Level 3 Makes Super Bowl 21st Year in a Row
By David Sims
February 03, 2010
(OLYMPICS TECHNOLOGY)
Level 3 Communications (News - Alert) officials say the company will provide live compressed and uncompressed high-definition television broadcast video services to CBS for Super Bowl XLIV.
For the first time ever, instead of sending the feed to a production truck for compression and delivery to the broadcast studio, an uncompressed 1.5 Gigabit per second feed will be sent from Miami to CBS studio headquarters in New York via Level 3’s fiber-optic network.
In total, Level 3 officials say, ' over 2,800 hours of video content will be acquired, encoded and transported across the Level 3 Vyvx services platform for overall Super Bowl coverage.'
Bob Mincieli, director of Broadcast Operations at CBS, said 'This year, we worked with Level 3 to test uncompressed HD feeds in the delivery of various NFL games and have been impressed with the results.'
The NFL has used Level 3 Vyvx broadcast services for 21 consecutive years. During the 2009 football season, Level 3 worked closely with the league and broadcasters to provide video transmission for every regular season and playoff game, totaling more than 5,600 total feeds.
This season Level 3 also worked with the NFL to create a virtual private network that connects clubhouses and provides league teams with a secure, reliable means of sharing footage from games, interviews, practices and more.
Last month, TMC's (News - Alert) Shamila Janakiraman reported that Level 3 entered into an agreement with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, PLDT:
'The agreement entails that PLDT (News - Alert) will use Level 3’s landing station connectivity at the Asia America Gateway or AAG submarine cable system which forms an important communication link between the Asian and American continents. Level 3’s services can provide a diverse and scalable extension of the PLDT pan-Asian network for carrying voice, data and video traffic in the United States,' according to company sources.
“As broadband and wireless communications continue to grow, PLDT faces increasing demands for network connectivity and performance,” Genaro C. Sanchez, vice president of international network operations for PLDT said in a statement. “Level 3 offers the global network connectivity and scalability to ensure that we continue to meet our goal of greater efficiency, cost savings and innovation – today and in the years to come.”
For the first time ever, instead of sending the feed to a production truck for compression and delivery to the broadcast studio, an uncompressed 1.5 Gigabit per second feed will be sent from Miami to CBS studio headquarters in New York via Level 3’s fiber-optic network.
In total, Level 3 officials say, ' over 2,800 hours of video content will be acquired, encoded and transported across the Level 3 Vyvx services platform for overall Super Bowl coverage.'
Bob Mincieli, director of Broadcast Operations at CBS, said 'This year, we worked with Level 3 to test uncompressed HD feeds in the delivery of various NFL games and have been impressed with the results.'
The NFL has used Level 3 Vyvx broadcast services for 21 consecutive years. During the 2009 football season, Level 3 worked closely with the league and broadcasters to provide video transmission for every regular season and playoff game, totaling more than 5,600 total feeds.
This season Level 3 also worked with the NFL to create a virtual private network that connects clubhouses and provides league teams with a secure, reliable means of sharing footage from games, interviews, practices and more.
Last month, TMC's (News - Alert) Shamila Janakiraman reported that Level 3 entered into an agreement with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, PLDT:
'The agreement entails that PLDT (News - Alert) will use Level 3’s landing station connectivity at the Asia America Gateway or AAG submarine cable system which forms an important communication link between the Asian and American continents. Level 3’s services can provide a diverse and scalable extension of the PLDT pan-Asian network for carrying voice, data and video traffic in the United States,' according to company sources.
“As broadband and wireless communications continue to grow, PLDT faces increasing demands for network connectivity and performance,” Genaro C. Sanchez, vice president of international network operations for PLDT said in a statement. “Level 3 offers the global network connectivity and scalability to ensure that we continue to meet our goal of greater efficiency, cost savings and innovation – today and in the years to come.”
David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi
