QVC Japan teams with Imagine for Ultra HD all-IP upgrade
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 17 April 2018

Broadcast enablement firm Imagine Communications has revealed that it is providing the critical processing, monitoring and management technology underpinning a new, Ultra HD and IP-based production infrastructure at QVC Japan.



The new facility, which supports uncompressed HD and Ultra HD signals based on the SMPTE ST 2110 standards, has been built to enable the global shopping channel to enhance the buying experience of Japanese viewers through the adoption of a software-based infrastructure that uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment.

The upgrade and expansion of its Japanese teleshopping studio production room, which is among the first large-scale ST 2110-compliant UHD facilities in APAC, is part of the company's initiative to upgrade the agility and flexibility of its technology foundation to rapidly respond to the evolving requirements of the next generation of television shoppers.

"QVC Japan required a next-gen infrastructure that leveraged the flexibility and economies of scale of IT technology, while delivering the precision and quality of traditional broadcast facilities," said Joe Micucci, vice president, global broadcast engineering at QVC. "It was important that we work with a technology partner that was a leader in the shift to IP and an aggressive supporter of and contributor to industry standards for large-scale interoperability."

During the project, Imagine Communications worked closely with Diversified, a US-based media integration solution supplier with oversight of the multi-vendor installation, to deliver the solution. A supporter of industry standards, Imagine supplied the new QVC channel with technology in full compliance with the recently ratified SMPTE ST 2110 standard for the delivery of uncompressed video, audio and metadata over IP network.

At the heart of the deployment is Imagine's recently introduced Selenio Network Processor (SNP). Both an SDI-to-IP gateway and an all-IP signal processing platform, the SNP provides production operations capabilities including HD-UHD up-and-down conversion and colour space adjustments, as well as managing the high dynamic range (HDR) adaptations and conversions required for integrating UHD and HD signals. The SNP also provided synchronisation and timing functions, overseeing the integration of new signals into the production environment and helping to assure the optimal timing of ST 2110 signals for interoperability with all other compliant equipment.