Nevions VP marketing Oliver Suard discusses the many benefits remote and distributed production can bring to broadcasters
By Contributor
Published: July 8, 2021
Nevion's VP marketing Oliver Suard discusses the many benefits remote and distributed production can bring to broadcasters
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Throughout 2020, the sports broadcast industry was largely focused on finding new ways to remotely produce and manage high-quality live events. Partly of out necessity, yet unlikely to stop now, the industry has seen the adoption of technology at a rising speed, for example IP to enable remote production.
Sports broadcasting has been pioneering IP remote production for some time now. However, the primary focus is often placed on the physical media transport, associated considerations around standards, optimum encoding, and protection. This can lead to the critical management layer being overlooked, or at least underestimated. Setting up and configuring equipment is not only time-consuming but also potentially tricky, especially when many IP and multicast addresses are involved. These issues can stand in the way of achieving remote production objectives, i.e. reducing staff onsite or being quick and nimble.
Controlling and monitoring remote production There is a wide range of requirements that the management layer covers, i.e. tally/UMD management, endpoint parameterisation, scheduling, software defined networking (SDN) control, PTP configuration and monitoring. All of these are complex enough in a contained environment, but they become even more challenging in remote production.
As there are at least two locations involved in remote production (the location where the event takes place, the central facilities and possibly other studios, all connected by a WAN), three distinct segments need to be managed individually and together.
Firstly, it is important to ascertain where the various production staff will be located. Most of the equipment will be in the central facility, as sharing resources is one of the benefits sought. However, when it comes to staff, this may not always be possible for logistical reasons. This can create a challenge in terms of workflows and media flow orchestration, as the equipment and the people controlling it will be separated geographically by many miles and technically by a WAN.
Secondly, each of the segments mentioned above will have its own specificities, which will influence how it can be managed.
The WAN connection will typically be based on IP technology, but the control level over the network available to the broadcaster or production company will vary greatly. In some cases, it will be possible to control the path of the signals through SDN to ensure true path diversity. In most situations, though, the network connection will be offered as-is by the telco with no option to control flows inside the WAN.
The event site and the central facilities themselves may be based on IP or SDI technology, or indeed a mixture of both. This means the management needs to be flexible enough to manage production seamlessly across technologies, adding further complexity to the challenge.
Another issue is that the setup in the location could be permanent, semi-permanent, or temporary. The less permanent the arrangement, the more dynamic the management needs to be. As mentioned before, the setting up and configuration must be simple as it will probably be carried out by non-specialists onsite. This is where advanced IP address management can play a key role, by simplifying handling of the thousands of multicast addresses required for the multitude of simultaneous audio, video, and data streams.
Of course, total reliability is paramount, as it's expensive to sort issues out remotely.
Managing the signal flowWhen it comes to managing the actual flows of signals, various options are available.
The simplest one is a static set-up, where the central facilities and remote locations are effectively married . Changing or expanding the setup, reducing or adding signals can be time-consuming and costly though. NMOS IS-04/IS-05 is likely to be required to enable the join-requests to be carried out.
The next option is to add an orchestration and SDN control capability to enable the dynamic set-up of streams across the WAN. This makes it easier to add or remove streams and enables multiple locations to be connected dynamically through the same gateways. The local networks (onsite and in the central facilities) remain statically configured.
It is also possible to bring in one overall management system, controlling the network end-to-end. This allows all streams to be connected dynamically, providing full redundancy for the video and audio signals, and for data. This solution is perfect for remote production but has limitations in the context of a distributed production; as the management is centralised, the individual locations cannot easily operate independently.
This leads to a final model, which involves a federated management, i.e. separate instances of the management system in each location, collaborating together to manage the flows end-to-end. Not only does this give more flexibility in managing the locations both independently and together, but also provides additional resilience by distributing the management responsibility.
Realising remote production benefitsThere are many benefits remote and distributed production can bring to broadcasters, from increased agility to lower costs. Developing a strong infrastructure is vital in supporting the production. It is also the most complex aspect which can potentially bring the costs up if done wrong. If that were to happen, it would significantly reduce or even negate the benefits of the remote or distributed production altogether. However, with the righ
Europe Stories
21/01/2025
Two senior war reporters from the BBC and Sky News have joined an outstanding array of experts in a unique series of training courses for journalists covering p...
21/01/2025
If you're looking to introduce better habits in the year ahead, Spotify is the perfect place to start. Beginning with a special offer for new Spotify Premiu...
21/01/2025
Media and entertainment business leaders across the UK have cautiously welcomed the announcement, while calling for continuing support
By Matthew Corrigan
Pu...
21/01/2025
Proximic by Comscore Releases 2025 State of Programmatic ReportKey Findings Highlight Continued Growth in Programmatic Advertising, Shift from Linear TV to CTV,...
21/01/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
The QKD-GEO mission is the most advanced civil p...
21/01/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales is a global technology leader in the defe...
21/01/2025
Singer-songwriter Reylta been announced as the second act bidding to represent Ireland at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Reylta is the second of six acts hop...
21/01/2025
Coverage includes the Men's, Women's and Under 20's Six Nations
RT ...
20/01/2025
Heading to MIP LONDON this February? So are we! We'd love to meet you at London's biggest content week. Get in touch to discover how Blue Lucy's sol...
