OSLO, Norway—Nevion’s VideoIP media orchestration platform was successfully used to demonstrate dynamic prioritization of live media signals over 5G connectivity as a proof of concept (PoC) during the coronation of King Charles III in May, the company said today.
Nevion parent company Sony conducted the test along with private 5G SA Networks developer Neutral Wireless and the research and development arm of BBC, it said.
While there is a lot of interest in using 5G in live production due to its speed, the fact that it is a best-effort technology can make it unusable in applications where there is a high-level of contention for available bandwidth. That situation is particularly acute in public 5G networks; however, it can also be the case for dedicated 5G networks with many pieces of equipment connected, it said.
The PoC aimed to demonstrate that media signals could be prioritized on a standalone non-public network (SNPN) using quality of service (QoS) control, it said.
The test employed elements of Sony and Nevion’s Networked Live offering. Media transport relied on Sony prototype transmitter boxes affixed to each camera. The transmitters provided ultra-low-latency HEVC video encoding. They were connected to the Neutral Wireless 5G SNPN via an Xperia 5G smartphone, the company said.
Nevion VideoIP provided network and resource orchestration and was used to interface with the 5G network’s Network Exposure Function (NEF). It configured the QoS for individual flows based on dynamic information about bandwidth and signal priorities. The video signal from a camera currently transmitting, for example, was assigned a higher priority compared to a non-transmitting camera, it said.
“Our vision of creating a unified hybrid on-prem and cloud-distributed environment requires a network orchestration able to control the flow of signals end-to-end, across various fixed and mobile networks. In recent years, we have built a solid experience in using 5G in production, most notably through the Nevion-led EU-funded 5G VIRTUOSA project. This PoC is one further step in demonstrating the viability of 5G in live production, especially in high demand environments,” said Andy Rayner, chief technologist at Nevion.
More information is available on the Nevion website.
