Digital Broadcasting & IP Infrastructure Course

Lesson 1 • Broadcast Standards and Formats

Surveys terrestrial, satellite, and cable broadcast standards worldwide. Connects standard selection to regulatory, geographic, and service requirements.

Lesson 2 • Compression Standards in Broadcasting

Introduces MPEG-2, H.264, and H.265 compression and their roles in broadcast workflows. Explains how codec choice affects quality, latency, and bandwidth.

Lesson 3 • Analog vs. Digital Signal Basics

Contrasts analog and digital signal properties, including bandwidth, noise immunity, and sampling. Provides the baseline vocabulary for all subsequent broadcast topics.

Lesson 4 • The Broadcast Signal Chain

Maps the end-to-end path from content source to receiver, identifying each processing stage. Builds a mental model used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Quality of Service in IP Networks

Explains QoS mechanisms including DSCP marking, traffic shaping, and queuing strategies for media. Prepares students to prioritise broadcast traffic over shared networks.

Lesson 2 • OSI and TCP/IP Models

Explains the layered network models and maps broadcast protocols to each layer. Provides the framework for diagnosing and designing broadcast networks.

Lesson 3 • Switching and Routing Essentials

Introduces Ethernet switching, VLANs, and IP routing protocols relevant to broadcast LANs and WANs. Connects network design to media flow requirements.

Lesson 4 • IP Addressing and Subnetting

Covers IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, CIDR notation, and subnet design for broadcast facilities. Enables engineers to plan address spaces for media networks.

Lesson 1 • Signal Processing Equipment

Surveys frame synchronisers, proc amps, embedders, and de-embedders used in signal paths. Builds practical knowledge of equipment selection and signal chain design.

Lesson 2 • Signal Monitoring and Measurement

Introduces waveform monitors, vectorscopes, and audio meters for verifying signal quality. Prepares students to identify and correct signal anomalies in live environments.

Lesson 3 • Synchronisation and Timing

Explains genlock, black burst, tri-level sync, and PTP timing for broadcast facilities. Ensures students can maintain synchronisation across mixed signal environments.

Lesson 4 • Audio Standards in Broadcast

Examines AES3, embedded audio, and loudness standards applied in broadcast facilities. Connects audio processing to regulatory loudness compliance requirements.

Lesson 1 • Timing and Synchronisation over IP

Applies PTP grandmaster and boundary clock configurations to ST 2110 environments. Ensures students can maintain sub-microsecond timing across IP broadcast networks.

Lesson 2 • RTP and UDP for Media Transport

Explains RTP packet structure, sequence numbering, and timestamping for real-time media. Establishes the transport layer foundation for all IP video protocols.

Lesson 3 • SMPTE ST 2022 and NDI Protocols

Covers compressed video transport via ST 2022-6 and NDI for contribution and production use. Compares protocol trade-offs in bandwidth, latency, and interoperability.

Lesson 4 • SMPTE ST 2110 Standard Suite

Details the ST 2110 family for uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data over IP. Connects each sub-standard to specific signal types in a production facility.

Lesson 1 • Cooling and Environmental Controls

Covers HVAC design, hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment, and environmental monitoring for equipment rooms. Links thermal management to equipment longevity and uptime.

Lesson 2 • Disaster Recovery and Redundancy

Introduces N+1 redundancy, failover switching, and backup site strategies for broadcast continuity. Prepares students to design systems that meet broadcast uptime requirements.

Lesson 3 • Power and Grounding Systems

Explains UPS design, PDU configuration, and grounding practices critical to broadcast reliability. Addresses power quality issues that cause signal interference.

Lesson 4 • Structured Cabling for Broadcast

Details coaxial, fibre optic, and Cat6A cabling standards for broadcast environments. Ensures students can specify and verify cabling plants for video and data.

Lesson 1 • OTT Delivery Architecture

Explains origin servers, edge caches, and CDN topology for over-the-top video delivery. Establishes the architecture that underpins streaming service design.

Lesson 2 • Contribution and Distribution Links

Surveys satellite uplinks, fibre contribution circuits, and bonded cellular for content transport. Connects link selection to cost, latency, and reliability trade-offs.

Lesson 3 • Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Protocols

Covers HLS, MPEG-DASH, and CMAF packaging for adaptive bitrate delivery. Connects protocol choice to device compatibility and latency requirements.

Lesson 4 • CDN Performance and Analytics

Introduces CDN metrics, rebuffering ratio, and QoE measurement for delivery optimisation. Prepares students to monitor and improve viewer experience at scale.

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Compliance in Broadcasting

Surveys broadcast content regulations, accessibility mandates, and data privacy obligations. Prepares students to align technical systems with compliance requirements.

Lesson 2 • Incident Response for Broadcast

Defines incident classification, escalation procedures, and post-incident review for broadcast outages. Builds the operational readiness needed to minimise on-air disruption.

Lesson 3 • Content Protection and DRM

Explains conditional access systems, DRM architectures, and watermarking for content protection. Ensures students can design end-to-end content security workflows.

Lesson 4 • Threat Landscape for Broadcast Systems

Identifies attack vectors specific to broadcast infrastructure, including signal injection and stream hijacking. Frames the security challenges that drive subsequent control design.

Lesson 1 • Virtualisation in Broadcast Infrastructure

Introduces hypervisors, containers, and software-defined networking applied to broadcast workloads. Establishes the virtualisation concepts that underpin cloud broadcast design.

Lesson 2 • Hybrid Cloud Broadcast Architecture

Designs workflows that span on-premises and cloud resources with consistent latency and security. Prepares students to migrate broadcast functions incrementally to cloud environments.

Lesson 3 • Monitoring and Orchestration at Scale

Applies orchestration platforms and observability tools to manage large-scale cloud broadcast deployments. Enables students to automate scaling and fault recovery in production environments.

Lesson 4 • Software-Defined Production Systems

Covers COTS hardware, software video switchers, and IP-based production control systems. Demonstrates how software-defined tools replace dedicated broadcast hardware.