Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

UFC Charts REMI Roadmap With Road to UFC Season 2 Opener From Shanghai

26/05/2023

UFC Charts REMI Roadmap With Road to UFC Season 2 Opener From Shanghai Entire broadcast will be produced from UFC facility in Las Vegas By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Friday, May 26, 2023 - 10:45 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

UFC launches a new chapter in its broadcast playbook this weekend with the Road to UFC Season 2 opening round, the first event to be broadcast live from its UFC Performance Institute Shanghai. The two days of broadcasts from the world's largest, state-of-the-art MMA training and development facility will be a REMI production handled by a crew and control room located at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.

UFC Performance Institute Shanghai will host the Season 2 opener of Road to UFC May 27-28.

Unlike other major-league sports, says Tim O'Toole, SVP, event production, UFC, the UFC produces their own events. We're not only the promoter and the league; we're also the broadcaster. As a result, we have to travel the majority of our crew to all the events, international or domestic. Road to UFC is the first attempt at a true REMI model for us. We are looking to establish a foundation for how we can produce our international shows in the future and then create a blueprint for a lot of our international events.

Split Footprint: Fights at PI Shanghai, Broadcast Ops at Shanghai Media Tech Opened in 2019, UFC's 93,000-sq.-ft. Performance Institute Shanghai is nearly three times larger than the original UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. PI Shanghai serves as UFC's headquarters in Asia (which it moved from Singapore) and as a hub to develop and support the next generation of MMA athletes from China and the greater Asia-Pacific region.

UFC opened its 93,000-sq.-ft. training and development center at Performance Institute Shanghai in 2019.

To erect PI Shanghai, UFC took over a massive factory and built training facilities and office space from scratch across 3 floors. However, the facility has no broadcast infrastructure, except for dark-fiber connectivity.

To produce this weekend's broadcasts, UFC is using a nearby broadcast facility operated by Shanghai Media Tech (a division of Shanghai Media Group). The UFC production team will deploy its typical camera complement for an event of this size: 12 broadcast cameras surrounding the octagon (either handheld or lock-offs), two Sony FR7 PTZs shooting back at the coaches in their corners, and one backstage camera.

UFC's REMI Model: From Shanghai to Vegas and Back All camera/audio feeds are fed into a Riedel MediorNet MicroN signal-transport system and sent to Shanghai Media tech via dark fiber. From there, UFC will connect to a Telstra fiber transmission network installed at Shanghai Media Tech and send all feeds to UFC Apex Vegas, which also has Telstra transmission fiber installed. A total of 24 sources are going from Shanghai to Vegas, with eight return sources from Vegas to Shanghai.

UFC will produce the Road to UFC from a control room at its UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.

Except for camera ops, audio engineers, a handful of technical staff, and the front-of-house production team, the production crew will be in Vegas, producing the broadcasts from a control room at the UFC Apex facility.

This gives us the opportunity to utilize that crew but not travel them all the way to Shanghai, says O'Toole. We believe this is the model for how we produce our international shows in the future. I can't say we're going to do them all as REMIs moving forward, but we'll certainly take lessons learned from this and apply them for future UFC events.

Key Pieces of the Transmission Puzzle: Telstra, PSSI, Appear, Nextologies In addition to Telstra, UFC works closely with longtime transmission partner PSSI Global Services on contribution backhaul for its high-capacity REMI productions. PSSI has deployed Appear's X Platform, which will be configured to perform high-density HEVC encoding/decoding for the Shanghai event.

X Platform offers the ability to blend formats - HEVC/AVC, ST2110, JPEG XS, Zixi, and now high-capacity SRT - with an array of processing, Network Address Translation (NAT), and firewall functions. X Platform includes Appear's ECx110 modules for HEVC ultra-low-latency encoding and decoding.

PSSI have been tremendous partners over the years, says O'Toole. I would say that the transmission component is the most stable part of a UFC event, and that is credit to the team at PSSI. I can't say enough about their engineers and project managers. We have a very intricate, dynamic, and complex show that requires a lot of distribution worldwide. Thankfully, the plan that PSSI puts forth is of the utmost quality and is the most stable of everything that we do on a UFC event.

Feeds from 24 sources will be transmitted from PI Shanghai to UFC Apex Vegas.

UFC is also leveraging Nextologies hardware to deliver feeds from six reference POV cameras from Shanghai to Apex for the commentary and production teams.

UFC has also created a data tunnel using Nextologies for comms between Shanghai and Vegas. UFC uses Unity Intercom software to connect the respective RTS intercom systems in Shanghai and Vegas. In addition, roughly 25 Riedel Bolero wireless intercom beltpacks are deployed onsite at PI Shanghai for camera operators, stage managers, and other crew. Their signals are converted into Dante audio feeds and transferred between the two locations over the data tunnel provided by Nextologies.

Plans Postponed: PI Shanghai Makes Its Long-Awaited Broadcast Debut This weekend's broadcast is more than three years in the making. When PI Shanghai launched in 2019, UFC announced plans to deliver its first broadcast during the first half of 2020. The pandemic, of course, waylaid those plans.

Although O'Toole and company have tested t
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/05/26/ufc-charts-remi-roadmap-with-ro...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

09/05/2025

Harvard Taps Studio Technologies for Sports Telecasts

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...

09/05/2025

ITN, Magnite Launch Programmatic Solution for Local Linear TV

NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...

09/05/2025

Nugen Audio Unveils DialogCheck Speech Intelligibility Software

LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...

