NBC Olympics chose Scopus for digital video transmission

NBC Olympics is to use digital video transmission equipment manufactured by Scopus Network Technologies to transport its 24-hour, continuous coverage of the 2004 Olympic Games from Athens.
NBC will transmit the signals from the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Athens to various sites in the United States for broadcast via the networks of NBC, including the first-ever Spanish-language US broadcast on Telemundo.
Scopus E-1100 MPEG-2 DVB encoders, installed at the IBC, will transmit round-the-clock coverage of the Games on six channels via satellite and fibre optic cable to Scopus IRD-2800 integrated receiver decoders (IRDs) at NBC's US headquarters in New York City and other US facilities.
Scopus also will support NBC's local video content creation in Athens by equipping two digital satellite news gathering (DSNG) units with MPEG-2 encoders for as many as four high-quality transmission channels per DSNG van. These mobile units will be deployed to provide multiple feeds from remote events as well as to produce news and feature coverage.
The encoding and decoding systems provided by Scopus will support two high-definition (HD) channels and up to 25 standard-definition (SD) channels. All of NBC's coverage will be transmitted to the United States via both fibres and satellites provided by AT&T. In addition to all of the SD network coverage, the HD feed from Athens will allow NBC to provide eight hours of original HD content each day, repeated twice daily for wall-to-wall HD programming. The majority of the HD programming will be broadcast live directly from Athens via the Scopus HD MPEG-2 encoders.
The Scopus E-1100 MPEG-2 encoders also will be deployed in two mobile DSNG trucks that will transmit footage from around Athens to the IBC for transmission to the United States. Additional encoders and decoders on either end of the links will provide operational redundancy, while Scopus E-900 encoders based at NBC's N.Y. headquarters and IRD-2600 decoding systems installed at the IBC will enable closed-circuit monitoring of the broadcasts. The system implementation also includes a failure recovery network and extensive monitoring capabilities.
(GB)