The CRITS of Torino (Centro Ricerche, Innovazione Tecnologica e Sperimentazione) is an institute dedicated to the development and application of advanced technologies across various sectors, including audiovisual production, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence.
It serves as a hub for collaboration between universities, businesses, and institutions, fostering research projects and technological experimentation.
As part of the Torino 2025 Winter Universiade, held from 13 to 23 January across multiple locations in the Piedmont region (Torino, Bardonecchia, Pinerolo, Torre Pellice, Pragelato, and Sestriere), CRITS was involved in television production trials in collaboration with key industry partners: CVE, EMG Italy, One TV, Sony Europe, and the WUG Organising Committee.
This collaboration enabled an innovative experiment on new television production methods.
A private 5G network for audiovisual production
The initiative has been made possible thanks to the Rai Research Centre in Turin, which received a special concession from the Ministry to operate — on an experimental basis — on specific radio frequency bands.
Specifically, in some areas of Piedmont, the Rai Research Centre is permitted to operate on dedicated private 5G network (NPN) frequencies in the 4 GHz band.
The system employed a closed private 5G network—a dedicated bubble for television signal transmission—ensuring a secure environment free from external interference.
This setup provided total control over the transmission, eliminating the risk of overlap with other users.
Field testing
During the Universiade, Rai has acquired Neutral Wireless technology from CVE and made it available to EMG Italy, which was responsible for event coverage and broadcasting, leveraging frequencies made available by CRITS.
In this joint experiment, Rai acquired the technology from CVE and deployed it in two specific events:
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At the Inalpi Arena in Torino
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On the ski slopes of Bardonecchia
The system consisted of two private 5G cells, installed in collaboration with CRITS and based on Neutral Wireless equipment, one of the brands represented by CVE.
These infrastructures were used to transmit video signals from cameras to EMG Italy’s OB truck.
During the tests, each camera used approximately 20 megabits of bandwidth.
For filming and contribution, the following equipment was used:
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Haivision devices and technologies (distributed by CVE)
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5G SIM cards connected to the private cells
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Haivision encoders compatible with the 5G standard
The potential of the technology
CVE’s CEO, Luca Catalano, explained:
"Using standard equipment, it is possible to access the private cell and contribute without the risk of interference from other users.
This ensures optimal content transmission to the production control room, guaranteeing audio, video, data, and communications quality, along with return channels and camera control—essential for remote productions."
Despite the positive results, this remains an experimental test without yet having a well-established commercial application.
In more common 5G trials, such as multicast, operator frequencies are used to distribute broadcast content.
However, for the Universiade, assigned frequencies were used in private areas exclusively for contribution, defining a different application model.
In other words, this trial is currently of particular interest for wireless content production, especially in scenarios where commercial 5G networks are unable to ensure adequate transmission capacity and guaranteed bandwidth.
Luca Catalano added:
"The main takeaway from this experiment is that the technology has proven reliable, significantly simplifying the use of cameras and contribution systems.
With a traditional radio camera, it is necessary to install receiving antennas on frequencies that may already be occupied or subject to interference, resulting in operational complexity.
In this scenario, however, we operated within a standalone private 5G network, ensuring immediate and stable functionality.
A crucial factor in the success of this trial was the low latency provided by the dedicated 5G network for live productions, along with the high quality enabled by its broad bandwidth and advanced compression codecs."
This trial represented a valuable opportunity to test innovative solutions, further supported by CRITS’s leading role in the sector and the collaboration with EMG Italy and CVE, two key technological partners.
Tags
#CRITS #Torino2025 #5G #TVproduction #LiveBroadcasting #Innovation #EMGItaly #CVE #RemoteProduction #Telecommunications
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