Appear TV, a leading provider of solutions for video contribution, distribution and streaming, has deployed low latency contribution links for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in top football leagues in Europe and Asia, strengthening its position as a preferred vendor for this application. During broadcasted sporting events, video footage of an incident is reviewed by the VAR, who then advises the referee on what the video is showing so that a more accurate, on-the-spot decision can be made. For football, this typically ranges from scoring plays/goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity, and serves as an added tool to relook at the play or incident to ensure the correct call was made on the field.

Appear TV’s X20 contribution links are currently deployed in OB vans, where a single X20 chassis encodes more than 20 signals with low latency before being encapsulated to IP and sent to the video operation room (VOR). At the reception site, the X20 system decodes the signals for further analysis. Some of these signals are then encoded in the same chassis and sent back to the OB vans.

“We are very proud to be delivering a solution with unique characteristics that is re-defining video delivery in the contribution segment,” says Sergio Renteria, Sales Director at Appear TV. “Multi-camera video alignment, multiple codec and format support, and a rich variety of input and output interfaces enable our clients to satisfy several requirements, such as delivery of UHD services and transition to IP workflows, all of which have an increasing demand in the years to come.”

The X20, part of Appear TV’s X-Series line that includes the X10 and X20, supports “lightweight” intra-codecs (JPEG2000 & TICO) as well as AVC and HEVC. Option modules for receiving compressed or uncompressed video from IP or SDI (Optical and Electrical) are readily available. With backplane latency of less than 1ms, universal applicability for virtually any video application is ensured, as is the implementation of both current and future IP video standards, including VSF-TR03, VSF-TR04 and SMPTE2110.

Appear TV’s X20 is ideal for VAR as it fulfills the highly demanding requirements for this application. With its unique offering of channel density and ability to combine encoding and decoding of multiple contribution formats in the same chassis, the X-Series delivers excellent video quality in a redundant architecture to ensure the highest availability. The need for high-quality video with low latency is crucial for the referees to verify calls made on the field. With the X-Series, content can be sent to the referee monitors immediately following capture allowing them to make the right call, and not hold up game play.

Appear’s X-Series line is a high-capacity, ultra-low latency platform designed to address the latest challenges facing the distribution and contribution market. In addition to VAR, the X-Series is an apt platform for all live broadcasted events, especially with the increasing deployment of ultra-high-speed IP networks within all areas of broadcasting.

About Appear

Based in Oslo, Norway, Appear is dedicated to designing and producing world class solutions for the delivery of professional video services. Its mission is to deliver unique products that open up new opportunities for video communication.