Our 3G in the video industry is not their 3G in the cell phone industry. For the telecommunications market, 3G stands for the industry’s “third generation” wireless network, which provides mobile users with a higher capacity for voice, video, broadband data, high-speed Internet and many other advanced services. But in the video industry, 3G is short for “3 Gbps” — a 3 gigabit per second serial data interface for transporting video from point to point. The SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) 424M standard defines the specs for 3G, and folks, this isn’t just fast data transfer — it’s lightning fast, and for a good reason. Essentially, 3G enables the transport of twice the amount of data as high-definition video with a single co-ax. The implications are impressive, for both the broadcast industry and the rental and staging industry, and the payoff could be highly beneficial — superior images and the elimination of “interlaced” video transmission for good.
—Paul Berliner, from Video World, PLSN, June 2009
