Netherlands-based Omrop Fryslân has become the first European broadcaster to deploy LiveU’s cloud-based orchestration platform, Air Control.
Announced in December last year, Air Control aims to make it easier for broadcaster’s to choreograph live production workflows.
The broadcaster employed the platform for its city council election coverage.
“At the start of the project we discussed the approach of combining the best of a TV and radio show,” said Martin Wijbenga, head programme technician at Omrop Fryslân.
“We wanted to have an attractive TV show with the speed and dynamism of radio, covering as much of local city council elections as possible with as many interviews as possible. To be able to do that without having a reporter at every location where there was a possible interviewee, we needed to provide a stable connection to them in a simple way. And that’s where Air Control came in.”
The broadcaster deployed 10 reporters in the field who connected back to base via their LiveU unites/app, and one with a LiveU receiver for Air Control.
“A few hours before the show, we invited all the different city council spokespeople to the Air Control solution and we quickly tested the video/audio,” added Wijbenga. “During our live show, all the spokespeople could connect to Air Control as soon as they had preliminary results of the elections.
“Omrop Fryslân could talk to interviewees via a simple USB headset on a laptop and could then effortlessly switch that feed to air, if desired, without having to use non-broadcast systems like Teams or Zoom. Air Control is easy to use, reliable and provides very good on-air quality.”
