
In Age of Coronavirus, Sinclair, Altitude, and AT&T RSNs Test MTVG Cloud Control' To Customize Feeds Remotely New remote-production platform is seen as next evolution in the dual-feed model' By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, May 22, 2020 - 12:39 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Although no one in the industry can be totally sure what live sports productions will look like when major U.S. leagues return to play, one thing is certain: the footprint and workflow of the production compound will have changed. Instead of the typical setup for an MLB, NBA, or NHL compound often handling three concurrent productions (two RSNs and a national broadcaster), many leagues are pushing for a world-feed model that would reduce the number of people onsite in an effort to maintain social distancing. However, this model would limit RSNs' ability to customize broadcasts for their team partners and passionate fanbases.
With that in mind, Mobile TV Group, which led the innovation of the dual-feed model that has allowed RSNs to create customized telecasts for years, has launched Cloud Control.
Altitude's producer/director at its NOC was able to call the game as if he was in the truck during MTVG's Cloud Control test last week.
The new live workflow enables production personnel normally located in the mobile unit to work at their network offices and remotely control equipment and resources housed in the truck. Cloud Control can be used to produce multiple feeds of a game (world feed, home show, visitor show) with just three or four people per feed in the mobile units. MTVG's dual-feed mobile units (A and B unit) can produce up to two feeds with Cloud Control with the potential of a third feed.
We believe this is the next evolution in the dual-feed model and will allow us to produce a game broadcast focused on the hometown team that will satisfy the needs of our [team partners], says Mike Connelly, EVP, Sinclair/Fox Sports Regional Sports Networks. It keeps our staff close with our teams in our home markets instead of a centralized control room and also allows us to maintain the high quality of a dual feed, which has been one of the biggest game-changers in our business.
https://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Video-1.mp4
Last week, MTVG successfully conducted tests of Cloud Control in Denver with Sinclair Broadcast Group/Fox Sports North, Altitude Sports, and AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. The production had immediate control and use of all facilities in the mobile unit, including cameras, EVS replay, super-slo-mo, graphics, scorebox, intercom, and audio with less than 100-ms latency.
The producer and director were able to call the show as if they were at the venue even though they were at their offices, explains Phil Garvin, founder/CEO, MTVG. They said it felt just like being in the mobile unit. Essentially, we're taking all the [crew] that is usually located in the [visitor mobile unit] in a dual-feed model and moving all of that back [to the network's offices]. If you want it to be exactly the same personnel, same level of cameras, replay, and super-slo-mo that you have today, you can do that; the crew is just in a different location.
RSNs See Cloud Control as Viable Alternative to World Feed
As MLB, NBA, and NHL explore options for resuming play in the coming months, RSNs are looking to maintain some version of the dual-feed model in which home and visiting production teams are able to customize telecasts for their respective markets.
MTVG sends back 1080p multiviewer feeds to enhance the resolution for the producer/director back home.
One of the biggest issues in the [RSN] business is the intimate relationships between us and our team partners, says Connelly. We're embedded with these teams to tell their side of the story. Simply put, the world-feed model doesn't allow us to do that. If we get into a REMI model, centralized control room, or world-feed situation, that significantly limits our ability to tell that team's story. This [Cloud Control model] solves that problem.
Ken Miller, GM/executive producer, Altitude Sports, adds, If the choices are world feed or this model, then it's not even close: we choose [Cloud Control]. We have spent a long time perfecting the dual-feed model, and it would be difficult to give that up. A world-feed broadcast typically plays it down the middle, and that isn't going to cut it for what we need.
Notes Erica Ferrero, senior director, AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain, Accessing truck assets from our home studio with minimal latency allows us multiple ways to approach a broadcast.
How It Works: Inside Cloud Control
Cloud Control uses multiviewers, intercom, and control data, rather than sending camera feeds to a central control room as previous at-home systems have done. MTVG sends a 1080p multiviewer feed to enhance the resolution for the producer/director back home.
The production had immediate control and use of all facilities in the mobile unit with less than 100-ms latency.
The only crew members onsite are an engineer, TD, A1, and V1. The producer, director, graphics/scorebug and replay operators, (possibly) talent, and all other personnel are located at the broadcaster's offices.
The system allows almost unlimited camera and replay resources without the need for a high-end control room at the broadcast center. Cloud Control can use a standard office space with a 250- to 500-Mbps circuit to the mobile unit at the venue. MTVG provides networks a list of required equipment (a one-time cost of approximately $20,000 plus $10,000 for each EVS operator position) or will install it on a lease/rental basis (mobile units must be Cloud Control-compatible).
The Test: Cloud Control Goes Live
After more than two years of development, MTVG con
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...