I’m always looking for that “barn find” when searching for vintage equipment. I hit the mother lode when I found a milk crate filled with vintage vacuum tube volt meters (VTVMs), six sets of probes/leads, and a book from 1967 on tubes at a silent auction. I had no idea if any of the meters worked or any idea where to house them if I won. With only one bid of $20, I took a gamble and bid $25.

[MORE FROM GLOMAN: Restoring the Spirit of Radio]

Winning the milk crate and its contents, I rushed home with my new treasures. The contents included a Philco 6110, Eico 221, RCA WV77A, Heathkit 77A, RCA Model V-7A, and Arkay 012, as well as an Approved Electronic Instrument Company A1 volt-ohm milliammeter (VOM). My first step was to look for schematics on each of these models. With those in hand, I would take each one apart and determine what needed to be done.

More Than History

You may be wondering why, in this day and age, restoring vintage tube testing equipment would have any purpose. Besides the fun factor of getting something old that's not working to function again, this old technology actually is still useful today.

When you're using a voltmeter in the digital world, the numbers are scrolling across the screen very quickly, which sometimes makes it difficult to get an accurate reading. In the analog world, you're looking at a meter. Sometimes it's more efficient to see a needle at a specific number than trying to stop digital numbers that are flying by at a rapid rate.

Some people may find it hard to believe, but another reason is that at times, an analog meter is actually better to use than a modern digital meter because of the voltage. If you're measuring something with extremely high voltage, like most tube equipment, you could easily destroy a modern meter if you have it at the wrong setting. Older analog meters were designed just for this purpose and can better handle higher voltages.

Another reason is when you're looking to test the value of a specific component, the numbers (at least to me) are more difficult to comprehend on a digital scale. If you're seeing that same scale on an analog meter, if the dial is pointed 1/3 of the way up the scale, you know that particular component is 1/3 of its actual value. The math is simple.

And the fourth reason: When you're restoring a piece of vintage electronics, using vintage test equipment in the process just seems like the right thing to do. I'll let you in on a little secret: I use both digital and analog for a variety of things. Digital may be more modern, but sometimes that's not the way you want to go.

Defining Differences

So, what’s the difference between a VOM, which I had one, and a VTVM, which I had six? General Radio introduced the first VTVM, with an input resistance in the order of 10 megohms, while the VOM had a relatively low input resistance, limited ranges, and were much smaller. This made it less useful as circuit impedances increased and the levels of measurement for voltages and resistances decreased. Essentially, this relegated VOMs to appliance servicing, where exact measurements weren’t necessary.

The VTVM differs from the VOM in that the meter is driven by a vacuum tube circuit. In this way, a very high input impedance (11 megohms is typical) is obtained on almost all ranges, resulting in negligible circuit loading. Since the tube circuit acts as a buffer between the meter and the circuit being tested, the VTVM has a built-in meter protector. And since the tube circuit has gain, a more sensitive measuring instrument can be designed.

A very simple description as a takeaway for VTVMs: Most use similar circuitry where a pair of triode tubes amplify the DC voltage coming in through the probe and a range voltage divider to drive the meter. One advantage of the VTVM is that the tube circuit can be tailored to have a wide frequency response. The biggest advantage is when you’re working on semiconductor circuits, but that’s a whole other article.

Starting Off Simple

I began my restoration efforts with the RCA WV77A Junior Voltohmyst Meter. It was simple looking, had just one input, and looked like a starter piece of test equipment that you would use on your bench—with the telltale paint spots. Why were people always painting back in the “old days,” and why did they always spill paint on their equipment?

Any piece of vintage tube equipment can benefit from a filament test. This involves putting a digital voltmeter (DVM) probe in each side of the AC plug, setting the meter to Ohms, and turning on the vintage unit. If numbers appear on the DVM, the tubes are working. All tubes must be present for this test to work.

Of course, if this is a DC-powered meter, the filament test doesn’t apply. Because the AC cord had some stress issues, I replaced it before I did any further testing. Opening the back revealed that the “D” battery was in bad shape, the bottom portion had yellowed, and the wax capacitors would need to be replaced.

Normally, a battery provides a stable DC voltage for ohms operation because its voltage is set by its chemical composition for a given current drain. This drain on the battery is miniscule; it’s meant to last and maintain an accurate voltage for a long time. The problem with restoring meters like this is that the battery may have been forgotten and it continues to drain, plus the corrosive chemicals begin to leak internally and may do damage.

Something to remember when cleaning VTVMs: Experts say not to use a lubricant like WD-40 to “grease” or clean rotary switches. It can cause a small current leak path that will make your meter operate erratically, and its residue hard to remove.

When checking resistors, usually one end needs to be removed from the circuit for an accurate test. And there’s a whole bunch of resistors in VTVMs! Some resistors, especially those in the input divider circuit, which is mounted on the rotary range switch and may be lined up on the main circuit board, have a 1% tolerance. Your meter readings will not be accurate if these are out of tolerance. You could recalibrate the meter to adjust for this, but then everything else would be off—a slippery slope.

Each tube was tested along with the resistors. I assumed the resistors would probably still be within range. The RCA WV77A was neat and tidy inside, and it was simple to upgrade and restore. One down, six to go.

Grease and Leaky Batteries

Next up was the Philco 6110. The only documentation I could find on this VTVM was a vintage ad. The main thing that made this unit memorable was that it left a trail of grease on my hands, workbench, and everything else from the first time I picked it up. It was a mechanic's tool when repairing radios, but I think a grease gun was too handy and leaked all over it. My nickname for it: Pigpen.

I wore disposable gloves throughout the restoration, even after I cleaned the exterior. The interior was like the previous meter, three tubes and three wax caps. The .047mf wax capacitor was burnt, and the others needed to be replaced because of age. The new capacitors were replaced.

Not taller than a pen, the winner of the cutest meter contest was the Approved Electronic Instrument Company’s A1 VOM. Since this was probably a kit, and so many companies existed that had test equipment in kit form, I couldn’t find any documentation or advertisements.

With the back removed, I discovered what I would see in every meter’s interior—leaking batteries. This issue needed to be addressed. If I put new batteries inside, they too would eventually leak. The best solution was to replace the batteries with an AC power supply. Finding a 5-volt AC/DC wall wart in a thrift store for one dollar, I cut off the female adapter end, attached the VOM’s battery’s wires to each lead of the adapter, and soldered and heat shrunk the cables. The wire exited the unit safely through a hole I drilled in the back of the metal case.

The meter was up and running with new caps, a cleaning of the exterior, and AC power. This was definitely my favorite of the bunch and has a prominent place on my bookshelf.

The RCA V-7A was the next meter to arrive at the workbench. Like the other meters, it had its share of dirty knobs that could be easily cleaned by soaking them in Dawn Detergent and water. The scale adjustment ranges are typical of VTVMs from this era.

Opening the back revealed a vintage Eveready C battery and an electrolytic capacitor. I figured the non-leaking battery was long dead, but it tested at a surprisingly good 1.48 volts. This is the only meter out of the batch that didn’t contain a leaking battery. I removed the battery to get at the wax capacitor inside.

The electrolytic capacitor was easily accessible on the circuit board. Whoever had assembled this kit was very neat. Testing the capacitor was the best way to solidify my belief that its value was no longer within range. Reading what should be a micro farad (mf) capacitor as a pico farad (pf) is a clear sign that replacement was necessary. Replacing it with a 15mf radial capacitor saved real estate and got the meter back within operating range.

To ensure that the meter was restored to operating condition, the resistors also needed to be tested. Each of these resistors would have one lead removed to get an accurate resistance reading. This was another reason to appreciate the neat job of the original builder. The meter would be calibrated after its plastic meter surface was cleaned.

The Basket Case

With its golden borders and styling, the Arkay 012 VTVM looked like something out of a 1930s horror movie. Also built from a kit, the large red bulb let you know when the meter was turned on. The repair/refurbish of the Arkay was the easiest. It just needed new caps. The next red-light unit was the Eico 221 VTVM. One screw was missing on the front, all the wax caps were replaced, and the exterior cleaned up.

Last up was lucky number seven—what I called the basket case. This 1946 Simpson 215 VTVM was probably the most well-known meter of the dirty seven, costing an expensive $32.50 in 1946, and had four inputs for leads on front, more than the others. However, it was unloved, had no screws, and was dead. Once I opened it, I saw why it was unloved: Someone was working on it at one time and apparently gave up!

Pulling apart the case revealed the corroded and yellowed AA batteries. Plus, the capacitors were wrapped in something which would take time to extricate. The heavy rust on the nut behind the round dial indicated this Simpson was a swimmer.

The back was the worst. For the best known of the collection of seven, the inside had been worked on and were pulled apart (and not too neatly). The resistors were soldered haphazardly, wires were disconnected, and the usual wax caps needed to be replaced.

This VTVM alone was worth paying $25 for the lot. It was the proverbial “barn find.” I’ve always wanted a vintage Simpson, but I had expected to pay much more (and had hoped for one in better shape). Current values on eBay range from $40 for a “for parts” 215, up to $172 for a restored model. Simpsons were what people used in the day.

I spent several weeks cleaning up this vintage Simpson. The fact that the wires in my Simpson were bundled was good, but the three wires that moved from their connections would have to be pulled from that bundle, which is bad. It was a challenge, but armed with the schematic and the owner’s manual, I was able to get the unit up and working.

Barefoot Sound, has launched its first Dolby Atmos demo space. Built in partnership with Advanced Systems Group , the studio is designed to demonstrate the power and precision of Barefoot’s professional speaker line in a precisely tuned, Dolby-certified environment. Located in West Hollywood, the "Barefoot Sound Experience” provides clients, partners, and prospects with a hands-on experience that showcases the capability of Barefoot Sound monitors in a 7.1.4 Atmos studio.

[What We Learned at AV/IT Summit 2025]

The decision to bring in ASG stemmed from a long-standing professional relationship between Barefoot’s marketing director, Shevy Shovlin, and ASG’s audio team director, Tom Menrath. What began as a casual conversation quickly became a deep collaboration when Barefoot realized the scope of ASG’s expertise.

“Shevy knew we had audio chops,” said Menrath, “but I think he was genuinely surprised by how much we could offer. We weren’t just hanging speakers. We designed the room, tuned it, and made sure it would meet their standards and Dolby’s.”

Working within the constraints of a 16x12-foot room with 9-foot ceilings, ASG developed a complete system design tailored for immersive playback. The installation included Barefoot’s own MicroMain27 and MicroMain26 monitors for the front channels, Footprint01 speakers mounted for the ceiling, side, and rear positions, and an LFE15 subwoofer anchoring the low end. Signal routing and monitoring were handled by an Avid MTRX Studio and Universal Audio Apollo x16, all driven by a 24-core Mac Pro and complemented by Avid S1 control surfaces and a 65-inch Sony display.

ASG coordinated the install, worked with electricians on power requirements, mounted the speakers, and completed the final tuning. Every aspect of the room was designed around accuracy, especially speaker placement and calibration. “Tuning is where everything comes into focus,” said Menrath. “In an Atmos room, you don’t just want imaging. You need balance, detail, and spatial precision. That’s what we delivered.”

The collaboration with ASG allowed Barefoot to bring its vision to life in just 60 days, which included detailed system documentation, architectural coordination, and acoustic calibration.

“ASG brought professionalism to every part of the process,” said Shevy Shovlin. “They helped us shape the entire experience. Not just the technology, but through every detail about how everything would work together.”

Today, the Barefoot Sound Experience is far more than a demo room, it’s a strategic asset. The space has become an essential part of the company’s sales and marketing approach, giving producers, artists, and engineers a firsthand encounter with Barefoot’s immersive audio capabilities.

“They weren’t just building a demo facility,” added Menrath. “They wanted to make a statement. And together, we did.”

Sponsored Content

Russ Newton, head of strategic partnerships at AI-Media, recently spoke with AV Technology during the company’s debut appearance at InfoComm. Having met with a great deal of success in broadcasting, Newton said he is excited to bring AI-Media’s LEXI Voice solution into the AV space.

Check out the full video interview below.

“What's interesting about the audio-visual world and being able to work with integrators and designers is the potential to bring forth a symmetrical experience of translation that's facilitated by audio-visual and leveraging AI,” Newton said. “As soon as you're able to grab that best-quality audio, it's basically an endless opportunity because that ensures the highest quality of accuracy.”

The LEXI Voice tool not only makes spaces accessible where there would otherwise be a language barrier, but now, a lower price point means the solution itself has become accessible to more venues than ever.

“The cost is no longer cost-prohibitive and can be automated in terms of delivering captions,” Newton said. “LEXI Voice is a game changer because it's no longer just something that brings forth accessibility, but it allows organizations to step into new markets, to expand their influence within their organizations. It brings cohesiveness more efficiently because we can take a single language in and translate to any of their desired languages, so people can participate.”

And finally, security is a perennial concern among organizations that rely on the cloud for handling sensitive information. Customers can rest assured that security is also top of mind for product developers at AI-Media.

“At the end of the day, our objective is to build feature parity between our on-premise and cloud offerings, including being able to bring forth secure cloud options—very specifically to address the concerns of security,” Newton said. “We already have successes with very well-known organizations that have the highest levels of security, where we've deployed captioning solutions to fulfill that with full on-premise logic, and so bringing in translation and voice is the next step.”

About AI-MEDIA

Founded in 2003, AI-Media has grown from humble beginnings to become the world’s leading captioning technology provider. AI-Media was founded with the belief that everyone deserves access to information. And this vision remains today as we continue our journey as the world’s leading captioning provider, pioneering technology that’s revolutionizing the way millions across the globe consume content. Today, AI-Media is a global organization that helps many of the world’s leading brands caption their TV broadcasts, live streams, events, virtual meetings, and more. Our team is spread across the globe, with more than 500 employees situated across six office locations in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Our technology delivers over 7 million minutes of captioning, transcription, and translation for live and recorded media content, online events, and web streams every month.

There has been a Texas-sized upgrade in the SEC. Texas A&M University has selected Grass valley IP-enabled live production solutions to enhance its athletics coverage workflows. With this deployment, Texas A&M becomes one of the first SEC institutions to adopt Grass Valley’s end-to-end IP production tools.

[How the Texas Longhorns and Sony Create FOMO through Technology]

Texas A&M, a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), has deployed two Grass Valley K-Frame X switchers (with extra control panels), 10 LDX 135 cameras, and four LDX 150 cameras to enhance its production capabilities. The new system allows the university’s internal production team to deliver high-quality 1080p productions today, with a seamless upgrade path to UHD as future needs evolve.

“Grass Valley’s equipment gave us the flexibility we needed to upgrade our workflows and move confidently into IP,” said Jonathan Kerr, chief broadcast engineer at Texas A&M. “We’ve relied on their systems for years, and the reliability, performance, and support made this an easy choice.”

“12th Man Productions first invested in Grass Valley camera technology in 2014 when we upgraded our facility to support the Videoboard shows and ESPN/SEC Network live event programming for Texas A&M Athletics," Andy Richardson, associate athletic director, 12th Man Productions, commented. "In 2024, as we turned a new page in technology upgrading our live camera systems to support IP 2110 infrastructure and transitioning to HD 1080p, we saw Grass Valley as the ideal partner to elevate our productions. And we couldn’t be happier with the results.”

Central to the success of this deployment was Diversified, whose expertise and longstanding relationship with both Grass Valley and Texas A&M ensured smooth integration. From initial design through on-site commissioning, Diversified’s team—led by Tony Gaston—crafted a turnkey solution that not only met the university’s immediate 1080p requirements but also laid the groundwork for future UHD expansion.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Texas A&M on this forward-looking project,” said Alex Keighley, senior VP of sales, Americas at Grass Valley. “By combining our IP-enabled hardware with Diversified’s integration leadership, we’ve empowered the Aggies to tell their stories in stunning quality today—and scale effortlessly into tomorrow’s formats.”

InfoComm 2025 will explore the full spectrum of the broadcast AV ecosystem, from content creation to production and distribution. Attendees will discover the latest advancements in displays, cameras, audio, and control systems and experience a full broadcast studio in action at the AVIXA TV Studio.

[Products, Sessions, Insights: InfoComm 2025 on AV Network]

“As enterprise and learning environments increasingly adopt collaboration tools, the opportunities rise for pro AV professionals to deliver high-quality broadcast AV solutions. By 2029, this solution area will reach $56.1 billion globally,” said Jenn Heinold, SVP, Expositions, Americas, AVIXA. “At InfoComm, attendees will see these solutions up close and learn from the experts on how to deliver exceptional broadcast experiences.”

Hybrid Production Technologies at the AVIXA TV Studio

The AVIXA TV Studio (Booth 7861) will showcase both cloud-based and on-prem production technologies while producing the “AVIXA TV Live from InfoComm” livestream on the trade show floor. Attendees will experience a broad range of corporate content applications: livestream production, podcasts, virtual environments, educational content, and more. And for the very first time, the stream will be simulcast in three languages (English, German, and Spanish) with in-language voice, graphics, and subtitle translations from a cloud-based workflow.

The AVIXA TV Studio is powered by Ross Video, AWS, Barco, Midwich, AI Media, Ikan, Forecast Consoles, Resi, and Shure. The technology partners represent the range of solutions end users should consider when creating a broadcast environment, such as control systems, robotics, encoding, distribution, cloud-based production, lighting, sound, cameras, editing, captioning, custom furniture, and more.

“The studio is designed to be a working example of multiple broadcast AV solutions, applicable to corporate, higher education, live events, and other markets,” said Samantha Minish, Vice President of Content Delivery, AVIXA. “Our solutions showcase options across a range of budgetary requirements, from low-touch setups to complex custom builds. At the show, attendees can watch the broadcasts in person, join workshops with Ross Video to learn from the experts, and connect with fellow broadcast AV professionals during our Wednesday meetup.”

AVIXA TV will broadcast live from InfoComm Tuesday, June 10 through Friday, June 13. Tune in to www.avixa.tv and AVIXA TV on LinkedIn for the latest trends, case studies, live streams, and more.

Further Exploration into Broadcast AV

On Wednesday, June 11 at the Spotlight Stage (Booth 4327), Amy DeLouise of #GALSNGEAR, Heather Best from Diversified, Multimedia Journalist Alesia Hendley, and Susie Beiersdorf from LG will unite for the session “Innovative Event Design: Real-World AI and Virtual Production Insights.” #GALSNGEAR and WAVIT will host a networking meetup following the session.

Also on Wednesday at the Spotlight Stage, Chris Evans, Head of Knowledge & Insight at IABM, will team up with Sean Wargo, VP of Market Insight at AVIXA, for the session “Technology Democratization and Industry Convergence.” They’ll share insight from a collaborative survey from IABM and AVIXA that reveals the increasing convergence between the media and entertainment, professional AV, and IT technology sectors.

The session “Next Generation Virtual Sets” will explore how LED-based virtual sets have revolutionized film production. On Thurs., June 12, a panel of experts from Nelco Media, CFLEX, New York University, Iron Dragon TV, and Stray Vista Studios will share best practices for virtual set creation and the tools that make it all possible.

On June 11, the Technology Innovation Stage (booth 2461) will host a trend-forecasting session on broadcast AV. Panelists will explore how artificial intelligence is transforming production landscapes with automated content optimization, post-production, and dynamic script generation. They’ll also discuss cloud-based production, real-time data integration, and more.

