Beijing 2022: NBC Olympics' Tim Canary Offers Inside Look at Massive At-Home Operation in Stamford It features first-ever large-scale 1080p HDR workflows By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - 3:19 pm
Print This Story
Although NBC Olympics has been relying heavily on its production facility in Stamford, CT, for several Games over the past decade, the at-home operation is bigger than ever for this year's Beijing Winter Games.
Not only is nearly all commentary being done from the Off-Tube Factory in Stamford, but the bulk of primetime and other marquee programming is using control rooms at home rather than at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Beijing. And, on top of that, the NBC Olympics operation in Stamford incorporates 1080p HDR systems and workflows on a large scale for the first time and faces new transmission challenges in producing the primetime shows from three locations: Beijing, Stamford, and Los Angeles.
SVG sat down with Tim Canary, VP, engineering, NBC Olympics, to discuss workflows and infrastructure in Stamford, how the short turnaround from the Tokyo Summer Games affected preparations for Beijing, an update on the Off-Tube Factory, additional resources that had to be brought into Stamford to handle the additional programming, how the 1080p HDR workflow is going, and more.
First, how are things going at the Stamford facility, and can you give a quick overview of the operation there? How it has been scaled up in terms of personnel and operations compared with previous Games?
The team here is doing very well but certainly is very busy handling the demands of nine control rooms and 24/7 production across multiple channels and platforms. In addition to five control rooms in the building, we have four production trucks at our loading dock. All control rooms are running in 50 Hz, with three trucks and two facility-control rooms running at 1080p/50 HDR. Operationally, we have more than 1,500 people in Stamford supporting the 2022 Winter Games, our largest for any Winter Olympics to date. Included in the additional staffing were several of our major vendors, who came to Stamford to provide additional support. Along with the above, we continued to support golf production and other properties in 1080i/60.
Tim Canary (far right) and the NBC Olympics engineering and ops team on hand in Stamford. All photos: Mike Moutopolous, NBC Sports Integration
How has the at-home effort affected operations at the IBC in Beijing? Historically, the IBC control room has served as the core hub. Has this changed for Beijing?
During the second week of the Tokyo Games, we started to prepare for potential scenarios to have the NBC Network primetime-control room in Stamford, which reduced the operation in-country. In addition, several venue control rooms (Alpine, Sliding, Snowboard, and Speedskating, [plus] Opening Ceremony) were also brought back to Stamford. This was a major lift for the technical team in a very short period of time.
How did the accelerated timeline between Games affect your team's operations and Stamford engineering plans? When Tokyo wrapped up, did you immediately start preparing for Beijing, and what did those preparations entail?
We prepared several potential plans that impacted many areas, including purchasing of long-lead hardware, adding extra facilities to the building (like edit rooms, screening areas, set changes) and a fast-track technical build to modify the planned primetime-control room from 1080i to 1080p HDR. In reality, the Tokyo Games had not finished, and we were already into planning the changes for Beijing, which also included preparing for some items (like EVS servers, Avid edit kits, Sony HDR monitors) to be based in Stamford.
One of nine control rooms (five in the building and four production trucks) at NBC Sports HQ in Stamford, CT
With nearly all on-air talent at-home, how has the Off-Tube Factory operation been expanded or enhanced?
The Off-Tube Factory was greatly enhanced to provide simultaneous 1080i and 1080p HDR copies of every off-tube event to production. We also added telestration and multiple combination booths of onsite and offsite announcers into a seamless workflow. And we had some instances where commentary had to originate remotely. This provided many challenges intermixing our Lawo in-house commentary system with TieLine Via remote kits.
Have you had to expand the Stamford facility to accommodate all the additional operations taking place there?
Yes. [For example], we added production trucks, office trailers, additional Avid edit rooms, additional ingest channels; expanded ingest-automation systems; expanded our Grass Valley/Cisco 2110 routing system and Evertz control systems, file storage; expanded and modified our EVS network to allow 1080i/60, 1080i/50, and 1080p/50 storage pools; completed the transition of 140 more GV XIP frame syncs for a total of 280 channels. We also expanded our IPTV system; modified our transmission plans with AT&T and over 300 transmission paths between Stamford and China using 100 G of transmission bandwidth; updated SMT hardware in New York; added hundreds of paths of fiber transport at the truck dock; expanded our intercom systems; added Omega timing systems, Dartfish, and Ross AR systems; and expanded our friends-and-family-control room to add I/O, 16 channels of EVS, and additional standards conversion.
