Backhaul (TV industry)
Encyclopedia
In the context of broadcasting
, backhaul refers to uncut program content that is transmitted point-to-point to an individual television station
or radio station
, broadcast network
or other receiving entity where it will be integrated into a finished TV show or radio show. The term is independent of the medium being used to send the backhaul, but communications satellite
transmission is very common.
Backhauls are also referred to sometimes as "clean feeds", being "clean" in the sense that they lack any of the post-production
elements that are added later to the feed's content (i.e. on-screen graphic
s, voice-overs, bumpers, etc.) during the integration of the backhaul feed into a finished show. In live sports production, a backhaul is used to obtain live game footage
(usually for later repackaging in highlight
s shows) when an off-air source is not readily available. In this instance the feed that is being obtained contains all elements except for TV commercials or radio ads run by the host network's master control
. This is particularly useful for obtaining live coverage of post-game press conferences or extended game highlights ("melts"), since the backhaul may stay up to feed these events after the network has concluded their broadcast.
Electronic news gathering
, including "live via satellite" interview
s, reporters' live shots, and sporting events are all examples of radio
or television
content that is backhauled to a station or network before being made available to the public through that station or network. Cable TV channels, particularly Public, educational, and government access
(PEG) along with (local origination
) channels, may also backhauled to cable headends before making their way to the subscriber. Finished network feeds are not considered backhauls, even if local insertion
is used to modify the content prior to final transmission.
There exists a dedicated group of enthusiasts who use TVRO (TV receive-only) gear such as (as they call them) big ugly dishes or "BUDs" to peek in on backhaul signals that are available on any of the dozens of broadcast satellites that are visible from almost any point on Earth. In its early days, their hobby was strengthened by the fact that most backhaul was analog and "in the clear
" (unscrambled or unencrypted) which made for a vast smorgasbord of free television available for the technically inclined amateur. In recent years, full-time content and cable channels have added encryption
and conditional access
, and occasional signals are steadily becoming digital
, which has had a deleterious effect on the hobby.
Some digital signals remain freely accessible
(sometimes using Ku band
dishes as small as one meter) under the international DVB-S
standard or the US Motorola
-proprietary Digicipher system. The small dishes may either be fixed (much like DBS
antennas), positioned using a rotor
(usually DiSEqC
-standard) or may be toroid
al in design (twin toroidal reflector
s focus the incoming signal as a line, not a point, so that multiple LNB
s may receive signal from multiple satellites). A "blind-search" receiver is often used to try every possible combination of frequency and bitrate
to search for backhaul signals on individual communication satellites.
Feed (see links, below) was compiled almost entirely using unedited backhaul from political campaign
coverage by local and network television. A similar documentary about the 1992 U.S. presidential election named Spin was made in the same way in 1995.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, backhaul refers to uncut program content that is transmitted point-to-point to an individual television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
or radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, broadcast network
Broadcast network
A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other voluntary association, that provides live television or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, Public affairs programming, and other television programs for broadcast over a group of radio stations or television...
or other receiving entity where it will be integrated into a finished TV show or radio show. The term is independent of the medium being used to send the backhaul, but communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
transmission is very common.
Backhauls are also referred to sometimes as "clean feeds", being "clean" in the sense that they lack any of the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
elements that are added later to the feed's content (i.e. on-screen graphic
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
s, voice-overs, bumpers, etc.) during the integration of the backhaul feed into a finished show. In live sports production, a backhaul is used to obtain live game footage
Footage
In filmmaking and video production, footage is the raw, unedited material as it had been originally filmed by movie camera or recorded by a video camera which usually must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or similar completed work...
(usually for later repackaging in highlight
Highlight
Highlight may refer to:* In photography, any of the brightest parts of a subject, in contraposition to "shadow"* An especially significant or interesting detail or phenomenon.Highlight is also used in the following expressions:...
s shows) when an off-air source is not readily available. In this instance the feed that is being obtained contains all elements except for TV commercials or radio ads run by the host network's master control
Master control
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
. This is particularly useful for obtaining live coverage of post-game press conferences or extended game highlights ("melts"), since the backhaul may stay up to feed these events after the network has concluded their broadcast.
Electronic news gathering
Electronic news gathering
ENG is a broadcasting industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering. It can mean anything from a lone broadcast journalist reporter taking a single professional video camera out to shoot a story, to an entire television crew taking a production truck or satellite truck on location...
, including "live via satellite" interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s, reporters' live shots, and sporting events are all examples of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
or television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
content that is backhauled to a station or network before being made available to the public through that station or network. Cable TV channels, particularly Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) along with (local origination
Local origination
In broadcasting, local origination may refer to:*community radio*community television*local insertion*local programming*public-access television...
) channels, may also backhauled to cable headends before making their way to the subscriber. Finished network feeds are not considered backhauls, even if local insertion
Local insertion
In broadcasting, local insertion is the act or capability of a broadcast television station, radio station, or cable TV system to insert or replace part of a broadcast network feed with content unique to the local station or system...
is used to modify the content prior to final transmission.
There exists a dedicated group of enthusiasts who use TVRO (TV receive-only) gear such as (as they call them) big ugly dishes or "BUDs" to peek in on backhaul signals that are available on any of the dozens of broadcast satellites that are visible from almost any point on Earth. In its early days, their hobby was strengthened by the fact that most backhaul was analog and "in the clear
In the Clear
In the Clear is an album released by the band Ivy on March 1, 2005 on Nettwerk.When starting sessions for In The Clear, the band tried to strike a balance between the immediacy of their early recordings and the careful sonic detailing of their more recent work...
" (unscrambled or unencrypted) which made for a vast smorgasbord of free television available for the technically inclined amateur. In recent years, full-time content and cable channels have added encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
and conditional access
Conditional access
Conditional Access is the protection of content by requiring certain criteria to be met before granting access to this content...
, and occasional signals are steadily becoming digital
Digital broadcasting
Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital data rather than analogue waveforms to carry broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands...
, which has had a deleterious effect on the hobby.
Some digital signals remain freely accessible
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
(sometimes using Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
dishes as small as one meter) under the international DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
standard or the US Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
-proprietary Digicipher system. The small dishes may either be fixed (much like DBS
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
antennas), positioned using a rotor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
(usually DiSEqC
DiSEqC
DiSEqC , pronounced "Die-Sec", is a special communication protocol for use between a satellite receiver and a device such as a multi-dish switch or a small dish antenna rotor...
-standard) or may be toroid
Toroid
Toroid may refer to*Toroid , a doughnut-like solid whose surface is a torus.*Toroidal inductors and transformers which have wire windings on circular ring shaped magnetic cores.*Vortex ring, a toroidal flow in fluid mechanics....
al in design (twin toroidal reflector
Reflector (antenna)
An antenna reflector is a device that reflects electromagnetic waves.It is often a part of an antenna assembly.The most common reflector types are...
s focus the incoming signal as a line, not a point, so that multiple LNB
Low-noise block converter
A low-noise block downconverter is the receiving device of a parabolic satellite dish antenna of the type commonly used for satellite TV reception...
s may receive signal from multiple satellites). A "blind-search" receiver is often used to try every possible combination of frequency and bitrate
Bitrate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
to search for backhaul signals on individual communication satellites.
Documentaries containing backhauled content
The 1992 documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Feed (see links, below) was compiled almost entirely using unedited backhaul from political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
coverage by local and network television. A similar documentary about the 1992 U.S. presidential election named Spin was made in the same way in 1995.
External links
- LyngSat (available on Google Video)