Broadcast

Accurate Time for Seamless Synchronization

In broadcasting, precise timing ensures seamless synchronization across audio, video, and other media channels. NTP servers help broadcasters maintain accurate timestamps for live feeds, studio-to-transmitter links (STLs), and post-production workflows. This prevents frame drops, stream misalignments, and delays, ensuring a flawless viewing and listening experience for audiences.

Precision Time Synchronization for Digital Video and Audio Broadcast Systems

The global transition from analog to digital television has accelerated over the past decade and continues today. Initially, satellite and cable providers led the rollout of Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) services, followed by terrestrial systems (DVB-T). Many of our major clients supply equipment for both DVB and Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) systems.

DVB-T leverages Single Frequency Networks (SFN) combined with advanced modulation techniques to maximize spectrum efficiency and bandwidth utilization. In an SFN, multiple transmitters operate on the same frequency, requiring precise synchronization to broadcast multiple channels within megaframes while minimizing guard intervals.

The guard interval is essential in SFNs, allowing efficient spectrum usage and enabling a higher number of radio and TV programs compared to traditional transmission methods. To maintain broadcast integrity, signals from each SFN transmitter must be precisely time-aligned, typically using GPS-based timing at every transmission site.

A GPS-based time and frequency standard, such as the Tycho II, supplies 10 MHz and 1 PPS signals, ensuring synchronous transmission across SFN transmitters and delivering high Quality of Service (QoS).

Implementing PTP / IEEE-1588 for Precise Time Synchronization

However, deploying GPS receivers at every DVB-T or DAB transmission point significantly increases network costs. To address this, Precision Time Protocol (PTP / IEEE-1588) offers a scalable, IP-based solution that distributes precise clock signals required for DVB-T and DAB operations.

By minimizing the number of GPS receivers and supplementing them with PTP-based devices, broadcasters can lower synchronization costs without sacrificing accuracy. Beyond providing 10 MHz and 1 PPS signals, the Tycho II Time & Frequency Reference can also function as a PTP Grandmaster, distributing high-precision timing over the network.

PTP as the Future of Broadcast Synchronization

The industry has already aligned on IEEE-1588 (PTP) as the future standard for synchronizing clocks in TV and radio studios. In the Audio-over-IP (AoIP) domain, protocols like AES67 and RAVENNA have adopted PTP as their primary synchronization method.

Our solution plays a critical role in this evolution. Our time servers are designed for seamless coexistence and interoperability between traditional synchronization methods such as Black-Burst, Tri-Level Sync, and AES Word Clock and modern IEEE-1588 PTP protocols, enabling support for hybrid environments.

The system delivers highly accurate time and frequency references, derived from GNSS satellites, to serve both legacy and IP-connected devices simultaneously. With built-in redundancy, flexibility, and hot-swappable modules, users can customize configurations within a single unit to meet their specific requirements- ensuring future-proof, reliable synchronization across professional Audio/Video broadcast environments.