Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Blue Sky Thinking: Sky Sports' Alex Judd on the Challenges of Using Cloud in Sports Broadcasting Audio

03/08/2022

Blue sky thinking: Sky Sports' Alex Judd on the challenges of using cloud in sports broadcasting audio By Heather McLean, Editor

Monday, July 18, 2022 - 11:55

Print This Story

Alex Judd, technical specialist and A1 at Sky Sports

After gaining a BA in Music Technology from Thames Valley University in 2005, Alex Judd joined Sky a year later as a sound operator. His career at Sky saw him move into a sound supervisor role, a position which included planning all the audio aspects of production for Sky's 3D broadcasts, and then as a team leader.

This means that Judd has been part of broadcast audio's evolution through a series of tumultuous changes, from 5.1 to 3D to immersive audio, and the switch to IP workflows and remote production. All of this means he is ideally qualified to talk about the next paradigm shift in audio production methods - mixing in the cloud. Here we talk to Judd about what cloud means to him.

_______________________________________________________________________

From a broadcast perspective, what does cloud mean to you?

Personally it means re-imagining signal flows within public-based cloud providers' architecture.

We're talking the internet, not dark fibre here. The ability to potentially move production tech costing to an OPEX model allows for a much more appealing start up value investment. By proving the possibility of this we are allowing more flexible entry points and allowing more live content and productions to get to air.

From a tech perspective it is the evolution of Remi production whereby we separate the processing to a virtualised platform sitting in a public cloud provider.

From a broadcast industry perspective, what are the perceptions of working in the cloud? Is it remote control of a physical processor cloud or does it have to be processed on the public internet? Does remote access of on-prem and edge processing from a PC count?

Cloud is a data centre, whether your company owns it and it's on your premises (on prem), or it's in one of the public cloud providers' data centres. I think what we're really interested in is the virtualisation of production elements such as vision mixers, sound mixers, intercom and MCR functionality for X86 architecture which allows the flexibility to process signal flows in all of the realms above.

Cloud is really something that has been coined to mean x86 based in public cloud.

From an audio perspective, what are the challenges of large scale mixing in the cloud?

The challenges are clear; syncing large quantities of feeds accurately and processing delay.

A lot of this is very manual at the moment. We are yet to see tech solutions working on every element of the chain, from commentator's vison monitors to program TX feeds, and obviously in vision lip sync. There's a huge dearth here to be figured out.

The issue is also that we are currently implementing multiple workarounds to accommodate broadcast specific requirements in typical DAW's.

There are also constraints on bandwidth and audio compression at play in certain parts of the chain. That means that you have to be careful in the planning of the audio chain; using multiple compression codecs managed by different manufacturers, or different settings, may result in chunks of lossy compression at work on your audio.

How much of an issue is latency for cloud, and why?

Latency is a concern for any cloud-based virtualised developer as there are multiple places where it can go wrong.

Let's look at a relatively simple example. Say we take two commentators voicing a feed in separate locations; first, you have the latency of the cloud images from the venue to get to the director who is cutting the images. Then you have the latency of the two commentators talking to one another. The images they are watching also need to be in time with one another so the commentators don't trip over each other. On top of this, they also need to be able to communicate in real time, and we also have the latency of the camera return and communications back the venue crew which need to be factored in so as not to impact on whip pans.

This can all be worked around. But as you scale up, so do the workarounds, and that can make it tough.

Are operators comfortable with mixing on a screen UI or will there always be a need for physical hardware?

It's really down to the individual operators. Currently, we've found touchscreens impossible for mixing. It's very difficult to use them in the same way as a tactile surface such as a fader bank.

I think when you're mixing and you start to do the hundreds of micro adjustments you need to do when mixing, currently a physical fader is just better. Where I see potential for innovation is for the individual screens on a console not being needed as they are virtualised; that could work with a touchscreen.

As the tech improves, I stand to be wowed and corrected, although I'm still waiting for my hoverboard like they had in Back To The Future. Let's see!

Broadcast manufacturers are already going down this path, with audio mixers available in the cloud. How practical is this for live broadcast use?

It really depends on the scale of production you are trying to do. A simple balancing of international sound and announcers could be fine. In some instances, we're actually producing a full Remi via public cloud. This requires additional features you would expect of a more traditional broadcast style console.

