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sales@vialite.comBroadcast RF and ViaLite Coupling for Royal Wedding Coverage
A reported 18 million Britons tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding in May 2018, with the BBC enticing a peak audience of over 13 million, ITV almost 4 million, and Sky News, Sky One and BBC News programs bringing in a further ½ million. Globally, the audience was massive, with an estimated 2 billion viewers, making it the fourth most watched Royal Wedding ever.
RF technology specialists, Broadcast RF were heavily involved in the proceedings, supported by ViaLite Communications’ RF over fiber links. 17 wireless radio camera systems were supplied to Outside Broadcast (OB) providers, servicing multiple broadcasters globally including BBC, Sky News, ITN, CBC and ZDF.
ViaLiteHD RF over fiber OEM modules were built into customized systems by Broadcast RF to extend the antenna range and coverage of the wireless cameras within ground-based receive networks. This extended, reliable coverage was especially important for the scale of the project and the worldwide reliance on the live feeds. Multiple outside broadcast vehicles were used in various locations around Windsor, including Windsor Castle, Domestic and Foreign Broadcast Compounds on The Long Walk, and The Windsor Castle Pub.
“The Vialite RF over fiber modules were an essential part of our coverage,” said James Halliday, Broadcast RF Project Manager. “Some of the distances involved were well in excess of 1,000 meters, which would not have been possible using traditional copper cables. They have transformed the way we model, plan and implement our RF infrastructure.”
Broadcast RF also supplied a bi-directional, multi-service, point to point link with full redundant backup, to connect the remote outside broadcast at the Windsor Castle Pub with the one at the Long Walk Domestic Compound.
The event was broadcast in Ultra HD, which added an extra layer of complexity in allocating frequencies. This was handled by Broadcast RF and Ofcom. The ViaLiteHD RF over fiber links, with their ultra-wide dynamic range, had no issue working with the full UHD picture – requiring RF channels twice as wide as normal HD.
