Away from the track action, one of the persistent images of Formula One broadcasts is the pit lane, here lines of engineers follow their drivers’ progress and monitor their cars’ metrics. Pit-to-car comms are an essential element of their function, along with links to the teams' remote HQ – and then there is the broadcast itself. No surprise, then, to see racks of comms units beneath their monitor screens.
No stranger to this high-pressure and hostile environment, Riedel has been serving all Formula One races worldwide for the past six years, providing communications for broadcasters, numerous F1 teams and the FIA governing body.
Among these, Riedel’s RiLink Global Fiber Service provides bidirectional links between the race circuits and German broadcaster RTL’s operation in Cologne. In addition, Riedel Artist and MediorNet platforms are used for communications and signal acquisition, and distribution at the various race venues around the world.
These bidirectional links transport 3G/HD/SD-SDI broadcast signals to RTL’s facilities, and also return video feeds, full-duplex communications, VoIP telephony and IP data to the track. RiLink provides higher bandwidth connections than satellite links, which directly translates into better video quality, and its latency is significantly shorter. Transmission is also independent of weather conditions.
Various redundancy layers within the network ensure reliability and RTL uses Riedel’s globally available MPLS network for enterprise services, such as exchange server connections, intranet and intercom.
‘When it comes to broadcasting an event such as Formula One, a strong and reliable partnership is an absolute must,’ says Fritz Behringer, Technical Operations Manager at the Cologne Broadcasting Center, part of the RTL Media Group. ‘We have been working with Riedel’s RiLink for many years. As soon as the fibre cable is connected to our production unit, all systems wake up, connect to their hosts instantaneously, and start sending files or messages. Riedel is connecting the two worlds for us: broadcast and IT.’
RTL transfers the international programme video signal and additional signals from its ENG teams at the race venues to the playout centre. During off-peak hours when there is no signal transmission, RTL uses the additional capacity for other purposes such as file transfers to its archive in Cologne, which can be carried out automatically in managed workflows. While real-time transport of HD video uses compression in order to reduce bandwidth, these off-peak transfers happen uncompressed in their original quality. Sending uncompressed video is always the preferred choice in cases that involve high-quality postproduction or when sending video to archive.
Riedel’s Artist intercom systems, meanwhile, allow RTL’s on-site crew to collaborate seamlessly with the home team using remote resources.
‘RF-based communication is a challenge on its own,’ Behringer says. ‘The combination of network connectivity, networked intercom and RF systems and a strong support team gives us the headroom to react fast enough on all contingencies and makes our productions so smooth. The systems also connect the drivers on the track with their pit crews and off-site engineers, providing drivers with up-to-date tactical advice and on-track support.’
More: www.riedel.net
