TV Automation-AirBox Streamer

A "traditional" DVB transmission looks like this:
Video sources (such as video servers, VTRs, live cams, etc.) all go into a vision mixer (or matrix switcher) through SDI or analogue video signal;
In the vision mixer or downstream keyer there might be graphics insertion;
There can also be logo insertion by a dedicated logo inserter (SDI or analogue);
The resulting SDI or analogue video signal is then fed into a DVB encoder with ASI outputs (e.g. MPEG2 TS at 3-6 Mbit/sec);
This ASI signal is then fed into a DVB multiplexer which assigns it a Program ID and includes it into the total bouquet of other DVB programs;
Its ASI output is then sent to the satellite.

All professional satellite equipment operates with ASI interface. This means that DVB encoders and multiplexers talk to each other via ASI interface.

Both SD-SDI and ASI share the same bandwidth - 270 Mbit/sec. Some higher grade SDI matrix switchers support ASI signal routing as well - this is specifically mentioned in their specifications.

ASI stands for Asynchronous Serial Interface. It's bitstream signal is very similar to SDI, but it can contain different kind of data, including but not limited to MPEG2 and H.264 video packets. SDI carries uncompressed video. In fact one can use SDI-compliant cables to interconnect ASI equipment.

AirBox Streamer was designed specifically with this task in mind. It's an all-in-one playout automation, server and DVB encoder in a single unit. It comes configured either with a UDP streaming port or with a DVB/ASI port, ready for DVB transmission.

In the digital TV era it becomes significantly important to use and maintain content in the compressed domain and to avoid recompression where possible. Another consideration, especially for multi-channel operations is to reduce the cost per channel by eliminating as many devices on the chain as reasonable.