Nucomm is making it easier for TV news stories to be edited in the field and delivered to the studio over alternative networks with its Messenger IP Encapsulator/Decapsulator, which will be on display at the NAB Show (booth C3007). The system is designed to support high-speed IP connectivity between an ENG van or mobile production truck and the news studio.

With an IP network in place, other applications, such as remote queuing and remote truck control, can also run between the studio and the ENG vehicle.

The Nucomm Messenger can be used in trickle or broadband mode. In trickle mode, live video and IP traffic are sent simultaneously; the live video reduces the IP traffic to a rate in the range of 100Kb/s-1Mb/s. The Messenger does this transfer by replacing null packets with IP packets.

In the broadband mode, nearly the entire link is dedicated to IP traffic. The user either turns off the MPEG encoder or removes the video source to the encoder, creating a transport stream nearly full of null packets. In this mode, the encapsulator responds automatically to the changing network conditions.

The Nucomm Messenger IP unit can be used in trickle or broadband mode.

The Messenger system consists of a 1RU encapsulator and a 1RU decapsulator. IP data from the newsgathering vehicle to the studio flows through the existing ENG infrastructure. The outbound IP traffic enters the Messenger IP encapsulator. The IP traffic is encapsulated into the MPEG stream from the MPEG encoder in the ENG transmitter. The resulting ASI stream, containing the IP data and video data, returns to the ENG microwave transmitter, where it is transmitted back to the studio.

For more information, visit www.nucomm.com/.