A new remotely controlled production flypack has been deployed for NBC Sports' coverage of the FIS World Alpine Ski Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and will likely play a key role in future international championship coverage and more. Because much of the actual production is taking place in a control room in Stamford, CT, the system in St. Moritz has allowed NBC Sports to reduce the number of personnel onsite from approximately 40 to 10.
The FIS World Alpine Ski Championships give NBC Sports a chance to make use of a new workflow as it covers skiers like Lindsey Vonn.
We're leveraging the trend in technology that makes it so that it doesn't matter if the [production team] is in the compound or across the Atlantic, explains Craig Bernstein, director, technical operations, NBC Sports. If you build it correctly, test it, and have redundancy, the production folks are none the wiser.
Dubbed NEWBERT, the remote-controlled flypack is modular and scalable. In the case of the FIS Championships, it comprises six flight cases, containing a good-sized Evertz EMR64 router with 64 inputs and outputs. The system fits into only three rack units onsite and is connected to the Evertz Magnum switcher in Stamford. The router panels in Stamford can also control the router in St. Moritz.
We've designed a remote flypack that allows us to do remote mixing in Stamford, says Craig Bernstein. One of the big problems has been the latency between the talent onsite and the folks at home, and we put a lot of effort in solving that problem.
Dominic Torchia, manager, remote technical operations and engineering, NBC Sports, was heavily involved with the design of NEWBERT. He says that, in the case of the Ski Championships, the system takes in dirty feed of course coverage as well as a couple of spits from the start cabin and the finish line. Included in the flypack is a small Blackmagic production switcher, which is remotely controlled by the technical director in Stamford, who in turn passes that signal into a Sony production switcher as a source.
In Stamford, says Torchia, he has a virtual control panel for the Blackmagic so he can preselect any sources in the kit and even do effects through it.
The flypack also houses a Lawo-based audio core, a small intercom system, and an EVS replay unit. The producer, director, technical director, and replay, graphics, and audio personnel are working at NBC Sports in Stamford and can remotely control the necessary equipment from afar.
The Lawo commentary system provides the perfect number of resources we need for a show like this, says Torchia. It plugs into the Ethernet, and everything is ready to go, and 18 commentary units back home are connected.
Five JPEG transport streams connect the IBC at St. Moritz to Stamford on two diverse 1-Gbps Ethernet circuits provided by Swisscom through the EBU network. An Evertz IP gateway and a small Cisco router play an important part in making it appear as if the control room is located onsite.
Latency is about half a second, but most of that is because the signals need to be standards-converted twice, Torchia explains. And talent is being mixed locally so they don't even really know that there is not a production truck onsite.
The A1 audio mixer also operates from Stamford.
The coolest part is, the Calrec Artemis is at home. We worked extensively with Lawo to build a GPI so that the Calrec can talk to a Lawo DALLIS [digital-audio line-level interface system] onsite, says Bernstein. We first used it for Formula 1 at Austin[, TX,] last year. The mixing is completely controlled from Stamford; it's pretty slick.
Torchia adds that there are no physical hard panels on any of the equipment. Software provides the audio mixer in Stamford access to the audio controls.
NBC is also using Lawo VPro8 eight-channel video-processing units to mux the audio signals into the video signals. Notes Torchia, It's all embedded audio, and Lawo really helped us out.
According to Bernstein, the flypack features equipment that NBC owns outright, and it will vary in size and complexity from event to event. At the World Ski Championships, NBC Sports has only one unilateral camera in the mixed zone; at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, it will have two hard cameras shooting unilateral event coverage. When the flypack is used at the World Championships in Athletics in London in August, it will have an expanded EVS presence.
We built it with the idea that there is no fixed formula for these remote productions, adds Bernstein. So it can fit whatever the needs are.
Keeping the production team so far from the event location has been one of the cultural challenges for innovative remote productions. Bernstein says that one of the producers who has historically travelled to the event still wanted to be onsite: On the first day, he felt he needed to be back in Stamford.
