To upgrade its encoding capabilities and improve operational efficiency for its uplink trucks, satellite communications transmission specialist Peak Uplink adopted Appear’s X Platform.
Peak Uplink satellite transmission company specialises in communication services supporting media tours, teleconferencing, web casting, internet connectivity, news and sporting event coverage. Sports are a particular area of expertise, encompassing live event broadcasting and network capabilities.
The company is now a recognised satellite uplink provider for major sports broadcasters in North America and manages satellite contributions for sports production hubs like Colorado, New York, Las Vegas, Houston and Detroit. Aiming to upgrade its encoding capabilities and improve operational efficiency for its uplink trucks, the company adopted the X Platform from Appear.
Fleet Expansion and Upgrade
The purchase is part of a wider fleet expansion and upgrade strategy at Peak Uplink, replacing their existing conventional encoding equipment across its fleet of trucks. Appear’s X Platform is a high-capacity, low latency platform for high-speed video networking. Deployable in 1RU or 2RU short-depth chassis, it is also very versatile and can serve in various capacities, for example, as a compression head-end for OTT, IPTV or broadcast, or as a high-capacity IP gateway supporting any input formats to any output formats. It can also be used for high density satellite turnaround channels or monitoring.
As well as satellite contribution links, the X Platform supports fibre, SRT and Zixi links in OB vans and stadiums for global delivery of sports events. Able to handle multiplexing and scrambling, the X Platform also works as a video core in remote PHY (physical layer) deployments – PHY here refers to the coding and decoding protocol that drives and receives communication to and from physical media.
“We opted for Appear’s X Platform due to its high-capacity compact design, which makes better use of the space within our trucks and reduces energy consumption. At the same time, it maintains our encoding performance at a high level for clients,” said Bruce Fauser, Owner of Peak Uplink. “So far, we have successfully tested the X Platform during major live sports productions, and are confident in its encoding ability and efficiency, combined with enough flexibility to serve as a sustainable, long-term investment.”
Versatile and Efficient
Peak Uplink now has the versatility to deliver AVC and HEVC, encoded video via ASI, TSoIP and SRT and carries out encrypted modulation and demodulation in the same chassis, with the option to expand their services to include JPEG-XS. Owing to its density, a single Appear 1RU X10 Platform can replace legacy systems with considerable power and spatial efficiency.
Ed McGivern, General Manager North America at Appear, said, “The decision to invest in Appear’s X Platform reflects a shift among communications operators such as Peak Uplift, from single function equipment to more modular encoding and transport systems with versatile options.” He notes that the X Platform includes Appear’s ECx110 modules for HEVC ultra-low latency encoding/decoding, and is among the few systems capable of HD and UHD compression with SDI and ST-2110 uncompressed I/O, at scale and with 1RU/2RU chassis options. www.appear.net
