Juniper Networks, on Tuesday announced that it has collaborated with Sony Professional Solutions Europe to deliver its switching technology to support Sony’s IP Live production solution. This enables broadcasters to capture and distribute live coverage of major sporting, cultural and political events globally.

By leveraging Internet Protocol (IP) networks, IP Live is designed to solve the challenge of transporting massive volumes of rich-content data in real-time between outside broadcast locations and production studios in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Juniper’s open, interoperable technology aligns with Sony’s requirement to tailor open solutions to the exact needs of each customer.

“IP technology enables a required change to workflows in the broadcast industry, with many broadcast engineers, technicians and operators needing an  upgrade to their skills to meet the demands of tomorrow’s production environments. Our training program in collaboration with Juniper Networks ensures that our partners are thoroughly educated to handle our customers’ transition to the benefits of open, IP-driven broadcast technology,” said Paul Cameron, senior trainer of professional AV media of Sony Professional Solutions Europe.

“The modern broadcasting industry is going through a big transformation to deliver increasing volumes of high-quality live content in a highly scalable & cost-efficient manner. This requires a robust, open and proven platform that enables broadcasters to embrace the transformational benefits of IP technology. Juniper Networks’ technology solutions underpin Sony’s capability to make IP a game-changer for live production workflows,” said Masum Mir, vice president, product management of Juniper Networks.

Traditionally, to achieve the required reliability and low latency necessary for production-quality broadcasts, broadcasters have relied on serial digital interface (SDI) and coaxial cabling technology to transport live content from outside broadcasts to production studios. However, faster frame rates, dynamic ranges and higher resolutions of today’s rich content often make the cost of conventional cabling and hardware prohibitively expensive and cumbersome for many broadcasters.

Sony is delivering a simple, smart and open architecture for building an automated and high-availability network compatible with Juniper’s technology. IP Live supports the transportation of quality high-definition (HD) and 4K (ultra HD) video, audio, synchronization signals and control-data across an IP network through a single network cable.

Sony and Juniper also have a unique partnership to provide IP Live production and training courses for the broadcast industry. The collaborative courses show participants how to build a viable IP network, control and manage settings for optimum performance throughout the network, and mitigate errors.