the enterprise. Crestron created the DM 3.0 standard to establish these requirements. As further reassurance, the company offers the Crestron Certified Design solution to make sure that solutions which meet the appropriate specifications deliver a given level of performance.
“Only an end-to-end single-platform solution is highly repeatable and scalable to hundreds or thousands of rooms across an organization. Crestron Certified Designs are engineered to work together and ensure reliability, ease-of-use, and total visibility and management on the network. When you introduce an outside product, you break the data chain. It makes digital video distribution unreliable and makes enterprise management impossible.”
Closing the gap
Of course, the adoption of AV solutions in IT environments continues raise issues around bandwidth and reliability. Both Crestron and AMX publish guidelines that define the impact of their technologies on the network. Announcements in the first half of this year will have a significant and positive effect on closing the AV and IT divide, As to whether we will ever get to the point where we only talk about Integrated Solutions without distinguishing betenne AV and IT, that ‘s still some way off.
