Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League Efforts Dive Deeper Into the Cloud, Head to Hawaii for Project Aloha' Hybrid workflows are likely to be important after in-person events resume By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, April 16, 2021 - 3:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
After an Overwatch League season unlike any before it, Activision Blizzard Esports' Broadcast Technology Group is looking to build on the cloud-based workflows deployed in 2020 to serve online gameplay this year. An early pioneer of cloud workflows, ABE took it to the next level last year when Overwatch League shifted to online tournaments because of the pandemic and will continue to embrace the cloud even after LAN events resume.
The virtual set is running inside OWL's cloud-based vMix workflow
One of the key points that we wanted to emphasize this year for our production crew was to build on what we accomplished last year and maintain the stability that we had at the end of last season, says Corey Smith, director, live operations, Broadcast Technology Group, ABE. At the same time, we're also trying to think differently about how we would return to a home-and-away [in-person] model. What kind of systems do we need to have both on ground and in the cloud in a hybrid mode? We want to set ourselves up for success by experimenting with different things that will allow us to be more creative next year and in the future.
Notable enhancements this year for Overwatch League coverage include a virtual set built in Unreal Engine, 4K-quality live streams on YouTube, always-on player POV cameras, Team Power Rankings with IBM Watson, and the upcoming Project Aloha, in which U.S./Europe teams will travel to Hawaii for selected Tokyo-based tournaments with teams from Asia.
Cloud Enables Fully Remote Workflow An Overwatch League at-home producer workstation
The ABE broadcast team's cloud-based workflow is built around vMix live-video-streaming software. Inside vMix, the production team - still working entirely from home - cuts the show, operates the virtual studio, and handles master control. ABE also continues to experiment with Grass Valley's GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform) cloud-based SaaS production solution after initially using it for Overwatch last season.
We definitely have AMPP on our radar for the future, says senior technical manager Ryan Cole, We think it's a product that's going to be very impactful to the success of broadcast production moving forward. We've been doing a lot of really great stuff on the backend with [Grass Valley] and are trying to understand what the future will look like. You'll see some of those tests come to fruition later on in the year, but, for now, we're still doing the vMix-style workflow in the cloud so we can maintain the stability we developed last year.
An Overwatch League at-home engineering workstation
Despite being spread across the globe - from Korea to Europe to North America - ABE's cloud-based ecosystem allows all on-air talent and crew members to interact in near real time. This year, all casters and analysts have received new remote-production kits consisting of a Sony 7 III mirrorless camera, LED lighting kit, full green-screen setup, and enhanced audio. In addition, observer (in-game camera operators) clients have been shifted to the cloud to enable strong bandwidth and a higher-quality output.
An Overwatch League observer (in-game camera operator) at-home workstation
That allows us to do true 1080p, 20-Mbps contribution for the observer feeds, as opposed to having to deal with home-internet problems, says Smith. We're trying to smooth out a lot of the observer workflows by moving those machines to the cloud. It sets the table for the future when you start thinking about native 4K and HDR, and it gives us the ability to scale up.
It also increases the quality, he continues. It's not just the contribution from the user to the cloud. Now you're getting rid of that and putting it directly into the cloud. We're keeping it in a cloud ecosystem, and it goes outbound from that perspective. So we're not focused on that contribution to the cloud; we're focused on the distribution from the cloud to our viewers.
Virtual Set and Viz Trio in the Cloud OWL is bringing back the virtual set that debuted at Grand Finals, which will be utilized all season long.
OWL is bringing back the virtual set that debuted at Grand Finals and now will be deployed all season long. In this 3D environment, the cloud-based Viz Trio workflow allows the production team to flex their creative muscles in any way they please.
I don't think Viz has ever been better in relation to the cloud environment, says Cole. I've seen actual workflows where we have [graphics systems] on on-prem, and we've seen stuttering because of the power of the PC itself. But now we're running on [Nvidia] Tesla [GPUs] in the cloud. So it has been beneficial overall. It's amazing how much you can push technology once you extract the underlying hardware layers. We're 100% cloud [for graphics].
Always-On Player POVs Add New Perspective Always-on Player POV camera setups will allow fans to see more live shots of all the players competing
Also new this year, always-on player POV-camera setups will allow fans to see more live shots of all the players competing. When matches are observing an individual player in first-person, the broadcast will also show their player-camera feed live as well.
When we do in-person events, we can elevate the player by routing their player-camera feed to the scenic so the audience can see and feel their emotion, says David Light, broadcast engineer, solutions, ABE. But, with the pandemic spreading players all around the world, acquiring 150+ l
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2026 GAMES PROGRAM
Tribeca Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary With World Premieres and Pl...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
MADONNA BRINGS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONFESSIONS II TO 2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Global Icon Will Unveil a Cine...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...
Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League Efforts Dive Deeper Into the Cloud, Head to Hawaii for Project Aloha' Hybrid workflows are likely to be important after in-person events resume By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