Also on June 11, Philip Nelson, President of Nelco Media, will host a show floor tour focused on broadcast AV solutions. He will provide an overview of the equipment and technologies enabling small teams to produce more content with a faster turnaround. This tour will conclude at the AVIXA TV Studio for the Broadcast AV Meetup.

In between capturing live action footage for each The University of Texas football game, the school’s production teams capture, edit, and share hundreds of hours of content each week—and virtually every minute is produced using Sony’s cameras.

The Longhorns rely on Sony’s HDC-3500 system cameras, FR7 pan-tilt-zoom cameras, FX series camcorders, and Alpha mirrorless interchangeable lens models to create memorable experiences for every fan attending a UT home game. A mix of full-time staff, students, and local freelancers use the equipment to cut highlights, edit interviews, post social media content, prepare in-game videoboard content, develop pre-recorded segments, stream to digital platforms, and share game feeds with national broadcasters.

[Fighting Blue Hens Softball Celebrates 50 Years with LED Overhaul]

Those collective efforts are generating results, judging by ticket sales and post-game fan feedback surveys, but the team is intensely aware of the need to continually raise their game. Like most organizations producing in-person sports events, UT’s competition isn’t limited to the opposing team.

“We’re battling against people’s couches,” said Caten Hyde, senior associate athletic director, Creative Development and Video Production, at Texas. “Our audience can choose to watch at home, with their own food and drinks and their beautiful TVs with surround sound. We have to deliver an in-venue experience unlike anything else they can get at a sports bar, at home or anywhere else.”

That constant pressure to improve, combined with UT’s 2024 move to the bigger stage of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the extended season created by the new College Football Playoff (CFP) format, has led Texas to prioritize its in-house content creation capabilities. Plus, Hyde’s team is responsible for supporting the school’s 20 other varsity sports, as well as football. “At any given point our department can have people at five locations across the country covering different sporting events,” said Hyde, now in his sixth year at Texas.

The university previously outsourced its in-game videoboard production. Driven by the increasing collaboration between ESPN and collegiate athletic programs, Texas built a professional-grade broadcast production facility in early 2024, centered around their significant investment in Sony technology. Hyde’s team worked closely with system integrator Diversified for technology recommendations and engineering support.

That building houses UT’s newly created Texas Studios Powered by Dell Technologies, which manages the live production coverage of UT games and distributes feeds to ESPN.

“Now we have a facility that elevates us to a national broadcast level and lets us fully take advantage of these cameras’ capabilities to blend a cinematic style of creative storytelling with live production coverage,” said Matt Alvarado, head broadcast engineer, who manages the live production and broadcast operations for Texas’ game day experience.

Once the final whistle ends a home game, the Texas production teams start preparing for the next home date on the schedule. A victory or loss determines the type of recap video and highlights required, as well as statistics, graphics, and other promotional content that needs to be produced during the week. By the day before each upcoming game, all teams have an extensive shot list and everyone knows their assignments.

About five hours before kick-off, the streets surrounding Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium turn into a giant block party with pop-up fan activities, food trucks, live music, and games.

“These pre-game activities have nothing to do with playing football but everything to do with the fan experience,” Hyde said. “It is sunup to sundown programming that requires total coverage from our teams of creators, all equipped with Sony cameras.”

Eventually, it’s time to play football and the production and content creation efforts shift to inside the stadium. Everyone has their assignments: the team runout, the coin toss, kickoff, the third quarter break that sometimes involves a drone show, and more.

Just like each creator in the stadium, every Sony camera has a designated purpose.

On the field and around the venue, 18 Sony HDC-3500 handle game action, FX3 and FX6 wireless cameras roam the stands capturing fan shots and imagery sent to the video boards, and the Alpha models (A9, A1, A7M4, A7R4, A7) focus on still images and social media content.

While each camera has a different design, form factor and sensor size, the common architecture shared by all Sony cameras allows the various imaging technologies to seamlessly coexist to tell a cohesive story.

The Sony cameras used by UT all share a consistent “look” that allows for inter-cutting of images for the screens in the stadium and for broadcast.

“Everything works well together from the handhelds to the broadcast cameras in terms of color profiles and grading,” said Alvarado. “Having the type of cinematic look that’s taken the broadcast world by storm on our video boards is awesome.”

A Hands-on Learning Experience

Fans aren’t the only ones benefitting from Sony’s imaging technology. The small army of student shooters on hand for each game is the result of a new partnership between the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the University’s Moody College of Communications to develop a sports broadcasting curriculum.

“Athletics is involved and invested in this program,” Hyde said. “We’re keeping our production values at the highest level and creating a hands-on environment for our students to get reps on the same gear used by professionals and ultimately give them solid placement opportunities in the workforce.”

With their new broadcast facility and fleet of Sony cameras, Hyde and his team feel well-equipped to continue fighting the battle against people’s couches.

“Influencing our fans’ decisions to come back next year and spend their discretionary income again with us is heavily based on the total experience they had on six or seven Saturdays,” Hyde said. “There were always 100,000 people here, but they weren’t always engaged the way they are today.”

“We have to create FOMO,” he added, “and that comes from producing a show inside the venue that’s so incredible it makes people watching say, “Why wasn’t I there?"

Founded in 2020, 35North Studios is a state-of-the-art production studio. Their full-service approach helps filmmakers and businesses plan, shoot, edit, score, and finalize projects—all from one well-equipped and sophisticated location. Situated in Clear Lake, Iowa, the studio offers creators a peaceful space to focus on the craft and enjoy the process—a true creative refuge.

At its 12-acre campus, 35North Studios operates out of a 225,000-square-foot facility that includes soundstages and editing suites, in addition to a recording studio, equipment rental house, and production office space. With an eye on the trends shaping entertainment and production, the team at 35North Studios began paying close attention during the pandemic lockdowns, when virtual production projects started to accelerate. They conducted extensive research and evaluations into virtual production methodologies and the technologies that enable them. Soon after, they committed to building their own LED volume.

Justin Fairfax, who was director of 35North Studios at the time of the project said, “It’s just ingrained in us to always be looking forward and to stay ahead of the curve with the latest industry tools. We also saw the opportunity to be an early adopter in the Midwest.”

Matching the Solution to the Need

During the investigative phase, Fairfax and his team reviewed several display technology options based on criteria that included picture quality, pixel count, color depth, and refresh rate.

“Virtual production is a color nightmare because it’s not as simple as just pointing a camera at the real world,” he said. “You have to control the color of three to five different things simultaneously, and trying to get all that right to make a natural-looking image is really hard. We also wanted to shoot 96 frames per second using two cameras, and that meant we had to have a really high refresh rate.”

Other factors that were especially important to the ongoing work of a virtual production stage included ease of use, flexibility, and how quickly the products could be serviced. Explaining these considerations, Fairfax said, “I’ve done a lot of work over the last 15 years in live events and using LED video walls, and I remember the days where if a module failed, you had to disassemble the whole video wall and put it up again. On a virtual production set with 60 people in the room, that’s not okay. You need to be up and running again in five minutes. So, when I looked at different products, I wanted to know how quickly I could fix it and how fast I could hang it or move it.”

Distinctive, Durable, Dynamic

The thorough assessment eventually led Fairfax’s team to equip the 3,500-square-foot, Unreal-powered virtual production stage with a cutting-edge array of Planar CarbonLight CLI-VX Series LED video walls featuring Brompton technology. These include a curved, 36-foot-wide-by-13-foot-high (22x8) main LED video wall backdrop with a 1.9mm pixel pitch (CLI VX 1.9); a movable 16-foot-by-10-foot (10x6) LED ceiling with a 2.6mm pixel pitch (CLI VX 2.6); and two movable LED side walls, each 10 feet wide by 10 feet high (6x6) with a 2.6mm pixel pitch (CLI VX 2.6).

The Planar CarbonLight CLI-VX Series incorporates design characteristics that are particularly advantageous to the unique requirements of virtual production. In addition to exceptional in-camera visual properties, the carbon fiber construction of the displays—creating modules that are uniquely lightweight, thin, and strong—provides the deployment versatility to support virtual production volume design, including hanging, freestanding, and curved LED video wall installations. Additionally, individual LED cabinets can be removed and installed anywhere within a video wall without disrupting the overall layout, while front-side or top-side service makes module extraction simple if maintenance is needed.

“The cabinets are incredibly easy to work with, which gives us efficiency on set,” Fairfax said. “If I need to, the front serviceability allows me to replace any part in minutes. I’m also very impressed with their durability and how well they maintain their rigidity. It’s rare that I have to replace a panel. And the color and picture quality are exceptional—it’s a tool that allows us to make great films and television.”

Virtual production projects are also aided by a motion capture tracking system from Planar’s sister company OptiTrack and ARRI cinema cameras. Additionally, 35North Studios custom-built all of its rendering nodes and computer hardware systems.

Cost-Efficient Virtual Production

As 35North Studios becomes more adept in using its virtual production volume, the economic case for film and TV projects at the studio has become stronger. Beyond the immediate advantages of avoiding the expenses—and hassles—that 35North Studios would otherwise accrue from traveling in the field, cost savings are starting to be realized by streamlining certain aspects of the filmmaking process. This is where the versatility of the Planar CarbonLight CLI-VX Series displays provides an edge.

“The side LED walls have proven to be incredibly flexible in terms of how quickly we can adjust them for a scene,” Fairfax said. “The LED ceiling doesn’t move as fast, but it is still easy to bring down and reposition. However, the real game changer isn’t just the speed at which we can change the background; it’s what we can accomplish by moving those displays tight against a scene.”

Fairfax was referring to the ability of the LED video walls to generate authentic-looking effects in the shot, thus removing that work from post-production. “When we are shooting a car scene, we can make reflections appear and move across a windshield or the car mirrors,” he said. “We can also replicate natural lighting.”

Creating these kinds of elements in the shot saves a lot of time and money in post-production, and makes scenes so much more believable, according to Fairfax: “It’s about improving methods, accomplishing more in less time, and tightening these incredibly lengthy filmmaking processes.”

In 1982, Andy Streitfeld took a $30,000 loan from his grandmother and founded AMS Productions in the spare bedroom of his Bedford, TX, home. More than four decades and a name change later, AMS Pictures continues to offer video production and studio rentals in the Dallas area, while also producing original documentaries and unscripted TV programs. Since 2010, Apantac has been a force behind all that the company does.

The full-service production company has attracted clients like Texas Instruments, Ross Perot, and ABC Radio over the years, and its original programming has been featured on Reelz, Showtime, History, Velocity, Bio, HGTV, Food Network, and The Cooking Channel. In 2010, AMS Pictures reached a turning point as it began its switch to HD. Having the right gear is imperative—and the first big change was converting to KVM systems, a trend that continues to grow in production houses in 2025.

[Striving for Sustainability Success]

Bret Harrell, COO of AMS Pictures, called KVM "essential to the operation" of his team's HD productions. "All of the PCs and Macs in our TOC and control rooms are on one large KVM system," explained Harrell. "We have about 15 terminals and 16 computers on our KVM. This allows us to be very efficient and use any PC from any position in any [of the three] control room."

Next came the multiviewers, which established a relationship with Apantac that continues today. "We saw the advent of multiviewers become popular in the 2000s, with many facilities upgrading to multiviewers during renovations," Harrell recalled. "When we fully upgraded AMS to HD in 2010, using multiviewers was really the only economical and practical option.

"I remember our research back in 2010 to select a multiviewer system for our facility," Harrell continued. "We knew that once we selected one, we would be committed for many years to come. I didn’t realize that it would still be going strong 15 years later in 2025, but here we are. We selected Apantac because it had the best picture quality when scaling the source video. It also had an open API to integrate with custom software."

Harrell said the only maintenance that's been performed on the Apantac TAHOMA multiviewers has been "taking each one apart to clean the dust from the inside and replace some fans. They’ve been extremely reliable. Over the years, we’ve added additional Apantac TAHOMA frames to our system to expand our capabilities."

Today, the heart of AMS Pictures TOC and three control rooms on the live production side use nine frames of the Apantac TAHOMS multiviewers in various configurations, together providing about 100 multiviewer inputs feeding 25 multiviewer monitors.

"Between 2010 and 2016, [AMS Pictures] acquired a total of eight multiviewers," said Thomas Tang, founder and president of Apantac. "Going through our service and spare parts sales records, I found that over the past 15 years, [AMS Pictures] has incurred only $830 in maintenance costs. This case exemplifies how our technologies have enabled significantly extended equipment life, demonstrating the value of investing in reliable, future-proof solutions.”

[The Integration Guide to KVM 2025]

Harrell pointed to the Apantac customer support as a primary reason this collaboration continues a decade-and-a-half later. He recounted a time that Tang himself worked with him and his engineers to revise software.

"I will say that this level of support makes it an easy decision to continue to purchase and use their products," Harrell added. "I have found that most vendors want to close out customer support cases as quickly as possible with the least amount of work. Not the case with Apantac. They seem to understand that if they listen to their customers, they can actually improve their products and make them better for everyone."

Content creation studio TRG Multimedia has expanded its facility with an LED stage powered by Disguise’s turnkey virtual production solution, Studio Pro. The stage features a 50x16-foot-tall LED volume with the latest ROE Obsidian panels, an additional mobile 10x10-foot aux cart and a portable hardware rack for mobility and ease. It brings Hollywood-caliber production to the Midwest, offering brands, agencies, and filmmakers an advanced, full-service production environment under one roof.

[The Evolution of Virtualized Production]

While TRG’s 40 semi-permanent sets have solved the need to source costly and time-prohibitive locations for brands and films, the new virtual production stage will bring detailed exteriors, dynamic environments, and cost-prohibitive specialized builds to life with creative flexibility. This will allow brands and filmmakers to seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds, eliminating location constraints while delivering cinematic-quality visuals in a controlled, production environment.

After evaluating different virtual production solutions, TRG selected Studio Pro by Disguise for its advanced technology, reliability, and comprehensive support. Cinematic integrator AbelCine brought Disguise Services into the project to implement the turnkey solution, which provides cutting-edge virtual production capabilities, training, installation and 24/7 support—enabling TRG to expand its production capabilities with a fully integrated LED stage.

Housed on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, SoFi Center is the home of TGL, a team golf competition that features PGA Tour players and begins the playoffs for its inaugural three-month season tonight. The 1,500-seat venue, built specifically for the league, combines professional golf with high-end simulation technology, a rotating putting area with seven different hole placements, Pro AV and broadcast gear aplenty, and—in direct contrast to PGA Tour events—air conditioning.

[The Integration Guide to Digital Signage 2024]

The league is backed by TMRW Sports, a company founded by pro golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy along with former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. Each match takes about two hours. That makes it an attractive programming block for ESPN, which has a multi-year deal to air all matches. The network has its own dedicated broadcast booth on the suite level of the venue, with the field of play serving as the backdrop.

Check the Rules

A quick primer: TGL presented by SoFi has six teams representing six cities. Each team has a roster of four golfers, though only three play during a match. There are 15 holes, with the first nine played as triples (alternate shot) and the last six played as singles.

TGL's field of play is almost as large as a football field. On one side of the stadium, the ScreenZone, there are tee boxes (with real grass) where golfers hit a real ball into a 64x53-foot projection screen. (TGL currently has a catalog of 30 custom holes, and 15 are chosen for each match.) Using several dedicated tracking cameras and other data-collecting technologies, the simulator determines where the ball lands on the virtual course.

From there, golfers move to another box (fairway, rough, or sand) and continue to hit into the screen until the ball lands in the virtual area for short-game play, about 50 yards in. Then, golfers move to the other side of the stadium, the GreenZone, where they putt, pitch, or wedge their ball in the real world. Win the hole and get a point; the team with the most points at the end wins the match.

A Different Atmosphere

Unlike traditional golf tournaments, you won't find "Quiet Please" signs at TGL. Crowds are encouraged to cheer their favorite players, a DJ plays music throughout the match, and lighting and sound effects create an atmosphere that's a far cry from Augusta.

For Andrew Macaulay, chief technology officer for TMRW Sports, that atmosphere helps define the TGL experience. He said the biggest challenge was creating a super-sized environment for the ScreenZone, which he called a “window to the outside world.” After all, this isn't just a match, it's a production.

To that end, Samsung displays play a big role in the live TGL presentation. Visitors are welcomed to the SoFi Center’s main entrance by a nearly 600-square-foot XRB Series outdoor LED video wall, which features 5,000 nit brightness and 3.99mm pixel pitch. ISC Series indoor LED ribbon boards, measuring almost 900 linear feet and offering 3.9mm pixel pitch with 2,000 nit brightness, surround the field of play, providing match information and sponsorship opportunities. Bookending the gameplay projection screen are two massive VMR Series 3.9mm indoor displays, which display scoring, statistics, team branding, and more. Smaller VMR Series 2.6mm displays above the audience provide additional coverage of gameplay.

Meanwhile, a collection of L-Acoustics loudspeakers fill the SoFi Center with sounds of the game, including shot clock warning noises, commentators, and music. The speakers were installed by Tampa, FL-based ESI Production Services. According to Matt Coombs, director of ESI AV Solutions, a division of ESI Production Services, there are 34 A15i Focus concert loudspeakers and 14 KS21 compact subwoofers overhead, plus 44 5XT ultra-compact loudspeakers for under mezzanine fills, all powered by LA7.16i amplifiers. A DiGiCo Quantum 225 digital mixing console handles in-house audio operations, with Luminex GigiaCore AV Ethernet switches for audio transport and communications.

Camera Angles and Data Analysis

While TMRW produces the matches with an in-house production team, it contracts Game Creek Video to supply five full-sized trucks to produce the live coverage and ESPN provides the talent. Jeff Neubarth, vice president of content, said there are 72 cameras in the SoFi Center, most of which are robotic. However, there are several Sony 4K broadcast cameras equipped with Canon UHD-Digisuper lenses and some ENG-style units, plus a Spidercam cable camera system for overhead coverage, a “rover cam” that provides moving camera images for viewers, and even a small drone for flying shots. As Neubarth explained, each moving camera has a two-person team that includes a driver and camera operator.

The screen image itself is produced by nine Panasonic projectors, and the simulation system has eight virtual cameras that can be incorporated into the broadcast and shown on the screen. Data that measures ball speed, angle, spin, and other shot metrics is collected in real time via special tracking cameras.

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To handle all that tracking data, TMRW needed its own on-site data center. As Macaulay explained, the company purchased an old Game Creek expando truck that was at its end of life, drove it into the facility, parked it several yards inside the SoFi Center behind the ScreenZone, and converted it into a data center.

LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. LG can now create content for its product portfolios while achieving substantial savings on production costs and timescales, in addition to reduced impacts on the environment and reliance on public spaces for production.

A collaboration between LG and its affiliate creative agency HSAD, the LG Virtual Production Studio integrates LG’s commercial LED display technology to create a 1.5-pixel-pitch display that spans two walls, allowing for immersive and flexible content creation while also leveraging innovative partner technologies including Megapixel’s HELIOS LED Processing Platform and the Mo-Sys Camera Tracking Solutions/Server.

