Broadcast Solution

Q: Is there redundancy if something fails?

Critical paths should be designed with N+1 redundancy. The N+1 backup HDMI matrix in our rail transit line exists for exactly this. In the machine room, the 1U card-frame chassis lets you swap a card without a shutdown. Final redundancy design is project-specific.

A playout chain needs two different links

One must be lossless and instant, the other must be cheap to move

Four problems we see in playout chains

Studio to machine room exceeds 100 m: 3G-SDI coax starts to attenuate and jitter
Mixed-vintage equipment: SDI, HDMI and DVI in the same rack
After IP migration, latency becomes unpredictable and lip sync drifts
Playout cannot stop, yet a single device failure takes the chain down

Our approach

Fiber for in-house runs : optical conversion only, no codec in the path, latency is negligible
Interface bridging : bidirectional HDMI to 3G/SD/HD-SDI conversion
H.265 for long haul : roughly half the bitrate of H.264 at equal quality
1U card-frame chassis : 1-4 HDMI/SDI cards mixed, shared power, easy field replacement

Signal Chain

Fiber inside the building, IP outside

1 · Source Cameras, studio, satellite receiver
HDMI or SDI out

→

2 · Interface HDMI to SDI and back
broadcast-grade converters

→

3 · Fiber 3G-SDI optical transceiver
uncompressed, 20 km standard

→

4 · Encode H.265 encoder
RTSP / RTMP / UDP / HLS

→

5 · Playout Playout platform and decoders
monitor wall

Keep in-house runs on optical transceivers (uncompressed, negligible latency). Only introduce an encoder at step 4 when the signal has to cross buildings, cities or go to an IPTV/OTT headend.

Four Typical Setups

Pick by site conditions — or send us your point list and distances

Scenario	Recommended	Interface / Resolution	Transport
Studio to machine room over 100 m, zero latency	ZY-3GSDI-1V-T/R 3G-SDI transceiver	1 x 3G-SDI 1080p60 uncompressed	Single-mode fiber, 20 km standard, up to 80 km custom
Multi-camera central encoding OB van, converged media center	1U card-frame rack encoder	1-4 HDMI / SDI cards, mixed	RTSP / RTMP / UDP / HLS
HDMI gear into an SDI plant cameras, PCs, switchers	HC01 HDMI to SDI converter	HDMI to 3G/SD/HD-SDI	Broadcast-grade conversion
SDI onto an HDMI monitor low-cost monitoring	SC01 SDI to HDMI converter	3G/SD/HD-SDI to HDMI	1080p monitoring
Multiview monitoring whole plant on one screen	ZY-DM16 video platform or ZY-DS901 SDI decoder	16-way multiview / single SDI	H.265 / H.264 decoding

Recommended Products

Designed and manufactured in-house · OEM / ODM available · factory direct · 3-year warranty

ZY-3GSDI-1V-T/R 3G-SDI Transceiver

Uncompressed 1080p60 over single-mode fiber, 20 km standard and up to 80 km on request. The backbone of an in-house chain.

In-house backbone

1U Card-Frame Rack Encoder

1-4 HDMI/SDI cards in one chassis with shared power and cooling, built for machine-room deployment.

Central encoding

HC01 HDMI to SDI Converter

Feeds cameras, PCs and switchers into an SDI plant with 3G/SD/HD-SDI output.

Interface bridging

SC01 SDI to HDMI Converter

Puts SDI sources onto affordable HDMI monitors and projectors.

Monitoring

ZY-DS901 SDI Decoder

SDI decoder with an LCD panel, so status checks do not need a laptop.

Playout monitoring

ZY-EH1304 4K Encoder

H.265 4K encoding for IP distribution of UHD programmes.

4K IP playout

Typical Applications

TV studios

Fiber backbone from cameras to the playout room

OB vans

Field contribution and central multi-camera encoding

Converged media centers

Aggregate many sources, distribute to many platforms

IPTV and cable headends

H.265 ingest

Campus and corporate TV

A playout chain that fits the budget

Satellite receive and capture

Long uncompressed runs plus encoding for archive

FAQ

Does an optical transceiver add latency?

Essentially no. It performs electrical-to-optical conversion with no codec in the path, so latency is negligible. Latency comes from IP encoding (milliseconds). Keep in-house runs on fiber and reserve encoding for the segments that must travel over IP.

How far can 3G-SDI coax go?

About 100 m at 1080p60 before jitter and errors appear. Moving to a 3G-SDI optical transceiver gives 20 km on single-mode fiber as standard, up to 80 km custom, with no electromagnetic interference.

How do I build a 4K playout chain?

Use HDMI fiber for 4K baseband inside the building, and an H.265 4K encoder such as the ZY-EH1304 for network distribution. Our current optical transceivers are 3G-SDI (1080p60); tell us if you need 4K baseband.

Is there redundancy if something fails?

Critical paths should be designed with N+1 redundancy. The ZY-EH1304 4-channel HDMI 4K encoder in our rail transit line exists for exactly this. In the machine room, the 1U card-frame chassis lets you swap a card without a shutdown. Final redundancy design is project-specific.

Which streaming protocols are supported?

Encoders support RTSP / RTMP / RTMPS / RTP / UDP / ONVIF / HLS / TS, so they drop into mainstream playout platforms and CDNs. Decoders handle H.265 and H.264.

Technical reading for this scenario

The background you need before specifying hardware for broadcast & production.

Product lines used here

Hardware ranges typically specified for broadcast & production.

Tell us your playout chain and we will spec it and quote it

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