CINCINNATI, April 14, 2017— GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV broadcasters,continues its innovation around its Intraplex® brand of intelligent networking solutions with IPConnect, a new software applicationdesignedto fortify data transport across IP networks.GatesAir will introduce IPConnect at the 2017 NAB Show, taking place April 24-27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. GatesAir exhibits at Booth N2613.
Available as an option in most Intraplex IP Link codecs, IPConnect solves the problem of reliable data transport across complex networks that traditionally suffer data loss through dropped packets. The software datagateway provides extra protection through packetencapsulation, which encloses the external IP data packets in a GatesAir protocol wrapper as it moves across IP networks.
Unlike many similar applications, IPConnect provides this protection for studio-generated data, as well IP data from external sources. While the former might include RDS data or SNMP control signals to trigger a command at the transmitter site, the latter may incorporate program or control data coming from a network operations center, satellite feed or advertising service.
“IPConnect can accept data from any external source, and because it bridges at the IP layer, it is application-agnostic,” said Keyur Parikh, director, GatesAir Intraplex Business Unit. “It gives the broadcaster tremendous peace of mind to reliably tunnel any IP data between one or more sites, without concern of packet loss or outside interference.”
Whether generated in-house or externally, IPConnectexpertly manages data transport for IP network architectures of any scale.It is adept at handling complex scenarios such as E2X (exporter-to-exciter) connections, which can include data feeds for multiple HD Radio services.
“The E2X aspect of the HD Radio traffic stream is particularly vulnerable to packet loss given the large amount of data moving from a studio, where the exporter lives, to the exciter at a transmitter site,” said Parikh. “As most of these paths cover very long distances, the large amount of data moving over these pathways make them more susceptible to packet loss—which can result in missing content, or the failure of a critical control command. Its purpose is to provide reliable transport for each application’s IP data, where the applications themselves lack the ability to achieve that goal.”
The IPConnectsoftware applications represent the first product phase of an ongoing development plan that includes a dedicated hardware device.
Network Analytics
In addition to IPConnect, GatesAir now integrates its unique Intraplex LiveLook network analytics and monitoring software into all IP Link codecs. LiveLook provides a graphical analysis of both real-time and historical network performance data, as well as the monitoring of audio streams’ state changes and optional email notification capability. The software also provides a single management application to analyze and monitor all the audio streams of the network,and incorporates report generation capability that analyzes and recommends the best error protection technique of the IP Link codec to use.
GatesAir is offering a promotion through June that incorporates LiveLook into IP Link codecs at no charge or a reduced rate through June 30, depending on which codec is selected. More information on this special promotion can be found at http://blog.gatesair.com/take-a-live-look-at-this-network-analytics-offer.
About GatesAir
GatesAir, Inc. provides complete solutions for over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, leveraging wireless spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel, mission-critical services. Powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability for nearly 100 years, GatesAir’s turnkey solutions enable broadcasters to create, transport and transmit radio and TV content. With customers in more than 185 countries, the company leads the industry in innovation and design breakthroughs, improving efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership. Visit www.gatesair.comfor more information, and follow us on Twitter at @GatesAir.
