Singapore and Sapporo scenic sites come to life via R&E network link

Access to iconic sites via uncompressed long-distance video transmission

As part of the high-speed Asia Pacific Ring (APR) network system, the JGN/SingAREN 100G circuit connecting Japan to Singapore via Hong Kong was put to the “tourist” test on 6 February 2018. The JGN High-Speed Wide Area Testbed Network experiment set out to stream 8K high resolution uncompressed video of Singapore’s iconic Botanic Gardens and other popular scenic attractions to viewers in Japan.  Spectators in Singapore, in turn, were enchanted by the vibrant and crystal clear images of snow sculptures and lights displayed at the  Sapporo Snow Festival, captured via 4K video camera recording at the venue in Japan and transmitted over the testbed.

To showcase the reach of the APR, the experiment also included the transmission of 8K high-resolution uncompressed video from Singapore to Japan via the United States.

Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), in collaboration with Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), successfully enabled this advanced network experiment.

Clockwise from top: image of Sapporo Snow Festival snow sculpture transmitted from Japan to Singapore via 4K uncompressed streaming; professional 8K resolution video filming in Singapore; SingAREN and JGN members who supported the experiment; equipment set-up at NTU for 8K uncompressed video playback and 100G network transport

Facilitating cultural exchange

Image credit: Presentation at APAN45 Network Engineering Workshop by Kazumasa Kobayashi, NICT and Francis Lee, SingAREN: “Uncompressed 8K multi-path streaming of Sapporo Snow Festival over 100G Asia Pacific Ring (APR)”

This experiment successfully showcased the power of technology and collaboration between network and testbed providers for cultural exchange.

The team was faced with multiple challenges, such as obtaining filming permissions at public sites, setting up physical and logical network connections and interconnecting national networks. They overcame them, step by step, and managed to conduct the experiment successfully – bringing scenic sites to life across thousands of kilometres!

SingAREN anticipates deploying its 100G circuit and working with international partners to enable more advanced network applications to further advance these exchanges. The circuit is co-funded by NICT and the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore, and coordinated by SingAREN.  The JGN High Speed Wide Area Testbed Network is managed by NICT.

APR – a key facilitator for advanced research and education collaboration across the Pacific

In December 2017, collaborators from across the Pacific announced the successful completion of a major new science support facility to facilitate advanced R&E collaborations across the Pacific Ocean: the Asia Pacific Ring (APR).
The parties engaged in the APR collaboration involve the following research and education networks: SingAREN, NICT, NII, Internet2, WIDE project, Pacific Wave and TransPAC.

The APR system connects the R&E communities of Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan to their counterparts in North America via Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California.