09/05/2025

AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution

AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution Brie Clayton May 8, 2025 0 Comments When working remotely on broadcas...

09/05/2025

What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?

What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course? Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025 0 Comments There aren't many advanced After Effects co...

09/05/2025

Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025

Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025 Brie Clayton May 8, 2025 0 Comments Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...

09/05/2025

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...

08/05/2025

What to Watch: 6 Sundance Institute-Supported Films by Filipino Directors

A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...

08/05/2025

Managing the Mission: Teaching Technique to C3ISR Operators

For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...

08/05/2025

Cable Industry Backs Broadcasters' Move to Software-Based EAS

The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...

08/05/2025

CTA Tells FCC: Dont Mandate ATSC 3.0 Tuners

WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...

08/05/2025

TAG Video Systems Appoints Paul Maroni as Vice President...

TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...

08/05/2025

BroadcastAsia 2025 Showcases Best of British Innovation

This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...

08/05/2025

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight innovative broadcast technol...

Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...

08/05/2025

Nexstar Appoints Bill Nardi VP of Station Operations

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...

08/05/2025

LumaTouch Partners With CNN Academy on Training

SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...

08/05/2025

SBE Backs NAB Proposals to Change EAS Rules

WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...

08/05/2025

OAN to Provide News to VOA, USAGM Networks

Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...

08/05/2025

EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden and Beyond

EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...

08/05/2025

Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro

Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro Graham Quince May 7, 2025 0 Comments This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...

08/05/2025

OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Native Data Services Platform

OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...

08/05/2025

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...

08/05/2025

Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music

May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...

08/05/2025

Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit

May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit 11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...

08/05/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundaries With XR/AR

SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...

08/05/2025

Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta Horizon, and Beyond

Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...

08/05/2025

PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are Elevating Live Golf Coverage

PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...

08/05/2025

Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Production

Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...

08/05/2025

Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action' Puts Unlikely Allies on a Rescue Mission

Back to All News Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...

08/05/2025

Wildfire Prevention: AI Startups Support Prescribed Burns, Early Alerts

Artificial intelligence is helping identify and treat diseases faster with better results for humankind. Natural disasters like wildfires are next. Fires in th...

08/05/2025

Join the Family: GeForce NOW Welcomes 2K's Acclaimed Mafia' Franchise to the Cloud

Calling all wiseguys - 2K's acclaimed Mafia franchise is available to stream...

08/05/2025

LM Studio Accelerates LLM Performance With NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs and CUDA 12.8

As AI use cases continue to expand - from document summarization to custom software agents - developers and enthusiasts are seeking faster, more flexible ways t...

07/05/2025

March 2025 Less Time Spent Watching Video

Warsaw, Poland - April 28, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest March All Screens Video Landscap...

07/05/2025

Studios Delay Moving Films to Streaming to Protect Box Office

LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...

07/05/2025

Saudi Broadcasting Authority Turns to Grass Valley for Major Tech Upgrade

MECCA, Saudi Arabia Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has selected Grass Valley to provide a major technology upgrade of its broadcast facility here....

07/05/2025

Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live production in new whitepaper

Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live pro...

07/05/2025

Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity

Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity Brie Clayton May 7, 2025 0 Comments Pioneer 2 boat production environment powered by Blackmagic...

07/05/2025

Studios Delaying Moving Films to Streaming to Protect Box Office

LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...

07/05/2025

FCC Seeks Comments on LPTV Adoption of 5G Broadcasting

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a Petition for Rulemaking from HC2 Broadcasting Holdings asking...

07/05/2025

U.S. Department of Education Terminates CPB's Ready to Learn Grant

WASHINGTON Following a decision by U.S. Department of Education to terminate its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB has in...

07/05/2025

Tubi Announces New Interactive Ad Formats

NEW YORK Fox's ad-supported streaming Tubi made a series of product and partnership announcements during IAB NewFronts in New York, including the launch of ...

07/05/2025

The GFiber App Gets an Upgrade

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google Fiber (GFiber) has announced a redesigned app that the company said will simplify how customers set up service, manage devices, and...

07/05/2025

NASA+ Launches FAST Channel on Prime Video

WASHINGTON NASAs on-demand streaming service, NASA+, has launched a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channel on Prime Video....

07/05/2025

The WNET Group Names Randall T. Decker Senior Director, Technology

NEW YORK The WNET Group, parent company of the PBS station Thirteen, has announced the appointment of Randall T. Decker to senior director, technology, effectiv...

07/05/2025

Peter Barber appointed new Chief Executive Officer at Ato...

Atomos announced an executive leadership transition as the Company continues to evolve and expand its strategic focus. Peter Barber, currently serving as Chie...

07/05/2025

Steadicam Vol Honored with AMPAS 2025 Scientific and Tech...

Steve Wagner, Jerry Holway and Robert Orf at the 2024 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. The ...

07/05/2025

nxtedition and TASCAM bring precision audio control to TV...

nxtedition, the Swedish company behind the leading integrated platform for news and program production, and TASCAM, the iconic Japanese manufacturer of professi...

07/05/2025

Signiant Brings Real-Time Camera Raw-to-Cloud Innovation...

Signiant is bringing its Camera-Raw-to-Any-Cloud workflow to the UK for the first time at the Media Production & Technology Show 2025 (Booth# M69) with a live d...

07/05/2025

MNC Software extends its global reach with Gencom Technol...

MNC Software Inc., a global leader in software and network solutions tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has appointed Gencom Technology as an officia...