Upgrades available for IP- based video and TV services

In the past, the high costs and technical nature of fitting internet protocol-based (IP-based) networks has restricted installations to the offshore and passenger ship sectors. But recent developments in technology have opened up IP-based entertainment systems to other sectors of the commercial shipping market.

One well-known company, Baze Technology, has developed a method of retrofitting IP-based systems on vessels that have existing coaxial cable-based entertainment networks. The Incoax – IP over coaxial cable – solution involves connecting the BazePort in-cabin units to a modem that enables access for downloading video, podcasts and TV from Internet services, without the shipowner having to run fresh onboard networks.

Baze’s vice president of business development, Thorstein Rinker, explained how the retrofit can be achieved. “We have developed equipment that converts the coax equipment into an IP-based network. We use coax controllers at one end of the coaxial cable, then we have modems on the other end. This way we can place BazePort units into the cabins without running a new network.”

The company is deploying this service on Swire Pacific vessels and Rowan drilling rigs this year. The first Incoax solution was installed on the heavy-lift vessel Pacific Orca at the end of 2012. Another will be installed on Pacific Osprey in 2013. Both projects involve 119 BazePort units delivering video-on-demand and IPTV in the cabins; they also provide onboard public address and safety advice. Another system, incorporating 150 BazePort units, will be installed on the construction and accommodation vessel Pacific Installer later this year.

A key part of the Incoax solution is the Coax Access Modem (CAM). This is an L2 non-blocking switch with a coaxial cable uplink interface. It operates on local area networks and has four ports for set-top boxes, monitors, voice over IP (VoIP) gateways, PCs and other devices. Each CAM has an individual coax link to the in-house Coax Link Controller (CLC), which is an IP agent for the operations management and monitoring system, Coax Link Manager (CLM). All the operational parameters for the CAM are set in the CLM. The CAM is designed to handle multicast traffic by separating out voice, video, gaming and data streams. The CLM provides the interface for troubleshooting and remote configuration of the CAM.

Baze has also developed BazeBox as a basic standalone entertainment unit that can be linked to a vessel’s very small aperture terminal (VSAT) to download video and podcasts from the Internet. The first units have been delivered to fishing vessels to provide entertainment for their Russian crews, said Mr Rinker.

“BazeBox is standalone so it does not need any server,” he said. “It works over the Internet to provide video content, but not live TV. It is a box for merchant vessels that sail outside TV coverage but have VSAT and it means we can provide content to vessels that do not have IPTV already installed.”

Headland Media is also involved with BazeBox as it can provide the video content, such as films, sports events, news and other pre-recorded TV content. “Headland has fully embraced our BazeBox as a low-entry IP solution,” said Mr Rinker. “Ship operators can have several boxes on board, or have one box for an onboard cinema, and one box linked to the VSAT.”

The first BazeBox solution was delivered to Aker BioMarine for their fishing vessels operating in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, delivering Russian news, films and podcasts to the crew. One of the features of BazeBox is its ability to download large files using minimum bandwidth capacity of shore-to-ship satellite links, said Mr Rinker.

“We can limit the bandwidth our service uses,” he said. “We use compression to maintain the video quality and we slice files into thousands of small pieces. The lower the bandwidth, the longer it takes to download content. It can take up to six hours, or less than one hour to download movies, depending on the bandwidth capabilities. It is not streaming of video as this would be impossible because of the bandwidth. It is a transfer of files in the background.”

BazeBoxes are 19cm high, 15cm deep and 26cm wide, with 320GB of storage. They are linked to onboard TVs using high-definition multimedia interface (HTMI) cables. They do not require dedicated bandwidth and allow for high latency corrections and connection disruptions. Baze intends to sell the service as a bundle with a VSAT package, in association with other service providers.

Baze continues to sell its main entertainment product, BazePort. The most recent installations include BazePort deployed on accommodation vessels and rigs, said Mr Rinker. “We have recently installed BazePort on Prosafe’s Safe Caledonia accommodation rig, and we have won a contract from Maersk to provide IP-related entertainment systems. The first part of this is supplying BazePort on three rigs being built in Singapore. Maersk is now turning to IP links instead of coaxial,” said Mr Rinker.