LG recently acquired an interest in Mo-Sys, a developer of virtual production solutions and camera robotics. This collaboration seamlessly integrates LG’s LED displays and controllers with Mo-Sys’s XR (extended reality) products and systems to create a total solution for XR, as implemented in the LG Virtual Production Studio. In addition, the studio’s HELIOS Platform from Megapixel allows multiple users to control colorimetry, tone mapping, gamut adjustments, and camera integration features in real time without the need for additional software.

[The Evolution of Virtualized Production]

The LG virtual production studio enables rapid content production, reducing build times from days to hours. The technology, including parallax motion and real-time rendering, enhances believability and adaptability, and the studio’s launch aims to increase LG’s content output. Future plans include episodic content and potential partnerships with other brands, highlighting LG’s and HSAD’s innovative approach to content creation.

“The new LG Virtual Production Studio will allow our product and marketing teams to commission content with scalability, efficiency and volume,” said Chris Jung, president and CEO of LG Electronics North America, who oversees all company divisions using the new space. “The studio provides a vivid, real-world demonstration of how LG digital production technology can be used to enhance creativity, increase flexibility, and achieve unprecedented new levels of efficiency for us and for our customers.”

What’s more, because production is done virtually, the studio eliminates the need for wasteful physical set production and the utilization of public indoor or outdoor spaces, reducing the impact of production on the environment.

[Show Me the Money]

The LG Virtual Production Studio includes a 25-foot, two-wall display designed around two 1.5- pixel-pitch LG MAGNIT Studio Series LBAG015 direct-view Micro LED displays—13x8-foot and 8x4-foot displays—positioned at a 90-degree angle. The fine pixel pitch of the Studio Series allows for cost savings because creative backgrounds and special effects can be displayed closer to cameras in this modestly-sized (about 1,000-square-foot) fixed-location studio. By comparison, LED displays with wider pixel pitches require much larger studio spaces as cameras must be positioned further from the displays so that the pixels aren’t visible to maintain image detail.

For decades, “Page Six” of the New York Post has been a must read for entertainment news fans. Now, the tabloid tradition is a must "read/watch/share” destination, following a multi-phase studio and control room upgrade and expansion project led by Brooklyn, NY-based KMH Integration.

[High Marks for New Studio]

In addition to being the third largest U.S. daily newspaper, the Post also ranks among the top 10 news and information providers across the internet, with millions following its social media channels. The newspaper has steadily increased its digital presence, expanding its media operations from print journalism to online and social media content. Its operations are continuing to evolve, from the print newspaper to the website to an increased focus on video.

“The vernacular now for all types of social platforms and communication is video, and so we had a key market imperative to translate what we do journalistically into video,” explained Warren Cohen, VP/head of video and audio, New York Post. “That was the basis for developing the new studios. We wanted to keep everything that Page Six is known for but also offer new formats, live production, basically everything we can do to reach the consumer with immediacy.”

Through its parent company, News Corp, the Post engaged KMH Integration in Fall 2022, at the earliest phase of project planning and design, to consult on the most effective way to upgrade its studio operations and build new digital production facilities. The main goal was to give the iconic print page a “digital face” with enough flexibility to grow with the Post’s constantly changing production requirements.

Unified Production Platform

The Page Six project combined emerging IP and cloud services for archiving, media management and accessibility. Editors can work anywhere in the world, with the same on-prem workflow and access as their on-site colleagues.

“We developed an entirely new look with new capabilities to match their future vision,” said Kevin Henneman, president of KMH Integration. “We collaborated with their management and technical teams to gather all the requirements needed to build out these spaces and achieve a higher quality output from these rooms.”

The Post previously had an existing studio that was only used for static recording and had no live video capabilities. KMH gutted the studio and rebuilt it into the new Studio 1, a virtual production space with both a green and a white cyclorama, as well as a position for recording standups. The result is a multi-purpose recording space with a supporting control room.

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The new Studio 2, which is the home for Page Six, has the key elements of a traditional production-type space with hard sets, monitors, and camera positions. Studio 2 gives the Post the ability to record podcasts, as well as acquire and distribute video content to social media and streaming platforms.

KMH designed a unified production platform that connects the video production capabilities of the Post with other News Corp media properties, allowing for greater flexibility and content sharing to expand the reach of News Corp's creative output. Turnkey, cloud-capable production workflows to give the Post creative teams the choice of working on prem, remotely, or a hybrid combination.

The design and planning process also included building in connectivity and production feature sets that supported integrating the Post’s media workflow with other business units at the News Corp Building in Manhattan, so different media groups can easily access and share content. KMH provided network design and consulting to be able to specify the correct switch fabric, install it, and work with it and security teams within the NewsCorp environment to get the networks up and running.

“This project is a perfect example of embracing cloud services for archiving, media management, and accessibility, and integrating them with an on-premise production system,” Henneman said. “New York Post editors can work anywhere in the world with the correct credentials and security clearance to access content in the same way as on-premise editors.”

Reinventing Workflows

The Post reinvented its entire production workflow, working with the KMH team to evaluate and identify the right systems necessary for getting content acquired, ingested, edited, and delivered to a growing number of platforms. “We want to be equipped for speed, flexibility, and presence on as many output channels as possible,” Cohen said. “Our audiences rely on us for trusted and timely information. We needed to make sure we had a flexible production environment based on a seamless system that worked instantaneously and was easy to use. We have enough work to do uncovering our scoops. We didn't want the production process to be burdensome, too.”

Keeping the Post’s workflow burden-free is largely due to the KAIROS live production platform from Panasonic Connect, which Cohen described as the “infrastructure helping to bring our journalism to life.” The KAIROS system provides added flexibility to do secure, reliable video streaming—taking advantage of advancements in software-defined networks and software-controllable systems, plus IP protocols like ST 2110 and NDI. “With our small but growing team, it's important that we spend as much time as we can on the creative aspects and not on the technical aspects,” Cohen added.

KMH chose the KAIROS production platform for several reasons, including its support of multiple formats such as NDI, Dante, ST 2110, and SDI. It also supports resource sharing, allowing multiple control points to use inputs, outputs, and on-board graphics, and allows video files to be integrated into simultaneous independent productions.

"In the case of the New York Post, we were able to support their continued production growth by building a separate studio—two studios now in total—with each sharing the single KAIROS through a licensing model," Henneman said. "We were able to build out a second control position easily to support virtual production on a green and white cyclorama and take advantage of the KAIROS internal virtual set library. Custom sets can also be built and loaded into the switcher as needed. These concepts are not necessarily new to the industry, but the way that Panasonic integrated them into the KAIROS makes it easy to implement from an integration standpoint and allows the most creative flexibility to support the Post's production needs.”

The KAIROS system is complemented by three Panasonic AW-UE160 PTZ robotic cameras, which are ST 2110-ready to support future production requirements, but also flexible enough to function within the Post's new hybrid SDI/baseband plant. Other control room gear includes Samsung studio displays, Allen & Heath Avantis audio mixer, Shure Axient Digital wireless mics, RTS Odin intercom, Cinedeck video servers, Ross Ultrix 12G router, Evertz master sync generator, and NETGEAR AV line network switches. KMH led the overall Page Six project, developing technology budgets and managing specialized technology providers.

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Completed in January 2024, the Page Six studio has been in use ever since. Cohen said the space is being used for headline and news coverage, celebrity interviews, reporter interviews about their scoops, and premium franchises such as "Virtual Reali-Tea."

“Our success is measured in seconds,” Cohen said. “We want to be the first out there with news and we want to make sure that we're developing new products for different types of platforms. We have so many plans to get our news and formats and journalists out to the world, and now we have the right platform and a base of operations to do it.”

Based in Reno, Nevada, SoSu.TV has built a niche in serving government agencies by helping them broadcast public meetings and improve community engagement. Ensuring citizens can engage in these meetings is vital for transparency and communication between government officials and the public. With little AV expertise, SoSu.TV faced several challenges in supporting remote clients; they were often manually patching together systems and configuring solutions from various manufacturers. Collaborating with Yamaha and integrating the brand’s ADECIA system has been essential to overcoming these challenges.

Before partnering with Yamaha, SoSu.TV primarily focused on streaming and broadcasting, leaving AV systems integration to third parties. The sudden shift to virtual meetings due to the pandemic, when in-person attendance was restricted, pushed them to get more involved in AV integration. This transition was essential because poor audio quality in virtual meetings, such as open microphones and background noise, would often disrupt communication between government officials and the public. “The meetings we service are treated with a level of care and excitement similar to the Super Bowl; it’s equally as important to the government as it is to the citizens,” Mark Hatjakes, co-founder at SoSu.TV noted.

As they expanded services to rural and smaller agencies, the need for a scalable, user-friendly AV system became apparent. Many of these government agencies lacked dedicated AV teams, relying instead on IT or communications personnel with limited technical knowledge. SoSu.TV needed an audio solution that was easy to install, configure, and manage remotely, allowing them to support agencies without having to send technicians on-site for every new meeting setup.

“Working with Yamaha is unique because, despite being a massive company with vast resources, they operate like a boutique startup,” Hatjakes said. “They actively listen to end users, even touring our facilities to see installations firsthand. Their openness and responsiveness to feedback mean you get the best of both worlds: the support and resources of a large company, combined with the personalized attention of a smaller one.”

Delivered as an all-in-one audio solution for high-quality audio capture and playback, ADECIA includes 12-inch wireless gooseneck microphones that are ideal for government meeting rooms, where clear, real-time audio is essential. Wireless setup allows clerks to easily position the microphones before each meeting, and the team at SoSu.TV created custom legends in the software so users would know exactly where to place each mic. The VLX array speakers are connected via a single POE Cat5 cable, simplifying installation. The Yamaha RM-CR Processor acts as the brain of the system, integrating audio processing and control. SoSu.TV developed a custom touch panel using Yamaha’s ProVisionaire software, allowing government staff to manage key functions, like muting mics and speakers after a certain time limit. This easy-to-use interface for clerks enables them to adjust microphone and speaker levels from an iPad.

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One of the most significant advantages of the Yamaha ADECIA system is its scalability and remote management capabilities. Because the system is easy to install, SoSu.TV can ship it to agencies where IT staff can handle setup with minimal support. Once installed, SoSu.TV can manage the system remotely, troubleshoot, and provide configuration and updates without needing to send personnel on-site. This reduces service requests and frees up SoSu.TV’s team so they can run more meetings and focus on other tasks. Additionally, the ADECIA system has allowed SoSu.TV to reduce its equipment footprint, moving from large, two-rack systems to compact, half-rack configurations.

By reducing the amount of hardware required; scaling down on-site visits; and offering an easy-to-use, remotely managed system, SoSu.TV can deliver more services without a proportional increase in resources. These cost savings are passed on to government clients, making it an attractive option for smaller agencies that may not have large AV budgets.

For government meetings that offer public participation, SoSu.TV’s Nindeo platform integrates easily with web conferencing solutions, allowing citizens to engage with local government, ask questions, and make comments.

By leveraging Yamaha’s advanced audio technology, SoSu.TV is successfully enhancing broadcast quality for their government clients. Government clients have reported higher satisfaction with the quality of their broadcasts, and citizens appreciate the improved audio clarity. This partnership not only improves the technical aspects of the broadcasts but also strengthens the trust and engagement between government agencies and their communities.

Chyron is updating its Virtual Placement with new tools and enhancements tailored to football broadcasts with enhanced field goal targeting, updated red zone features, and more. Virtual Placement 7.7 is designed to elevate the game-day viewing experience with dynamic and automated graphics that provide broadcasters and venue operators with tools to enrich storytelling and deliver visual clarity for an engaging audience experience.

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This latest version of Virtual Placement now offers the Field Goal Target tool, allowing broadcasters to showcase precise, team-specific target lines. By storing predefined field goal ranges for home and away teams, this tool provides accurate placement and highlights each team’s field goal range. The Red Zone tool has also been enhanced with a new outline option, with customizable textures, colors, sizes, and opacities for visually compelling highlights of the 20-yard zone. Tailored with the NFL’s new kickoff rule in mind, this feature optimizes the display for the "landing zone," providing a fresh approach to field graphics. These updates boost audience engagement and allow broadcasters to adapt visuals to specific team branding or broadcast themes.

The Down and Distance module has been upgraded to improve in-game flexibility and precision. New options enable automation of play clock presentation, such as changing the color based on time remaining and animating the clock on and off-air at specific time points. The expanded settings menu offers quick access to down and scrimmage information, allowing operators to make swift adjustments during gameplay. Additionally, the automatic midfield switching feature streamlines transitions as teams cross the 50-yard line, effortlessly adjusting the orientation to save time and eliminate errors.

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“Virtual Placement 7.7 continues our mission to deliver unparalleled storytelling tools for sports broadcasters,” said Andreas Olsson, product manager for Virtual Placement. “By introducing features like the Field Goal Target Tool and automating critical aspects of game-day coverage, we empower broadcasters to focus on the game while captivating the audience.”

On Aug. 15, Southern Methodist University (SMU), a private university in University Park, TX, began producing its first soccer game for TV, in-venue, and online coverage from its new IP-based video production facility. Housed in a completely renovated space at the SMU Indoor Performance Center's Armstrong Fieldhouse, the 67,000-square-foot facility is centrally located on the school’s 234-acre campus.

The retrofit, which coincides with SMU's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), involved taking the multi-level space down to a shell and rebuilding from the ground up. Now, it stands as one of the most technically advanced production facilities among the ACC’s 18 schools and maybe all of college sports. With its multi-layered sophisticated distributed architecture, any source can be routed at any destination on campus, enabling content to be produced and distributed faster and more efficiently.

Big Brand Builder

The new SMPTE ST 2110 broadcast production facility now serves as the epicenter for SMU's coverage of ACC sporting events, offering enhanced capabilities (and faster turnaround times) for live broadcasts, studio shows, videoboards, and digital content creation. While other colleges and universities have some type of hybrid IP/SDI infrastructure, there are only a handful that are fully ST 2110.

[Giants-Sized Audio Makeover]

Providing a modern example of leveraging the flexibility and robustness of a distributed IP infrastructure to connect remotely located venues on campus, the first phase of the massive project involved connecting the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium, Moody Coliseum basketball arena, and Ford Stadium football stadium to the new production center—all supporting the SMU Athletics MustangVision sports content production department. A second phase of the project, to be completed by September, will connect more sources and the school’s aquatics, lacrosse, and tennis facilities on campus.

Since 2020, SMU had produced content on ESPN+ as part of the American Athletic Conference TV deal. It has been sharing content with all ESPN schools since then, including schools in other conferences. In 2021, SMU rebuilt an existing control room to meet the needs of ESPN linear broadcast requirements.

“The video aspect of it this project is a big reach and a big brand builder [for SMU],” said Spencer Jones, SMU assistant athletic director and director of the MustangVision team. “Our goal is to help grow the ACC Network. I can't come in there and just piddle around and be average. We want to be good partners with the ACC and ESPN. We wanted to have an environment that when they walk in here to help us produce games, they will feel comfortable with the technology and systems in place.”

Time Is of the Essence

There are many aspects to marvel at, but the most impressive might be that the project, led by Jones and his MustangVision team, was completed in a mere eight months. Initial discussions began in December 2023 with Anthony James Partners (AJP), a broadcast systems designer and tech consultant that has worked with a variety of colleges to build out their media production systems. The actual build started in February.

[Diamond Days and Displays]

“Everybody went in with the mentality, ‘This is an impossible task’,” said Mike Martin, VP of technology at AJP. “But soon we had our collective noses to the grindstone and all parties involved committed to getting it done. With everyone focused on the same goal, we knew that anything was possible.”

To get the job done, Jones brought in several vendors, working simultaneously, to help. Throughout the duration of the build, the various entities formed a collaborative working partnership. It started with AJP and then involved the university, SMU Athletics, and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in the planning and design stages. This was followed by close coordination with GSBS Architects, which designed many of the production spaces; Clark Construction, which was responsible for building out the facility; Digital Resources, which installed the fiber connections, room lighting, and venue technical drawings; and ZTransform, which handled the control rooms and technical shop drawings.

“In order for this project to successful, we had to assign different tasks to different experts,” Jones explained. “I couldn’t put it all in one vendor’s hand and then hope it would all get done on time. As I always say, 'Hope is not a plan.'"

[Check Out the New LED Look for Penn State]

With so many teams working at the same time, Jones said there was a real challenge to synchronize the various efforts to ensure they all came together as a whole, working toward the same goal. “Throughout the project, you're hoping you don't have an engineering snafu where you build both sides of the highway independently—and you hope, when we meet in the middle, it all connects correctly,” he added.

Working the Core

The facility itself encompasses the second floor of the former workout and training space (although some athlete training still occurs there) and a partial takeover of space on the first floor. The second floor is home to the main technical operations center, complete with 15 racks of gear, a shading area, an engineering room, four control rooms, and administrative offices. Two full edit suites, a cut-in studio with greenscreen, and a main field equipment storage space are located on the first floor.

“The Armstrong Fieldhouse’s second floor was significantly underutilized, so it was an ideal place to locate the new facility,” Martin said. “The square footage is now being used to full advantage. We used every bit of space they gave us.”

[Integrators and AI]

There are also four separate control rooms inside the production facility to handle remote productions between the sports venues on campus and the new production center—two main control rooms and two digital control rooms. The control rooms are equipped with Evertz DreamCatcher systems for replay and clips. There are also two Ross Video Ultrix Acuity 3 ME switchers, two Ross Video Ultrix Carbonites, and six XPression Studio CGs. In addition, Calrec Argo audio mixing consoles handle the live and studio audio. Collectively, all of the equipment used is IP-native.

Added to the inventory of the new build are two existing 3G-SDI baseband studio control rooms based at Ford Stadium, which are fed into the new production facility's main Evertz router by a ST 2110 tie to the existing Ross Video FR-12 Ultrix Router. The house video format for all content is 1080p HDR, with extra capacity built in to produce content in 4K and even 8K should the need arise. That’s the kind of flexibility an IP infrastructure allows.

Connectivity Is Key

As for connecting all the sports venues on a fiber network, the teams deployed studio interface boxes in each of the six connected venues. Both network and wireless intercom are handled by Riedel technology, including access points deployed throughout the campus. A MultiDyne HoneyBadger venue interface unit helps manage the fiber networking between the venues and the main production facility.

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Sony HDC-3500 cameras were chosen for the main production studio on the second floor, HDC-3200s for field work, and numerous Panasonic PTZ cameras are permanently mounted at most of the sports venues. For example, SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex now has one PTZ per court, which is controlled remotely from the new production facility. Wave Central RF wireless technology is used for handheld cameras and access points inside the various venues.

AJP ran 3,288 strands of single-mode fiber between Armstrong and the new facility, 144 strands to Ford Stadium, 144 to Moody Coliseum, and 96 strands into the soccer, tennis, lacrosse, and aquatics venues. Martin said all the runs have red/blue redundancy, each with 5 Gbps throughput.

Some 400,000 feet of fiber and cabling was run and installed by Dallas-based Digital Resources. The biggest challenge was getting all the venues prepped with new conduit paths, new cabling, fiber, JBTs, panels, racks, and other equipment on a very fast timeframe. "SMU and AJP have turned an existing facility, not originally designed for broadcast, into a high-level, multi-control space," said Tim Bock, who led the project for Digital Resources.

