Major News Network Integrates Dejero Gear in IP Newsgathering Vehicles

Dejero and Accelerated Media Technologies (AMT) announced that a major U.S. news network has deployed IP newsgathering vehicles, designed and built by AMT and integrating the Dejero LIVE+ VSET bonded wireless transmitter, to five of its local affiliates across the U.S. The vehicles pair Ka-band satellite transmission equipment with advanced cellular bonding technology — giving news crews a flexible, cost-effective, and reliable means of transmitting low-latency, high-quality video. 

A Dejero technology partner, AMT specializes in vehicle integration for a wide range of mobile applications including broadcasting. The company has integrated the LIVE+ VSET, Dejero’s 1U vehicle-mount bonded wireless transmitter, in both its Swift DS/ENG line of Ford E-Series vans, and its all-new Explorer IPNG Series based on the ultra-maneuverable Ford Explorer. The Explorer IPNG is AMT’s first purely IP-based transmission vehicle.

During a live transmission, the Dejero LIVE+ VSET intelligently bonds the Ka-band satellite link with available cellular networks to assure the optimal uplink path for the live video feed with the lowest-possible latency; in fact, the combination of Ka-band and cellular yields less than a second of latency as compared to 2.2 second for Ka-band alone. Dejero’s patent-pending Intelligent Connection Management (ICM) technology continually monitors and adjusts the network combination in real time to ensure error resiliency and picture quality. For instance, during rain fade and other atmospheric conditions that cause Ka-band satellite bandwidth to decrease, the Dejero LIVE+ VSET will automatically pick up the drop in bandwidth by transmitting over the cellular networks. Back at the broadcast facility, the Dejero LIVE+ Portal cloud-based monitoring, managing, and reporting system provides analytics on the LIVE+ transmitters deployed in the field and the transmission success rate.

“We value our partnership with AMT because the company hasn’t just prototyped the technology; in fact, it has the largest installed base of IP-based ENG vehicles integrating the LIVE+ VSET, with major broadcasting customers using them on a daily basis to cover breaking news, said Brian Cram, CEO, Dejero. “Dejero’s LIVE+ VSET is one of the most widely deployed transmitters of its type, with field-proven results in real-world newsgathering scenarios. News crews can transmit using cellular technology while en route to a news scene, then deploy the Ka-band dish on location and continue the transmission with an optimal uplink path and without an interruption in the live coverage.”

“Dejero is one of the clear market leaders in bonded wireless solutions for ENG, and the company was the first to provide viable technology for aggregating cellular and Ka-band transmissions,” said Thomas P. Jennings, president, Accelerated Media Technologies Inc. “Because the systems are so compact and easy to use, we’ve been able to incorporate them in progressively smaller vehicles that give news crews even greater range and versatility when accessing breaking news scenes. Plus, the hardware cost is a third of conventional microwave and Ku-band satellite systems, and the vehicle cost is half. When you also take into account the much lower data transmission costs compared to Ku-band satellite, the cascading savings are tremendously compelling for our network customers.”