
BT Sport world-first standalone 5G broadcast for MotoGP at Silverstone is a step towards transmission transformation By Adrian Pennington
Monday, September 6, 2021 - 13:24
Print This Story
At the recent British Grand Prix, MotoGP at Silverstone, BT Sport was able to advance 5G trials
Trials of sports media innovations like augmented reality (AR), 8K and 5G have been delayed by the pandemic, but as crowds and crews get back to the stadiums, tests are starting up once more.
The leader of the pack in Europe at least is BT Sport which has plans for all three technologies in the works.
At the recent British Grand Prix, MotoGP at Silverstone [Sunday 29 August], BT Sport was able to advance the 5G part of its plan in concert with long-standing motorsport partner, MotoGP, and bag a world first in the process.
We've been talking with MotoGP and rights holder Dorna about exploring 5G and how it can transform some of their workflows, explains BT Sport chief engineer Andy Beale. There's a real-world problem to solve. Increasingly the wireless bandwidth traditionally used for radio cams and mics is being squeezed out and so reclaiming some of the public 4G and 5G spectrum is potentially a good way of solving reduced frequency count.
BT Sport embarked on a project with Dorna to explore whether 5G was a viable use case as replacement technology for radio cameras in the pit lane and paddock.
Also in the consortium were RF partner Vislink and the University of Strathclyde, which has a 5G lab. The aim was to build a standalone 5G network and explore its potential during live broadcast.
We didn't believe the main 5G network at Silverstone would support the required quality of service, Beale says. With 60,000 fans, a large circuit area and just one 5G cell we didn't think it would be reliable.
University of Strathclyde built a bespoke, private 5G network for BT Sport to use at MotoGP at Silverstone
Bespoke network
So, the University of Strathclyde built a bespoke one. A standalone network uses the same principals as a non-contested private network, which is why they think it's a world's first, Beale says. It's part of a wider project basically looking at 5G tech longer term as a replacement for traditional coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM).
For the British GP 5G trial, Vislink customised a version of its H-Cam transmitter that clips to the back of a camera and built a 5G transponder on that for use in the pit lane before the race. These pictures went to air on the International Programme Feed (world feed) and were also clipped into BT Sport's live coverage.
That was used very extensively and successfully up and down the pit lane, says Beale.
The small cell built by Strathclyde Uni was rigged on the outside of the circuit and, unlike traditional hardware based, specialised and proprietary cells from the likes of network operators Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei, this was built entirely in the CPU as a software-defined network.
Beale adds: This is a CPU-run 5G cell running virtually (apart from the physical antenna,) on local equipment, and that's important as we do more and more remote productions and start taking feeds into the cloud.
As a next step, BT Sport will take it fully into the cloud.
Vislink also built a militarised' version of the transmitter/transponder for mounting on the back of the media bike, pictures from which are made available for rights holder to use for features.
For BT Sport at Silverstone, former world superbike champion-turned-pundit, Neil Hodgson, rode around the track on the Thursday before race day commentating on the lap.
5G cells have a lower footprint than 4G [meaning more of them are required to cover large areas] so we knew the 5G coverage wouldn't work for the whole lap, but it did work for the section the 5G cell was on, he says.
That's important because the tests were made at various speeds from 100kph to 180kph.
What we're hoping as an industry is that, with 5G, we can use more consistent frequencies which should make it easier operationally for rights holders and broadcasters
We're pleased it still did a pretty good job, Beale continues. The signal has to authenticate when it arrives on the cell so when the bike is going top speed you do lose a bit of track while that handshake takes place, but it kept a clean signal all the way around the complex before it was lost into the start of turn one.
For Dorna, the issue is that at every circuit it attends around the world, the bandwidth for radio cameras and mics is wildly different. So the team has to have kit that works in all these frequencies and as that bandwidth gets compressed it becomes harder and harder to make all those work reliably.
Dorna has around 90-plus radio cameras, let alone radio mics and talkback, each weekend. Beale says: What we're hoping as an industry is that, with 5G, we can use more consistent frequencies which should make it easier operationally for rights holders and broadcasters. The 5G spectrum has a much more consistent specification worldwide.
Sports TV presenter, Natalie Quirk, reporting from trackside at MotoGP at Silverstone for BT Sport, using a custom 5G network
Network slicing still to come
Extensive 5G live production will require network slicing, which is the ability for a broadcaster to licence and hive off a part of the spectrum for the duration of an event.
That's still not available unfortunately, says Beale, who attributes the tardiness of its standardisation to COVID. Slicing would enable us to safely join a public network without contention but we're still waiting for that to arrive. That's why we're using a standalone network to give us the same effect.
That said, the advantages of the standalone model are not great for
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...