The Digital Resources team also designed a custom lighting package with pixel tape LED lighting for the entire technical operations center and control rooms. They also installed the equipment racks, cable ladders, and custom console furniture for the new facility. That was in addition to getting the cameras, ST 2110 interfaces, lenses, outdoor PTZ cameras, and all other support gear for all the venues ready for the fall.

A New ACC Standard

SMU officials are extremely happy with the results. Martin said it's the most advanced production facility in the ACC and sets a new standard for collegiate sports broadcasting.

“I spent a lot of time talking with other experts and vendors to figure out how to do this right and to make sure we were defining and installing the latest version of a 2110 system,” Martin said. “But to go with the complete Evertz IP core and take that technology all the way out to the edge is something we’re most proud of on this project. We did everything that we could do to bring a 2110 system to life while keeping it out of the 3G world as long as possible."

While the system will have to go 3G-SDI at some point—during studio productions, for example—Martin said they tried to maintain the ST 2110 network environment through the entire system. “It just made a whole lot of sense to move the school’s production capabilities from a 3G-SDI infrastructure to IP because SMU had limited infrastructure in their venues,” Martin added. “They really needed this decentralized infrastructure to support MustangVision, which produces more than 170 games a year.”

[The Home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings, and Sparks Gets New Scoreboard]

To coincide with its new membership in the ACC, SMU wanted to build a campus-wide sports production system that is capable of handling any sized production—and it's mission accomplished, according to Jones. “We're now capable of producing the largest productions that rival any major sporting events if we wanted to,” he said. “With our new IP network, I can pull all the resources out of multiple rooms and produce anything you see on broadcast television. We can do all sorts of things because IP is all about increased bandwidth and capabilities. We wanted MustangVision to be the best sports content producer in the ACC, technically, and I think we are.”

Miami University in Ohio recently expanded its facilities with the McVey Data Science Building opened in March 2024, housing The Department of Emerging Technology in Business & Design (ETBD). The school turned to Stage Precision for its Immersive and Reactive Lab and XR Stage. 

The Immersive and Reactive Lab and XR Stage is one of the facilities within the new building, home to a 50x70-foot stage and a 44x16-foot ROE LED wall. The integration of advanced technologies, including Stage Precision software, has helped pioneer the new lab as a hub for exploring the boundaries of virtual production (VP) and extended reality (XR) experiences.

[Meptik Is Ready to Rumble with WWE... Virtually]

“The groups are learning everything from motion design and creating creative visuals for live music," explained Benjamin Nicholson, assistant teaching professor and Immersive and Reactive Lab and XR Stage Director at Miami University. "They utilize immersive and reactive tools such as Notch, TouchDesigner, and Unreal Engine to make virtual production stages; this is also where they are learning how to use SP from Stage Precision.”

Nicholson has been an advocate of Stage Precision workflows for several years, having discovered the software during previous work on live events projects. “In the industry, people are talking about Stage Precision and the things that can be achieved through the unified workflow it provides,” continued Nicholson. “In the context of the lab, SP allows us to take the control and management out of several individual native softwares and hardwares and put them all into a single interface that can be used for calibration and control.”

The environment at the Immersive and Reactive Lab includes a ROE LED wall, Disguise media servers, nDisplay workflows, and other media pipelines for two cameras. The main camera is a RED Komodo with six Zeiss Prime Lenses and a Canon Zoom Lens. “The most pivotal thing about SP is the lens calibration features. We built lens profiles in SP which take the data input from RedSpy for optical tracking,” explained Nicholson. Camera two offers another great example of the ease of integration of different systems into SP. 

[The Integration Guide to Video Walls 2024]

When it comes to training the next generation of creative production professionals, the facilities at Miami University are exploring new ways of working that leverages the freedom and flexibility made possible in SP. “For the learners that can already understand the significance of a tool like Stage Precision, they’re enthusiastic about using it in different ways,” says Nicholson. “It’s an advanced program, but training in this from the start will give students a high level of knowledge and understanding that they can use in the real world.”

Currently, students at the lab are experimenting with a TouchDesigner VP workflow, using SP as the hub for feeding lens and tracking data into the workflow. Additionally, the versatility gained through having a single source of truth in SP sets the new facilities at Miami University apart. “With SP we can run several parallel systems at any one time. We can run a Disguise virtual production, set up a TouchDesigner system or anything else, run them at the same time and switch between them,” said Nicholson. “We have multiple users who can change the SP interface from up to 15 different computers. What Stage Precision is doing is providing a single point of tracking distribution to all the different media servers at once.”

[A Matter of Touch]

One of the first VP and XR university facilities to integrate SP into the heart of their curriculum, Nicholson believes that learning these skills will benefit students after graduation and throughout their careers. “SP has removed the need for technical calibration of a single source and allows students to learn the process outside of a native software package, making it a helpful foundational knowledge base that teaches skills that are transferrable across different software and technologies.”

A close relationship with the Stage Precision team has also been an ongoing support in the integration of an SP-based workflow at the lab. During the onboarding process, the Stage Precision team visited the lab to help configure the proper workflow that would most benefit the projects and learners at the university.

“SP allows us to have visibility over things that may or may not be happening in the background network, whether it’s time code, tracking or any sort of calibrations,” concluded Nicholson. “Combined with the ability to build custom interfaces so you have complete control over your space and your show, there’s nothing else on the market that can do that. With SP, our systems feel manageable, stable and controllable.”

More news on the technology front from Paris: NBC Sports has selected Canon U.S.A. to provide 4K UHD and HD Field, Portable, and Studio lenses for its production of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, July 24-August 11, and August 28-September 8, respectively.

NBC Sports will utilize Canon to deliver 115 Canon UHD broadcast lenses, with a large presence of large format Cine-Servo lenses for its production of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Canon will also send support staff, with six service and support members on-site in Paris, helping NBC Sports route the excitement in Paris back to viewers watching coverage of the Games in the United States.

[Nearly 100 Sony Cameras to Power 2024 Paris Olympics]

“As we approach our production of the 2024 Paris Olympics, we rely on Canon’s precision lenses, particularly for our new intimate cinematic style and behind-the-scenes coverage,” said Chris Connolly, VP, Olympics venue engineering, NBC Sports. “Canon’s wide variety of lens solutions allow us to capture the rich, dynamic images from the Parisian venues, with some of the most majestic backdrop we’ve ever seen. NBC Sports also depends on Canon’s global professional support, guaranteeing we will always have the ‘shot’ to convey the excitement and emotion both in competition and around Paris 2024 back to viewers in the United States.”

Canon has worked with NBC Sports for 34 years, assisting NBC Sports’ production efforts at previous Olympics and other major international sports events in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.

[How Canon Collaborates on Collaboration]

“What an honor, to once again be chosen to utilize some of our finest broadcast digital imaging solutions for NBC Sports’ production and to be chosen as a broadcast lens provider for NBC,” said Isao “Sammy” Kobayashi, president and CEO, Canon U.S.A.

From iconic body slams at the Pontiac Silverdome to whimsical tirades from The Rock, World Wrestling Entertainment has constantly reinvented itself to keep its millions of fans entertained. Recently, the WWE unveiled its new 30,040-square-foot production facility, The Studios at WWE, located at WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT. The five-studio venue has the production capabilities to further enhance the storylines of its beloved heels and heroes, including a new virtual production stage created in collaboration by AbelCine and Atlanta-based virtual production experts Meptik.

[The Integration Guide to Video Walls 2024]

Though The Studios at WWE were an ongoing project, Meptik joined on last fall to design the virtual production set in Studio 3. Brought on by its partners at AbelCine, the project seemed like a perfect fit.

“Many of us at Meptik are passionate WWE fans, which added an extra layer of excitement to the project,” said Nick Rivero, co-founder of Meptik. "The Studios at WWE boast a gigantic WWE championship belt at the entrance—a perfect photo opportunity that our team eagerly took advantage of after the project was wrapped. Plus, the lobby features an actual wrestling ring, placed right at its heart. The entire space is truly incredible."

For Rivero, one of the highlights of the project was the panel discussions at 2024 NAB Show last April, where the company joined forces with WWE, Sony, and AbelCine to unveil the project for the first time. "WWE generously provided two championship belts for photo opportunities throughout the event, which were a huge hit with the attendees," he recalled. "We’ve kept one of the belts at our office in Atlanta, and it’s been a constant source of excitement.”

Continued Commitment

Fanboying aside, the project has brought new possibilities to WWE storytelling. The project installation took some time to complete, but Meptik’s work is never done.

"Our work on Studio 3 spanned eight months from inception to completion," Rivero explained. "At Meptik, we view our role not just as builders of virtual production studios, but as true partners committed to the success of our client’s projects. That commitment doesn’t end with construction. We’re still actively involved with Studio 3, working closely with the WWE team to ensure they are fully equipped to use the virtual production stage effectively. 

"Currently, we’re focusing on training sessions that cover everything from optimizing lighting setups to mastering the Disguise platform. Moving forward, we will continue to provide support for the WWE team, ensuring they have all the assistance they need for upcoming shoots and to utilize the studio to its full potential."

AbelCine equipped the WWE production team with the Sony VENICE 2 camera complemented by Fujinon Premista lenses. According to Rivero, the choice of VENICE 2 cameras came down to image quality and flexibility in dynamic lighting conditions found on a virtual set.

[History on Display]

To showcase the storytelling on Studio 3, Meptik stayed with Sony technologies for the LED stage. "Our decision to utilize Sony’s Crystal LED VERONA panels was driven by their established relationship with WWE," said Rivero. "The WWE broadcast team had been using Sony technology for a long time, which made it a logical choice to continue with Sony for their virtual production studio."

Rivero said Studio 3 is the first in North America to utilize Sony’s new LED panels, which "perfectly matched what the WWE team needed." Ideal for in-camera VFX applications, the setup at WWE includes a main wall comprised of 128 Crystal LED VERONA cabinets, plus two mobile LED carts that can be repositioned as needed.

"It provides them with a flexible and high-quality solution that perfectly complements the dynamic nature of WWE’s production requirements," he noted. "This innovative technology was precisely the missing piece that completed the visual experience WWE aimed to achieve."

When it came to powering the content, it was a no brainer. The Disguise platform is one of the solutions that brings the Vegas Sphere's visuals to life. Meptik began its working relationship with Disguise long before the two became part of the same company. Now the creative and technical division for Disguise, Meptik took to Studio 3 to bring the WWE's creative visions to life.

[Every Day Is Game Day]

"An important reason we went with Disguise is flexibility," Rivero said. "Their platform is highly adaptable and content-agnostic, which means the WWE team can throw pretty much any type of content from different software into the mix without a hitch. It just makes everything smoother when you’re trying to produce something great.”

Keeping It Unreal

With Sony and Disguise behind the virtual production, WWE can generate all its content right there. So, how does that content come to life?

"WWE has previously used Unreal Engine for their content creation, and they will continue to use this platform extensively," Rivero explained. "Their in-house content team is quite familiar with it, and it's well-suited for the dynamic and immersive experiences they aim to create. However, since the Disguise system we've implemented is content agnostic, WWE isn't limited to just Unreal Engine. They have the flexibility to incorporate other content creation software as well." 

At NAB, Russ Kornstein, SVP of on-air promotions at WWE, said the company generates 5,000 pieces of content a month. "WWE is already well-known for its dynamic range of content production, from live broadcasts and major events to engaging social media posts," Rivero said. "I expect that the new content being produced in Studio 3 will naturally build on this strong foundation."

Without giving away too much of the future surprises for WWE fans, Rivero said the WWE already has a lot planned, and Meptik is providing support for future productions. On top of that, WWE designed the studios not only for its own content productions but also with the vision of opening their doors to external sports and media organizations. " Their needs are very broad. One day, they could shoot a live TV interview, then the next day have a wrestling show, and then they might shoot a commercial the day after that," he said.

['Meet Us' in DC]

Focused on the story arcs of its wrestlers as much as the action itself, the WWE content team is no stranger to detailed storytelling with innovative technologies. Meptik and AbelCine have now created an environment that is versatile and dynamic, much like the WWE heroes and antiheroes themselves. Whether it is an up close and personal look at a Stone Cold Stunner or a conversation with undisputed champion Cody Rhodes, the possibilities from Studio 3 are endless.

"With an LED stage, WWE’s team will now be able to quickly switch out locations so that they can capture people against any backdrop faster than ever before," Rivero added. "They can get their talent in there for branded IDs, and they can use the stage to really lean into the wrestling characters—so if a persona is from the backwoods, they can capture them in the middle of a swamp and make a mini-movie if they wanted to. A virtual production studio is the perfect solution for WWE’s team."

Nowhere is California's beauty more evident than in one of its 280 California State Parks—from massive redwood forests and poppy fields in bloom to pristine mountain habitats full of diverse wildlife. Beyond sheer beauty, nature offers an inimitable learning environment. Students who venture to state parks can observe and interact with the natural world around them—an experience that's hard to replicate in the classroom. 

California State Parks established the Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) program to bring California's vast natural treasures to every student. The PORTS Program offers free live and on-demand presentations, allowing students to explore the state parks—virtually. 

PORTS immerses students in experiences like dynamic videos of kayak rides around Point Lobos and interactive, field trip-style explorations of Hearst Castle. The program brings the magic of nature and history to classrooms across the state through more than 5,000 virtual learning presentations a year. 

For PORTS to succeed, park staff must communicate clearly with everyone listening, which can include up to 10,000 students in one hour. Students must be able to hear and engage with the field experts who are streaming from unique environments like windy mountaintops and rivers with rapids. They also need to be able to see expansive views of forests and zoom in on blacksmithing demonstrations in action. The PORTS Program needed audio and video tools to overcome these challenges and make outdoor learning a reality. 

"Our goal is to bring the state's park resources to more students, especially those who might not otherwise be able to experience them," said Brad Krey, California State Parks, Interpretation & Education program manager. “Having high-quality audio and video is critical to bringing California's historical, cultural, and natural legacy to life—virtually.”

[Jabra's PanaCast 50 Got a Whole Lot More Intelligent—Here's How]

Park Staff and the Right AV

The PORTS Program currently has 60 park staff working at 55 of the parks within the California State Parks. PORTS wanted to empower the experts to highlight the parks seamlessly with crisp, clean audio and crystal-clear video. They needed technology to bridge the divide between their vantage point in nature and the classroom. Because of the unique environments, they needed tools that provide high-quality audio and video for immersive experiences, long battery life to accommodate extended time in remote locations, durability to endure natural elements, and, above all, flexible tools that are easy to use and plug-and-play. 

With more than 150 years of expertise in world-leading audio and unique, one-of-a-kind video solutions, Jabra brings digital collaboration to life. Jabra's PanaCast video conferencing cameras provide premium video collaboration experiences, no matter where you're set up—outdoors or in a classroom. Equipped with a range of AI-driven intelligent features like Intelligent Zoom for presenters on the move and a unique 180-degree field of view, the Jabra PanaCast series provides a natural, engaging, and inclusive experience for all participants tuning in. The devices are plug-and-play and work seamlessly with unified communications platforms.

To combat high winds and other ambient sounds such as a highway, BlueParrott headsets which are engineered for high-noise environments were deployed. Designed for comfort and flexibility, the headsets are lightweight and discreet and provide numerous wearing styles—even under a park ranger's hat. With an IP54 Rating for protection against dust and moisture, they are built to last whatever the conditions.

The AV Solutions 

The PORTS Program's goal is to bring students closer to California state parks through digital storytelling while addressing the needs of digital-native students who are accustomed to a high level of production quality and park staff who leverage technology in unique environments. These challenges led PORTS to Jabra, whose innovative audio and video technology creates seamless collaboration, regardless of where participants are located. 

"We're constantly evolving and trying to have more and more high-production quality experiences for students. That's what they get with gaming and social media today, and that's what they're expecting from virtual learning as well. Jabra tools are helping us achieve this," Krey said.

For PORTScasts featuring panoramas like sweeping forests and wide museum rooms, the Jabra PanaCast 50 intelligent video bar provided a unique 180-degree field of view in panoramic-4K, allowing presenters to capture expansive views with no distortion. PanaCast 50's intelligent features helped everyone feel like they're in the action together, even when they're spread in classrooms around the state. For one PORTScast, the program brought PanaCast 50 a quarter mile into the Redwoods for a Women's History Month live broadcast on the "Heroines of the Redwoods"—providing panoramic views and delivering an immersive learning experience.  

Jabra PanaCast 20 provided a lightweight and portable yet powerful tool for park staff to leverage for PORTScasts. With Intelligent Zoom to automatically keep the presenter in the frame, high-quality video, and a simple USB-C connection to get up and running from anywhere in seconds, PanaCast 20 helped power strong PORTS visual storytelling on the go.

Utilizing BlueParrott headsets like the C400-XT in the noisiest environments, park staff were able to limit background distractions and create a more engaging audio stream for students tuning in from afar. The headset lets in just the right amount of ambient noise, so PORTScasts feel realistic without being drowned out by what's happening in the background. Long-lasting battery life helped to keep experts connected, no matter how deep into a park they ventured or how many PORTScasts for students they conducted. The headsets also provided hands-free and cord-free access, flexibility to wear under hats or helmets, and the durability to weather even the most challenging natural environments. 

The Path Ahead

Jabra and BlueParrott have helped the PORTS Program bridge the technology divide and bring enhanced learning experiences from unique settings. Experts in the parks have facilitated engaging conversations with students without distractions from background noise, and students have experienced high-quality video to bring state parks' digital storytelling to life.

"The right technology has been and will continue to be a key enabler for us in carrying out our mission," Krey said. "We look forward to the future of the PORTS Program and will continue to bring California's state parks to more students across the state—and even across the country—in new, immersive ways." 

As video professionals, SociallyU president André Dantzler and his team are always looking to push the boundaries of creativity. Inspired by the groundbreaking virtual interview Oprah did in 2020 from her home in Santa Barbara with Barack Obama, who was in D.C. at the time, Dantzler’s team partnered with Ryan Somerfield, director and DP at Tiny Giants AV to test out their own remote interview workflow—but taken up a few notches. The results of the test surprised them, and they believe it will ultimately help clients and other studios achieve a seamless virtual production interview experience that is no longer reserved for presidents or the broadcasting elite.

Live Streaming Made Easy

With Tiny Giants AV located in Sydney, Australia, and SociallyU located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, SociallyU endeavored to create a live-streamed virtual production interview that spanned continents. Their setup included four cameras in each location, for a total of eight cameras, which allowed them to create the look of a five-camera interview. They combined four of the camera feeds into two different over-the-shoulder shots, and another two feeds were combined to create one comprehensive wide shot. Their cameras included a mix of Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro, Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, all of which they were able to work with and manipulate to match things as much as possible. All cameras were fed into an ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher.

They also used eight Blackmagic Ultimatte 12 4K real-time compositing processors—seven in the US and one in Australia for combined remote keying—with Tiny Giants AV’s feed coming to SociallyU where the Ultimattes performed the live keying. To unify the backgrounds, they used five Unreal Engines—four at SociallyU and one at Tiny Giants AV—all synchronized in real-time. They also heavily utilized the key and fill layer input on the Ultimattes to layer shots on top of each other, a feature that was critical in creating convincing over-the-shoulder shots.

