
EMG & Imagine Communications Case Study posted: 03/12/2021
Creating efficiencies in remote production in Tokyo
EMG is a leading global provider of broadcast services and media solutions for live sports, entertainment and events. The group combines unique expertise and experience to master the entire value chain, from image creation to distribution. A significant part of our business lies in covering major sporting events.
Sports broadcasting has always driven technology development: viewers demand more cameras and more angles, more replays, more graphics and more resolution like 4K and HDR UHD. To stay ahead of the curve, we continuously strive for solutions that add value to the production yet deliver savings in costs and people. One way in which we do this is through the use of IP connectivity to centralise control and increase remote access.
To this end, we have developed our IP fly-pack system, which we call diPloy. This is a completely modular production system, built into modular racks of varying sizes in dedicated 40-foot containers, which allows us to plug together the functionality we want for each particular job. By creating modules at the flight case level, we can physically place modules where they are required: some close to the action, some at any distance.
One of the first major uses of diPloy was at a major multi-sports event held in Japan in the summer of 2021. We were responsible to the host broadcaster to deliver much of the technical architecture.
The heart of the event was the athletics stadium. This venue hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a full programme of track and field events. To cover all requirements, and to provide full redundancy for the opening ceremony, we built a total of eight similar control galleries. These were physically sited in the broadcast compound, some 500 metres from the stadium itself.
The first requirement was to bring the outputs of cameras and microphones from within the stadium to the control rooms. This used a diPloy rack within the stadium, into which cameras and microphones were connected. Dark fibres then carried the uncompressed IP signals to the broadcast compound, where they were made available for production, via IP.
Cameras were mainly 4K HDR UHD units, although some POV cameras worked at different resolutions. Connectivity was mainly IP, but the diPloy racks could also accept SDI inputs. At the control room end, while much of the switching was in the IP domain, we used existing replay servers again with SDI outputs, which needed to be converted to SMPTE ST 2110 IP.
The Great Workhorse of diPloy
Critical for diPloy is the Selenio Network Processor (SNP) from Imagine Communications. The SNP is a powerful and compact appliance that uses software to provide a whole range of functionality. Each 1RU SNP has four independent processors, each with eight 3G processing paths with software personalities readily changed to do what you need at any moment.
That includes SDI to IP conversion; up-, down- and cross-conversion and colour space transforms; video processing and audio shuffling; point multiviewers and much more. It also provides the interface to high-speed IP connectivity between units: up to 400 gigabit ethernet over fibre in the current version.
As the industry moves towards higher resolutions, European broadcasters are currently looking towards both 4K and HDR, while American channels want 1080p HD with high dynamic range colour. SNP incorporates these conversions so we can offer different outputs to different feeds simply and transparently.
We can change what each processor path in each SNP can do with the click of a mouse. It is an excellent combination of power and flexibility, and we regard it as the great workhorse of diPloy.
This summer in Tokyo, it was SNPs that converted incoming signals and multiplexed them onto fibre for delivery to multiple galleries, where more SNPs split the feeds out for production. It does this completely transparently and with virtually no latency. As far as the crew is concerned, the performance is just the same as having SDI cameras plugged into the tailboard of a truck.
To build eight galleries in the stadium that would only be used for a small proportion of the multi-sport event would be highly inefficient. So we used further diPloy racks, again equipped with SNPs, to cover events at other venues, to be produced from the stadium.
Bevan Gibson, CTO EMG (c)
The road cycling, for example, was based more than 100km away, but was successfully cut and mixed in one of the stadium galleries. SNPs in the diPloy racks at the venue multiplexed all the signals onto a high-bandwidth IP link.
The coverage of the cycling also involved cameras on motorbikes, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. The receivers for these were positioned to get the best live reception, and where necessary, further SNPs were used to connect the downlinks to the control room. The latency as the signals were converted, multiplexed and presented to the production switcher was so low that the director did not notice.
The future for diPloy
What this event gave us was a very demanding, very public proof of the diPloy concept, which successfully separates the source of signals from the production capabilities. Away from the four-yearly cycle of major events, this has huge potential for routine sports coverage.
We have already built a diPloy-equipped control suite in our Dutch facility, and we are working on similar galleries in other major European cities. The object is to provide centralised production, which will deliver huge savings in budget and environmental impact.
A conventional truck might cover three football matches in a week, within a relatively limited geography. But a diPloy control room could cover three football matches a day by simply routing the appropriate devices.
Those
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...
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
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...
11/06/2026
As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...
11/06/2026
Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...
11/06/2026
First in new line of muted string libraries
VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...
11/06/2026
New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4
At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...
11/06/2026
Larger, but still compact!
Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...
11/06/2026
Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...
11/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...
11/06/2026
ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 11, 2026
0 Comments
DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...
11/06/2026
PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...
11/06/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Kiloview, a leading innovator in AV-over-IP video solutions, will return to InfoComm 2026 (Booth# N8327) with broadcast-grade AV-over-IP solutions designed for ...
11/06/2026
Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026
From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...
11/06/2026
Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year The Music Business Association honored Butler at its annual Bizzy Awards.
June 10, 2026
...
11/06/2026
Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement The five-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, known for her longstanding...
11/06/2026
Thursday 11 June 2026
Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Women's T20 World CupTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unvei...
11/06/2026
Summer solstice shows from C il House and Late Date from 9pm on Saturday 20 Jun...
11/06/2026
The GeForce NOW summer sale kicked off today with limited-time savings of up to ...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...