20/01/2025
To qualify, cameras must meet capture requirements including dynamic range, codec, resolution and workflow compatibility
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: Janua...
20/01/2025
Companies now have until January 24th to submit products for the annual awards
By TVBEurope Staff
Published: January 20, 2025 Updated: January 21, 2025
...
20/01/2025
Focusing on streaming and OTT, the issue features an interview with Channel 4s director of technology and distribution, Grace Boswood; finds out how BTs infrast...
20/01/2025
Sky to air definitive portrait of F1 champion Damon HillSky Exclusive documentary Hill will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW in 2025Monday 20 Janu...
20/01/2025
Rohde & Schwarz presents new wideband modulated load pull solution based on the ...
20/01/2025
Arqivas network already supports over 2m smart meters for some of the UKs largest water companies
January 20, 2025 Winchester, UK Arqiva, a leading provide...
20/01/2025
Bobbi Arlo has today been announced as the first act bidding to represent Irelan...
20/01/2025
Mickey Joe Harte was the first celebrity to be eliminated from series eight of Dancing with the Stars tonight.
Mickey Joe and pro partner Daniela Roze had the ...
20/01/2025
Nominations Announcement - RT Radio 1 Folk Awards
Celebrating the very best in folk music in Ireland from the past year
Awards event LIVE in Vicar Street and...
17/01/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/01/2025
The revised proposals were supported by Hollywood director James Cameron and included a £20 million investment in local infrastructure
By Matthew Corrigan
Pu...
17/01/2025
TVBEurope meets the team behind RE:TV, a cross-platform channel, to discover how they keep both their production and streaming carbon footprints down by using r...
17/01/2025
In addition to the support, the government has also launched a new UK Soft Power Council to build trust and drive economic growth
By Matthew Corrigan
Publish...
17/01/2025
But there is no question in my mind that the licence fee is not only insufficient, its raising insufficient money to support the BBC, but it also is deeply regr...
17/01/2025
WestCom Broadcast Services GmbH Invests in the Future with Octopus Newsroom and Aveco - Implementation by LOGIC Media Solutions WestCom Broadcast Services GmbH,...
17/01/2025
IAB UK's Gold Standard certification requirements for RMNs are aligned with the media metrics in IAB Europe's Retail Media Measurement Standards. These ...
17/01/2025
Live commentaries, reports and interviews on RT Radio 1
The RT GAA Podcast re...
16/01/2025
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Mundy as Thomsons new Director of Research, Policy and Impact. Gary will join the organisation in March 2025,...
16/01/2025
It means we can provide on air experience for our radio students, who use Type R to broadcast content in the local area and across the internet, while its ver...
16/01/2025
Blue Lucy's recent software update for orchestration, integration and media management platform, BLAM, includes a major upgrade to the tasks application tha...
16/01/2025
Gilmore joins Friend MTS following a two decade career during which he helped secure Irelands first conviction for illicit streaming
By Matthew Corrigan
Publ...
16/01/2025
One hundred years to the day from the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald's ...
16/01/2025
16 Jan 2025
VEON Appoints New Members to the Group Executive Committee Dubai, 16 January 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or t...
16/01/2025
LONDON, U.K., January 16, 2025 - IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced its intent to a...
16/01/2025
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Resul...
16/01/2025
MicroLock is a new compact microphone connector, which builds on the strengths of the renowned MicroDot connector currently deployed with the brand's micro...
16/01/2025
Comscore Announces Unified Content MeasurementAdvanced self-service solution for content owners and creators bridges the gap between content valuation and audie...
16/01/2025
Agreement covers 400,000 properties in the Affinity Water supply area
16 January, 2025 Winchester, UK Arqiva, a leading provider of Smart Utility Networks,...
16/01/2025
All-Ireland Winning Captains, GAA President Jarlath Burns, Evanne N Chuilinn, Pat Spillane and The 2 Johnnies among guests
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
...
15/01/2025
The buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism reached a crescendo a...
15/01/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
15/01/2025
In total, Edward Bergers Conclave received the most nominations and is up for 12 BAFTA Film Awards, followed by Emilia Perez and The Brutalist with nine
By Jen...
15/01/2025
NAB Show 2025 takes place 5-9th April at the Las Vegas Convention Center
By Jenny Priestley
Published: January 15, 2025 Updated: January 16, 2025
NAB Sh...
15/01/2025
2025 marks 110 years of creativity and innovation at Technicolor Group, and we&#...
15/01/2025
2025 marks 110 years of creativity and innovation at Technicolor Group, and we&#...
15/01/2025
We are absolutely over the moon to announce that our work has been nominated at ...
15/01/2025
7layers and Rohde & Schwarz present pioneering Bluetooth RF Test Solution to va...
15/01/2025
London, 15 January, 2025 Frontline emergency services will benefit from a new communications network that will modernise how they work together, as the govern...
15/01/2025
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Erik Holt to Senior Vice President, Global Cha...
15/01/2025
Arvato Systems Becomes New VMware Cloud Service Provider Pinnacle Tier Partner
Broadcom Advantage Partner Program
Arvato Systems to help Modernize Infrastruc...
Nevions VP marketing Oliver Suard discusses the many benefits remote and distributed production can bring to broadcasters
