Why time synchronisation in media and broadcast is absolutely critical

Author: Richard Hoptroff, CTO and Founder, Hoptroff

In the 1920s, the clapperboard was invented so filmmakers could synchronise their audio and video feeds. It was so important that the release of Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace was delayed by 46 years because it was so difficult to edit after the director forgot to use a clapper.

To avoid another Amazing Grace situation, broadcasters now synchronise the time across venues to a highly accurate degree by using satellite receivers. However, as more advanced technology is added to the fray, the industry needs a more effective method of time synchronisation and the answer may lie in software timing.

Accurate timing in broadcast

Successful media broadcast relies on accurate timing at all levels, and it has since the very beginning. Our demands for time synchronisation have grown a lot since then, as we have introduced a lot more technology to the mix. On every set, you now see multiple microphones, cameras, audio recorders – you name it. Each of these devices needs to be synchronised to precisely the same time, or it will cause a big headache for somebody in the editing room.

As the industry transitions to Internet Protocol (IP) production, the importance of accurate timing only becomes more apparent. IP transmits higher quality information at lower latency and through a lower bandwidth. It works by breaking down the video and audio feeds into smaller packets, sending them across waves, and repackaging the data in the correct order when it is displayed to the customer. If the information transmitted does not have accurate time, it is highly unlikely that it will be repackaged correctly.

Problems with GPS timing

As we seek to make everything faster, smoother, easier, better, many are looking for a more effective and reliable method of deriving accurate time. Traditionally, broadcast services have relied on the satellite model to provide time synchronisation. While satellite has worked reasonably well over the years, it comes with a lot of baggage.

To access satellite time, you need several pieces of equipment: a roof satellite, likely a GPS booster, and access to either a grandmaster clock or a Sync Pulse Generator (SPG). You’ll need to attach your satellite receiver to every broadcasting venue that is in use: from the central studio to each of your outside broadcast (OB) trucks dotted around the country. The antenna will each need to be replaced around every five years, at about £5,000 a pop. If roof space is limited, you’ll probably also need to pay to rent it out.

Quite simply, the inconvenience of this model has led to software-based timing solutions rising in popularity, as people search for a more cost-effective way of providing time to servers across broadcasting venues.

GPS resilience

Another recurring problem faced by users of satellite time comes from an over-reliance on GPS connectivity. GPS signal to devices falters every day; production companies are often unable to get GPS signal when parking OB trucks in an underground car park. Similarly, if you want to use Google Maps in Canary Wharf, you can’t (due to the estate’s security regulations).

GPS is also becoming increasingly vulnerable to external threats, as amateur jamming devices have entered the consumer market. This has led to reports of significant disruption across the globe: from one man attempting to conceal the location of his tracked vehicle from employers and wreaking havoc when he drove past Newark Airport, to the more sinister example of ships being steered off course across the Mediterranean Sea this summer.

If a vehicle with a GPS jammer drives past Old Trafford when you’re broadcasting the Premier League final, your broadcast will falter. The football fans who are already grumpy about pay per view would not be happy. Organisations can look to mitigate these problems with a software timing solution, such as Traceable Time as a Service (TTaaS®).

To counter the risk of GPS failure, TTaaS derives its time from four global satellites: BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo and GPS, and is connected to three terrestrial timing hubs based in London, New York, and Tokyo. This means that it is highly resilient and can provide a significantly more consistent time feed, when compared with the hardware alternative

Remote production

The benefits of TTaaS® extend beyond the satellite resilience that it offers. The software solution meets a variety of modern demands for accurate time amid the shifting landscape of media broadcast. As remote production becomes more popular, the flexibility of technological applications is an important consideration.

TTaaS® supports remote production because it allows people to work from different locations without the need to rely on satellite receivers. Instead, users simply download the software on their servers.

If engineers can synchronise time on their appliances to the production centre by downloading simple time synchronisation software, the need for a satellite antenna to follow them around is eliminated. This opens up the opportunity for technicians to work from home, and companies gain a lot more flexibility in how they work. The same is true for those who continue to use OB trucks and remote facilities – by using an alternative to the satellite, there is one less thing to transport around different locations.

The new normal

Software timing is a more effective method of deriving accurate time that works for the media industry and it combats the problems that users of hardware time have consistently faced. The current pandemic, treacherous as it is, has accelerated many good practices by decades. Zooming instead of flying. Working without the commute.

IP video – and the time synchronisation required to achieve it – are vital pieces of the jigsaw, enabling broadcasters to work remotely more effectively and reduce production budgets. As we look towards how to rebuild the economy in 2021, we must move forward with care. This means searching for timing solutions that are designed to work for the media industry as it stands today.

Ready to learn more?

Hoptroff Traceable Time as a Service (TTaaS®) is a range of network and software-based timing solutions that are simple, resilient, and cost-effective.

Whether you need the security of verifiable time for synchronisation or want transparency and efficiency, our obsession with accuracy will transform your business.