In what is believed to have been the largest deployment of its kind to date, more than 1,000 Barix Audio over IP devices were used as part of the live broadcast audio configuration at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The Barix equipment was specified for contribution, distribution and monitoring of live broadcast audio throughout the event, which took place in India last month.
Host broadcaster Prasar Bharathi engaged Mahanahar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to install and operate a redundant fiber networtk from all 12 venues to the International Broadcast Center (IBC), transporting IP audio over MPLS. The IBC managed and delivered more than 40 contribution and 250 coordination feeds to and from the venues, and served as the origination point for broadcast signals delivered globally to rights holders.
To provide the core audio transport solution, MTNL selected Barix Exstreamer 1000 professional encoding/decoding devices, with special firmware from Barix to deliver very low-latency audio (between 20 and 30 milliseconds of delay). In addition, redundant pairs of Exstreamer 1000 devices contributed live sports commentary and broadcast-quality event audio from each venue to the IBC, while many broadcast facilities receiving live feeds from the IBC used Barix Exstreamer devices to receive and decode programme audio.
Jidendra Garg, deputy g-m of MTNL, highlighted the positive feedback from home broadcasters and rights-holders to the IP network, adding that production partner SIS Live and Prasar Bharathi were also very satisfied with the Audio over IP delivery achieved via Barix devices. He also expressed appreciation of the professional support provided by Barix and systems integration partners HCL Infosystems and BNA Technology Consulting.
Johannes G. Rietschel, CEO and founder of Barix, told IE: “The Commonwealth Games represents a hallmark project for Barix as it is believed to the largest IP audio deployment in the sports world to date, using more than 1,000 Barix devices to link multiple origination points and broadcast destinations. The success of this deployment comes at a time when more broadcasters are turning to IP as a reliable and cost-efficient means to contribute and distribute broadcast content. The incident-free performance of the Barix Exstreamer 1000 within the larger platform further solidifies Barix’s leadership position in Audio over IP for broadcast and beyond.”
