
The European Parliament and Lawo are among the winners of a coveted AV Award, with the EP's Mission Transparency project receiving the Public Sector Project of the Year award. Dubbed the Oscars of the A/V world , the AV Awards were held at London's Battersea Evolution venue. The judges recognized the formidable challenge of the project, which has resulted in a groundbreaking approach and a massive audio- and video-over-IP infrastructure with maximum scaling flexibility. The entire network is managed via a custom GUI for secure control over thousands of audio and video channels. The project is based on an open-standards (ST2110, AES67, Ember+) and manufacturer-agnostic platform.
Changing the perception of the EP and encouraging citizens to take note of what goes on inside, and to cast their votes at election time, has become the central mission of the EP's Audiovisual Unit. Its highly successful 2019 campaigns were only two highlights of an ambitious project that is now fully up and running, with more than 640 video streams and over 9,000 audio channels on the EP's redundant IP network at any given moment, both on-premise and inter-city.
Any spoken word in any language is now available to anyone, anywhere, and the IP-based audio routing and mixing infrastructure is seamlessly connected to the conferencing systems of all 85 meeting rooms in Brussels and Strasbourg, complete with simultaneous translations into up to 32 languages.
In addition to the in-house staff, the European Parliament called in the help of outside service providers, including Lawo, an accomplished provider of network, video, audio and control solutions.
The strategic decision at the heart of the project was to base the new system on IP links between the various sites to accommodate HD video, audio and control transport, and the ability to handle thousands of concurrent audio and video data streams. The system spans several buildings (distances of up to 350m) and two parliaments (450km apart). The result is one of the most complex A/V infrastructures in the world.
Debates and meetings result in a live video program with up to 24 audio feeds; the signals coming from the conference rooms and the interpreters are supplied to a Lawo V__remote4, which embeds the audio in two SDI signals (each capable of carrying up to 16 audio channels in addition to video) and takes care of lip-sync. The two SDI signals are converted into IP streams and transmitted to the EP's Multimedia Center, where they are encoded, streamed and distributed.
Other forward-looking decisions were to purchase a powerful audio router without a physical control panel, the use of Lawo V__matrix software-defined IP video routing and processing blades and of Lawo's Virtual Studio Manager (VSM) for overarching facility management. The format- and manufacturer-agnostic VSM control system allows operators to patch, route, tweak and monitor video and audio signals in both the IP and baseband domains.
VSM also controls all relevant A/V devices on the premises and in the other city over a redundant spine/leaf 40/10GbE IP network, and allows operators to monitor and change the status and levels of audio and video signals.
In addition to its EBS and EBS+ TV channels, the European Parliament operates several radio channels, which are also connected to the campus-wide IP network.
Mission Transparency is a good example of how one step logically leads to the next, commented Dirk Sykora, Lawo's system architect for this project. Well-informed decisions at crucial stages made it easy to scale the installation at a breathtaking pace by adding more functionality as needed. The European Parliament can be proud of an AV system that is truly unique.
Jamie Dunn, Lawo's CCO, added: I can't help being impressed by the number of audio channels and video streams that whiz across the European Parliament's IP network, and by the user interface provided with the help of our VSM system and IP solutions. Well done everybody!
More from Lawo
11/12/2020
IP Audio Monitoring...
03/12/2020
IP Audio Monitoring...
19/11/2020
IP Audio Monitoring...
13/11/2020
A Lawo 24-fader mc 36 All-in-One console and two compact Lawo stageboxes are at the heart the new 4K OB truck that Lawo partner ARET Video & Audio Engineering h...
22/10/2020
With virtualization a hot topic for broadcasters, Lawo rolls out a new version of the R LAY virtual radio software suite that is optimized to run in Virtual Mac...
15/10/2020
Lawo today announced the release 4.4 of Lawo's innovative theWall multiviewer control software. Beside regular improvements it comprises powerful new featur...
13/10/2020
Lawo mixing consoles provided sublime audio quality for the traditional Concert de Paris at Champs du Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Pour la version fr...
13/10/2020
Brazilian broadcaster R dio Itatiaia, with a network of 52 affiliate stations in the state of Minas Gerais, has installed a new Lawo routing system to switch, p...
13/10/2020
Basel Music Academy's renowned Electronic Studio Basel (ESB) is being upgraded with Lawo IP technology, enabling future prospective sound engineers to be tr...
13/10/2020
Korean Broadcast System (KBS), South Korea's public broadcaster, has upgraded TV production facilities at its headquarters in Seoul with IP technology from ...
13/10/2020
In the age of social distancing, how can an orchestra and choir create a great musical performance when they cannot be in close proximity to each other? During ...
13/10/2020
We mourn the premature passing of our colleague, team member, and friend, Michael Mueller (66); a truly unique colleague, with whom we at Lawo had the pleasure ...
29/07/2020
Lawo mixing consoles provided the highest possible audio quality for the traditi...
24/07/2020
Bi-lingual Swiss radio station Canal 3, which broadcasts on two frequencies in t...
21/07/2020
The first S12T Streamline OB van for the African continent features the first Lawo mc 56 MkIII console for the African continent. The first S12T Streamline OB v...
16/07/2020
Lawo has just released new software for its line of radio mixing consoles, RAVENNA / AES67 mixing engines, and VisTool GUI Builder software. Lawo, the German ma...
