Newsletter from 16/04/2020
5 benefits of Remote Production
Today, the move to IP is a game changer for broadcasters. IP technology enables a more flexible workflow with the ability to instantly transport and share uncompressed 4K live content. As a result, more events are covered by live remotes using IP infrastructure, especially within the live sports and events sector.
It’s certainly true that that production costs are a major concern for broadcasters and right holders (and to be honest, for everyone nowadays). Remote production is an interesting solution that helps you cut costs, both linked to staff travel and equipment.
With remote production, there’s no need to bring your entire team of producers, managers, editors and other engineers. Fewer people are needed in the field, which lowers travel costs and other related expenses, such as hotel or transportation costs during the stay.
It means you don’t have many associated costs with transporting fragile equipment to the remote site. You can make sure that you use OB trucks to handle higher resolutions when required. But with remote production, you don’t need to rent an OB truck for all the events you cover, allowing you to both save costs and optimize the use of your resources.
It also saves time as the setup of your equipment is consequently faster.
MOBILE PRODUCTION
Ozkan Production OB1
Since year 2000, Ozkan Production completed many local and international broadcast and production projects which made us today the leading company of Broadcast Technical Equipment and Services Provider in Turkey and around the region. With our expert staff who have training and top experience on their fields, we are providing services to media companies for their OB Van, broadcast equipment and technical crew needs. Ozkan Production provides 9 different OB Vans with its highly trained expert technical crew. Ozkan Production holds the largest portfolio of OB VAN's in Turkey and around the region.
All Mobile Video’s New Truck Packs a Punch with Grass Valley IP Solutions
The new AMV IP unit comes fully loaded with Grass Valley’s revolutionary new LDX 100 IP camera platform, delivering 3x high-speed UHD capture, with the award-winning Creative Grading solution bringing unparalleled creative control to camera shaders. Simplifying the IP workflow is the GV Orbit dynamic system orchestrator; using the interface, operators can easily configure and change systems on the fly. “The IP workflow is supported by an IP fabric built with Nexus 9000 Series Switches from Cisco Systems. Cisco’s Nexus 9K-based IP Fabric for Media supports the latest SMPTE 2110 suite of standards and is ideally suited to build a scalable and agile switching fabric for the most challenging media production needs,” said Sunil Gudurvalmiki, Product Marketing Director Data Center Switching, Cisco. “We are excited to partner with Grass Valley and World Wide Technology to provide the best path to market”.
NEP Group Uses TSL Products’ MPA1-MIX MADI-V Audio Monitoring Units in New OB Trucks
NEP Group is a leading worldwide outsourced technical production partner to premier content producers of live sports and entertainment throughout the world. As a long-standing customer of TSL Products, NEP Group has relied on the company’s MPA1 units as their audio monitoring solution of choice for live broadcasts. When TSL introduced its new MPA1 V Series audio monitor, designed to directly address the needs of those in live production, NEP was the first to realise the benefits and place its order. NEP Group integrates TSL’s MPA1-MIX MADI-V audio monitor as a cost-effective solution to improve operator workflow within its fleet of OB trucks.
STUDIO / REMOTRE PRODUCTION
Nevion helps Al Kass Sports Channels transition from SDI to IP
Previously, the channels had been exchanging media between Qatar Television (QTV), Al Bidda Tower in Corniche and BeIn Sports using microwave links. To support enhancements to the quality and cost-effectiveness of transmission, Al Kass Sports Channels required a state-of-the-art, scalable and flexible switching infrastructure that would support its eventual migration to higher resolutions and an all-IP environment. Initially, the new solution would provide reliable ultra-low latency IP transport for uncompressed and compressed HD-SDI, DVB-ASI, intercom and data between the sites over a ring network topology. However, it also needed to be ready to handle 4K/UHD, HDR and SMPTE ST 2110 to support Al Kass’s plans. Of course, the solution needed to offer the highest security and content integrity, and provide a dedicated point-to-point connection with no single point of failure.
Shanghai Media Tech Invited to AR Cloud Era
In response to market demand, the Shanghai Media Tech (SMT) Studio Department undertook the internet-based live broadcast project—“Ecovacs Evolution Night.” Based on our own technical capabilities, SMT integrated all necessary resources to complete this seamless live broadcast. The mobile phone based netcasting can neither achieve a fluent site switch nor a unification of video and audio feeds. The SMT studio department has solved this problem based on its powerful processing ability in audio and video center.
AFTONBLADET TV COVERS THE LATEST NEWS WITH DYVI, EVS' LIVE PRODUCTION SWITCHER
EVS, a leading provider of live video technology for broadcast and new media productions, today announces that Aftonbladet TV has deployed the Dyvi production switcher for its news, current affairs and magazine studio productions. The software-defined solution offers a fresh approach to live production, taking the user far beyond the limits of conventional hardware switcher design. It was selected by the web TV offering of Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet (part of Schibsted) to replace the legacy switcher for its new Stockholm studio and control room. Now fully operational, the Dyvi is already relied on by the core team of staff and freelancers to control the many live productions distributed each day online by Aftonbladet TV, as well as on the screens of its multi-purpose studio floor. And with the ever-changing narrative around the COVID-19 crisis driving the news agenda, the switcher has been central to getting the latest information out to their national audience.
