Princeton, NJ--CBS Newspath successfully deployed Scopus Network Technologies’ DVB digital video transmission equipment to cover the Republican National Convention (RNC), August 30 -September 2, and the Democratic National Convention (DNC), held July 26-29 in Boston. Using a complete Scopus CODICO platform for encoding video signals, CBS Newspath delivered up to 15 different channels for CBS affiliates to pick up live remote feeds from the convention sites.
"We selected Scopus’ CODICO platforms for convention coverage because the equipment’s statistical multiplexing capability allows us to maximize our satellite inventory by fitting more channels into less bandwidth while maintaining the high quality of our broadcast signals," said Tom Fearing, director of technical operations at CBS Newspath. "We’re able to lower our costs by spending less on satellite space, and CBS affiliates find that the system makes tuning different channels easier because they can cycle through the service numbers faster than they would the individual frequencies provided by different carriers."
CBS Newspath provided workspace and transmission facilities for affiliates and international broadcasters who wanted live on-site convention coverage.
For the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden, eight VBR channels were statistically multiplexed into an MCPC stream with Scopus E-1000 encoders, under the control of a Scopus NMS-4000 management system, and routed into two RTM Series multiplexers. Additional RTM-3310 multiplexers aggregated four CBR ASI stream channels along with this 8-channel MCPC stream to produce the final 12-channel MCPC uplink package.
The output of those devices passed through a SDM 2020 modulator, hit a CODICO RSW-7200 redundant switch, was output to an Advent uplink system for transmission to IA6 (formerly Telstar 6) Transponder 3 as a 47.25MB/s MCPC carrier, and then downlinked by various affiliates across the country. This system and its associated efficiency allows CBS Newspath to transmit 12 channels in less than a full transponder, allowing for use of the remaining transponder bandwidth by other CBS groups.
Compared to the configuration used for the DNC at the RNC, CBS Newspath reallocated channels fed from inside the convention to offer SCPC coverage of events taking place elsewhere in the city. Mobile trucks some using Scopus’ E-1710 platforms facilitated these transmissions.
"We’re very pleased that CBS Newspath has chosen Scopus gear to enable coverage of yet another key political event," said Carlo Basile, president of Scopus Americas. "Our products are known for providing reliable operation and excellent signal quality, and both these qualities are critical in coverage of events of this magnitude."
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