AT&T and LiveU team up on 5G for live news and sports broadcasts

Broadcasters, production crews, and sports organizations must deliver breaking news and live events quickly and efficiently. 5G offers the potential to transform behind-the-scenes video operations, expand broadcast production capabilities and deliver the next generation of entertainment options. AT&T* and LiveU are working together to bring 5G to LiveU’s HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) bonding portable transmission solutions. We will test the real-world impact and performance enhancements 5G technology can have on live broadcast video production using LiveU HEVC portable broadcast units.

LiveU provides reliable live video streaming solutions for TV, mobile, online and social media for newsgathering, live sports and events coverage in more than 130 countries. The combination of HEVC bonding and 5G capabilities is intended to allow LiveU’s global customer base to take advantage of higher speeds and lower latency in the field and promises enhanced features for future LiveU video solutions.

From backpacks to smartphones, and satellite/cellular hybrid to antenna video solutions, LiveU enables content creators to capture, manage and distribute high-quality, live broadcasts on the go from virtually anywhere. LiveU HEVC portable units currently use a patented technology that bonds multiple cellular networks together for video transport including AT&T’s 4G LTE network. In addition, they offer other transport technologies such as Wi-Fi and satellite.

“In a world of 24-hour news cycles, getting breaking news quickly to audiences is imperative,” said Mo Katibeh, chief marketing officer, AT&T Business. “By teaming up with LiveU to trial 5G with their portable HEVC broadcast units, we will learn how we can help broadcasters increase production capabilities and expand possibilities for future innovations - as well as help them create compelling new engagement models with consumers. Just imagine the possibility of broadcasters being able to live stream breaking news in 8K or in an AR/VR 360 format over mobile 5G.”

“We see 5G as a critical advancement for the broadcast industry disrupting the way breaking news, live sports, and other live events are produced. We anticipate the technology will bring more capabilities to our customers such as multiple channels of audio, multicamera productions from a single portable transmission solution, 4K streaming, and high-quality video return,” said Avi Cohen, chief operations officer and co-founder, LiveU. “AT&T is a strong global leader with a focused approach on delivering high-quality solutions that meet the evolving needs of consumers and content creators. Collaborating with AT&T demonstrates LiveU’s commitment to providing our customers with unique features and solutions that take advantage of all the possibilities that 5G enables.” 

AT&T and LiveU plan to explore using 5G capabilities in the AT&T Foundry to enhance the capture and delivery of live video content.

“The LU600 HEVC unit delivers the highest video quality and bitrate in the market, fastest file transfer, and lowest delay. Combined with the higher capacity and speeds of 5G, the technologies are poised to further disrupt the broadcast industry,” added Cohen.