In addition to the Olympics, the team was prepping for the Super Bowl transmission, remote edit, communications, and other system needs, working with our remote-operations team.
NBC has more than 1,500 people in Stamford supporting the 2022 Winter Games, the most at-home for any Winter Olympics to date.
Given the tight turnaround and increased risk, are there any new tools/technologies/workflows in Stamford that have been deployed for Beijing, or are
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
28/01/2026
Top L-R: The Liars, Jazz Infernal, Living with a Visionary
Second Row L-R: Paper Trail, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, Crisis Actor
Third Row: The Boys and ...
28/01/2026
Music discovery should feel intuitive and personal. That's why we're continuing to give you more control, so you can ask for what you want, shape what y...
28/01/2026
Today, Charlie Hellman, Spotify's Head of Music, shared the following note on the Spotify for Artists blog that the company paid out more than $11 billion t...
28/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in partnership with the Oudtshoorn Municipality, invites aspiring and emerging filmmakers to apply for the Sediba...
28/01/2026
As demand for more complex live sports coverage grows, Balkan broadcast specialist MVP has upgraded its flagship HD1 progressive OB truck with the installation ...
28/01/2026
Airlines, cruise and tour operators double down on ad spend as Australians' prioritise travel
Sydney January 28, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows a...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Marshall Electronics launches the CV420-27X, its next-generation ultra-high-definition (UHD) IP camera, at ISE 2026 (Stand 4N900). Engineered for modern IP-base...
28/01/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Television Mobiles Ltd. (TVM), one of Europe's leading independent outside broadcast providers, has carried out a major refu...
28/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities
FOR-A is bringing remarkable new technologies to FOMEX, the Future of Media Exhibition (ex...
28/01/2026
Continuing a longstanding collaboration, Riedel Communications and Nordic media technology company Media Tailor have once again joined forces to deliver a state...
28/01/2026
Pebble has appointed Paul Nagle-Smith as vice president for customer fulfilment, strengthening its senior leadership focus on customer delivery and operational ...
28/01/2026
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset has announced that leading Mexican broadcaster, TV Azteca is using Veset Nimbus on AWS as a disaster recovery (DR) playo...
28/01/2026
Ensuring it can keep pace with a rapidly evolving live sports market, Balkan broadcast facility provider MVP Most Valuable Production has upgraded its flags...
28/01/2026
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud solutions provider that powers and protects life online, and Yospace, the leader in dynamic ad insertion tec...
28/01/2026
The renowned Reykjavik City Theatre (RCT) recently underwent a major intercom system upgrade using Clear-Com solutions. This milestone project utilizes Clear-C...
28/01/2026
Luxembourg, January 26, 2026 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading space solutions company, acknowledges the credit rating action announced by Fitch to...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
28 01 2026 - Media release Screen Australia refreshes Market & Audience approach...
28/01/2026
Boston Conservatory Orchestra Premieres a New Piano Concerto by Peter and Leonar...
28/01/2026
28 Jan 2026
VEON Notes Kyivstar Group Publication of Selected Full Year 2025 Fi...
28/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host 2026 edition of its online event Demystifying EMC Rohde & Schwarz invites the global EMC community to join a crucial discussion on pre...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
The Wait Is Over: Teaser Trailer Drops for Jo Nesbo's Dete...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces a Fictional Miniseries Inspired by the Marta del Castillo Case
Entertainment
28 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to ...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Santiago Mitres New Film Starring Ver nica L...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Teaser Trailer for Berlin and the Lady wit...
28/01/2026
Stadtwerke Wolfhagen Modernize Customer Management with AEP.energysuite from Arv...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
January 14, 2026
We are proud to share that 25 Ontario, First Gulf's commercial project located just two minutes from our head office, has been recognized ...
27/01/2026
January 22, 2026
First Gulf is excited to share that a full-building lease has been secured at 625 Bronte Rd in Oakville, part of Bronte Station Business Park,...
27/01/2026
January 23, 2026
First Gulf continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-performance, sustainable real estate with 351 King Street East achieving BOMA BEST ...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
Beijing 2022: NBC Olympics' Tim Canary Offers Inside Look at Massive At-Home Operation in Stamford It features first-ever large-scale 1080p HDR workflows By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
