Live From the US Open: NEP's Nick Romano on Collaborative Energy, Innovation of 2021 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, September 10, 2021 - 10:49 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2021 US Open heads into its final weekend, and, for the NEP Group, it will close out an event for which more of its personnel than ever were onsite, overseeing world-feed operations, operations for selected rightsholders, Arthur Ashe digital boards, a virtual flash studio, and more. for NEP Engineering Manager Nick Romano, the event this year showed the power of teamwork, not only within the NEP family but beyond.
From left: Terry Brady, Joalin Goff, and Nick Romano outside the USTA Broadcast Building
The US Open production effort is a multi-pronged one, with not only NEP but also Gravity Media, CP Communications, and others onsite working together.
When we are onsite, we just make sure that everybody's clients' needs are met and the show goes as flawlessly as possible, says Romano. We're working hand in hand with Gravity Media to put on a good show all the way around for the USTA, ESPN, and all the rightsholders. I'm just proud to be a part of the team that brings this together.
The US Open compound is dominated by three core buildings: a two-story production facility home to ESPN's domestic and core world-feed coverage, a second ESPN two-story building for production operations, and a two-story broadcast building that is home to the USTA, rightsholders, and more. The USTA compound does still have traditional production trucks playing key roles, most notably NEP's Chromium and Nickel.
We've used them for the world feed and the good part is they are 1080p- capable so, in subsequent years, when there is a need to go 1080p, they won't need to change, says Romano. [Chromium is] a great truck, and the crew and operators [are familiar] it, so the world feed runs as efficiently as possible.
ESPN's interactive-TV service also is produced out of a truck, and, this year, those operations moved to NEP Supershooter 9.
That truck is also 1080p, and it has a crew that is just as incredible, says Romano. The truck and we've gotten a lot of good results out of moving from NCP VIII. We have a had great run-through year of 1080i in the truck as we prepare for 1080p. The good part is that we're ready for next year, whatever it is, and we have vetted the workflow.
One of last year's efforts that let the full NEP Group flex its muscles was the use of Creative Technologies to create a virtual flash interview room. With rightsholders unable to be onsite, the room allowed players to sit down for interviews in a green-screen environment with maximum safety.
That was a huge hit last year, and the USTA wanted to bring that back, says Romano. We added a couple of small nuances for backup-streaming capability so that, if somebody couldn't take the transmission the way it's currently going out, we can give them a URL and pass along an SRT feed.
Cincinnati-based Lightborn Communications knocked it out of the park, he adds, with work on the virtual graphics, which give rightsholders around the world a studio environment reflecting the US Open and New York City. It's all part of an effort that has received positive feedback from everyone, he says.
The players like it because it's a controlled COVID-free environment with robotic cameras, he notes. They contact only one person, and that is the person putting on the IFB. There are no microphones, and the earbuds are disposable, so [Creative Technology Project Manager] Jeff Chenery and his team have done an amazing job every day.
The US Open green-screen studio is a concept that Romano says could have applications across other types of events and at all levels. At the Open, it allows players to be interviewed by more media outlets more easily than ever, and there are plenty of other sports and other events where the goals are the same.
This is a major world-class event, and we're doing it at a world-class level, Romano says. But there is flexibility to change the level of production for multiple uses. I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg. It would be perfect for things like press junkets, and I look forward to any opportunity that we can get involved in because this technology is sound. It's an all-around great effort.
In February 2020, NEP acquired Australia-based Mediatec and folded it into Creative Technology. Mediatec began providing in-venue digital signage behind the baselines at the US Open in 2019 so the acquisition in 2020 gave additional fuel to efforts that are transforming the Arthur Ashe fan experience.
The product they use is absolutely amazing, and we do our best to work with everybody to get the best out of it, says Romano. It serves multiple purposes, but it just looks phenomenal and amazing. We look forward to more options as we move into the future and to show what NEP can do. It's another example of just being at the tip of the iceberg.
The NEP team at the US Open is a bit larger than last year's, mostly because NEP is now handling technical needs for Wowow's rightsholder needs.
We provided the engineers and additional tech manager on board to help make sure that we were ready for them, says Romano. We wanted to make sure they were taken care of when they returned here for their first year in the new building.
The use of internet streaming to deliver live broadcast-quality signals has given NEP Media Solutions a chance to play a role for the practice courts. Robotic cameras cover those courts, and the signals are available to rightsholders via SRT or Zixi streams.
NEP Media Solutions is also helping out with streaming to social media and YouTube, says Romano, who has become more involved
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
Live From the US Open: NEP's Nick Romano on Collaborative Energy, Innovation of 2021 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
