Mexico. Televisa has acquired 25 IP video units with JVC ProHD wireless bridge to transmit live ENG field reports from 21 different markets throughout Mexico. The first unit was tested last year at XEFB in Monterrey; now, there are three Wireless Bridge units at XEFB and three at XHG in Guadalajara, with the rest assigned to 19 other Televisa regional stations.
According to Gabriel Herrán Galaviz, televisa's technical director of regional stations, the news teams are very happy with JVC's IP news solution. "Before this, it was very complicated to produce a live report because we needed a microwave truck, which cost a lot of money and required a lot of resources. Now they can report from anywhere using one of our fleet vehicles," he explained.
Previously, Televisa had used its JVC GY-HM850 ProHD cameras to send files via FTP, but Bridge's investment has allowed its news stations to provide more live reports for their viewers. "We think we don't need to buy microwave trucks anymore. Although we rely on the bandwidth and service of 4G providers, we believe this is the best solution at the moment," Galaviz said.
Compatible with JVC's ProHD and 4KCAM streaming camera models, the ProHD Wireless Bridge is ideal for transmissions that require high reliability and camera mobility. Each camera in the system is equipped with a transceiver module, which connects directly to the camera's USB connector and operates up to 2,000 feet from the vehicle-mounted base station. Cellular uplink with high-gain antenna turns the vehicle into a remote transmission center, receiving signals from one or more field cameras and creating a virtual private network (VPN) for secure transmission.
Broadcasters like Televisa can equip all their fleet vehicles with ProHD Wireless Bridge systems and direct them to a single IP address. While stations in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana have their own IP routers, the other 18 stations use a cloud-based Peplink FusionHub virtual device to connect their cameras to a cloud-based Zixi server, which routes live streams to a JVC BR DE800 ProHD set-top box at each station.
The Wireless Bridge units were installed primarily for local news, but Galaviz said they could be used for commercial projects, as well as Univision content for U.S. audiences. Televisa is already planning to invest in more ProHD Bridge units.
