The challenge

This project consists of the reception and the transcoding of more than one hundred TV and radio channels for delivery to customers over ADSL with high video quality and low bitrates. These TV channels are available through 36 satellites feeds and analog terrestrial reception. The system should allow insertion of local advertising with scheduling and billing. Content is delivered simultaneously in MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 to address different types of customer terminals. A centralized Network Monitoring System should allow easy operation and evolutions, including all the equipment of the Head-end.

The Solution

ATEME delivered an integrated IPTV solution for which it provided the design, testing, integration, deployment and maintenance. ATEME’s solution includes the following subsystems:

• Antennas
• RF distribution
• Video decoding/encoding
• Transrating
• Ad insertion
• Multiplexing
• Network management system.

Key factors of success

System expertise : By involving highly skilled experts at every crucial stage from the beginning of the project to the end, ATEME clearly demonstrated its full capabilities to integrate a complex system which covers everything from antennas to video content delivery, including ad insertion.

Pre-integration in a lab: In order to prepare our FAT, our system engineering lab was used intensively. Here we have a reference architecture system that helped us to pre-integrate the solution including 3rd party products. During these lab tests we made sure that all subcomponents were fully interoperable and finally, thanks to a permanent and close relationship with our ecosystem partners, this risky step was accomplished without any issues.

A great experience in project management : Using our proven methodology based on a solution lifecycle approach, we identified what we could expect from ITS and what we had to do and deliver. We conducted regular reviews in order to minimize any risk issues and which enabled us to deliver the project on time, to specs and to customer satisfaction.

A large scale training: A system is truly turnkey ready when the client is able to use it and to perform for himself a day to day maintenance. That’s why ITS asked us to organize a significant number of training sessions for its technical staff: 400 man X days spent, 20 training days, 40 trainees, 8 trainers.

A future full proof partnership with ITS: Because ICE has to adapt its channel line-up to its audience which is evolving very rapidly, the system is not intended to stay as it is during the commissioning. And we are here to accompany ITS, to advise, to support and to help them in ensuring their systems’ evolutions. The story continues today…

Solution at a glance:

• Deliver high video quality < 1.7Mbps
• 100 SD + 10HD + 7 analog SD, 30 radios
• Broadcast TV with PIP
• MPEG2 to MPEG4 transcoding
• MPEG2 to MPEG2 transrating
• Ad-insertion with splicing on 12 channels, offline clip encoding and billing & scheduling system
• Centralized supervision with automatic redundancy
• Different type of Antennas, 2 Multi beam in 1+1 redundancy scheme, 4x Single beam (4,5 m), 1 motorized for redundancy, 1 analog terrestrial.
• 36 RF feeds, 10 satellites
• 2 sites
• 14 racks < 10 tons of equipment shipped