The broadcasting industry of the 21st century is open to new technologies that allow reaching as many viewers as possible at the lowest possible cost. The rapid development of technology and the global spread of the Internet gave the broadcasting industry unique opportunities. However, many broadcasting stations have been based on the ASI standard for years. Nowadays, more and more TV channels and broadcasting companies are deciding to use the IP network to stream real time in a fast, efficient and cheap way. But what if you don’t want to throw away your ASI devices? You can still use them but you need a converter in order to be able to transmit your data over IP. What should you know then about ASI to IP converters?
The acronym ASI means Asynchronous Serial Interface. What is behind this mysterious term? ASI is one of the ways of transporting MPEG-TS, a standard digital container format for transmitting audio, video and some other data. The only purpose of ASI is the MPEG-TS transmission, which is the commonly used protocol to carry transmitted audio and video in real time. For many years, ASI was a popular solution in the broadcasting industry: the live broadcast program, before reaching the viewers, was sent from the studio to the transmitting devices. Briefly summarizing the most important features of ASI, also often referred to as DVB-ASI (DVB - Digital Video Broadcasting):
ASI was carried on a coaxial cable - a cheap and common solution. However, the development of the technology provided an opportunity to reduce the cost by using the Internet, while increasing the number of viewers. The perfect solution was streaming over the IP network. But, what to do with the older ASI technology still standing in TV studios? Many smaller and larger TV stations decided to buy the converters that not only allow live transmission on the Internet but also often allow simultaneous transmission of several to a dozen programs. Moreover, transmission over IP networks is cheaper and more reliable. The broadcasting industry simply moved with the times.
Here comes the IT knowledge. However, this is not very complicated and an average person who deals with various devices should understand how works the ASI to IP converter. Reading and following the provided with the ASI to IP converter should make you understand how this device works. It doesn't hurt to learn a little bit about this type of converter. For example, the set may include an ASI input and output module, Ethernet IP network input and output module as well as a CPU module. In this case, the MPEG-TS data reaches the converter through the ASI input, and then it is encapsulated by the CPU and is carried to the Ethernet output module. Then the reverse process takes place at the receiver. If you use a converter with several ASI inputs, you can transmit several streams over IP at the same time. The wide range of converters available on the market allows you to choose the device tailored to the needs of every TV station.
Consumers' requirements may vary significantly due to the differences between the equipment of various TV stations. That's why you'll find on the market at least several types of converters with different parameters. So what should you pay attention to before making your final decision?
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