RTVE selects Appear to deliver HEVC encoding for distribution of live TV services across Spain
RTVE, the state-owned Spanish television and radio broadcaster, has turned to Appear to support the delivery of live video content. RTVE has deployed Appear’s X Platform for encoding and decoding on radio links between RTVE’s locations in Prado del Rey, Torrespaña and Salón de Loterías.
Challenge
When it comes to live video, viewers expect nothing less than high quality, real-time experiences. For broadcasters, delivering high quality live video content with little to no latency is a complex task.
RTVE’s facilities are in three locations, in Prado del Rey, Torrespaña and Salón de Loterías, enabling the live video delivery between these facilities and to its viewers across Spain. Doing so requires technology that can compress and distribute live video to viewers in as close to real time as possible. Unusually, for RTVE this distribution is done via dedicated radio links which typically have lower available bandwidth than standard IP connections. As such, solving the technical challenge of provisioning effective, quality compression is paramount.
Solution
Appear has a track record of delivering live broadcasts with zero latency, in the highest quality, reliably and securely. For this project, Appear worked with systems integrator MoMe, who was responsible for the deployment of Appear’s X Platform at RTVE’s locations, to introduce HEVC encoding for its radio links between production sites. This coding scheme is particularly well suited to radio links thanks to the significant reduction of bandwidth it brings, and its ability to simultaneously maintain pristine video quality.
Appear’s X Platform is a dedicated hardware solution that has been designed with contribution and distribution in mind. The X Platform combines encoding and decoding of multiple contribution formats within a single chassis. Furthermore, its channel density gives RTVE the flexibility to scale and add more feeds as and when it requires—without deploying additional hardware.
The X Platform supports a range of compression solutions, including lite compression codecs, that enables RTVE to balance its quality, latency and bandwidth needs.
Why Appear
RTVE selected Appear’s X Platform because of its high efficiency video coding (HEVC) encoding and decoding capabilities. RTVE also selected the X Platform because its modularity meant RTVE could upgrade to 4K without deploying additional hardware.
“Delivering high visual quality content at low bitrates was the prime reason for selecting Appear. Combined with the X Platform’s operational simplicity, high reliability and low power consumption, Appear surpasses our requirements for dependability and low operating cost,” Manuel Delgado, Head of the Radio Communication Unit at RTVE.
Results
Since the deployment, RTVE has continued to evaluate and consider how it can further take advantage of Appear’s X Platform chassis. In time this might include adding further channel or connectivity options, such as SRT or RIST, as its needs grow.
