RecordTV uses MediaKind IRD for 2019 Pan American Games coverage

Friday, September 13th, 2019
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RecordTV selects MediaKind IRD to enable extensive coverage of 2019 Pan American Games

  • Deployment of MediaKind’s RX8200 Advanced Modular Receiver enables RecordTV to upgrade its infrastructure to receive HEVC 4:2:2 encoded satellite signals
  • RX8200 enables broadcasters to achieve optimal bandwidth efficiency gains, as well as feature-set of MPEG-4 AVC HD, 4:2:2, 10-bit 1080p50/60 for highest possible video quality
  • Avicom Engenharia, MediaKind’s channel partner in Brazil, acted as the project’s system integrator

FRISCO, TEXAS — MediaKind, a global media technology leader, was selected by the Brazilian TV network RecordTV to enable its delivery of over 1,000 hours of programming of the 18th Pan American Games, across its Play Plus streaming services, R7 news portal and Record News and RecordTV channels. The Games took place in Lima, Peru, between July 26 – August 11, 2019.

Among the technical challenges RecordTV faced in preparation of its coverage of the 2019 Pan American Games was a change in the default encode of the transmitted satellite images delivered by the host producer, who opted to use the HEVC 4:2:2 codec rather than commonly used MPEG-4 AVC 4:2:0 standard. To receive these satellite signals, RecordTV deployed MediaKind’s RX8200 Advanced Modular Receivers, the world’s best-selling integrated receiver decoder (IRD).

Avicom Engenharia, MediaKind’s channel partner in Brazil, acted as the project’s system integrator.

Sergio Bruzetti, Project Engineer, RecordTV, said: “This is the first time we have attempted to decode 4:2:2 video and to ensure the successful delivery of such high value, live content, we naturally opted to extend our long-standing partnership with Avicom Engenharia and MediaKind. Through the acquisition of MediaKind’s RX8200 Advanced Modular Receivers earlier this year, we were able to seamlessly configure and tailor the units into our infrastructure by the time the Games began in late July. The implementation of this IRD provided the necessary functionality to meet our operational requirements and enabled the delivery of a high-class broadcast of this prestigious sporting event.”

Geraldo Marques, the station’s Technical Systems Manager, further explains that the successful integration of the RX8200 receivers has enabled RecordTV to benefit from an upgraded IRD, offering advanced performance with HEVC 4:2:2 whilst offering backward compatibility to the existing format, reinforcing RecordTV’s current capabilities and also delivering a smooth pathway towards new standards.

In addition to HEVC decode capabilities, MediaKind’s RX8200 IRD offers satellite operators optimal bandwidth efficiency gains through full support of the DVB-S2X international open standard. In combination, the technologies offer a step-change in transmission efficiency, enabling operators such as RecordTV to dramatically reduce operational costs or free-up bandwidth to launch new revenue generating services.

Jaime Ferreira, Director, Avicom Engenharia, said: “The 2019 Pan American Games involved 6,000 athletes from 41 countries in 417 events across 38 sports and reached an international audience of over 400 million viewers.Broadcasting such a large event to viewers is a highly complex challenge and RecordTV had a very successful games. Its team of professionals worked tirelessly to bring together all the beautiful images of the various disciplines, medal ceremonies and expert commentary to audiences in Brazil, across multiple platforms. It was an honor to work with RecordTV to deliver its coverage and through MediaKind’s leading compression technology, we were able to leverage enormous efficiency gains in receiving and transmitting these live streams.”

Capable of decoding a multitude of video formats and offering total connectivity for all transmission mediums via a comprehensive and modular choice of options, MediaKind’s RX8200 IRD offers a bespoke world-class offering that delivers true operational flexibility. This feature-rich platform provides a complete low latency suite of tools, enabling all broadcasters to optimize their content contribution and news applications.

Clayton Cruz, Regional Head, Latin America, MediaKind, said: “We are proud to contribute our technology and enrich the user experience of RecordTV’s extensive and widespread coverage of the Pan American Games in Brazil, a competition which is enjoyed and celebrated by millions of people throughout Latin America.By collaborating with our channel partners Avicom Engenharia on this exciting project, we continue to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to raising broadcast standards in the region and always providing our customers with the highest level of excellence.”