Spanish broadcaster betevé and TVU Networks team for expanded 5G transmissions

Spanish broadcaster betevé conducted a live 5G transmission in Barcelona using a TVU One 4K unit connected to a Huawei smartphone and linked to a new 5G antenna

The Barcelona public broadcaster betevé is using TVU Networks technology to transmit content over 5G networks, it has been announced.

Betevé, formerly BTV, was the first broadcaster in Spain to use the digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmission system and deploys only electric cars as newsgathering vehicles.

A 5G antennae was recently installed in the city’s @22district, where betevé is located. The area, a hub for start-ups and large companies, is being developed as a live test zone for mobile 5G.

Betevé conducted a live 5G transmission using a TVU One 4K unit connected to a Huawei smartphone and linked to the new antenna. betevé achieved the maximum bandwidth of 12Mbps (the limit set on this 5G antenna,) with just one connected device. The TVU One device requires just 3Mbps to produce high resolution, broadcast-quality 4K transmissions at 0.5 seconds latency.

“We’re thrilled to be located in such a technically progressive part of the city,” said Jordi Colom, technical director, betevé. “5G offers incredible opportunity for broadcasters, particularly in the area of live remote production over the public internet. With TVU’s exceptional mobile transmission technology, as we’ve witnessed consistently for more than 10 years, we’re confident of our ability to maximise all that true 5G offers after the rollout is complete. I can’t think of better company to partner with than TVU Networks at such an exciting time for live production.”

In the betevé studio for the live 5G transmission with TVU Networks’ kit. Said Jordi Colom, technical director, betevé: “5G offers incredible opportunity for broadcasters, particularly in the area of live remote production over the public internet”

Also, last September, with over half a million people expected in the streets of Barcelona for the National Day of Catalonia, honouring those who’ve fought to retain Catalan independence, Colom knew the strain on the city’s 4G cellular infrastructure would be too great for a solid, live transmission of this important event. To achieve a high resolution, low latency broadcast, the betevé engineering team successfully deployed a TVU One mobile transmitter with a Samsung Galaxy 10 5G phone over Vodafone’s 5G network to secure a perfect transmission.

On how Paul Shen, TVU Networks’ CEO, sees 5G helping sports broadcasters to work more efficiently in these difficult times, and as we move through to the other side of this current health crisis, he told SVG Europe: “For live remote productions such as news, sports and live events, the increased data transfer rate enables new capabilities such as: multi-channel audio, multi-camera productions, augmented and virtual reality streaming in 4K, and live streaming in 8K.”

Shen continued: “As demonstrated by betevé’s recent live 5G transmissions, our technology optimises and works smoothly with 5G solutions. We’re looking forward to betevé upcoming video productions using our video over IP technology combined with all the advantages of 5G. We believe 5G, in the hands of creative content producers like betevé, will fundamentally alter how we produce, receive and consume live news.”
TVU solutions are designed to optimise the highest possible upload and download speeds of 5G networks, as well as the decreased latency they provide. While, download speeds on a 5G network can be measured in gigabits per second, currently available speeds are lower, ranging between 100MBps to 200Mbps. TVU Networks has had successful 5G transmission with its equipment globally for the past year, including broadcasts in China, Korea and the US.

The TVU One is TVU Networks’ flagship HEVC cellular 4G LTE mobile transmitter. With breakthrough H.265 hardware encoding chip and patented Inverse StatMux transmission technology, IS+, it delivers full broadcast quality 4K, 10-bit true 60fps HDR video at as low as 3Mbps. It can transmit live 1080p60 HDR at a rate as low as 800Kbps. With sub-second latency, it provides live UHD quality with vivid colours and high contrast.