Netherlands based Broadcast Rental has built a video routing network based around the Blackmagic Universal Videohub (pictured) for use by Dutch Broadcaster NOS at the 2012 London Games. The Universal Videohub is being used by NOS to distribute key highlights and games footage from their media headquarters at the game’s International Broadcast Centre (IBC) to other Dutch Olympic facilities; Holland Heineken House and Medal Plaza. The video routing solution will also be used by the broadcaster at the centre of operations in the IBC, a 24-hour media hub for around 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists. Controlled via PC touch screen monitors, the Universal Videohub will take in all signals from the Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) and will distribute the signals to the Holland Heineken House, Medal Plaza, and to storage at the IBC. The signal will be locked and ingested via an EVS XT and IPDirector workflow to an Avid Unity System before it is packaged up with Avid Media Composer. The final output is then routed back through the Universal Videohub before being distributed to the Netherlands broadcast network and other Olympic screening facilities. “Blackmagic’s Universal Videohub, as a routing matrix, will sit at the heart of our Olympic operations. Every audio and video signal will go via this router,” said Geert Paul Slee of Broadcast Rental. “We wanted to use the Universal Videohub in particular for this job because it is completely customisable, can be controlled wirelessly and fits easily into small spaces, which makes it a very cost effective solution when you are using a piece of kit for multiple customers.” www.blackmagic-design.com
