The Briefing Room

TV2GO, Canada’s leading HD satellite transmission provider, used the Fujitsu IP-9500e MPEG-4 AVC codec during its broadcast of the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa to uplink high-definition (HD) signals to Sweden and other countries in Europe.

The Fujitsu IP-9500 helped TV2GO to provide multiple broadcast stations throughout Europe with a low-latency MPEG-4 feed that also met their stringent picture quality requirements.

“For years, our customers have depended on TV2GO to deliver timely, top-quality footage of major events, and it is essential that we implement the best processes and equipment to meet and exceed our customers’ needs,” said Adrian Hepes, technical director of TV2GO. “The increasing need for bandwidth and high quality video signal in modern television, specifically in contribution, requires encoding equipment of high quality and low latency. The Fujitsu IP-9500e is the proven industry leader when it comes to HD picture quality and low latency for satellite H264 transmissions, making it the ideal choice for our broadcast of the Junior Hockey World Championships.”

The Fujitsu IP-9500 offers exceptional picture quality at low bit rates and low-latency, enabling HD satellite news gathering and transmission of live events using the existing modulators and the existing decoders. TV2GO managed to integrate the IP-9500 encoders on the existing platforms teleport and satellite uplink trucks. The results are spectacular. The deployment is also the pilot platform TV2GO used on delivering NFL games in Europe in the past season, with high expectations to make this the NFL path to Europe in the coming season. In addition, TV2GO is now developing a platform, using the same technology for a world distribution of TNA Wrestling in HD. By working with Fujitsu to provide customers with the most comprehensive, cost-effective HD satellite broadcasting solutions available today, TV2GO managed to achieve the goal of contribution quality High Definition signals in only 9MHz bandwidth, a dream impossible to achieve 5-6 years ago.

“The ability to deliver high-quality HD footage from across the globe is vital for broadcasters as the portfolio of HD programming available continues to increase,” said Vic Herring, senior director, video solutions group, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. “ The IP-9500e has set the industry standard when it comes to picture quality and low-latency, allowing TV2GO and other customers to deliver a superior product while also reducing the overall costs of broadcasting in HD by enabling video feeds to be transmitted via existing infrastructure.”