Media Links delivers Xscend IP media platform for upcoming Summer Games
Media Links has delivered its new Xscend Media over IP transport platform for use at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, which take place in Paris, France, from 26 July-11 August 2024. Celebrating its 30th year of innovation, Media Links has a long history of providing technology to broadcasters and service providers of past Olympics.
The benefit of IP will once again enable new efficiencies and cost economies, allowing broadcasters covering the Games to create and deliver media (video, audio and data) with flexibility, reliability and impeccable quality. Media Links’ Media over IP technology will play an instrumental role in the content delivery infrastructure, transporting an abundance of contribution media feeds from Paris under and across the Atlantic Ocean to the US.
Over 100 1080i and 1080p video streams will be transported from the Olympic Games’ International Broadcasting Center (IBC) in Paris to a US-based broadcaster for final production and mass distribution to the viewing public. JPEG-XS compression will be utilised to lower overall bandwidth usage and resulting transit costs while keeping processing latency to a minimum.
Xscend’s hitless protection switching will be also deployed across multiple 100Gbps undersea optical trunks to allow for perfect media signal reconstruction at the receiving end in the event of intermittent or more frequently occurring errors in any one path.
Media Links ProMD-EMS Enhanced Management System will also be in operation, controlling, monitoring and assuring media service integrity across the Xscend platform from France to the US.
“Media Links solutions are repeatedly used for these types of content-critical, highest profile events like the Olympics, mainly due to their quality, consistency and reliability. Audiences expect a robust viewing experience, and our customers know they can always count on Media Links to deliver absolute quality of service over their network. Our support and professional services team will also be fully engaged, working with our global customers to ensure that all aspects of Olympic Games planning and implementation are handled methodically and smoothly,” said John Dale, chief marketing officer of Media Links.