Advantech : Deliver Broadcast-Quality Live Video Streams with Advantech’s Scalable Edge Accelerator Servers

Imagine you're a major broadcasting company producing hundreds of hours of content every year. Constant demand for live news reports and sports events requires high-resolution video and audio transmissions to be carried out with near-zero latency. Content creation, distribution, and consumption have been transformed by technological advances. Broadcasters are shifting from linear workflows using fixed-function devices to flexible, software-defined systems that support live streaming and distribution.

However, with the vast amount of network traffic, not to mention ever-increasing image quality and file sizes, video production environments need to leverage AI acceleration and inference technology for processing at the edge. Traditional infrastructure such as cloud-computing servers are large and power hungry. Engineered to deliver maximum performance, they are built for temperature-controlled, dust-free environments and deployed on mass in large-scale data centers where space and power resources are abundant.

By contrast, edge computing is performed as close to the data source as possible. Edge devices can be deployed in downtown office cabinets as well as urban signal towers, environments where installation space and power are often limited. For broadcasters, edge solutions for content production must be built to operate amongst the action. In edge-based workflows, the focus is on providing broadcast-quality 4K/UHD live video links from remote production racks to central distribution hubs, while using the least power and smallest footprint.