[Introducing the New Family of Blackmagic Design Routers]

No Streaming Workflow Challenge Too Great

Testing was more complicated than originally anticipated, but the team at SociallyU has been very pleased with the results. They wanted to take this workflow to the next level, so they did things with keying not seen anywhere else, such as including two moving shots in each location using a camera slider connected into their Unreal computers, which rendered live. They figured out how to make it seem like they were looking at each other during the interview, but also added over-the-shoulder shots where both participants are included in the shot to increase realism. If one person raised their hand, for example, it would appear in the other person’s shot. When it came to the wide shot, the team layered in elements like the floor, the carpet, and the coffee table, achieving more dimensionality by merging foreground elements together.

They also had to factor in a two-second delay on the cameras in Chattanooga and managed that by both talking and video back-hauling over Zoom to facilitate the live conversation. This meant their control room had to live in “the past” in order to be able to live-cut the show. As a result, this created a new challenge in communicating with talent from the control room, as the control room’s responses to the questions would be delayed. They used a Blackmagic DeckLink 8K Pro capture and playback card to output the four SRT feeds. They did all of this in 4K, so they couldn’t just use Zoom, which is limited to 1080. With SRT, they were able to get higher quality, control the bandwidth, and get a much cleaner key because it was all in 4K. 

The Sky is the Limit for Virtual Production Interviews

Overall, the feel that they have only scratched the surface so far, and that the sky is the limit on virtual production interviews. Post-pandemic, it’s a balance between getting people back in a room together, a continued demand for virtual offerings, and enhanced real-time interaction, such as live, on-screen chats. Today, bringing in guests can be executed in new and exciting ways without the need for guests to be in the same location physically.

AB Holding Company is an international conglomerate that invests in companies operating in the areas of consumer goods, coffee, luxury fashion, animal health, and fast food. Since 2020, JAB Holding Company has hosted an Investor’s Day Meeting, a two-day conference for investors and shareholders where CEOs from its leading brands outline business initiatives, strategies, revenue, key learnings, and other future short-term and long-term goals and objectives. With 32 C-level speakers coming in from two studios and four remote locations over two days, the team at the leading live production company, Gradient Experience, knew they needed a flexible and scalable live solution to pull off the hybrid event viewed by 200-plus attendees across more than 30 countries. 

The ultimate challenge was producing an engaging, high-quality virtual conference for global audiences—leveraging LiveU technology for live feeds and live-to-tape content within a 3D virtual world. Another production challenge was to create a workflow that accommodated the varying needs of CEO presenters around the globe. 

To create human connections with lasting impact, Gradient incorporates innovative technology into its productions to engage with audiences, exceed client expectations, and surpass their goals. Gradient created a virtual world for this production, leveraging the design platform Unreal, a gaming engine, and 3D hardware provider Brainstorm. With LiveU at the core, Gradient brought C-level executives from offices in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, New York, Amsterdam, and Edinburgh directly into the virtual program, being cut live from the London-based control room. This hybrid remote production model was not only successful but also highly repeatable.

[UK Speedway Revs Up Its Streaming Capabilities with LiveU]

“The use of LiveU allowed our team to adapt to last-minute changes in scheduling,” one staff member at JAB explained. “When a guest could no longer fly to our London green screen facility, we simply used a LiveU encoder alongside the LiveU LU4000 4K/quad HD rack-mount receiver to bring him/her into the production. We were able to meet the presenters’ needs, without sacrificing our production quality.”

Audiences expect the flexibility of remote participation while still experiencing the quality of an in-person event. With their broadcast expertise and LiveU’s advanced solutions, Gradient Experience created an upscaled virtual production significantly beyond the Zoom meeting aesthetic.

Earlier this year, Nutmeg TV, the primary local public television channel based in Farmington, CT, embarked on a collaboration with Broadcast Pix to overhaul its studio capabilities. The objective was clear: Enhance the quality of productions and deliver an outstanding experience for community members, all while navigating the challenges of a smaller team and limited budget.

The need to upgrade studio equipment became evident in 2023 as Nutmeg TV sought to streamline its production processes. With a lean staff, Chris Bennett, Nutmeg TV’s director of technology and production services, set out to find a solution that would eliminate reliance on third-party applications like Zoom and Skype for remote interviews while maintaining high production standards.

[Every Day Is Game Day]

"We needed an all-in-one live production system," said Bennett. "I reached out to Broadcast Pix to explore if the GX Hybrid could create a virtual space for our shows to bring in remote guests. Fortunately, they had the perfect solution: GuestPix.”

Diversified, which has offices in North Haven, CT, played a crucial role in installing the new Broadcast Pix system with GuestPix, which enables Nutmeg TV to seamlessly incorporate remote guests into shows without additional subscriptions or external devices. In January, Nutmeg TV hosted the channel's inaugural GuestPix production, featuring an interview with Connecticut Speaker of the House Matthew Ritter. "The show and the response from the viewers have been wonderful," said Joanie Wedler, executive director and CEO of Nutmeg TV. 

In addition to the GX Hybrid, Nutmeg TV integrated seven Canon PTZ cameras, further enhancing its production capabilities. The strategic move provided comprehensive camera control and scalability for various productions.

"The studio upgrade has vastly improved Nutmeg TV's production capabilities, enabling them to produce high-quality content with unparalleled ease and efficiency," Bennett added. "The reliability of the Broadcast Pix system ensures uninterrupted operation, offering peace of mind to the production team."

Bennett commended the system's reliability and user-friendly interface, highlighting its ability to streamline production workflows and elevate the overall quality of their shows. The inclusion of the NewBlue animated graphics engine further raised the bar for productions, enabling dynamic content creation directly within the Broadcast Pix system.

Public, education, and government (PEG) channels and community media centers like Nutmeg TV play a pivotal role in fostering community engagement and communication. By harnessing advanced production technologies from Broadcast Pix, Nutmeg TV is empowering community members to share their stories and enrich the public television experience for all. As a result, Nutmeg TV is reaping the rewards of its investment with higher engagement numbers.

[Cloud-Based Production: Opportunity or Threat for Integrators?]

"We don't receive viewership numbers from cable companies, but we do track online metrics," Bennett said. "Recently, I discovered that we've reached 1 million YouTube impressions over the past year—quite an achievement for a PEG access facility in Connecticut. This demonstrates our outreach and the support from our viewers and users. Managing 500 shows a year with a production team of only three is no small feat. Despite the challenges, we handle it exceptionally well here at Nutmeg TV. Our producers are comfortable with our setup, and we have a fantastic team.”

Navigating the realm of PEG channels poses challenges in delivering vital local programming to communities. Adequate funding is crucial for these channels and community media centers to flourish, serving as hubs for communication training, higher production standards, cable distribution, and community connectivity. Nutmeg TV stands as a testament to the transformative power of strategic decisions and innovative broadcasting solutions.

"It's about having a long-term vision that you can gradually realize over time, ensuring you can evolve alongside advancements in technology," Bennett said. "This way, as technology advances, you can adapt and expand your setup while staying within your budget. It's amazing what type of outreach you can do when you have really good cameras and a really good switcher system.”

Located on Chicago’s Near West Side, Resolution Productions Group's Resolution Studios specializes in virtual production. The 86,000-square-foot production complex features four premier stages, with approximately 70% of the studio’s productions being TV commercial work with the rest dedicated to feature films and episodic projects. Resolution Studios’ approach to virtual production (VP) is to create customized LED video wall backdrops according to the unique requirements of each project. To support this flexibility, the studio utilizes 400 Planar Venue Pro VX Series indoor LED video wall displays with a 1.9mm pixel pitch (VPI-VX 1.9).

Todd Freese, SVP and chief technology officer with Resolution Productions Group, has a time-tested philosophy for operating a successful VP studio: LED volume layouts should be designed on a shoot-to-shoot basis.

When fully assembled, the studio’s complete supply of Planar Venue Pro VX Series LED displays forms a curved, 80x14-foot LED video wall. However, it’s not uncommon for the LED video wall to be set up at 60 feet wide and 20 feet tall or broken up into multiple formations. “It’s constantly changing,” Freese said. “We definitely have common configurations that we use over and over, but certain shoots require specific layouts. For instance, the way we will set up an LED video wall for a car process shot is completely different than what we would do for a narrative.”

Check out how the technology works and what Freese has to say about the selection shootout and end results in the YouTube video below. 

Walla Walla University is located in College Place, WA. The private Adventist university with four campuses located throughout the Pacific Northwest and offers a hands-on, deep dive into the cinematic world through its film, TV, and media degree program. To bring the latest production technology to its students, WWU turned to Scalable Display Technologies software. 

The film, TV, and media major aims to help students learn and apply essential skills in filmmaking, production, animation, effects and directing. By harnessing the latest production technology, the university provides students with hands-on experience, developing their knowledge of on-set procedures and building professional portfolios.

Jerry Hartman, professor of film, TV, and media for WWU, spearheaded the latest development in the university’s video production studio. With a background in movie and television production, Hartman has spent the last 16 years educating students as they explore a variety of exciting careers such as film directing, product design, music directing and virtual reality production. 

“Walla Walla University continues to invest in new technology to support virtual production,” said Hartman. “WWU is a small, liberal arts facility, but we emphasize learning in real-world environments through field education, design competitions, labs, research, art shows, student teaching, study tours and studio work. We want to allow our students to experiment and understand the technology they will find themselves interacting with in the real world. Today’s high-profile film production studios leverage new technologies, like large LED displays, to support virtual video production. We must incorporate that into our curriculum.

“There’s a significant barrier to entry with LED displays because of the price point. Adopting these technologies is incredibly expensive, but we’ve found that projection is a very reliable alternative. We have a green screen cyclorama, which we repainted white, that we utilize to project content onto. We’ve incorporated Unreal Engine, an advanced real-time 3D creation tool for visuals and immersive experiences, and two projectors on the cyclorama to create our production stage.”

WWU selected Scalable Display Technologies to automatically blend two projectors across the cyclorama to create one seamless display. Scalable’s software works on flat, curved, domed and customized screen shapes. 

“I started exploring different companies that provide a simplified solution for blending multiple projectors,” noted Hartman. “I found Scalable Display Technologies through Unreal Engine. Scalable’s software integrates with Unreal Engine, so I contacted the company for a license trial to begin testing the functionality. From my initial conversation, Scalable’s sales and technical support team has been extremely helpful and accommodating. They worked with me to ensure everything worked seamlessly before we purchased a software license. Their team has gone far beyond the role of a traditional salesperson to ensure we selected the appropriate solution for our specific needs.” 

Hartman added, “I required a solution that would provide a complete overlap of two projectors for high dynamic range and high dynamic resolution. Additionally, we needed to overlap two projectors for a wider screen. It’s been amazing to see the student’s reaction to the software. Scalable’s software has been straightforward to integrate and provided efficient, quick and simple results. Their automatic calibration is an important feature because it’s easy to use. Still, it provides the students with hands-on experience with the technology they will likely be re-introduced to in the future. 

The result was successful at all levels. The immersive virtual production system provides WWU with a high-quality, cost-effective solution. “I’ve talked with many studios and each of them has started their virtual production practice with projection and have built up to full LED displays,” explained Hartman. “Our students can learn the system and, as production companies scale up, they have the fundamentals to understand the technology. The actual practice between LED displays and projection is the same. There’s a slight difference in mapping, but the virtual production aspect is virtually the same.

“Scalable has enabled us to introduce virtual production to our students at a cost-effective price point," Hartman added. "It’s the perfect solution for film, TV and media programs that don’t have the budget for multiple LED displays. They can be replaced with projectors to create an effective solution for virtual production. It’s easy for students to grasp the technology while providing them with the hands-on experience they will likely require.”

The Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies is an educational establishment specializing in courses related to games, esports, film, TV, media, events, and music. A part of Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham’s Confetti Media Group, the institute has gained recognition for its commitment to delivering top-tier creative media education. The campus is equipped with cutting-edge technology studios and boasts an enrollment of over 2,000 students.

In 2022, the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies introduced the BSc (Hons) Esports Production degree. This program is hosted in their innovative 14,000-square-foot Confetti X Esports complex, a state-of-the-art facility meticulously designed to provide students with a platform for exploring esports production and emerging technologies.

Creating an esports production facility on a university campus came with its own set of challenges. This esports-first facility needed a production system that could adapt to the diverse demands of various games. For instance, producing live events for a mobile game is notably different from handling a sports game, a first-person shooter, or an action role-playing game.

Another significant challenge was ensuring that Confetti X students were well prepared for real-world success. Providing them with practical experience using industry-standard production equipment was crucial. This hands-on approach would enable a smooth transition into their careers upon graduating.

To meet the unique challenge of producing events around a wide range of esports titles while also providing students with industry-leading broadcast tools, Confetti X installed a comprehensive solution from Ross Video.

From hyper-converged production switchers, to real-time motion graphics, replay systems, signal processing gear, and camera robotics—these tools are seamlessly integrated using the RossTalk protocol, ensuring a highly flexible and streamlined operation.

The implementation of Ross Video’s solution has significantly expanded Confetti X’s esports production capabilities, enabling them to seamlessly produce several major industry events, including the finals of the prestigious Amazon University Esports Masters. 

Moreover, the integration of Ross products has streamlined the workflow at Confetti X, unifying the control of LED displays, video boards, camera robotic systems, lighting, music, and more into a single video production system. With the help of a custom Dashboard panel, the Confetti X team can now control their full suite of Ross and third-party products in a single platform, opening the door to a new world of creative possibilities. 

By providing students with access to industry-grade production equipment and a versatile video production system, Confetti X is nurturing the creativity of the next generation of video production professionals, ensuring they are well-prepared to excel after graduation. The success of the Confetti X Esports complex sets a benchmark for other educational institutions looking to embrace cutting-edge technologies and enhance creative media education.

Gin Rai, head of Esports at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, said, “Designing an esports production turn-key solution comes with many challenges. What we discovered worked really well was engaging with the Ross Video team to provide us with on-site training, so we had enough hands-on time with the tech to come up with solutions that are unique to our space.”

Lighting in confined spaces presents a unique challenge, but as demonstrated by the new video production studio at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in Naples, FL, flexibility is essential. Thanks to the color-changing capability and compact size of Brightline fixtures, lighting is broadcast-quality for each interview and stand-up shot.

Encore Broadcast Solutions, with headquarters in Tampa, FL, served as the systems integration firm on the project, which was completed in November and included set design, control room with a Broadcast Pix GX Hybrid integrated production system, three Panasonic AW-UE160 4K PTZ cameras, and Brightline lighting. Brightline L1.2 studio lights, color changing Lupo fresnels, and Minnow profile spotlights were selected for the new studio, all calibrated for daylight color temperature.

[SCN Installation Showcase 2023] 

"Lighting is often thought of last in set design,” said Tampa-based lighting director Earl Thomas. “Once the set is there, you have to work with what you got. With this project, the set was pushed back close to the walls. Thankfully, the Minnows are so small, you can rotate them. And with the color-changing capability, they provide gorgeous accent lighting. The compact size of the Minnows with the power of an LED gives off a whole lot of light in a small space. We could light every area we needed to without any limitations.”

The studio is roughly 25x28 feet. The room itself has 11-foot-high ceilings, and a lighting grid was installed 10 feet off the floor. Thomas said the ability to daisy chain the power and DMX controls of the Brightline fixtures made it even easier to place the lights where he wanted. “That really helped us in such a tight space,” he added.

More government organizations are building their own studios for internal productions and broadcasts, according to Doug Taylor of Encore Broadcast Solutions, and they typically want something they can operate with their own staff. “They want to be able to do everything themselves, from adjusting the lighting to operating the switcher. Thanks to technology like Brightline offers we can easily incorporate the ‘set it and forget it’ ethos into our design,” he added. “One set uses a Planar 165-inch diagonal video wall. Lighting that set was a challenge, but Brightline and Earl handled it like a champ.”

[Let There Be Light(ing)]

“This was a great team effort for the Collier County Sheriff’s department,” said Kathy Katz, Brightline managing partner. “We’re thrilled the design of our fixtures enabled exactly the look and operation they wanted. We foresee many more projects of this type next year and beyond."

CP Communications and HRP-Live, a production company that works primarily in the fitness space, culminated at the recent 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI to handle all RF content acquisition for the second-straight year.

With its flagship HD-21 53-foot expando truck, CP Communications provided frequency coordination services for six RF cameras, four robotic PTZ cameras, and audio systems, including microphones, IFBs and intercom. The four-day event was streamed online over multiple platforms including ESPN+, Facebook, YouTube and the CrossFit website, with select hours the final three days broadcast live on ESPN or ESPN2. Competitions included weightlifting, gymnastics, cycling, and endurance running.

CP Communications worked closely with the HRP-Live team to capture competitions that took place inside the Alliant Energy Center’s indoor coliseum and adjacent North Park stadium, a temporary outdoor venue built specifically for this event, with all content handed off to NEP mobile units. While some events were also held at nearby Quann Park and Willow Island, this year’s competition centralized most events to the former two venues, which allowed HRP-Live and CP Communications to simplify their content acquisition strategy. 

[Let the Games Begin]

“Last year’s competition included off-site activities at distant venues, which required bonded cellular networking to ensure reliable coverage with robust networking back to the mobile village,” said Mike “Rothy” Roth, HRP-Live co-founder. “While the CP team did an exceptional job deploying a hybrid solution, this year’s more focused coverage area allowed us to really dial it in with nearly 100 percent RF coverage. That also allowed us to one-stop shop almost all our gear with CP, which included PTZ cameras with robotic remote control for the first time, and just one bonded cellular system to exclusively cover athletes in the warmup area.”

Roth added that the CP team built four “RF reporter kits” with video and audio gear that were used to cover the expanse of the larger events, including cross-country 5K runs around the Quann Park perimeter and through adjacent Willow Island. He emphasized that the biggest upgrade this year was to the intercom system.

[SCN Announces Pro AV Best in Market 2023 Award Winners]

“CP this year recommended a Riedel Bolero wireless system, which expanded our capacity, improved portability and strengthened RF audio signals carried over the system,” said Roth. “We were managing a crew of 215 across three production groups and two control rooms, and the Bolero system was easy to use for all, even a few of our crew who are not TV production people. They all learned how to use Bolero within 10 minutes, and it doesn’t require lugging around a belt and a radio.” 

Roth has been working with CP Communications on events for many years through previous endeavors, and this year with HRP-Live hired CP to serve different capacities for several domestic CrossFit competitions as well as TYR Wodapalooza, a single-day fitness competition that took place in Miami earlier this year. “We have had nothing but professional experiences with CP that exceed expectations,” he said. “They are always fair, they are always honest, and they are problem-solvers who are always reliable. Their customer service is exceptional, so for it’s an easy choice for HRP-Live.”

ZTransform recently completed a $5.9 million facility relocation project for KNKX, a not-for-profit radio station serving Washington's Seattle-Tacoma market. To meet the diverse needs of the broadcaster’s news and music programming, ZTransform provided design, build, integration, and launch services, and worked with V Three Studio architects to transform a concrete warehouse within the Madore Building (built in 1915) into a modern broadcast facility.

