Asian Games 2018: How the host broadcast operation was underpinned by media transportation from Net Insight

The Asian Games 2018 International Broadcasting Centre in Jakarta

The recent Asian Games in Indonesia saw Net Insight provide media transportation for broadcast production and contribution from the host venues to the IBC in Jakarta, as well as various supporting services.

This year’s event – the 18th in its history – constituted the first time that the Asian Games was hosted in two cities, namely the capital city Jakarta and Palembang, which are located approximately 600km apart. The main host city Jakarta held the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, while six further sport venues and a mini-IBC were located in Palembang.

“It was very challenging to handle such a prestigious and big event like Asian Games and Net Insight helped us to solve the challenge. The Nimbra solution showed excellent performance during the Asian Games,” said Bogi Witjaksono, managing director, Metrasat.

“The equipment worked very well and there were no complaints during the event. I am very satisfied,” added Linda Wahyudi, director of broadcast department, INASGOC (Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee).

Nimbra-based solution

The implementation of the media network for Metrasat, a subsidiary company of Telkom Indonesia, for the purposes of VSAT communications and broadcast was undertaken by Net Insight in conjunction with Transtel Universal, which is Net Insight’s partner in Indonesia.

Net Insight’s media transport platform Nimbra performed throughout the Games even with broadcast feeds from Palembang, 600km away. Nimbra 640s, Nimbra 680s and Nimbra 688s equipped with video access modules using J2K compression transported live video content to the IBC, where IGBS undertook host broadcast duties. The Nimbra network was monitored and managed from the CDT (Contribution, Distribution, and Transmission) centre located within the IBC.

Net Insight provided event service management and a team of four professional services personnel to manage the Nimbra network working in rotating shifts. Transtel Universal also had engineers co-located in the CDT with Net Insight’s team to support Metrasat. Another important participant was Telkom Indonesia, which managed the underlying telecoms network infrastructure.

In total, there were four entities operating out of the CDT, namely IGBS, Net Insight, Transtel Universal and Metrasat. The result of their efforts was an acclaimed broadcast production of the Asian Games, which was enjoyed by viewers around the world.