Axon Case Studie: BCR Fly-Pack Cerebrum delivers seamless multivendor control to Broadcast Rental's OB flight-pack solution
International full-service solutions provider Broadcast Rental has put Axon's Cerebrum control and monitoring platform centre stage in a new 4K-capable OB flight-pack system. This ultra-compact portable solution, designed and first deployed for broadcaster Fox Sports, delivers a powerful workflow to simplify and support complex live productions anywhere in the world. Extending its portfolio with a proven IP infrastructure, Broadcast Rental is primed to deliver the future needs of its client-base.
An innovative solution
Fox Sports Netherlands came to trusted partner Broadcast Rental to provide an innovative flight-pack solution to support its live broadcast of the 2019 West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations tournament in Senegal. For this three-week event, the system would be deployed in a challenging production environment, delivering live coverage of 22 football matches to 28 free-to-air broadcasters in Africa and 35 countries worldwide.
The requirement was to design a lightweight system with a small footprint that could be easily transported on a pallet on a commercial flight - ensuring mobility and speed of deployment. The system had to be of a modular, scalable design so that more cameras could be added if required and provide a streamlined workflow to enable operators to hit the ground running.
Expanding its offering to the market with this ultra-compact flight-pack, future-proofing was a key design consideration for Broadcast Rental. The solution had to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of different customers, productions and formats and provide a proven upgrade path to UHD 4K and IP at a later stage.
Client objectives
Support live-broadcast delivery throughout the WAFU Cup to a worldwide audience, with multiple camera feeds coming in from across Senegal.
Design a light-weight scalable modular solution, small enough to fit on a commercial flight pallet for ease of deployment anywhere in the world.
Deliver an efficient flexible workflow, integrating best-of-breed technologies - adaptable to the needs of different customers and productions.
Enable speedy pre-configuration and remove complexity so that operators can hit the ground running and focus on the action - even in challenging locations.
Anticipate market demand for UHD 4K production by incorporating equipment that is proven in an IP environment.
The Solution
Cerebrum, Axon's control and monitoring solution, was the natural choice for Broadcast Rental. Trusted and relied upon in live sports production worldwide, this software platform offers the most comprehensive third-party device control in the market - removing engineering bottlenecks and seamlessly integrating and controlling all technology in the workflow, even in the latest 4K IP environments.
Described by Broadcast Rental as the perfect management tool and user interface', Cerebrum controls a range of best-of-breed technologies and cameras in the flight-case system. Software-defined, it is agnostic and fully scalable by design. This allows clients the freedom to choose the number and type of cameras to suit their production - including the latest UHD and large senor cinema models.
Cerebrum makes life easier for Broadcast Rentals' operators enabling them to monitor and control everything from one screen with a powerful visual interface. Tasks that previously took hours can now be completed in minutes and, with easy pre-configuration during the planning stage of each project, very little needs to be set-up once the flight-case arrives on site - saving resources, time and stress.
Ethernet-based and supporting the latest standards such as ST2110, Cerebrum is the choice of OB companies leading the way into hybrid and full IP production, allowing Broadcast Rental to make a safe investment in an IP-ready future.
System Overview
For the duration of the WAFU Cup, the flight-pack system was set-up at the main stadium in Thi s, Senegal, in a six-metre by 12-metre area with four racks of equipment located in a separate room. Twenty-five Dutch staff ran the production from one studio, with Broadcast Rental taking primary responsibility for engineering. The signal was distributed to the rest of the world from the Fox Sports Playout Centre in Hilversum, the Netherlands, broadcasting six hours of live coverage a day.
Cerebrum integrated all elements of the workflow and provided operators with a powerful and user-friendly visual interface to seamlessly configure and control technologies including Ross Ultrix Matrix, graphics and production switcher, RTS Odin Intercom, tally, KVM extension and audio.The system supported sixteen camera feeds, including super slow motion, mini-cameras in the goal, two in the tunnel, a live drone feed, stabilised cameras on various team buses and live contribution from mobile phone applications coming in from across the country - all under Cerebrum's control.
Successfully deployed by Fox Sports in Senegal, the flight-pack has subsequently been used by other clients at live events across Europe and the Middle East.
I am extremely happy with Cerebrum. Having full control of everything under a single management system makes it the ideal solution for live production. Operators can control multiple systems at
the same time and all from one easy-to-understand screen. Once it is set up, all the operator has to do is press a button and start everything rolling. Audio, video, cameras, tally - Cerebrum controls them all and it couldn't be simpler. Our new flight-pack may be compact, but with Cerebrum at its heart, the production opportunities it offers our client are enormous.
Martijn Swart, CTO, Broadcast Rental
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
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...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
29/05/2026
Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...
28/05/2026
Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
Axon Case Studie: BCR Fly-Pack Cerebrum delivers seamless multivendor control to Broadcast Rental's OB flight-pack solution 
