In a move away from the traditional model of remote production, in which camera signals travel from the venue to a broadcast centre, DMC Production and Broadcast Solutions Group have launched a new truck enabling processing to take place on-site.
Installed in the vehicle’s racks, Grass Valley AMPP servers enable video switching, replay, audio mixing and multiviewer generation. Remote production teams connect to the system from control rooms located in Helsinki and Hilversum. Rather than individual camera feeds, the teams receive a low latency multiviewer stream and send control commands back to the system.
The system aims to minimise bandwidth usage, operating on around 100 Mbit/s of standard internet connectivity. Platform and control data use approximately 25 Mbit/s with monitoring through WebRTC multiviewer streams taking about the same. Up to 25 Mbit/s is available for programme output delivery via SRT, with additional headroom being maintained.
Jens Envall, chief innovation officer at DMC Production commented, “Processing happens where the event takes place, and we control it remotely.”
The majority of the space aboard the truck is taken up by the AMPP servers that run the environment. Compared with a traditional OB truck, the amount of hardware is relatively small, said the companies. Up to 16 Grass Valley cameras via XCUs are supported, as well as 32 additional external SDI signals through stage boxes. Core production functions are run entirely on the AMPP infrastructure. Three workstations enable a director or small team to operate on site, if needed, with the rear of the vehicle housing the technical racks and storage.
The Helsinki and Hilversum control rooms feature full hardware panels including a Maverick vision mixer panel, audio fader surfaces, a LiveTouch replay controller, and camera control panels. Operators monitor production through the same layout generated inside the truck via WebRTC. SRT streams from the remote locations mainly serve as return feeds for verification.
DMC Production aims to use the vehicle predominantly for sports broadcasting, although the setup will also support smaller entertainment productions. The company plans to include a small NAS system to support local storage workflows in addition to the cloud storage option. Audio mixing can be handled directly within AMPP but a Calrec audio solution will be integrated for more complex productions.
Concluding, Envall said, “Historically, the broadcast industry moved away from dedicated hardware more slowly than other sectors. That’s changing fundamentally. Broadcasting is now following the same path as other industries toward software based solutions and service oriented infrastructure.”
