Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cerebrum delivers seamless multivendor control to Broadcast Rental's OB flight-pack solution

24/01/2020

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
LINK: https://www.broadcastrental.com/cerebrum-delivers-seamless-multivendor...
See more stories from broadcastrental

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...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

15/07/2026

Inside DAZNs Multi-Market World Cup Effort With CTO Sandeep Tiku

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...

15/07/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Qumulo's Chris Horn on Powering Global Media Workflows Across Edge, Core, and Cloud

As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...

15/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: Inside the HBS Non-Live London Production Hub

HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...

15/07/2026

IBC2026 to Spotlight AI, Live Sports Production, Creator Economy, and Trust in Media

IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...

15/07/2026

Vanessa Paradis Tour Adopts Sennheiser Spectera Wireless Ecosystem for 2026 Production

Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...

15/07/2026

Telos Alliance Integrates AudioShake Source Separation Into Minnetonka AudioTools Server

New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...

15/07/2026

AIMS Schedules Second IPMX Product Certification Event for August

Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...

15/07/2026

Force Tech Appoints Bryan Adams as Vice President of Integration

Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...

15/07/2026

USA Sports and Bundesliga Announce Exclusive Multi-Year U.S. Media Rights Agreement

USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...

15/07/2026

Inside ITV Sport's Stunning FIFA World Cup Studio in New York City With Paul McNamara

ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...

15/07/2026

CatchLight, Sony Launch Equipment Initiative for Local Visual Journalists

Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...

15/07/2026

CornerstoneSF Installs FOR-A HVS-Q12 Switcher in New UHD Production Facility

San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...

15/07/2026

Steve Bornstein Joins Advisory Board of Scott Cokers New Global MMA Promotion

Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...

15/07/2026

Space City Home Network Executive Producer John Valek on Leaning Into Innovation, Access, and Opportunity

The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...

15/07/2026

Freqport unveil the Dual FreqInOut FO1-2RK

Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...

15/07/2026

Expressive E's Summer Offers

Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026 Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...

15/07/2026

Peel Stems 2 from zplane

Real-time stem-separation tool updated zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...

15/07/2026

Baby Audio SubCulture

A new benchmark in bass enhancement Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...

15/07/2026

DMC Production Reimagines Live OB with Calrec

DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...

15/07/2026

FCC to Vote on Replacing National Broadcast Ownership Cap

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

ATSC Updates Industry Audio Loudness Guidance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

GigaCloud and Cubbit partner to deliver sovereign and res...

GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...

15/07/2026

SMPTE Launches 110th Anniversary Campaign to Advance Its...

SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...

15/07/2026

STUDIO TECHNOLOGIES UNVEILS MODEL 762 STEREO LEVEL CONTRO...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...

15/07/2026

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried Brie Clayton July 15, 2026 0 Comments Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...

15/07/2026

SIMBA powers new streaming delivery network with Broadpea...

Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...

15/07/2026

DHD Introduces Discovery Utility for Network-Connected Au...

DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration. Anyone w...

15/07/2026

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026 Breaking t...

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...

15/07/2026

S&P Analysis: Three Quarters of Americans Watch Live Sports

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

Scripps Sports, Ion Score Women's Volleyball Rights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Origins premieres on Sky and NOW on 28 July

Wednesday 15 July 2026 Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...

15/07/2026

Audiences to get behind-the-scenes access to Trinity College Dublin's Old Library in new RT series

Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...

15/07/2026

Building Ireland explores the River Shannon region from Leitrim to Limerick in a new series

Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...

15/07/2026

NVIDIA and Japan Bring Full-Stack AI and Robotics to Every Industry

Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...

14/07/2026

Bowling Green State Upgrades Doyt Perry Stadium With New Daktronics LED Display

South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...

14/07/2026

Mizzou Athletics Launches Connected Digital Platform

Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...

14/07/2026

DePaul Athletics, Playfly Sports Agree to Multimedia Rights Partnership

Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...

14/07/2026

American Association Expands Broadcast Reach Through FanDuel Sports Network Partnership

Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...

14/07/2026

Euroleague Basketball Introduces Euroleague Basketball+ Digital Ecosystem Initiative

New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...

14/07/2026

Professional Fighters League, ESPN Reach Multi-Year Media Rights Deal for Brazil

ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...

14/07/2026

TEGNA Names Scott Gill VP of Technology and Operations

Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...

14/07/2026

Guest Post: Dynamic Media Facilities Could Reshape the Future of Broadcast Workflows

Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) As broadcasters con...

14/07/2026

Bayerischer Rundfunk Debuts Fully Software-Defined SMPTE ST 2110 Radio OB Van Built Around Lawo Technology

Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...

14/07/2026

Scripps Sports, ION Secure U.S. Rights to 2027 FIVB Womens Volleyball World Cup

Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...

14/07/2026

FloSports Lands Exclusive U.S. Rights to IIHF Mens World Championship Beginning in 2027

FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...