NEP is updating its Andrews Hub set of facilities in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia with major technology enhancements.
According to the company, it will make the hub the largest all 4k-capable set of centralised production facilities in the world for Tier 1 live sports coverage.
Andrews Hub is used to support numerous NEP clients in producing shows across continents, often thousands of kilometres away from where a match or live event is taking place.
As part of its expansion, NEP will build four new control rooms and upgrade its Network Operations Centres to meet increased demand. Work areas for shading and HDR grading of footage before it goes on air will be added, as well as new “mini” studios and commentary suites for on-screen, off-tube commentary.
Other updates include:
- Expanded facilities using 100 per cent IP, scalable technology, designed to have the lowest possible impact on the environment.
- The introduction of the “hybrid grip,” a new, all-in-one-style tender/grip trailer with on-board streaming technology built in. The single trailer design will include all automated workflows in a smaller footprint.
- NEP will also deploy a new fully integrated and powerful enterprise resource planning (ERP) package to its broadcast control and orchestration platform for planning and scheduling, and enabling more efficient utilisation of equipment across country borders or in different regions.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of projects we’ve covered through the Andrews Hub due to Covid-19,” said Marc Segar, NEP’s VP of Enterprise Architecture. “While we were able to add temporary control rooms and remote location ‘spokes’ in Brisbane and Adelaide to get us to where we are today, building the next-generation Andrews Hub facilities in Sydney and Melbourne will further enable us to meet just about any production challenge or configuration for our clients.
“It’s incredible how far we’ve come over the last four years and the future is very bright for live broadcast and centralised production. Fans want to watch sport perhaps more now than before the pandemic, and we are so proud to be a part of delivering that experience to them.”
