SVG Sit-Down: TAG V.S.'s Abe Zerbib on the Power of IP, Software-Only Systems for Sports Broadcasters The company focuses on multiviewing/monitoring with off-the-shelf hardware By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 8:00 am
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Since launching more than a decade ago, TAG Video Systems (TAG V.S.) has helped dramatically change the way media companies think about multivewing and monitoring operations. With a focus on IP, software-only solutions that work with off-the-shelf hardware, TAG V.S. developed a comprehensive IP software-only monitoring multiviewer platform, the company's flagship MCM-9000, to serve both multiviewing and monitoring/alarm needs.
At NAB 2019, TAG V.S. (Booth SU6521) will demonstrate the MCM-9000 multiviewer and monitoring platform with new live functionality that increases resolution with support for advanced formats. Other developments include availability of HD and UHD outputs as SMPTE 2022-6/2110 uncompressed, as well as MPEG-TS and HLS for mobile applications; the addition of rich, colorful Tally/UMD with TSL and/or TAG protocols; and MPEG-DASH monitoring in addition to HLS. The company will also provide the U.S. debut of its TAG IP Monitoring and Multiviewer Builder for easily customizable configurations; highlight the TAG Decryptor for real-time decryption; and show the MCL-9200 all-IP software-based solution for a wide array of production and postproduction applications.
SVG sat down with TAG V.S. CEO Abe Zerbib to discuss how the company has evolved since it was founded by Tomer Schechter and Gal Waldman in Tel Aviv, how he sees the move to IP and software-only solutions revolutionizing the industry, the potential impact of the SMPTE ST-2110 suite of standards for media over IP networks, the accelerating rate of migration from SDI to IP, how the explosion of OTT streaming services will impact the multiviewer/monitoring market, and more.
Briefly, can you provide a bit of background on TAG and its product portfolio?
TAG was founded because one specific customer wanted to address an industry-wide problem, and there was no answer. The customer was building a large NOC [network-operations center] with thousands of channels. When they looked at the monitoring function and multiviewing capabilities, they thought it was strange that multiviewer vendors were not really providing real-time deep analytics and alerts and, from the other side, the vendors providing real-time deep analytics and alerts were not capable of seeing the video. So they approached the founders of TAG, Gal and Tomer, and asked them to build a fully IP, software-only product running on off-the-shelf hardware and capable of combining real-time deep analytics and alerts and multiformat-video multiviewing simultaneously.
This is what makes TAG so different from all the others. Our flagship MCM-9000 platform resulted from a direct customer request, and TAG was able to solve the issue in a very revolutionary way that has impacted the way media is viewed. Our MCM-9000 isn't just another multiviewer or just another monitoring system; it's a solution that TAG brought to the market with a vision for serving the customer in the best, most efficient way.
How is the shift to IP, software-only, and COTS hardware dramatically changing the multiviewer/monitoring market? And why do you believe TAG is in an ideal position to serve these evolving needs?
Over 10 years ago, TAG's founders set out to design and build a product that they insisted had to be fully IP. That decision was not at all for marketing purposes; it was truly a philosophical decision. We paid a very high price in those early days because many customers were focused solely on SDI, but we believed, we knew, that was going to change in the future. We didn't bow to any pressure from the market, and, as a result, we gained the experience necessary to solve problems that arose in the area of IP.
In our customer ecosystem, 80% of our customers may have bought our solution to solve a specific problem, but what they received at the same time is the benefit of our extensive knowledge and experience regarding IP and the network world. And that is priceless. It's kind of a free consultancy service because they need to know, and we need to explain to them, where the world is going in terms of IP so they can leverage the benefits of the TAG system.
What kind of opportunities and flexibility do IP and software-only workflows offer broadcasters and content producers that SDI/hardware do not?
First of all, let's talk about software-only and off-the-shelf hardware. The fact that it's on a network infrastructure changes all the rules of the game. The most important point is that a media group gains unlimited mobility and accessibility to handle its current workflow.
Traditionally, in the world of media, you're dealing with individual environments. The NOC, the studio, and the postproduction areas are all very separate. Today, the technology we provide can take this very localized mindset and provide mobility and accessibility from anywhere. With IP and software-only technology, constraints are lifted. It is no longer true that media can be shown only in the NOC or only in the studio or only in postproduction. This is a huge advantage.
A good example is a project we did with Fox Networks at their Woodlands, TX, facility, where TAG is orchestrating thousands of channels. It's a robust multiviewer with both monitoring and multiviewer functionalities. We also solved a huge problem for them, however, by allowing Fox's L.A. operation to see the multiviewers with just a standard network connection. It's just another connection in the network switch.
How do you see development of the SMPTE ST-2110 suite of standards impacting the market today and in the yea
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SVG Sit-Down: TAG V.S.'s Abe Zerbib on the Power of IP, Software-Only Systems for Sports Broadcasters The company focuses on multiviewing/monitoring with off-the-shelf hardware By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
