Eredivisie Live, the Dutch TV subscription channel, has chosen EVS systems as the backbone to its new, integrated live HD video production infrastructure. The deal encompasses the full range of EVS’ Sports technologies, and will enable the broadcaster and rights owner to create a more interactive viewer experience from a centralised HD-enabled production hub that will be connected via fibre to all venues.
As a result, Eredivisie Live will gain efficiency and control over each camera angle from each match so that it can distribute premium content to TV, online, tablet and mobile platforms more quickly.
The channel launched in 2008 to broadcast live coverage of the Dutch top-tier football league, and has since broadcast competitions such as the KNVB Cup, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Europa League. As the nation’s largest pay TV channel, it wanted a system that would allow it to best exploit its content and deliver it instantly to multiple platforms – including its downloadable web application. It also wanted to be able to enrich its programming with exclusive footage, sophisticated graphics and HD-quality images.
“With the growing desire of viewers to have access to live and personalized content and with the additional demands of distributing to multiple platforms, we needed a solution to help us offer our Eredivisie Live fans more and better content,” explained Jan De Vries, director operations & infrastructure. “EVS’ heritage and expertise in live production was the perfect match to provide our subscribers with a truly interactive and enhanced viewing experience.”
EVS Sports will supply Eredivisie Live with an end-to-end HD production infrastructure to create an enhanced live production workflow from ingest to playout. The equipment involved includes: XS servers for ingesting multiple feeds and for studio playout; XT3 production servers with LSM remote control panels to create highlights and analysis packages for live shows (the servers will support XDCAM HD for all file transfers and playout); IPDirector production asset management suite for scheduling incoming feeds, live logging and browsing and file transfer; IPBrowse to help producers, journalists and editors to easily search and view content stored on nearline storage; XStoreSAN for central nearline storage and integration with Avid post-production tools; EpsioLive to insert graphic overlays and an offside line in the first replay; and C-Cast to deliver multicam footage recorded on EVS’ servers, along with descriptive metadata direct to web-connected devices.
“Broadcasters and rights owners are facing the challenge of running more efficient operations while delivering new and enhanced revenue streams,” said Luc Doneux, EVP Sports division, at EVS. “We’re delighted that Eredivisie Live has chosen EVS Sports solutions as the heart of its live production workflow to provide its subscribers with a more interactive and enriched viewing experience.”
