CESNET Successfully Demonstrated an Intercontinental Uncompressed Moving Image Transmission with 4K Resolution

At the prestigious CineGrid 2009 international workshop held in California, the CESNET Association in cooperation with the Cinepost company successfully demonstrated use of high-speed networks for the improvement of productivity in team-based data processing, particularly for video post-production in the film industry. This was enabled by its own technology for real-time transmission of uncompressed video signal in ultra-high resolution of 4K (4,096×2,160 pixels) over a wide-area network.

The presented technology enabled processing (so-called colour grading) of uncompressed 4K video in real time over a distance over 10,000 kilometres. The video signal was transmitted from the Cinepost post-production facility located in Prague-Barrandov to the auditorium of the University of California in San Diego, United States. The transmission was realized over the high-speed networks of PragueMediaNet, CzechLight, CESNET2, StarLight and C-wave, which are part of the global GLIF network (Global Lambda Interchange Facility), with the data rate exceeding 5 Gbps.

MVTP-4k (Modular Video Transfer Platform), developed by the CESNET association using the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, was used for video signal transmission. This device enables a parallel transmission of four channels in the HD-SDI standard over a network with the 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface. In a future firmware version, this device will be able to transmit up to eight HD-SDI channels bidirectionally.

CineGrid is an international non-profit organization aiming at the development of an interdisciplinary community focusing on the cooperation in research, development and demonstrations of network tools enabling the production, use and exchange of high-quality digital media over high-speed networks. This year's fourth workshop held by CineGrid took place from the 6th to 9th December at the University of California in San Diego.

For more detailed information on CineGrid, see www.cinegrid.org.
For more detailed information on MVTP-4k, see http://www.ces.net/project/qosip/hw/mvtp-4k.pdf.

The CESNET association was founded by universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The association is currently financed mainly from the resources of the governmental Research and Development Board and funds of the association members. The association deals with the research and development of information and communication technologies, and it is building and developing the national gigabit optical network CESNET2 designed for research and educational purposes. Thanks to its research activities and accomplishments, the CESNET association represents the Czech Republic in the GÉANT pan-European network building project, and takes an active part in its implementation.