UHD in a Hybrid SDI/IP World

Marketing efforts over the last year have generated a lot of excitement around the transition to Internet Protocol (IP) in the broadcast environment, but serial digital interface (SDI) still plays a vital role. The hybrid SDI/IP models that will be adopted by most operations still need to consider the role that SDI plays for high definition (HD), but especially important is the role of SDI as it pertains to the introduction of ultra-high-definition (UHD-1, commonly referred to as 4K). The SDI interface is the only standardized means for interconnecting UHD devices today, and those who are looking to roll out UHD-1 need to have a much better understanding of the challenges and issues that may result in a hybrid environment. This paper highlights some of those challenges, provides an update to the current technologies, and discusses why SDI will continue to be an enabling technology for the rollout of UHD-1 (and UHD-2).