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Ken Regnier, VP Innovacom Networks, Inc.
Janek Kaliczak, Ph.D., Innovacom Networks, Inc.
Frank Alioto, CEO, Innovacom Networks, Inc.
Refreshments and Social Hour: 6:30-7:30 PM
Presentation: 7:30 PM
Recognizing the financial value of these frequencies, the FCC and other government agencies around the world are reassigning the 2 GHz band for non-broadcast uses, mostly cellular and satellite-based telephony or 'Mobile Satellite Service.' There is not a single broadcast auxiliary band that is not under 'attack' from wireless. The exploding telephony market represents commercial interests that are many times larger than all of broadcasting and cablecasting combined. Guess who's going to win this argument?
The 2 GHz band allows a robust signal that uses relatively inexpensive, simple gear, easily and quickly set up by 'outside broadcast' crews. As daily use of 2 Gigs increases in all markets, broadcasters compete for the same frequencies at the same time. Even now, there is not enough spectrum to accommodate all of the stations in each market during peak news periods.
The Feds have told stations to use 7 GHz frequencies for ENG and other field uses, which require more complex microwave gear using shorter wavelengths that make it difficult for field crews to get reliable signals. By the end of this year, broadcasters will be permanently squeezed into 30 percent less space on 2 GHz than they had two years ago, with even more of this important spectrum gone in the next three years. Meanwhile, stations require more bandwidth capacity, not less.
Innovacom Networks, in cooperation with KDD Labs, is developing an elegant solution to the problem: low-cost spread-spectrum transmission of three MPEG video streams over a single 2.4 GHz frequency. The compressed signals don't suffer noticeable degradation. Although other manufacturers are offering microwave compression schemes, Innovacom's methods are becoming popular, with systems already in use in several U.S. broadcast markets. Marconi and others who need similar solutions have adopted Innovacom's technology. At the August SMPTE-SF meeting, Innovacom engineers will give a demonstration of their prototype.
We'll also see the finished-product version of a multi-span IP transmission system utilizing MPEG-2 transmitted on up to four T1 lines. Issues related to this type of transmission will be discussed, in addition to coverage of an airborne digital video downlink system Innovacom has designed and installed for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Other topics will include in-band control, video device remote control, and mixing and matching different network types.
Innovacom Networks, Inc. specializes in broadcast-quality, disparate-network
digital video transmission, including systems utilizing multiple T1 lines,
DS-3, ATM, and IP transmission systems.
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