[SCN Installation Showcase 2022]

Overlooking the Seattle waterfront next to the Pike Place Market, KNKX’s new home boasts an on-air studio, live mix studio, and three production rooms. Studio X, KNKX’s new performance space, can comfortably seat 25 people in the audience and hosts jazz and blues sessions that are shared online worldwide.

“ZTransform understood our vision to create an engaging environment for our staff, our visitors, and the wider Pacific Northwest community,” said Steve Albertson, director of administration, KNKX. “Not only did the space need to fulfill our technical and operational ambitions, but also our creative needs so we could better connect and collaborate with local people more effectively on live music production, news programming, studio sessions, events, panels and more.”

The station’s relocation from Pacific Lutheran University was prompted by the university’s sale of KNKX (originally KPLU-FM) to the not-for-profit organization, Friends of 88.5 FM, and supported by significant funding through the KNKX Next campaign, which generated approximately $4.5 million.

[Go Big or Go Home]

“We had outgrown our original facility," explained Joey Cohn, president and general manager, KNKX. "The site was also in one of the sleepiest parts of the city, so when the funding came through, we strategically moved to a more vibrant area downtown, more reflective of the jazz hub and buzz that we’ve built up over the last 10 years.”

The studios are optimized to capture audio for radio broadcasts to approximately 325,000 listeners weekly, as well as video for its YouTube channel. A large newsroom, where all KNKX reporters can be accommodated, as well as multiple offices, complete the facility.

ZTransform worked closely with KNKX to manage the tactical and technical aspects of the new facility build through planning, design, integration, and launch. At the station’s core, ZTransform implemented the Wheatstone AES-67 compatible WheatNet-IP audio infrastructure. This end-to-end AoIP solution enables all KNKX audio sources to be accessed and controlled by all devices on the network, including mixing consoles, control surfaces, software controllers, and automation devices.

[Executive Q&A: Sound Advice for AoIP]

Broadcast Electronics (BE) AudioVAULT was selected for audio storage, studio automation, playout, and automation. Customized BE NewsBoss software now serves all KNKX newsroom workstations for content creation, ingest and distribution, on-air presentation, and editing. ZTransform also worked with Cabinetworks Unlimited to design innovative and flexible custom technical furniture including sit/stand broadcast consoles.

The new workflow enables KNKX to broadcast live from multiple studios within the facility or on location, which means transitions to and from its Tacoma-based studios are seamless. This functionality also provides the station with an extra layer of redundancy that was crucial for the switchover at launch. Plus, the IP-based workflow opens new remote broadcasting opportunities.

“This was a true collaboration of diverse user needs that we led through a year-long process,” said Erik Utter, president and founder, ZTransform. “Early in the project, we met with multiple end user groups from both the news and music production teams whose needs didn’t necessarily align. We helped to prioritize these different needs and conceived some creative solutions that deliver flexibility for all users when it comes to equipment and room configuration. These solutions will also enable KNKX to reconfigure the physical layout of spaces and operations to accommodate growth and new functionality in the future.”

“The key for us was entrusting the end-to-end design and build to an experienced technical facilities provider,” said Albertson. “ZTransform came highly recommended—and when our transition team met with them, it was obvious from their ideas about design and implementation, to their can-do attitude, and work ethic, that we’d found a perfect fit. The entire ZTransform team really understood how to balance the strengths of systems, people, and spaces. Plus, they made the experience enjoyable."

EVS is globally recognized as the technology leader for video production, with wide-ranging HD-to-UHD/4K solutions for live sports, entertainment, and news content. You’ll find EVS’ premium media technologies in operations throughout the world, helping broadcasters, rights owners, and producers optimize live assets, engage audiences, and increase revenue streams by monetizing content across multiple platforms.

Customer research and education are critical to what EVS does. With training facilities in 12 locations around the world, it’s a way for them not only to introduce new products and offer in-depth, hands-on training, but to understand what customers need and how they use EVS’ products.

The crux of the new training center is the main instruction room with 10 seats—nine for the trainees and one for the trainer. There are two monitors per trainee plus two for the trainer, for a total of 20, in addition to two 70-inch monitors on the wall for all to see.

Besides using KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) for all seats in the training room, KVM also controls stations in the VIP room, a more comfortable, lounge-like room used for dedicated behind-the-curtains demos and proofs of concept with VIP clients. Two of the training room seats also feed the main conference room, making it possible for meeting participants to call up information from the training room during a meeting, if necessary. There are two more seats in the reception area to greet customers with EVS’ newest product, X-One, a touch-screen-enabled product that allows customers to walk up, touch it, play with it, and see features before getting into their in-depth training.

All screens are touch-screen-enabled, and every seat—monitors, keyboard, mouse, and touch screens—is accessible by KVM.

A Different Perspective

EVS’ KVM use case is different than in a traditional broadcast environment, where operators call up a product and use it to send something from point A to point B. Because they are training, they must be able to present and push the trainers’ screens to the operators and vice versa. They also need to preconfigure and save training sessions so they can be called up at will. And given the multi-room setup, they needed a quick, robust KVM switching capability to pass seat control from room to room at a significant distance within the building.

One major advantage IHSE KVM offers EVS over their old training facility is that trainers can now push their screens to the trainees, so trainees can see the lessons up close. Then, with a keyboard stroke, trainees can quickly switch back to their local machines to practice the functions in the lesson. By the same token, trainees can push their own screens to the large monitors in the front of the room, which come in handy when a trainee does something noteworthy that would benefit the rest of the class. Also, as long as the screens are next to each other, IHSE KVM enables one keyboard and mouse to span multiple screens and control multiple PCs.

The second advantage is that now multiple classes can be pre built using IHSE’s Draco tera tool software, which offers the flexibility to go from one training session to another with the push of a button. EVS uses the tera tool to build screen layouts and lessons for their many products, and then they simply take a few minutes to load the appropriate lesson before the class starts. This is a major improvement over the old way, which required a support engineer and a day’s worth of time to reconfigure the training lab for each new class.

[Roadmap 2023: IHSE]

The KVM specs for the training center include: an IHSE Draco tera Compact Matrix, 80-port, Cat-X; 53 CPU sources with a mix of EVS XT, Epsio, XF3, and IPDirector units, with CPU units based on DVI with RS-422 to support XT servers and serial control for LSM remote control panels; 11 CON workstations with a mix of touch-screen capabilities, based on HDMI with RS-422 to connect to LSM remote control panels; and some workstations use HDMI CON with local input to share between remote XT and local XT servers at the same workstation.

With IHSE KVM gear, the necessary flexibility and robust switching are in place to make the new training center shine. Thanks to a history of success with IHSE, and especially owing to the success with the US headquarters training center, EVS is looking to add IHSE KVM gear as they expand regional training centers.”

Live streaming was becoming a popular trend prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many in-person and live-event venues, it changed from an added luxury to an absolute necessity to survive when lockdowns hit. As the way people consumed “live” events changed, so did the way companies provided coverage across a wide array of verticals.

[The Integration Guide to Streaming]

One such company was William Hill, a British betting and gaming company that covers a vast number of racetracks across the United Kingdom and Australia. Thanks to UK-based CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, greyhound racing lovers don’t need to leave the comfort of their own couches for the day’s action. Fans of gambling and racing can stream the action from 30 UK and Irish greyhound tracks from the William Hill app or website, with additional coverage from Australian racetracks now available as well.

“We wanted to create something special in our racing coverage to provide our customers with a better, richer racing experience,” said Mark Chesworth, head of broadcast at William Hill. “CJP Broadcast showed us that by using bespoke software, they could build a system that would bring our dedicated live greyhound racing channel to life. Showing more live greyhound races than any other channel, viewers are served real-time data, prices, and information graphics for each runner. Led by a team of presenters, each bringing their personalities and styles to the screen, the fully automated system CJP developed gives us the output we want, and one our presenters love to drive.”  

And They’re Off

William Hill did have a platform in place, but when the pandemic hit and more people turned to online and app streaming services, it went looking for a more cost-efficient and scalable solution for its users. “It was previously a resource-heavy channel that had a variety of content delivered,” explained Chesworth. “It’s now committed to giving the greyhound customer a dedicated channel but at a lower running cost to William Hill.”

[In-depth with Ross Video CEO on Rebranding and an IPO]

The CJP Broadcast team went to work to install a Ross Video Ultrix router and the PlayBox Technology Cosmos playout automation and streaming platform. According to Chesworth, the William Hill production team—based in the St. Johns site in the Leeds district of West Yorkshire, England—can then use a combination of video, audio, and data feeds to create a semi-automated, playlist-driven outlet that is fully focused on providing its viewers with the dedicated greyhound channel.   

Because William Hill sought to provide the users with an intuitive, as-close-to-being-there experience as possible, detailed graphics and data processing for real-time results and statistics from 30 different locations were pivotal. For that, CJP turned to media software specialist Squared Paper and its Busby software developing kit. The software, which can be logged into remotely, takes the data from the wide scope of racetracks and generates HTML5 graphics templates, among a slew of other benefits.

Naturally, being able to control more than 30 racetrack feeds remotely was ideal. However, due to restrictions placed on everyone as a result of the pandemic, developing that remote system brought quite the challenge. “The system was specified for remote operation, but the COVID-19 lockdown meant we had to develop it remotely, too,” said Chris Phillips, managing director of CJP Broadcast. “We assembled the hardware rack and operations desk in our demo area; Squared Paper accessed it to develop the software functionality, and William Hill could also log in to monitor progress. At CJP Broadcast, our approach is always to select the best technology partners to meet the user specification and to work closely with them to pool all our knowledge and experience to exceed expectations on time and within budget.”

Simplified Streaming

The updated William Hill streaming capabilities went live on Oct. 24. Though not available via OTT systems for television, William Hill users get plenty of greyhound racing options on both the William Hill app and website. The channel covers 11 hours of racing a day, 364 days a year. There are roughly 140 races covered each day, a number that has increased as some Australian greyhound tracks joined the app.

Currently, all races are streamed live, as no on-demand programming is yet available. That means the quality and presentation of the stream is important to the viewer experience—and that begins with the streaming workflow.

Getting live greyhound races and data from 30 different tracks may seem like a daunting task, and while getting the stream from Point A to Point B is a team effort, it typically goes off without a hitch. The streaming workflow itself begins in the St. Johns studio, and William Hill works with a couple of resources and providers to give racing fans the best user experience possible.

“Each greyhound stadium sends their feed to NEP Connect in Media City,” explained Chesworth. “We then take those feeds into the Broadcast department in Leeds. [William Hill] hands off the feed in St Johns to our streaming provider, StreamAMG. They then deliver the stream to our customers via their platform which is then available on our website and app.”

In an age of streaming options and platforms for the end user, the video player within the app is designed to support Apple or Android devices. And while the channel isn’t accessible everywhere (no U.S. availability, for example), it doesn’t mean growth isn’t welcomed, nor would it be too complex with the system CJP installed. “We would convert the stream to that specific region’s requirements if needed,” Chesworth offered.

Customer Satisfaction

Now a few months into the updated app and website experience, both William Hill and CJP Broadcast are happy with the results. Racing fans have access to numerous greyhound races from local racetracks and more remote locations.

[Review: Audio-Technica Targets Streaming Production with StreamSet]

“This project for William Hill was particularly satisfying,” Phillips explained. “They started with an operational requirement rather than a technical description. They went out to potential suppliers with what they wanted to achieve. We were able to show them just how engaging, dynamic, and scalable the channel could be. The solution we developed, which we now call Smart Streams, applies to any broadcaster or streaming service provider dealing in data-rich live content in sports or other genres.” 

“CJP was an ideal partner for this solution, knowledgeable and committed at each stage of the project. They understood our requirements and created a solution bespoke to us,” concluded Chesworth. “We will continue to work with them for future development of our current channels and for any further projects we embark on.”

4Wall Entertainment, a full-service lighting, video and rigging company, and ZeroSpace, a next-gen production and creative studio specializing in the integration of virtual and live content, are partnering with disguise to bring the disguise Virtual Production Accelerator training program to the heart of New York City. This initiative will empower aspiring filmmakers and industry professionals with the skills needed to excel in the rapidly evolving world of virtual production.

The Virtual Production Accelerator will provide an immersive and comprehensive on-set learning experience for participants of all skill levels. Leveraging the expertise and facilities of 4Wall and ZeroSpace, the program will combine classroom training with practical principal photography, enabling trainees to gain hands-on experience and an accurate simulation of the demands faced on real film sets.

[We Went for an Off-Road Adventure with Vú at InfoComm 2023... and It Was Awesome]

"Our goal is to revolutionize virtual production and equip the next generation of filmmakers with the necessary expertise to harness its full potential," says Addy Ghani, vice president of virtual production at disguise, who spearheads the program. "Currently, finding experienced professionals in this field is a challenge. We are confident that, with our in-depth understanding of the technology and studio workflows, we can empower participants to become proficient in virtual production."

Participants of the Virtual Production Accelerator program will have access to production facilities at ZeroSpace’s headquarters in Brooklyn. Over the course of a week, the program will offer unique learning opportunities that are not readily accessible to most, providing trainees with the tools and knowledge to create cinematic content on a large scale. By the program's conclusion, participants will possess the expertise required to leverage virtual production techniques, granting filmmakers complete creative freedom and control over their projects.

[Here's One Way to Boost Virtual Production in Esports and Gaming Events]

"We are thrilled to collaborate with disguise and ZeroSpace on this pioneering initiative," says vice president of special projects at 4Wall, Mathew Leland. "By bringing the Virtual Production Accelerator to New York City, we aim to cultivate a thriving community of virtual production professionals, enabling the city's entertainment industry to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape."

With their shared commitment to empowering the next generation of virtual production professionals, 4Wall and ZeroSpace, in partnership with disguise, are poised to revolutionize the way storytelling and filmmaking are approached. The Virtual Production Accelerator will play a vital role in preparing participants to navigate the ever-expanding possibilities of virtual production and shape the future of the entertainment industry. This is the third deployment of the Virtual Production Accelerator, after disguise launched the program in Los Angeles in November 2022 and the U.K. in May 2023.

CREATE TH!S—an end-to-end extended reality (XR) stage and production studio creating original content and live experience—selected Scalable Display Technologies to automatically blend multiple projectors across the three-sided cyclorama to create a seamless display.

Nestled in the heart of Los Angeles, CREATE TH!S was established by Irfan Nathoo, David Cannava, and Simon Thirlaway as a collaborative creative studio and projection-based XR stage in 2020, the studio’s virtual production capabilities combine augmented and real-time in-camera visual effects, content creation and projection mapping. 

[Why It's Time for Pro AV to Take Digital Twin Metaverse Technology Seriously]

“We stepped into vertical production out of adversity,” said Cannava, partner and director of operations for CREATE TH!S. “We were primarily doing events and small music videos. We created a music video for a female artist that required XR components. It required a budget method to avoid having to purchase three different sets. We created a home-built solution for rear projection. It worked pretty well. A week later, a producer reached out to us to film a Facebook show. It was a similar situation, and they wanted XR but didn’t have the budget.”

Cannava added, “We were utilizing front projection rather than LED displays. My business partner had a film stage with a three-wall cyclorama, which we utilized to project and create our XR stage. We scanned the cyc with a lidar scan and implemented projection mapping. We used XR in the projection and integrated projection mapping on the stage to create the AI characters. It worked well and the project succeeded, but we continued battling projection blending issues. At the time, we were using a different solution for projection mapping and the experience was a nightmare. We knew we had a viable solution by utilizing projection instead of LED displays, but we wanted to continue improving our capabilities.”

CREATE TH!S has built an alternative that rivals the bright, crisp image quality of traditional LED displays. Uniquely, CREATE TH!S’ ingenuity has provided them with a solution that offers the same features as LED displays and promotes flexibility that empowers production to happen virtually anywhere. 

[A 120-Square-Foot LED Wall Is the Centerpiece of a New Extended XR Studio]

“We believe that projectors are a viable alternative to LED displays because of the immense flexibility that projection provides,” explained Cannava. “We’re developing a technique that allows us to travel to any facility with a cyc, install our projectors and run Scalable’s software to create a turnkey, on-the-go production solution. We can build a set based on any volume because of Scalable’s limitless capabilities. The idea is to create a server rack with our tech that allows us to be incredibly mobile—it’s something that can’t be achieved with LED displays.  

“Our blending issues prohibited us from competing with studios with LED displays. With Scalable, we can not only compete against companies with LED displays, but we can go up against the biggest XR stages in the world with our alternative displays. Within two years, we’ve gone from a studio that produces small music videos to large-scale movie productions.”

GhostFrame is heading to NAB Show 2023 set to showcase its virtual production toolkit in Las Vegas. Its suite of features for virtual production and XR stages makes it possible to simultaneously capture multiple independent images on camera while the human eye sees only one. The creative possibilities of this innovative and patented technology can be witnessed live at NAB2023 on the partner stands of ROE Visual, disguise, Vizrt, and more.

GhostFrame’s technology combines hidden chroma key compositing, hidden tracking, and multiple source video feeds into a single production frame; the creatives team chooses which elements are visible to the human eye and which are visible only to the camera. Multiple hidden dynamic content feeds can be played out, allowing the camera to capture each of the desired content frames while remaining comfortable for on-set actors and crew. The content-agnostic and flexible solution unlocks unlimited creativity without the need for additional hardware or losing processing and pixel capacity, all in a zero-latency environment.

[NAB Show 2023 Hub: News and Products You Won't Want to Miss] 

“Even a couple of years ago, virtual production was raw, but now the technology ecosystem has matured, and the market is ready to go to the next stage," said Peter Angell, CEO, GhostFrame. "Using GhostFrame to create multiple, hidden sources in one video feed to an LED volume gives production teams the freedom to operate without restrictions. Our technology will reduce installation and production time and allow for real-time post-production with free positioning and camera movement. Most importantly, GhostFrame enables filmmakers, broadcasters and live event producers to exploit the possibility of having multiple realities on an LED wall at the same time, including green screen, camera tracking patterns and more.”

GhostFrame has already been implemented into virtual production projects, including the Fox NFL Sunday studio where four cameras each view their own different virtual perspectives on the LED wall at the same time.

[Meet the Wireless AV Team from Super Bowl LVII]

“It allows multiple cameras to see their own image on the LED wall," explained Zac Fields, senior vice president of graphic technology and integration at Fox Sports. "GhostFrame is sort of like the secret sauce to making this work in a live broadcast environment.”

GhostFrame’s production toolkit offers a host of opportunities to the broadcasting industry; different audiences are fed the same footage with alternative backgrounds, opening up opportunities to reach a far wider audience demographic without timely post-production work.

TNDV has made its second large capital investment in Sony 4K/HD cameras to support increased demand for Sony-driven 4K workflows. With its recent purchase of 20 Sony HDC-4300L camera systems, TNDV’s Sony camera inventory increases to 28 units.

Four of the newly acquired HDC-4300Ls have been placed on Exclamation, TNDV’s flagship 4K/HD mobile unit, bringing that truck’s camera complement to 12. The other 16 cameras have been split between Collaboration—TNDV’s newest truck, which rolled out on February 22—and Aspiration, another popular mainstay of TNDV’s mobile production fleet.

