Serbian Media Company Adds TVU Mobile IP Transmitters to Newsgathering Equipment Arsenal

Based on the success of its daily live news feed operations, Serbian media company TV Prva/B92/02 (B92), with headquarters in Belgrade, has added two TVU One mobile IP transmitters with HEVC compression to its TVU Networks newsgathering equipment arsenal, bringing the total number of TVU transmitters at B92 Television to six.

Founded in 1989 as a youth radio station, B92 now includes a national radio, television network and a highly trafficked news and entertainment programming website. B92 Television is one of the fastest growing TV outlets in the country, currently ranked third most popular station among its target audience (18 to 49-year-old viewers). The B92.net site averages roughly three million views per day. The organization has won several, prestigious international awards for journalism and human rights advocacy.

“With the growing popularity of our news coverage both online and on-air, we knew we had to upgrade our ability to deliver even more, remote live news for on-air broadcast and streamed to the website,” says Vladimir Indjic, CTO, TV B92. “We’ve always been impressed with the stability and IS+ technology in our TVU units, along with the company’s 24/7 customer support. Now, with HEVC compression, we’ll be able to produce even higher picture quality at a lower bit rate, which means more live shots and file transfers from the field. TVU continually updates the features in their solutions to give us more of what we need to set ourselves apart as providers of the best live video news coverage in our region.”

The two new TVU One mobile transmitters with HEVC will be used in conjunction with the networks’ four TVUPack’s purchased in 2012. B92 Television will use all six TVU transmitters for live feeds every day.

Belgrade-based broadcast systems integration firm Amisys consulted with B92 executives on the selection of the TVU One units and were instrumental in the decision-making process, training staff, and ensuring a smooth transition so the network could be up and running quickly.

The TVU One with HEVC cellular mobile solution uses both HEVC video compression and TVU’s patented Inverse Statmux Plus (IS+) transmission algorithm, which transmits HD-quality video with half-second latency at 3Mbps. It’s available with embedded modems and can transmit simultaneously over multiple mediums, including cellular, microwave, satellite, BGAN, WiFi, and Ethernet.

“B92 Television has a very young and urban viewership, so it’s essential that they stay current and provide the latest news and programming exactly as it’s happening with absolute reliability and top-notch quality,” says Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks. “There’s zero room for error. Thankfully, HEVC compression is much more efficient, particularly when combined with our IS+ technology. By taking advantage of both, the TVU One with HEVC sets a new standard for latency of just a half second at 3Mbps – even in situations where transmission is being done from inside a moving vehicle. It uses less data, with less overhead and performs with even greater stability than ever before.”

Weighing just 2.2 pounds, TVU One with HEVC offers a robust set of functions designed to fit the needs of any size live video broadcaster. It delivers industry-leading video transmission resiliency and high-definition picture quality within an ultra-compact and rugged hardware chassis. With TVU One with HEVC, broadcasters can fully leverage the versatility of a small, lightweight, IP-based high-definition video field transmitter without sacrificing performance, features or picture quality.