10/07/2020
Mediapro Argentina, Latin American audiovisual services company, based in Buenos Aires, has recently turned to IP for a comprehensive technical upgrade of their...
02/07/2020
The Vienna Volksoper ( Volksoper Wien ), Vienna's grand house for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet, is a cultural treasure. Housed in an equally treas...
26/06/2020
China's first full-IP video mobile system for video production uses the Lawo V__matrix software-defined IP-Routing, Processing & Multi-Viewing Platform as i...
25/06/2020
China's first full IP video mobile system for video production uses the Lawo V__matrix software-defined IP-Routing, Processing & Multi-Viewing Platform as i...
23/06/2020
Lawo, German innovator and manufacturer of pioneering IP-based broadcast technology, proudly announces that its mc -series audio production consoles as well as ...
18/06/2020
Lawo, German innovator and manufacturer of pioneering IP-based broadcast technology, has started organizing weekly Lawo Lounge (Wednesdays) and How-To (Thursday...
20/05/2020
Unusual times call for unusual measures. For several months, the broadcast community has lived in unusual times, and Lawo is actively working to help customers ...
14/05/2020
Radio has always been a vital source of news and information when crises hit. California's public broadcasters have traditionally been prepared for nearly a...
28/04/2020
In early April 2020, RTBF, Belgium's public broadcaster for the country's French-speaking community, took delivery of the first of two groundbreaking, f...
16/04/2020
Physical And Virtual Radio Consoles In The Mix Virtualization is a hot topic in radio, as more and more broadcasters discover the flexibility, and economy of vi...
10/04/2020
Lawo engineers conducted a fully-remote FAT (Factory Acceptance Test), using carefully selected online conferencing media to interact with NRK's on-site pro...
08/04/2020
Lawo engineers conducted a fully-remote FAT (Factory Acceptance Test), using carefully selected online conferencing media to interact with NRK's on-site pro...
02/04/2020
The new, fully IP-based Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) F 1 is optimally equipped for ambitious production of sports and cultural events. Central to its...
31/03/2020
Lawo, the German manufacturer of pioneering IP audio, video and control infrastructure solutions, announces the appointment of Johan Boqvist to the post of Seni...
12/03/2020
Lawo announces a new software license package for its versatile Power Core AoIP ...
19/02/2020
Specializing in dance music's harder side, such as hardstyle and hardcore, Q-dance is responsible for some of the world's biggest harder styles events a...
11/02/2020
Lawo launched its 50th anniversary celebrations in January with a Michelin-star studded party for its 300-plus employees in the company's hometown in Rastat...
16/01/2020
Mulembe is not only the guiding principle of the Luhya communities of Western Kenya but also a traditional greeting, literally meaning peace . This spirit ext...
10/01/2020
Fuzhou Radio and Television, one of the foremost broadcasters of China's Fujian Province, has upgraded their Fuzhou Radio channels to AES67-compliant RAVENN...
03/12/2019
Lithuania system integrator TVC has completed construction of an OB Trailer for Norwegian public broadcaster NRK around a Lawo IP audio infrastructure, includin...
28/11/2019
On Friday, November 22nd 2019, Coldplay performed two epoch-making Sunrise and...
22/11/2019
In autumn 2019, the Maxim Gorki Theater (MGT) adopted a new audio infrastructure. Central to this is a Lawo mc 96 production console as FOH console in the main ...
19/11/2019
Channel One installed two full-DSP-option Lawo mc 96 Grand Production Consoles with 72 channel strips and over 800 DSP channels each as well as two 12-fader, fu...
12/11/2019
Solid German engineering and innovative state-of-the-art IP technology are behind the Suzhou Municipal Government's selection of a Lawo mc 36 mixing desk an...
25/10/2019
The Radio Africa Group in Nairobi recently chose Lawo R LAY Virtual Radio technology to modernize their extremely popular flagship radio station, KISS FM. Kenya...
18/10/2019
The European Parliament and Lawo are among the winners of a coveted AV Award, wi...
11/10/2019
In order to enrich its capabilities for dedicated audio production and broadcast of both sports and music - and especially for large-scale sports tournaments su...
30/09/2019
DPG Media in Belgium is in the process of completing an all-new ST2110-based IP production facility at Medialaan in Vilvoorde, dedicated to its entertainment of...
19/09/2019
In a world premiere at IBC, Lawo's A__madi6 and the A__digital64 joined the German broadcast innovator's A__line series of WAN-capable Audio-over-IP nod...
19/09/2019
At IBC 2019 Lawo was showcasing the new Xtra Fader Version of their mc 96 Grand Production Console - providing an increased fader count in the Central Control S...
04/09/2019
What's better than lots of power? Maximum power! Announcing Power Core MAX, the AES67 mixing engine that supports up to four independent Lawo mixing surface...
29/08/2019
Lawo participated in the ultimate test for IP-based equipment, the recently run JT-NM Interop', organized by VSF, SMPTE, AMWA and EBU, and passed, fulfilli...
22/08/2019
Broadcasters using the AES67 AoIP standard in their studios and production facilities finally have an easy way to keep themselves informed about the state of th...
15/08/2019
Swiss private broadcasters RadioFr and La T l have completed construction of a ...