[Broadcast-Quality Video Gear, Dante Power a Mobile Fleet for Streaming]

“The Sony brand is highly respected for high-end 4K video acquisition, and especially revered for live, large-scale entertainment event productions,” said TNDV president Rob Devlin. “The 4K image quality these cameras capture is impressive, even when displayed on massive LED screens in large arenas. With 12 cameras on Exclamation, we can easily handle large, 12-camera shows, or multi-camera shows that require ample backup cameras.”  

While Exclamation typically focuses on the biggest shows and events, Collaboration and Aspiration can now offer this same Sony 4K image quality on smaller entertainment event shoots. Professional cameras previously housed on those trucks have rippled down to smaller trucks in the fleet, such as Inspiration, as well as custom-configured flypacks. 

[Cloud Power: The Importance of Interoperability, Part 1 | Part 2] 

The Sony HDC-4300L camera system features three 2/3-inch 4K imagers and supports wide color gamut for precise color reproduction when shooting live. It enables 4K capture for multiple 4K and HD outputs and super slow motion, among other capabilities, while integrating seamlessly within Sony 4K live production workflows.

According to Devlin, the new cameras have already been used for live 4K/UHD production of two CMT Television series: CMT Crossroads and CMT Storytellers. “Our goal is to satisfy customer demands for Sony 4K acquisition and workflows, especially for large entertainment shows, while attracting more high-end customers for events of all sizes that prefer Sony cameras for their productions.”

Pepperdine University has upgraded its sports broadcast capabilities. A key component in the streaming of games across all the Waves sports is the Canon  
CR-300 4K outdoor PTZ.

"We brought on Game-On Entertainment, and they do a fantastic job," explained Roger C. Horne, assistant director of athletics for communications at Pepperdine. "We're trying to make this the highest-level broadcast we can, something comparable to what you see on TV, and they help us do that."

[Streaming Services: Houses of Worship and the Online Experience] 

"He asked if that was something we would be interested in and I replied as quickly as I could, 'Absolutely. Yes,'" said Willy Rodriguez, president of Game-On Entertainment.

For Rodriguez, the choice to use Canon PTZ cameras seemed pretty easy. With the CR-300, Pepperdine and Game-On have flexibility in the camera angles they can capture from different vantage points for different sports. Plus, an operator can remotely control the camera. That is not only a major factor in today's hybrid world, but Game-On can get the camera in tricky spots that don't allows allow for a camera operator. 

[Tulane Unifies AV and Broadcast for Sports Production]

From covering impressive ranges of a different types of fields to ease of use, check it out for yourself. You can watch and see exactly how the different sports at Pepperdine are using PTZ cameras for a high-quality streaming experience.  

Red House Streaming, a subsidiary of CP Communications, has officially rolled out its second mobile production vehicle to support the company’s growing schedule of live-streamed productions. The compact unit is equipped with broadcast-quality video gear and a Dante audio infrastructure, providing a professional streaming control room with a hybrid HD-SDI and IP production workflow to support a wide array of events. 

Red House Streaming developed the 16-foot Spark HD to offer an affordable standalone mobile production solution for high school and college sports, corporate events, and concerts and festivals among other live-streamed events of varied budgets. With its onboard SRT encoders and data transmission capabilities, Spark HD can establish a network connection to deliver live streams from locations that lack reliable internet connectivity. 

A 24-input Ross Carbonite production switcher and vMix machines for graphics and replay provides plenty of power as a mobile production trailer. On the audio side, Spark HD has a Yamaha TF-5 audio mixer, and its Dante infrastructure supports 64 channels of bi-directional audio through integration with external Dante subnets. Spark HD also comes complete with an RTS OMS intercom system and supports intercom trunking through RTS RVON and TIFF telephone interfaces.

[Cloud-based Remote Production Optimized—Here's How You Can Do It, Too]

“One of our first projects involving Spark HD was a live boxing event in Florida that involved supporting five transmission formats and required a large cluster of replay devices,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications and Red House Streaming. “Spark HD shined as our transmission trailer and as a B Unit for specific production elements, including graphics. It is a compact unit that packs plenty of punch to supplement our largest REMI productions.

“But Spark HD mainly exists to provide our customers with an affordable solution to professionally produce live-streamed events—a core and continually growing part of the Red House Streaming business."

Heitmann noted that Spark HD has been in demand as an onsite production control room, and in some cases his customers have selected Spark HD over a more traditional flypack unit due its affordability. He points to a recent special event at a Tiger Woods PopStroke location, a Florida-based chain of family-friendly golf and outdoor dining destinations.

“Mike Billingsley, owner of video production Action Television, called us and asked for a vMix flight-pack with some PTZ cameras. We offered Spark HD as an alternative, and that gave him a controlled environment for a turnkey production that included extra cameras, a fiber backbone and even a generator,” he said. “That essentially sparked his production, and he got much more value out of his efforts to produce and deliver a more compelling live production for a very affordable price.”

[Streaming Services: Houses of Worship and the Online Experience] 

Red House Streaming’s ability to meet different client budgets is strengthened by the company’s thoughtful infrastructure. For example, corporate AV events that don’t require replay gear can still leverage the hybrid HD-SDI and IP workflow to produce and record events without the extra bells and whistles required for live sports production. “Spark HD can support everything a traditional broadcast workflow requires at a lower cost,” said Heitmann. “We have a traditional broadcast switcher yet can manage the audio workflow, graphics and more through our Dante network and vMix system, which keeps costs lower for the client. In the end, they still achieve the same high-quality result for live productions.”

Founded in 2019, Singapore-based VStream Media has provided remote live production services since before they became an industry standard in their market. The company offers technical AV planning and workflow design, along with on-site training and systems integration, to ensure live event streams align with each customer’s unique vision. As demand for remote productions increased, VStream Media added the AJA Ki Pro GO multi-channel H.264 recorder to its workflow. The device has enabled its team to achieve redundant, multi-channel recording and simplify its content delivery path. 

VStream Media considers H.264 recording best suited for cloud-based workflows. For most events the company takes on, remote speakers call in via a video conferencing platform using a webcam that has 720 or 1080 resolution. The VStream Media team then sends multiple SDI feeds out to AJA Ki Pro GO for recording to off-the-shelf solid-state-drives (SSD), with another SSD as a backup. This approach ensures redundant, multi-channel recording. Post event, the VStream team can quickly upload the files to the cloud. This gives the client’s editorial team near instant access to the file, so that they can download the footage quickly, regardless of where they are based or if they have a limited internet connection. 

[Cloud Power: The Importance of Interoperability, Part 1 | Part 2]

“Ki Pro GO brings simplicity and flexibility to our workflow," said Adarsh Mohan, VStream Media co-founder and managing director. "When it comes to remote live event production, we need to be sure that all equipment can perform well, and based on our experience, AJA products provide that.”

In addition to Ki Pro GO, VStream Media leverages a host of other equipment, including an internally developed multi-video broadcasting platform, PTZ cameras, and several other AJA solutions. Additional AJA equipment deployed across VStream Media workflows includes: the AJA KONA 4 I/O card with a breakout box and other AJA Desktop I/O Solutions, AJA U-TAP SDI and HDMI USB 3.0 capture devices, and the AJA FiDO-2T-12G two-channel 12G-SDI to single-mode fiber transmitter. “Our experience with AJA gear has been great across the board," Mohan added. "AJA promises a very stable workflow, and you get more than what you pay for.”

Mohan and co-founder Ang Ming Song established VStream Media with a vision to maximize the use of technologies to provide clients forward-thinking processes and solutions. Using PTZ cameras and NDI technology in productions was the primary focus, and they’ve since continued augmenting workflows with new additions. Its internal research and development team works alongside the operations team to explore and push technological possibilities. Once proven in the research lab, they implement these workflows in real-world scenarios to take productions to the next level.

[How NDI 5 Impacts AVoIP Remote Live Production]

This innovation has always allowed VStream Media to stay one step ahead. Because of its continuous passion for innovation, the company was more than prepared for the sudden pivot to virtual events. Adarsh Mohan concluded, “We have clients and AV partners coming in daily to discuss new production ideas, so we have to constantly think on our feet and come up with creative solutions that align with our customers’ visions. AJA products like Ki Pro GO are essential to achieving that; it helps us to create a cleaner, more effective workflow.”

Captain’s Log: Pro AV is powering the final frontier.

Star Trek: Picard, one of the latest in the long line of Star Trek series, follows the return of Jean-Luc Picard and his quests aboard the U.S.S Stargazer starship. In Season 2, Todd A. Marks, systems integrator and computer playback supervisor, used Screen Innovations FlexGlass projection screens, which were vividly on display in Episodes 1 and 10. However, with the success of the results, the technology is more heavily featured in the upcoming Season 3.

A veteran in practical playback, Marks has nearly 30 years and 50 feature films on his resume. That includes Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, giving Marks the space cred to understand the demands of the Star Trek universe. He was brought on for Seasons 2 and 3 of the series, and immediately went to work on changing how the visuals would be produced.

[Projection Screen Installation: What To Know from Industry Experts] 

His company, Images on Screen, provided much of the show’s computer playback and projection mapping systems. “I work closely with our playback graphics design team to help them provide the story-specific software that my playback engineers feed to all the monitors and display devices on set while we are filming the show,” Marks explained.

For the bridge of the U.S.S Stargazer, Marks paired FlexGlass with rear-projection Epson Pro Series projectors and LG OLED displays to bring high resolution and detail to the bleeps, blips, images, lights, and even 3D effects on the crew's consoles.

Initially, the concept was to not have a lot of practical playback. However, once Marks showed how FlexGlass could be used, paired with how much less expensive it was than other solutions like video walls, it continued to grow in use. What initially was going to be monitors for side consoles became an innovative and ground-breaking curved-screen concept, which Marks quickly realized that he could accomplish with FlexGlass.

"Venom is when I first learned about FlexGlass," Marks recalled. "It was an MRI set in a hospital, and it was this big, beautiful, calm image. It wound up as the first shot in the teaser—that's how much they liked it. We ended up doing a proof of concept [for Picard], and they were blown away when we shared the results."

[9 Large-Venue Projectors and Key Features Experts Recommend as Live Events Return] 

Much like the crews of various Star Trek starships, Marks was embarking on a journey that boldly went where no one had gone before. "Having this wide display area, no one else has ever done something with the kind of complex curves on a practical set before," Marks said.

The choice for a curved-screen set piece led to several challenges. Keeping the FlexGlass tightly in place was a priority that was solved by a custom-built mounting design, which took advantage of Screen Innovations’ clips.

Lighting was another challenge. "[FlexGlass] is anti-reflective, but if you have too much light, you'll get a little grey,” Marks explained. "My tech team worked very hard to make sure the color balance between the OLEDs and the laser projectors matched color temperature-wise and black levels. That ensured a better-looking image throughout."

The soundstages weren’t exceptionally wide, presenting another challenge: throw distance: That’s where the Epson rear screen projectors came into play. "I didn't have a tremendous amount of room, so I had to use quiet projectors," Marks explained. "[Epson projectors] were also uniform size to the body. Epson worked very closely with us and supported us with test lenses and test projectors. They were compact, quiet, and worked very well."

[Pro AV 2023: Trends to Watch] 

A large advantage to FlexGlass is its versatility. It’s not thick, so cutting it is relatively easy—and Marks was sure to use every piece available. "It’s a great tool for production because they can be repurposed very quickly and cut to size as needed." Marks was also able to order in excess, since he was experimenting with new curves and layouts, due to the inexpensive price point, which left him scraps to try different shots and innovations.

"This could have been done as visual effects," Marks noted. "But I'm using [FlexGlass] in nontraditional ways in a very inexpensive way. You couldn't do that with a standard rear-projection screen. You couldn't cut it to these sizes or get these vibrant images not affected by the light from the set. It's pretty remarkable stuff. 

"FlexGlass gave us that product that defied what you can normally do on a set."

Live production services provider BlackStar Group has supported some of the biggest names and titles in esports, including Call of Duty League, Overwatch League, Halo, Counter-Strike, Apex Legends, FIFA, and Madden, among others. Constantly evolving and exploring new workflow solutions, the Baltimore-based company produces elevated deliverables by leveraging the optimal tools for each project. AJA BRIDGE LIVE has proven a key fixture in BlackStar’s kit, providing a broadcast-quality, low-latency turnkey system for live streaming as demand for virtual events has exploded. The company’s 17-person team produces up to four competition broadcasts a month, which typically span Thursday through Sunday, and often travels to provide support for off-site events.

“At its core, esports is a community-building vehicle, and game developers partner with creatives and production companies like us to build unique, inclusive experiences,” explained BlackStar Group director of business development Adam Flynn. “Esports did a major pivot to online events during the pandemic. Like many live event production companies, we ended up leaning on encoding a lot more, and it’s been a major part of what we've been doing since, with BRIDGE LIVE an essential tool.”

[Esports: Let’s Get Serious about Playing Soccer with Cars] 

A typical show for the BlackStar team entails connecting with the on-site production crew or OB truck staff. Working with production engineers, the team arranges all final video feeds to be transmitted to its rack, which includes four BRIDGE LIVE units. The transmissions are then separated, monitored, and tested on the BlackStar distribution platform. From there, the team can send low-latency feeds to remote producers, or private, high-quality feeds to nearly any online platform (i.e., Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, etc.), or package them for broadcast on major channels, including ESPN, ABC, and FOX. On occasion, they may also send select clean feeds to international broadcasters. 

BlackStar initially used cloud-based solutions when they began producing remote shows in 2020, before employing in-house encoders for remote encoding. After running into issues, they opted to upgrade to BRIDGE LIVE, which made syncing up remote game casters much easier and reduced latency by three seconds. 

“Delayed commentary takes you out of the experience and no one wants that. The low latency and multi-point sync provided by BRIDGE LIVE are fantastic and its overall reliability is priceless,” said BlackStar Group encoding engineer Pat Marcoux. “The biggest change we’ve seen is the ability to manage multichannel audio, which was previously a major pain point. BRIDGE LIVE eliminates this challenge and has helped us step up our ability to archive the available data. We can send our main broadcast to an ingest server and separate the feeds, such as the main program, clean, casters only, and analysts only. All audio is available to us, and we can ingest it very quickly.”

 [Tech Port Center: Esports Gaming at Its Core] 

Currently, BlackStar has six BRIDGE LIVE devices, with two used in-studio and four in travel racks. The team assembles gear for each show depending on its unique needs, although BRIDGE LIVE remains a constant, with reliability and uptime crucial for esports broadcasts ranging from 8-12 hours.

“I won't send anything out that can’t handle long-term streams, and BRIDGE LIVE beats anything else I've tried,” noted Marcoux. “Because we can use BRIDGE LIVE to send feeds to multiple endpoints, we can send them to our failover distribution platforms and specify which feed it’s going to in terms of the data center it's hitting. We’re proud that we haven't had any stream outages that weren't platform-based in the past year. The BRIDGE LIVE lets us execute a range of pipelines and multiple syncs and go to multiple locations over different ISPs. This flexibility is extraordinary because we can send it to multiple locations without incurring extra overhead.”

[The State of Esports in Higher Education]

With demand for sophisticated esports broadcasts remaining strong, the BlackStar team anticipates further industry maturation, which will, in turn, raise the experience bar. “Along with an increased focus on merch content, we expect to see more organizations request access to clean feeds so they can do community broadcasts and co-streams," Marcoux concluded. "BRIDGE LIVE makes that a lot easier because these esports competitors don't live in the same area. Being able to get them quick low-latency feeds so they can have their own broadcast is going to be huge.”

KMH Integration is helping two landmark New York City theaters expand their audiences in the digital age. The firm has completed upgrades to the AV technology infrastructures at the Pregones Theater and the Apollo Theater, creating new production workflows.

The Brooklyn-based systems integrator is providing AV consulting services, engineering oversight, onsite project management, and technical training. KMH also installed a range of new remote technologies across the multiple facilities operated by each organization, including KMH’s new Marquee Pro content streaming solution.

[Viewpoint: Hidden Safety Concerns Should Be Top Priority for Event Productions]

KMH’s relationships with the two theaters resulted from the Digital Accelerator Program, a new initiative conceived by Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2021. The theater and live event industries were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was developed to support the economic recovery of U.S. and U.K.-based cultural nonprofit and arts organizations, many of which were designated as cultural and historical landmarks. Bloomberg Philanthropies allocated $30 million to restore and preserve these venues, help them invest in tools and training, update their digital technology infrastructures, expand their audiences, and build toward future growth.

A selection process for systems integrators knowledgeable in live production and performing arts spaces led to KMH working with the Apollo and Pregones teams. While each theater had unique goals and levels of production capabilities, both also had similar needs that made an online platform like Marquee Pro an ideal fit.

The system is based on an NDI and Dante-compliant streaming control center using SRT and WebRTC protocols with QoS monitoring. The service also includes a fully customizable, portable studio set designed by KMH partner Creative Dimensions. The pre-fabricated studio wall panels are built for easy assembly and portability, supporting different graphic overlays as backdrops as well as a chromakey greenscreen background.

“We’re helping them do their own internal TV production with an added external digital distribution platform,” said Kevin Henneman, president of KMH Integration. “It’s an easy-to-use, high-quality option for sending video streams between each theater, or for remote productions to complement their in-theater events."

In 2022, KMH began working with the Apollo, an American cultural treasure and a vibrant nonprofit organization that is rooted in the Harlem community, but speaks to and welcomes people from around New York, the nation, and the world. The Apollo currently has three stages: the Historic Theater, Soundstage, and Digital Stage. Opening soon is the Apollo’s Victoria, which will include two new theaters.

The Marquee Pro system is integrating the Historic Theater and Soundstage on the Apollo’s intranet, allowing programming and content to be streamed and shared easily among each area. KMH built a centralized control room, allowing the organization to stream programming directly from each theater to support multiple independent productions or one large Apollo event. Because the audience is an iconic part of the Apollo experience, KMH was consulted regarding camera selection and placement, so broadcasts in both spaces captured an immersive experience of both the stage and audience.

“KMH has been integral to helping the Apollo achieve its goals,” said Kersten Stevens, the Apollo’s director of digital strategy and Bloomberg Digital Arts Accelerator tech fellow. “The greatest benefit of working with KMH has been their ability to focus in on our objectives and deliver a system we could truly trust not only as state-of-the-art, but also as a system that could expand and deliver against our needs as the theater’s stages, technical needs, and streaming opportunities increase.”

The Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Pregones/PRTT) is a multi-generational performing ensemble and multi-discipline arts presenter, which operates bilingual arts facilities in the Bronx and Manhattan. Founded in 1967, it was one of the first bilingual theater companies in the United States. At each of its locations, Pregones/PRTT hosts a range of events, from plays to film festivals to musical acts.

[Renkus-Heinz, Salvation Army Reimagine Hollywood Golden Age Theater]

KMH’s work with the Pregones theaters began with similar goals: connecting multiple venues and reaching larger external audiences using an automated online production workflow. Before this current project started, the PRTT main infrastructure was mostly limited to internal use. With the Marquee Pro solution, as well as new workflow technologies, the Bronx and Manhattan theaters are now able to interoperate with audio, video, and control signals. The system allows for acquisition of a performance, which can then be edited and posted on its social media venue platforms.

“Since we started working with the KMH team, I can’t say enough about them,” said Jorge Merced, associate artistic director, Pregones/PRTT. “They have been thorough in understanding the needs of our project and designing solutions that fit our venues and program goals beautifully. The integration has been seamless and very successful."

