Satellite transmission and digital encoding services for the Republican and Democratic political conventions maintain the flow for the millions of viewers around the globe... and PSSI Global Services LLC is playing a highly supportive broadcasting role during these events.
For the Republican convention, PSSI is providing services for three clients. For the most complex requirement, WETA, PSSI is providing frame accurate, multi-channel encoding on both their flyaway satellite and fiber circuits, allowing the convention coverage to be produced and switched remotely from the WETA Washington D.C. facility. PSSI has built an ad hoc system at the WETA facilities that will receive and decode the multiplex while also sending three return paths of audio, video and communication via satellite and fiber back to the crew in Cleveland.
This is the same technology PSSI has successfully deployed for its clients for their “At Home” style productions. The systems will support up to 10 hours of transmission time each day. PSSI will also service GOP-TV at Quicken Loans Arena with a 2.4 meter flyaway uplink system for rapid worldwide deployment of gavel-to-gavel coverage. Both flyaway systems are deployed on the rooftop of the arena. The systems are certified for operations on all Domsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, Defense Services Communications Systems (DSCS) and other international satellites. GOP-TV will also supplement its coverage with inserts from PSSI uplink trucks in various locations around the US. Finally, PSSI is providing a Ku-band truck for Eurovision’s coverage of the final day of the convention.
For the Democratic convention, in addition to the same services for WETA studios, a second PSSI Ku-band truck will be deployed for transmitting two separate paths of audio and video via satellite from the Wells Fargo Center. Path one will offer gavel-to-gavel live coverage of the political convention. Path two will be centered on interviews and content that will complement convention coverage. Both feeds will be distributed as a webcast.
According to Matt Scalici, the General Manager of PSSI, while the company provides traditional broadcast services, the firm is also going to offer Internet users live coverage of the Democratic convention as well—unprecedented multi-camera feeds will be employed and an extraordinary amount of engineering design and support that goes into seamlessly transmitting these two very demanding and historical events.