The VITEC EZ TV IPTV Platform was the exact solution we (ESOC) were looking for. Our day-to-day operations are very demanding and constantly evolving based on new incoming information from our satellite feeds and changing user permissions and roles. With EZ TV, we are not boxed into the capabilities of an IPTV product that is not scaled to our needs or robust enough to handle the constant demands of our video streams. VITEC’s powerful, reliable, and super quiet encoding appliances, IPTV experience, and customized rights management is seamless and dynamic.

— Joerg Seifert
OCC Support Engineer
Telespazio VEGA Deutschland for ESOC
ESA, Darmstadt, Germany

VITEC IPTV Solution Transmits Live Video and Data Streams for European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Operations Centre (ESOC), located in Darmstadt, Germany, is the central command point for satellite operations.

› Download Success Story (PDF)

Background

ESOC is home to the engineering teams and employees that control spacecraft while in orbit, manages ESA’s global tracking station network, and designs and builds the mission support systems on the ground. At any one time, ESOC operates more than a dozen satellites transmitting live images and data from their missions to its 900 employees.

The Solution

ESOC representatives took a close look at other mission-critical installations of VITEC’s award winning EZ TV IPTV Platform and real-time encoders, including Houston's Johnson Space Center Mission Control, Canadian Space Center, and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The organization determined that VITEC’s EZ TV met their demanding video requirements, and additionally provided a sophisticated yet simple-to-operate user rights management solution.

With VITEC’s comprehensive platform, all IPTV content on the network can be managed while providing an intuitive viewing experience and worry-free IT administration giving ESOC Administrators full control over which user has access to which content. These users can use their workstations to view video streams in multi-window viewing grids or access a familiar TV-like user experience via set-top box.

Benefits of VITEC’s IPTV & Digital Signage Solution

  • Comprehensive solution for high-quality delivery, recording, and management of live and on-demand video over IP networks
  • Professional-grade system that ensures 24/7/365 performance for mission-critical applications
  • Offers advanced viewing options and collaboration work-flows
  • Seamlessly integrates with existing IT environments and can be deployed on all types of networks
  • Simple yet powerful centralized administration interface for regulating access to content on every workstation

How VITEC's Solution Overcame the Challenges and the Results

To manage the evolving needs of missions and monitor incoming data, the operator workstations in the control rooms are equipped with two displays connected to IP encoders to provide critical and time sensitive access to the mission control systems. However, the old system required frequent firmware updates, constant reboots, and loud, distracting fans. In addition, the previous manufacturer no longer supported parts of the system hardware. As a result, the organization experienced ongoing system performance failures.

ESOC needed a reliable, hardware-based IPTV solution designed for mission-critical, 24/7/365 operation that would allow any operator to take the video signal from their workstation and encode it as an IPTV stream available organization-wide so that any operator with the correct permission can access it. Furthermore, it needed to reduce the high service cost of the old IPTV system and dramatically increase the level of support. With VITEC’s EZ TV IPTV Platform and hardware-based professional end-points, ESOC was able to install a reliable high video quality, low latency streaming system that was quiet, cost-efficient, enabled flexible user access management, and is backed by impeccable manufacturer service and support.

The system has provided 24/7 operations since installation with users no longer worried about getting logged out of the system at crucial moments of operation. Additionally, VITEC’s IPTV Platform has provided ease of use and simple administration that ESOC had previously been lacking and VITEC’s small fanless appliances considerably reduced noise within the facility making it easier to communicate in the working areas. The system also has enabled every operator to move from one screen to another within the ESA facility while maintaining their access rights, without any change in distribution or latency.

Related VITEC Success Stories

NASA

VITEC's Technology Innovation Contributes to the NASA Mission.

VITEC's Technology Innovation Contributes to the NASA Mission.

Learn More
NASA

“VITEC’s video streaming technology helps modernize NASA’s existing IPTV distribution equipment, enabling new functionality and extending the community that can benefit from – and contribute to – Artemis / Orion missions.”

—  Richard Bernard
Senior Product Manager
VITEC

Learn More
European Space Agency

VITEC IPTV Solution Transmits Live Video and Data Streams for European Space…

VITEC IPTV Solution Transmits Live Video and Data Streams for European Space Agency

Learn More
European Space Agency’s Space Operations Centre

“The VITEC EZ TV IPTV Platform was the exact solution we (ESOC) were looking for. Our day-to-day operations are very demanding and constantly evolving based on new incoming information from our satellite feeds and changing user permissions and roles. With EZ TV, we are not boxed into the capabilities of an IPTV product that is not scaled to our needs or robust enough to handle the constant demands of our video streams. VITEC’s powerful, reliable, and super quiet encoding appliances, IPTV experience, and customized rights management is seamless and dynamic.”

Joerg Seifert
OCC Support Engineer
Telespazio VEGA Deutschland for ESOC
ESA, Darmstadt, Germany

Learn More
Picatinny Arsenal

Delivering Real-Time and On-Demand Video to PC and TV Screens Across the Base

Delivering Real-Time and On-Demand Video to PC and TV Screens Across the Base

Learn More
Feature Story News (FSN)

“Using VITEC’S MGW Ace and MGW D265 solution, our transmission of President Obama’s visit in Cuba was a complete success. Tropical storms shortly after the President’s arrival in Havana disrupted the transmissions of traditional satellite providers, keeping several global networks off the air. We had error-free continuous coverage and were able to meet our clients’ needs because of the reliability of the VITEC streaming solution.”

Simon Marks
President of FSN

Learn More
DVIDS

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - Using VITEC Solutions, DVIDS…

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - Using VITEC Solutions, DVIDS enables bandwidth-efficient worldwide HD video feed contribution for Military and Government

Learn More
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

“Thanks to MGW Ace Encoder solution and its high performance HEVC GEN2+ codec, we managed to drastically reduce the bandwidth required to transport more broadcast quality HD video for the DVIDS workflow. On top of video quality, we delivered a high level of Quality of Service thanks to the stream transport protection technology included in our solution..”

Richard Bernard
Product Manager
VITEC

Learn More