Where do you see the adoption of cloud going in the next five years for live broadcast mixing?

I see it only growing and creating additional value services and content for an ever-growing marketplace.

We want to produce and consume in a much faster way than we have previously. Virtualisation in conjunction with cloud allows companies to realise their creative idea
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/blue-sky-thinking-sky-sports-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

20/08/2026

MS Now to Launch $7.99 DTC Service

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/08/2026

Nielsen Details Improvements to Audience Measurement Capabilities

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/08/2026

Study: 174 Billion Illegal Streams During FIFA World Cup 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/08/2026

Prasad Opens New 8K/4K Film Preservation & Restoration Center

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/08/2026

IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner C...

IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...

20/08/2026

Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment...

Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...

20/08/2026

Scripps Research scientist to receive $2.76 million NIAID New Innovators Award

LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...

20/08/2026

Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen

Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026 Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R) By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...

20/08/2026

How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex

How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex Brie Clayton August 19, 2026 0 Comments Hero image displays a student about to mix be...

20/08/2026

Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design

Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton August 19, 2026 0 Comments Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...

19/08/2026

Imagine Communications Steve Reynolds on Kaseya Centers Hybrid IP Build and the Growth of ST 2110

As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...

19/08/2026

European Athletics Championships 2026: BBC, Event Organizers Bring Birmingham Action to Viewers in Style

A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...

19/08/2026

Filipiana Sets the Class Divide on a Golf Course in the Philippines

(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...

19/08/2026

MPG launch Save Our Studios survey

Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...

19/08/2026

Harrison unveil the Flex-10

Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...

19/08/2026

Minimal Audio release Lucid

Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...

19/08/2026

Audio Modeling open PolySWAM pre-orders

First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...

19/08/2026

FOX and NBCUniversal Score with FIFA World Cup 2026 Success in Nielsen's June Gauge Reports

World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...

19/08/2026

The Gauge: Poland | July 2026

July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...

19/08/2026

Carr Calls ABC Suit 'Meritless

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Henry Alexander Joins BCE as Sales Director

Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...

19/08/2026

iWedia Announces Advanced Android DRAM Optimisation Proce...

iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...

19/08/2026

NTP Technology announces ST 2110-30-RAVENNA 128-channel A...

NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...

19/08/2026

ORF goes full IP with Net Insight in nationwide network o...

Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...

19/08/2026

Coventry City Trophy Parade Extends LiveU LIQ Beyond the...

LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...

19/08/2026

Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF

Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton August 18, 2026 0 Comments Filming endangered turtles required camera...

19/08/2026

Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control Basic

Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...

19/08/2026

ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Nielsen: Fox and NBCUniversal Score with FIFA World Cup 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

ESPN Co-Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies At 93

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Study: NBA Ad Revenue Hit $2.1 Billion Last Season

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Nexstar's WNCN Donates ENG Van for Training

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Riedel Brings Professional Live Production Into the Class...

Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...

19/08/2026

QuickLink Showcases New 4K Capabilities Across StudioEdge...

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...

19/08/2026

EMAM together with PlayBox Neo and SNEWS launch combined...

Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...

19/08/2026

Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen industry financing pathways

Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...

19/08/2026

Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdre Brennan

Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...

19/08/2026

U&alibi re-commissions Bookish for Christmas Special and Series 3

There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...

19/08/2026

Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple live sports events simultaneously on the big screen for the first time

Wednesday 19 August 2026 Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...

19/08/2026

RT TO AIR HISTORIC KATIE TAYLOR FIGHT IN CROKE PARK

On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...

18/08/2026

SportStream 2026 Virtual Event Set for September 15-17

SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...

18/08/2026

IBC 2026: BeckTV to Debut BeckFlow Documentation Platform

BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53). BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...

18/08/2026

IBC 2026: Boland Communications to Introduce ST 2110 Option for 4K Monitors

Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...

18/08/2026

Seattle Seahawks Integrate Dolby OptiView with Dolby Vision for Fan Streaming

Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...

18/08/2026

Insights from BMG's Graham Taylor on the Role of a Sports Producer in Live Broadcast Production

For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...

18/08/2026

TMRW Sports Names Rufus Hack as President of Golf

TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...