Action Sports Productions Takes ToolsOnAir to the Beach

"We're covering major surfing event productions like the NSSA Championships, and we're not in a controlled studio environment - we're hanging from scaffolding two miles out over the ocean," says Johnson.

In this no-second-chance environment, the setup needs to be stable, dependable, and deliver the best quality video. "In the surf industry, everything is webcast and it's all pretty high quality," says Johnson. "Surfing competitions are major productions - very high-end edits, multiple camera shoots, HD coverage - and the system has to work flawlessly and deliver the highest quality content."

With location shoots anywhere from Huntington Beach to the oceans off Fiji, rugged portability is a key requirement, and ASP opted for the dependability of an Apple-based system. "We were looking for a Mac-based solution because it's a very stable platform and the hardware travels well," Johnson explains.

And travel it does. The shock-mounted SBK flight case houses three Mac Minis, outfitted with AJA Io XT interfaces and running ToolsOnAir's just: Broadcast Suite, a complete production workflow environment that includes multi-channel ingest, timeline-based playout automation, real-time graphics integration, and media asset management.

"ToolsOnAir offered exactly what we needed in the way of a solid, intuitive workflow," says Johnson.

The system includes three Mac Minis with AJA Io interfaces connected via Thunderbolt. One Mac Mini handles ingest running just:in, passing video to a second Mac Mini recording to solid state drives. Playout and graphics integration is covered via just:live, and a third Mac Mini serves as an editing station using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro.

AJA's Io XT is a compact, portable solution for video capture and playback utilizing lightning-fast Thunderbolt technology. Features include 3G/Dual Link/HD/SD-SDI, component analog and HDMI connectivity, and uncompressed HD and SD 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 capable video and audio connectivity.

"We work in very challenging environments, and the stability of this setup is critical," says Johnson. "The Mac Mini and AJA Io XT is a great hardware solution, and the speed and throughput of Thunderbolt is incredible. And that, combined with the ToolsOnAir workflow, is what makes this all possible."