HOUSTON—High profile events like the Super Bowl are often utilized by broadcasters to demonstrate the most advanced technologies commercially available. One technology, which was leveraged independently by FOX 26/KRIV-TV and Telemundo Houston/KTMD at Super Bowl LI was the MPU5 Video Transmission System from Persistent Systems, LLC.
The MPU5 is a Mobile Ad hoc Networking (MANET) System, where the MPU5 radios automatically discover each other and instantly form and maintain an IP Mesh Data Network called Wave Relay. This robust network is then utilized to stream video directly from ENG cameras to the production studio. The MPU5 utilizes 3x3 MIMO-OFDM technology to achieve extremely high spectral efficiency enabling the networks to pack more simultaneous video streams into the limited spectrum allocated to them.
“The MPU5 features very enthralling technology. Unlike bonded cellular or WiFi, this technology builds up its own securely encrypted and dedicated IT network that allows IT and engineering staff to decide what to transmit across the bandwidth, only limited by their imagination,” said Philip Muller, Chief Engineer, Telemundo Houston.
The MPU5 radios mount directly to the ENG camera and provide both a 3G-SDI input with integrated H.264 video encoding and streaming, as well as a 100 Mbps Ethernet connection which can connect directly to the camera. Whether you are using the MPU5’s integrated streaming or leveraging the H.264 encoding integrated in the latest ENG camera offerings, the MPU5 will deliver your video to the studio.
When compared with Bonded Cellular, the MPU5 is smaller, lighter, cheaper, has no recurring costs, delivers significantly more capacity, and higher quality of service.
Jerry Vazquez, Vice President of News for Telemundo Houston added, “MPU5 helped our news crews connect directly to our newsroom, while out on the field and seamlessly, during one of the biggest events of the year: Super Bowl LI.”
The MPU5 provides a modular radio architecture, where the frequency band can be changed by simply swapping the module. S-Band and C-Band modules are currently available with Broadcast Access Spectrum (BAS) modules shipping in the fall. The MPU5 can transmit up to 6W of average power, enabling very high capacity over large geographic distances.
Persistent Systems, LLC is now shipping the MPU5 radio system to customers.