The size of a show has a big impact on the suitability of a remote production using NEWBERT, which, Bernstein notes, can comfortably handle 15 feeds.
Up next for the system is a return to the States, where it will head to Las Vegas for coverage of USA Sevens Rugby March 3-5.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
06/05/2024
Around the world, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) artists continue to impact mu...
06/05/2024
Spotify is making it easier for booklovers to count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until a new audiobook releases. With Countdown Pages for audioboo...
06/05/2024
Get Ready to join Dan Hong as he hits the streets in his ultimate culinary journ...
06/05/2024
In this video, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers behind the scenes as he lights a daytime-interior scene inside a coffee shop. Shooting on Panavisi...
06/05/2024
L3Harris is well positioned to support the complex and multifaceted nature of special operations forces in all domains through our agile and responsive technolo...
06/05/2024
OAKVILLE, Ontario As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready, Canadas national public alerting system, will be distributing a test alert to Canadians i...
06/05/2024
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in...
06/05/2024
RE:Vision Effects Autograph 2024.4 released! 50% Off Through May 9th
Brie Clayton May 6, 2024
0 Comments
New game-changing motion graphics & VFX featu...
06/05/2024
NBC has renewed Night Court for a third season. The courtroom comedy was on the network from 1984 to 1992, and NBC rebooted it in early 2023....
06/05/2024
ABC has revealed its summer schedule. The Bachelorette gets going Monday, July 8, with Jenn Tran the star in season 21. Celebrity Family Feud starts up Tuesday,...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Kobus busts Pretty in a compromising positionDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Saam on SA...
06/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Bra Zakes and Sphamandla agree to leave Tembisa and n...
06/05/2024
RT has announced details of its coverage across digital, TV and Radio in the ru...
06/05/2024
For years, radio stations have used on-premises servers to broadcast content and manage automation, traffic, and billing systems. As technology continues to adv...
06/05/2024
06 May 2024
AI and Big Data Take the Centre Stage in Central Asia at Beetech 20...
06/05/2024
FIRST LOOK AT JIM PARSONS & MAYIM BIALIK REPRISING THEIR ROLES FROM THE BIG BAN...
06/05/2024
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be...
06/05/2024
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live...
06/05/2024
Back to All News
Watch the Trailer for A Part of You - Felicia Maxime, Edvin Ry...
06/05/2024
Leadership in 12G-SDI for low impact migration to 4k production...
06/05/2024
Press release - 6 May 2024 07:31
STATEMENT CONCERNING EUTELSAT GROUP'S GROUND NETWORK Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Download as PDF
Paris, 06 May 2024 ...
06/05/2024
Tyngsboro, Mass. - May 6, 2024 - Join us at InfoComm 2024 to experience the latest advancements in live production technology. From June 12-14, 2024, at the Las...
06/05/2024
To champion global movements to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, ava...
06/05/2024
Actress Matseliso Mohale has joined Muvhango'Talented actress Matseliso Mohale has joined SABC2's soapie Muvhango' as Vhangani's lover and a c...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Leroy refuses to give up fighting to bury MthethoDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
06/05/2024
Intrinsic, a software and AI robotics company at Alphabet, has integrated NVIDIA AI and Isaac platform technologies to advance the complex field of autonomous r...
06/05/2024
Cybersecurity experts at the RSA Conference this week will be on the hunt for ways to secure their operations in the era of generative AI.
They'll find man...
06/05/2024
1) What is the rationale of the transaction? What is the benefit for SES shareholders?
This combination creates a stronger and more competitive multi-orbit ope...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series Roosters, Starring Jeroen ...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Showdown Alert: Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura' Drops Electr...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
A new remotely controlled production flypack has been deployed for NBC Sports' coverage of the FIS World Alpine Ski Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and will likely play a key role in future international championship coverage and more. Because much of the actual production is taking place in a control room in Stamford, CT, the system in St. Moritz has allowed NBC Sports to reduce the number of personnel onsite from approximately 40 to 10.
