NHRA Lives in the Cloud for At-Home Editing, Production of Racing Content Sony, BeBop, NewTek, and Grass Valley are supplying the remote workflows By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 - 12:32 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As the U.S. sits at a prolonged red light due to the coronavirus, the National Hot Rod Association is still seeing green. Despite being shut out of NHRA's Glendora, CA, headquarters, the production team has kept its foot on the gas pedal in terms of content creation, thanks to an at-home workflow that features cloud-based editing and storage, video recording through Skype, and equipment from NewTek and Grass Valley.
The setup in NHRA's Rob Hedrick's apartment includes a Grass Valley Kula production switcher.
When NHRA built a studio in Glendora, we decided to go with a NewTek TriCaster 460 and TalkShow box, but, when I saw what San Francisco did [to prevent the spread of coronavirus] a few days before Los Angeles went into lockdown, I went up to the office and took the equipment as well as a mixer, says Rob Hedrick, director, postproduction/supervising producer, NHRA. The workflow has been amazingly simple, and we've been cranking out content like we're still working inside of our studio.
From In-Studio to At-Home: Gradual Move to the Cloud Minimizes Obstacles
In the current circumstances, an actual at-home workflow might seem lucky or coincidental, but the NHRA team would probably consider it a product of meticulous planning. Prior to the start of the pandemic, the drag-racing organization was looking to change production from relying heavily on onsite, in-person interaction to a practice that is more agile and adaptable.
We had already started transitioning to cloud-based editing with Bebop Technology after last year's NAB and finished the process by getting our last editor in the cloud a month before [the pandemic] started happening, says Hedrick. We sent people home with their desktops and/or Teradici Zero Clients beforehand.
Clockwise from top left: Brian Lohnes, Tony Pedregon, Jamie Howe, and Lewis Bloom participate in four-way Skype calls to generate racing content.
At a time when many sports-video-production professionals are swimming in uncharted waters with hardwired systems, the NHRA team is already familiar with an untethered infrastructure. In addition to the pair of NewTek products, there is the Grass Valley Kula production switcher. On the intangible side of the operation, BeBop Technology's editing interface is powered by AWS's cloud-based services, and the crew can manipulate footage or upload 20 GB-100 GB of files through any given web browser that can access Sony's Ci storage platform.
The biggest transition that we had was that most of our editors are used to working on a Mac, but, since it's up in the cloud through AWS, it's PC-based, Hedrick explains. Our editors have adapted quickly, and the render times are quicker since it's in the cloud.
No Place Like Home: Apartment Location Provides Stellar Connectivity
The company's steady change in philosophy has turned a Los Angeles apartment from a humble abode to a fully functioning fortress of content. Alongside Hedrick, figuratively speaking, only one other editor is involved in the process.
Lewis Bloom (left) interviews two-time NHRA Pro Stock World Champion Erica Enders about how she's spending her time during the pandemic.
With various kinds of social offerings, there are many digital elements to execute, including four simultaneous Skype calls. Although NewTek TalkShow handles that aspect of the workload, the combined total of traffic and bandwidth over the internet may be a source of constant worry, but, in another stroke of happenstance, the apartment is located in prime real estate for clear and uninterrupted internet connection.
Hedrick had chosen an apartment that's only four blocks from one of the most densely interconnected data centers in the world: One Wilshire, or LA1, which allows 0-ms ping time. Also, AT&T's Los Angeles location is right across the street. And, as if that weren't enough, Hedrick has an extra layer of -redundancy in the form of the apartment building's 100-kW generator.
The Content Catalog: NHRA Rewind: Live, Driver Interviews Lead Programming Lineup
For fans of the NHRA, there has been no shortage of content to get them through the time spent at home. As Fox Sports continues to push re-aired versions of past races, Hedrick and company are handling the entity's social-media channels with both short- and long-form content.
On platforms like Facebook, the team has developed a series dubbed NHRA Rewind: Live. For folks who want to relive the action of an old race or hear thoughts from notable personalities, NHRA Rewind: Live has become a two-hour or more program offering a famous drag race that withstands the test of time and voices that fans are used to for an interactive experience. Statistician Lewis Bloom not only joins in on the nostalgia but brings comments from fans into the discussion by monitoring the chat.
Along with these social-media accounts, this content can be seen on NHRA.com and NHRA.tv, the organization's OTT platform. To get this job done, Hedrick has been patching in talent from across the country, including Bloom in downtown Los Angeles, play-by-play announcer Brian Lohnes in Boston, analyst Tony Pedregon in Indianapolis, and reporter Jamie Howe in Georgia.
Throughout this tumultuous time, fans need constant updates about previously scheduled races and the drivers they follow. To quench their thirst, visual bulletins on up-to-date schedule announcements are released on outlets like Twitter, and, for current information on the participants, drivers have made themselves available to detail, i
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
NHRA Lives in the Cloud for At-Home Editing, Production of Racing Content Sony, BeBop, NewTek, and Grass Valley are supplying the remote workflows By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