SPORT EVENTS
FREAKS 4U GAMING INVESTS IN BLACKMAGIC DESIGN FOR ESPORTS BROADCASTING
Blackmagic Design today announced that international gaming and esports agency, Freaks 4U Gaming, has deployed multiple studios and portable production units (PPU) built around Blackmagic Design. The solution for acquisition, control and delivery, allows the facility to offer native 4K content creation services for broadcast and live streaming. Whether for traditional broadcast or live streaming, the Freaks 4U Gaming facility can support a host of formats, ranging of esports content from gaming tournaments, Twitch battles and magazine style esports programming. As well as fully customizable studio sets, caster booths and presenter spaces, it also offers more than twenty studio pods where influencers can create content for their own social media channels.
Pixotope powers stunning visuals and engaging information in WePlay! Esports championship streaming
To bring the audience into the esports action, WePlay! Esports decided to use augmented reality. “For us, augmented reality is a powerful tool to enhance the tournament theme, and add creativity and consistency to the broadcast,” said Aleksii Gutiantov, Head of AR Dept at WePlay! Esports. He turned to the proven Pixotope solution from The Future Group: “the best product on the market in my experience,” Gutiantov added. Pixotope takes the remarkable rendering power of the Unreal Engine from Epic Games, and builds it into a complete virtual production hub. While offering a user interface simple enough for the pressures of live production, it provides along with the ability to make last minute changes while in live mode, all the power of an augmented reality system including camera tracking, motion capture and data-driven graphics.
SHOW EVENTS
Hippotizer Tierra+ Scores Super Bowl Touchdown
Lighting director Jason Rudolph took the helm for the visuals for the prestigious halftime show, which was produced by Touchdown Entertainment on behalf of the NFL. It took place at the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. With a plethora of aerial shots on the camera angle agenda, the team devised the large, round stage as an eye-catching centrepiece for the action, which was broadcast live in the USA by Fox and around the world by multiple networks.
Robe Lighting The Sky for Heroes
On Sunday 22nd March for half an hour, a number of Benelux lighting rental companies and individuals – in fact anyone with access to a light – were invited to point it upwards and #LightTheSky in support of all the key workers, heroes and heroines on the frontline of fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. #LightTheSky was an idea originated by a Dutch rental company … which then became a clarion call taken up by numerous entertainment rental companies, venues, broadcasters and others, by people working in every segment across the whole Benelux Region … with some extremely creative results … as is the nature of our industry!
Claypaky Fixtures Light Up Hiperkarma’s 20th Anniversary Concert in Budapest
Hungarian alternative rock band Hiperkarma celebrated its 20th anniversary with a few close friends – all 6,500 of them at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena, Hungary’s biggest sports complex. A large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures helped illuminate the concert, which was held on February 7, 2020 after almost two months of rehearsals. Soul Light Kft. provided the Claypaky fixtures for the event with Attila Kolozsi the Crew Chief. Bence Nagy was the Lighting Designer and Console Operator. “I chose Claypaky lights because I love their colors! For this show their color mixing was very important as was their ability to do great effects with the multiprisms, great frost function and high-range zoom. Claypaky fixtures are also very trustworthy,” says Nagy.
PRODUCTS
IP connectivity enables remote access to secure KVM systems
However, many tasks cannot be carried out from a distance simply because robust and resilient technological infrastructure is not in place to support them. Examples are technical support jobs that need low-level computer access and control room operations that rely on absolute data integrity and instant access to process control systems. Current and common technology is not up to the demanding performance levels required to fulfil these tasks.
Lynx Technik selects PHABRIX Qx for major test & measurement upgrade
Stefan Gnann, CEO, Lynx Technik, said, “Lynx Technik AG is well known for rigorous 100%-QA testing on the products we deliver to customers. As technical requirements are changing, with 12G processing, AES requirements and customers transitioning to IP workflows, we needed to replace our legacy testing equipment with the latest and best test system – so we chose the PHABRIX Qx.” Qx is the world’s first fully flexible rasterizer for hybrid IP/SDI analysis and video/audio monitoring, offering the latest hybrid IP/SDI test and measurement tools for environments that require 4K/UHD (12G/6G/3G-SDI), HD-SDI as well as SMPTE ST 2110, ST 2022-7, ST 2059 (PTP), AMWA NMOS and ST 2022-6 formats. The instrument set includes tools for rapid fault diagnosis, compliance monitoring and product development.
Riedel’s MediorNet Drives Real-Time Signal Transport and OTT Streaming for Unique Drive-Up Worship Services at Cherry Hills Community Church
“We had used MediorNet previously to handle camera feeds and intercom for an event taking place on the other side of our campus. Therefore, MediorNet was the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking about how to get interconnectivity between the building and a trailer set up in the parking lot that served as the front of house mix position for our drive-up services,” said Chris Thomas, Technical Arts Director, Cherry Hills Community Church. “Also, we had only three days’ notice to get the drive-up ministry up and running in time for weekend services. The Riedel support team was incredibly helpful, and they were able to show us via remote conferencing just how fast and easy it is to set up MediorNet with its simple drag-and-drop configuration.”