Spontaneity and Delay Considerations in Distributed TV Productions

Abstract

During the online edition of video material for television over data networks a major concern is the accumulation of delay over the production chain. Before a video signal of a camera arrives at a remote studio to be edited live, it travels over video adapters and analog/digital converters to codecs which in turn compress the signal to comply with small bandwidth constraints. This technical process adds a significant amount of delay that makes it difficult for the camera crew and director to interact spontaneously. An additional amount of delay is added through their human reaction times as well. Meaningful interaction requires however, that the overall delay times stay within tight limits.