BazePort is being installed on three C170 jack-up rigs to provide video-on-demand, IPTV and pre-recorded content for the 180 crew members on each rig. On Safe Caledonia, 480 BazePorts were installed as part of the rig’s retrofit to provide IPTV, Internet, video content and public address services to crew and offshore workers. Baze is also supplying Statoil’s new oil and gas production platforms offshore Norway with BazePort as part of a frame agreement it has with the Norwegian oil company and IT group Siemens.

MNC Marine has supplied its communication, information and entertainment platform (CIEP) along with a complete IT solution to SweOffshore’s chartered accommodation vessel Regina Baltica. A container loaded with IT infrastructure was deployed on the vessel as a sub-contract with Siemens, as the accommodation vessel will go on term charter to Statoil. The infrastructure includes WiFi-access points, local area network (LAN), IP-phones, servers, firewalls, software, VSAT by SatPoint and CIEP. MNC said it was a unique system to provide fast and effective IP services, while minimising the disruption to Statoil’s operations. The container has a self-contained server room with an uninterruptible power supply, climate control, media and application servers, satellite modems and TV encoders.

Statoil, SweOffshore and Siemens wanted a new integrated communication, information and entertainment system, to provide wireless services accessible from the crew’s own computers and mobile devices. CIEP was the solution for distributed media access from a container. It is web-based, which means it enables a wide range of devices to connect and access information from a single WiFi source that is linked to a VSAT. Siemens linked CIEP to a ship-wide wireless network with media stations, computers and printers, live-TV and video systems. Crew can access all these services through a local media portal, which has an interface that can be modified to meet a company, or vessel-specific, graphical profile.

Siemens has its own multimedia service. Media4Cruise is an entertainment system with live TV, video, music and voyage information for passengers. It provides Internet access, e-mail and information on the ship’s hospitality services, weather, route and destination information.

Media4Cruise can be set up in cabins or public areas, and can be installed on passengers’ mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. It has its own graphical user interface and modular, open system architecture, which means Media4Cruise can be adapted for ship and operator requirements. It can be extended or upgraded.

Allin Interactive has installed its integrated DigiHD ITV and DigiMobile platforms on Carnival’s Dream-class cruise ships and on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Sea. Allin’s systems have also been deployed on Norwegian Epic, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa. The latest installation was on Carnival Breeze, with a similar Allin service to the systems deployed on sister ships Carnival Magic and Carnival Dream.

Allin’s DigiHD ITV platform provides interactive services that can be extended to passenger’s smartphones and tablets through the DigiMobile extension. The extension was first used in 2012 on Norwegian Epic and incorporates VoIP, digital TV, video content and services such as excursion previews and bookings.

Zenitel supplies the Vingtor information and integrated digital entertainment package. It is based on a set-up box connected to each TV, for up to 150 users. Vingtor enables passengers and crew to view DVDs, TV, play video games, view Internet pages and read e-mails. Optional extras include GPS monitoring, Internet-on-TV and customised web pages. Another extra is the additional security measures such as CCTV over IP, which can be integrated with the IPTV for ship surveillance requirements.

Selex Elsag has become a distributor of SnapTV’s modular IP entertainment system to the UK maritime market. The Finmeccanica subsidiary will provide SnapTV to vessel operators from its 15 regional service support centres. SnapTV is a managed storage, aggregation and distribution platform that provides various types of media as a business tool to transfer knowledge, experience and information without bandwidth restrictions.

Selex Elsag’s UK sales manager, Ryan Dawe, said the agreement expands the company’s already extensive entertainment business. “To date, we have provided IPTV services to over 600 users on both oil and gas support and accommodation vessels and on UK coastal ships,” he said. “The new relationship with SnapTV will help us increase our deployment of systems in the marine sector, offshore oil and gas industry, and in the emerging IPTV superyachts and cruise markets.”

For the superyacht and workboat sectors, Garmin has started providing Fusion-Link audio access on its GPSmap 6000 and 7000 series displays. This means vessel owners can control the onboard entertainment system from the GPSmap displays. Fusion-Link provides full control of Apple-based music libraries and set-up audio zones of a vessel.

Vessel builder Hanse Yachts has chosen to install Fusion’s entertainment products in the vessels it builds, including boat brands Moody, Dehler and Fjord. This includes the Fusion-Link interface for control and communication from, and with, multifunction displays, remotes and compatible screens. Hanse will also provide the Fusion-Link application, which provides access to the audio systems from Android-based and Apple mobile devices. OSJ