[KMH Integration Updates JPMorgan Chase with Cutting-Edge Technologies]

The systems designed for Pregones and Apollo are built with the flexibility of being either a permanently installed or mobile production solution, depending on each theater’s needs. “We are designing and implementing mobile production packs,” Henneman explained. “Instead of anchoring a fixed rack, it's a ‘road case on wheels’ to augment the in-theater performances with outdoor events. We've designed it to operate as a mobile system that uses the internet for delivery and remote connectivity.”

KMH is able to monitor and manage signals from its Brooklyn office to coordinate troubleshooting and provide quality control. “Upgrading the AV technology in venues that are decades-old is challenging enough, but doing it while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of a landmark institution raises the stakes even higher,” said Henneman. “It’s a delicate balance between maintaining their legacy and helping them build toward a digital future.”

To simultaneously ensure professional key lighting while blending seamlessly with the set design, HBO’s Game Theory With Bomani Jones recently utilized Martin VDO Sceptron and MAC Encore Performance lighting fixtures deployed by lighting designer Mike Baldassari.

Produced by HBO, Game Theory with Bomani Jones features the Emmy-winning journalist sharing his satirical takes on the intersection of sports and culture through topical monologues, sketches, and deep dives. Season One of Game Theory With Bomani Jones is available to stream on HBO Max.

To ensure a sleek and fresh lighting design for the new series, television producer Kathy Welsh hired award-winning lighting designer Mike Baldassari, who utilized Martin lighting fixtures such as the VDO Sceptron and MAC Encore Performance for their versatility, reliability, and user-friendliness. MAC Encore Performance fixtures provided all the key light and additional gobo textures, while Sceptron played a key onscreen role in the production.

[JUST RELEASED: SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2022] 

“The scenic designer wanted an industrial warehouse vibe, including columns with fluorescent lights,” said Baldassari. “You can’t just put fluorescent tubes on television—controlling them without flickering is next to impossible. I knew about the Martin Sceptron and thought it would be the perfect fixture for the design, especially with the wide variety of optical accessories available. The Martin VDO Sceptron fixtures with the tube diffuser play the role of fluorescent lights on camera, and the way the fabrication team seamlessly integrated them into the column design, you can’t tell that this is a rental product off the shelf. It also gave me an opportunity to change the colors of the ‘fluorescent’ fixtures to those of the show’s title graphic for the intro sequence, which is a subtle touch that goes a long way to establishing a unique look on camera.”

The VDO Sceptron is a linear outdoor-rated LED video fixture for the rental market which offers a wide variety of looks for lighting and video professionals. The VDO Sceptron is designed for use with the Martin P3 System Controller family for easy configuration, mapping and setup of video content, but it’s also compatible with DMX for strictly lighting setups. This DMX compatibility enabled Baldassari and the production team to utilize the VDO Sceptron as an on-camera design element that worked as part of the lighting design without the complications of setting up a video server system.

[SCN Installation Showcase 2022] 

“I’m doing a lot of comedy specials these days, and I’ve always got my eyes on the lookout for products that I can bring in and use in unique ways on camera,” said Baldassari. “The beauty of the Sceptron is that not only can it be used as a video element, you can also use it as a lighting element. We didn’t have to rent a video server and then integrate them with the lighting system. We just used them like any other DMX fixture. But it’s definitely cool that you can do both with them. The entire Sceptron line offers really nice production design elements that look great on camera and are easy to use on set.”

While the Sceptron fixtures provided by Christie Lites lent the new television show a fresh design on camera, Baldassari also utilized an array of 24 Martin MAC Encore Performance fixtures for key light, as well as gobo textures, specials and backdrops. The MAC Encore Performance fixture offers unparalleled warm tungsten emulation that truly challenges the output quality of a real incandescent light source. The moving head fixture’s versatility also helped Baldassari achieve all the lighting angles required without changing the studio’s lighting rig, despite the fact that Game Theory With Bomani Jones shoots its set 90-degrees off of the normal studio plot.

“We were sharing a studio with three other productions, including Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” said Baldassari. “That was the challenge—the studio wasn’t 100% ours. We had to integrate our lighting design into three other light plots. What really saved us was having all these MAC Encore Performance fixtures there already. That helped us tremendously. I had previously put an entire tour out with Martin Encore Performance fixtures, so I was well aware of their features and smooth field. They’re great lights. In my opinion, it's the first LED fixture on the market that could compete with an arc source. On a tour or in a studio situation like this, they save a ton of money that would normally be spent replacing lamps.”

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Baldassari noted the importance of rental shops like Christie Lites carrying Martin fixtures, pointing out the benefits of being able to audition the effect that different fixtures can have on a television production in the early phases of a pilot season without shelling out the money upfront for an entire rig that may or may not work optimally with the camera setup.     

“It’s a brand new show—you never really know how it’s going to work until you get in there with the set, the cameras and the fixtures together,” said Baldassari, “Having these fixtures on the rental shop shelves is great, because then you can audition ideas without having the producers spend tens of thousands of dollars. I would definitely recommend the VDO Sceptron again if the producers want to buy all of the fixtures instead of renting for Season Two. Martin already won the audition. We’re not going to hunt for something else. Everybody involved loved this product—it’s an extraordinary fixture and it’s the right unit for the job.”

With a record number of bookings from global broadcasters, LiveU is gearing up for its largest deployment of solutions in Qatar to cover the world football tournament. Hundreds of LiveU 5G/4G field units have been booked by global broadcasters for 4K/HD quality live coverage of the tournament. Broadcasters plan to use LiveU's solution for main feeds from the stadiums with the official CRA (Communications Regulatory Authority) tags. LiveU's cloud-based services will also play a key role in the production workflows, notably the use of LiveU Matrix for IP video distribution of live feeds to global takers.

LiveU's crew is on-site to support customers and engage with the technical aspects directly involved in the broadcast of the games, using its innovative technology. LiveU will also be transmitting from the fan zones, enabling creative fan engagement for millions of sports fans all over the world.

[LiveU Revs It Up with In-Car Camera Coverage of Trans Am Series Race]

LiveU's service hub in central Doha will provide round-the-clock support and rental units with unlimited data plans, together with LiveU's local partner, Resolution Hire. With a multinational support team, LiveU will be providing on-site local support in multiple languages and across all competition venues.

"We’ve seen unprecedented demand for our solutions this year, most notably from the football-loving nations of Latin America, as well as from elsewhere around the world," Ronen Artman, vice president marketing, LiveU, said. "Our goal is to give customers peace of mind with the most reliable, highest quality and flexible broadcast solutions so that they can deliver the best viewing experience to their viewers. Our customers will be relying on our solutions for their 24/7 content. With fans eager to see every aspect of the games, LiveU technology will make sure that they enjoy the best viewing experience possible."

Vívaro has 15 clients covering the tournament in Qatar, 50% of which are rights holders from Latin America. Vívaro Video brings together professionals from television and telecommunications with vast experience in services aimed at television broadcasts and signal transport in various countries, achieving global coverage in the delivery of its services and turnkey projects.

[World Tour: LiveU Brings Volleyball World Events to Fans Across the Globe]

“We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of clients and LiveU units planned for Qatar over what we had at the tournament four years ago," Rodrigo Peralta, CEO TVTEL, Vívaro Video, said. "The scale of the event, location, and press/fan restrictions presented some challenges for our production team, but we are confident that the reliability, quality, and support that LiveU provides will help us bring unique coverage of the matches to viewers worldwide.”

Caracol Colombia distributes content for its information, sports, and entertainment platforms, both on TV, radio, and its own digital media. Caracol has a wide range of LiveU units, including the LU800 and LU300, and servers in Colombia and Qatar.

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights]

"We spent three years planning the coverage and LiveU has been part of it from day one," Juan Pablo Marino, head of Caracol TV technical room, Colombia, said. "We’ve deployed a technical team of 60 people in Qatar, including talent and crew; we have 100 people working remotely with them from Colombia—in total more than 200 people will process the live content produced from Qatar. With LiveU, we know that we have a major partner that supports us in everything and gives us the security to undertake challenging projects; we will have broadcasts from eight stadiums and all with LiveU units. Remote production with LU800 and H.265 makes our work easier. We just turn on the LU800 from any stadium and in seconds we have high-quality video in Colombia.”

The 2022 Bridge II Sports’ Valor Games Southeast 3-on-3 wheelchair basketball tournament recently took place and was live streamed thanks to Leading Edge Multimedia and its CEO and founder, David Anderson. Anderson turned to the CV368 Compact Global Shutter Camera with Genlock from Marshall Electronics, to capture the action of the competition.

Anderson first heard of Marshall through an industry colleague. “After speaking with my friend, I emailed Marshall and was really impressed by the quick response I received from Tod Musgrave, director of cameras at Marshall,” said Anderson. “Tod sent a camera for me to test and as soon as I tried it, it knocked my socks off. I knew I needed Marshall in my inventory. Ever since, I have looked to use Marshall products whenever possible and knew my CV368 would be ideal to provide a unique perspective above the backboard for this wheelchair basketball tournament.”

[How Pearl Technology Used Marshall Cameras to Enhance AMT Training Center]

Bridge II Sports creates opportunities for youth, adults, and veterans with physical disabilities to ‘Find the Player Within’ through the power of adapted sports. The non-profit organization believes that sports empower and change lives on and off the court and challenge perceptions of disability in the community. The tournament included veterans and service members with disabilities as well as non-veterans/service members with physical disabilities taking the court in spirited competition and camaraderie.

[SCN Installation Showcase 2022] 

“The team at Bridge II Sports originally contacted me looking for a one camera live stream,” added Anderson. “When I arrived on-site and realized how incredibly important this event was and how amazing all of the people involved were, I knew I needed to pull out all the stops. With only two weeks to prepare, I ended up utilizing four Marshall cameras.”

The CV368 POV camera offers an impressive 1/1.8-inch Global Shutter 3.2MP sensor and 25% larger pixel size, for ultra-fast, low latency capture even in challenging light environments. The CV368’s powerful Global Shutter sensor with Genlock (signal-sync), produces crystal clear images for a variety of applications. The CV368 flexible CS lens mount (lens sold separately) makes this the most capable POV camera in the compact camera lineup.

“The Marshall CV368 really shined because it is so small yet so powerful,” said Anderson. “Due to its size, it was less likely to be impacted by a ball since it was placed over the top of the backboard. I was expecting to use that angle three or four times a game, but I used that shot probably close to 300 times over the course of the tournament. It was my go-to since all the action happens under the net.”

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights] 

Anderson also found the CV368 to excel in other ways. According to Anderson, “Marshall blows the competition away in every aspect, especially challenging light situations. Using Marshall allows me to be very portable due to its small footprint, but also with amazing image quality. Nothing can compete especially for live streaming.”

Bridge II Sports founder and CEO Ashley Thomas was also very appreciative of Anderson and his Marshall cameras. “David (Anderson) stepped up in an incredible way and let us show people wheelchair basketball,” said Thomas. “David’s idea to use the tiny Marshall camera on top of the backboard was a game changer. That little camera allowed our live stream to put viewers in the middle of the action and really engage with the audience. The images were so incredibly vibrant. It was wonderful.”

CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, a systems integration, production, and content digitization specialist, is working with the BFI to conserve significant video collections preserved by the BFI National Archive as well as partner Regional and National film archives across the UK. By demonstrating its full understanding of the requirements and its technical capabilities, CJP Broadcast is now a preferred framework supplier of digitization services to the BFI.

CJP Broadcast already maintains extensive facilities for the digitization of legacy audio and video material, and provides services to a number of organizations. Because of this unrivalled expertise, it was able to understand and comply with the BFI’s requirements.

[NAB: Broadcast Quality for the Next Generation]

“BFI was very specific in its requirements,” explained Chris Phillips, managing director of CJP Broadcast Service Solutions. “They recognized the importance of digitizing legacy tape due to degrading over time and all material had to be treated sensitively throughout the process. They wanted quality control processes implemented prior to and during capture of the original uncompressed material. Further QC checks using a Mediaconch file check app on transcoded files were set up in order to meet BFI specific parameters.

“Working with our regular software collaborators Squared Paper, we were able to demonstrate an automated, one-touch workflow to the BFI requirement,” Phillips continued. “They examined our proof of concept extremely rigorously, and we passed with flying colors.”

[Here's How WSDG Reshaped a 163-year-old Home into an Innovative Broadcast Facility]

CJP Broadcast has now put in place a workstation capable of ingesting four streams simultaneously, under the control of a single operator. The workflow is managed by bespoke software developed using the Busby development kit from Squared Paper.

“The BFI National Archive is one of the largest and most important collections of film and television in the world,” said Fiona Maxwell, head of stakeholder relationships at BFI. “Everyone is aware that video tape, in particular, has a very limited life, so it is vital we move to digitize these assets, to the highest quality, as soon as possible. Working with CJP Broadcast as part of our trusted supplier framework will help us to move forward to achieve this.”

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights]

CJP Broadcast has a well-established service in archive preservation, and the highly automated technologies developed for BFI are available to any organization who has extensive collections of material.

 It was a difficult task to only choose 10 projects; we had several amazing entries this year, including one that was already scheduled for our November issue (looking at you, Solotech) and another (courtesy of KONTEK Systems) that’s already in the works for a later issue. For now, we invite you to review a small sample of some of the best Pro AV installations that were completed in 2022.

Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego State University),San Diego, CA

With social spaces at the forefront of this new venue, AV design firm WJHW called on Clair and EAW to install a wide range of future-proofed products. Opened on Sept. 6, the venue hosts SDSU college football games, high-profile concerts, and the NWSL Wave professional rugby team. In addition to custom colors and weather-rated enclosures, EAW loudspeakers—including the ADAPTive AC6 Column Loudspeaker, MK8196 passive two-way full-range loudspeaker, CIS400 ceiling-mounted, two-way loudspeaker, and MK2366i passive two-way full-range loudspeaker—allowed for mounting locations that integrated best into the stadium’s architecture without sacrificing output levels or coverage.

Orlando International Airport, Orlando, FL

Ford AV was tasked with bringing Pro AV technologies to the new 1.8-million-square-foot Terminal C, part of the airport's massive expansion. Ford AV carried about $13 million in installation contracts using products and solutions from AtlasIED, Extron, Peerless-AV, and NEC. The AV scope of work includes areas such as airside, landside, and the ground transportation facility, installing digital paging using more than 15,000 speakers, which also carries the emergency communication announcements. Other elements of the project include digital signage in more than 500 displays, a Virtual Ramp Control Command Center, weather alert system for lightning, and the Airport Operations Center. The $3 billion-plus construction project wrapped in September 2022.

AEA Investors Boardroom, New York, NY

IVCi’s transformation of the AEA Investors Boardroom is just one of a multiroom series that spans the entirety of the upper-level floor of the building. The entire system easily blends to form a unified system that translates from one room to another. Both adaptable and flexible, users can bring in any technology or conferencing software. The system is designed with innovative technology and flexible conferencing software from companies including Crestron, Biamp, Vaddio, and Samsung. Mics are used to create proper coverage for all seated participants as well as presenters and overflow seating. The camera system creates seamless shots based on the speaker’s location, following the speaker to ensure they remain the focus of the video.

Seacrest Studios, Orlando, FL

JVC Professional Video, working with Broadcasters General Store, delivered live production and streaming video equipment to Seacrest Studios. An initiative led by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, these unique studios are being established at children’s hospitals around the country, providing programming to patients in-studio or watching from their rooms. This fulfills the mission of contributing positively to the healing process of children and families. Patients can host shows, perform, and conduct interviews, as well as bring in live feeds remotely from within the facility using an assortment of JVC cameras like the JVC KY-PZ100U PTZ cameras and GY-HC500 CONNECTED CAM camcorder integrated with the RM-LP100U IP PTZ controller and KM-IP switcher.

Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook, Uncasville, CT

Peerless-AV was tasked with installing an enormous, custom video wall to deliver a more impressive experience for sports bettors at the Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook. Peerless-AV designed and engineered a unique SEAMLESS bespoke mounting system to support the curved video wall. The team carefully arranged Unilumin Uslim dvLED displays to create three individual video walls made up of one main wall and two wings to form a concave appearance. While the size and weight alone were a challenge, the team also pivoted from mounting the enormous video wall to the floor to creating a solution that suspended the 20,000-pound system from the ceiling.

Edwards Lifesciences Auditorium, Irvine, CA

Sound Image delivered a new, innovative presentation venue to Edwards Lifesciences backed by Planar displays. The Edwards Auditorium features a 91.28x17.88-foot Planar TVF Series 1.5 video wall boasting 50,595,840 pixels on a complex ellipsoidal curve mount by Advance Mounting Design. The video wall was designed to optimize the Microsoft Teams experience, seamlessly connecting those in the room with off-site participants. The system features 252 DPA microphones and Crestron/Q-SYS processing, enabling multiwindow, self-configuring auto-tracking. The video system includes nine 4K PTZ cameras from Panasonic and Grass Valley. Video switching is made possible by a Ross Video Ultrix Acuity switcher and a Crestron NVX system. In-room audio is equipped with an L-Acoustics speaker system and Yamaha RIVAGE PM5 mixer.

Genesis House, New York, NY

Tritech Communications helped the automaker create a New York City destination that is part car showroom, part community center/performance space, part Korean cultural center, and part world-class restaurant. The AV project consists of multiple video displays of varying sizes and configurations using CreateLED video tiles, Breakfast Flip-Disc art displays, Renkus-Heinz speakers, and Panasonic cameras. The theater in the lower level of the building has a 280-degree video display that is nearly 40 feet wide. Designed to showcase cars as well as performers, the floor, ceiling, and back wall of the theater are made up of hundreds of video panels bolted together to create surfaces strong enough to hold thousands of pounds—yet bright and bold enough to display delicate images.

Bacardi Headquarters, Hamilton, Bermuda

Vistacom’s mission in this executive boardroom at Bacardi Headquarters was not only to facilitate Microsoft Teams meetings between the Bermuda office and other sites, but also provide a dynamic display for local brand creative collaboration and presentations. Using a Planar TVF1.2 LED video wall provided the greatest overall image brightness, quality, and uniformity, maximizing visual impact for the size of the space. The system is designed to intuitively use and recall various layouts on the LED display for different workflows and collaboration needs. An array of solutions and technology geared toward the hybrid world—including Biamp Parle TCM-X ceiling microphones, Lumens VC-A52S PTZ videoconferencing camera, and the Crestron Flex UC-C160-T videoconferencing kit—were integrated into the system.

Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI

A new audio system installed by Washington Professional Systems (WPS) provides coverage for the bowl seating and concourse areas of the stadium. It uses a series of Fulcrum Acoustic AHS steerable arrays, US221 subwoofers, and AH65 coaxial horn loudspeakers powered by amplifiers from Powersoft and QSC. Signal processing is handled by QSC Q-SYS Core 110f and Core 8 Flex DSPs with touchpanel integration for system control and monitoring. The headend system is connected via a Dante network and allows for interoperability between equipment with near zero latency. Front-of-house mixing is accomplished via a DiGiCo S31 console. WPS replaced the entire audio cabling with a fiber optic cabling infrastructure and installed an ancillary analog audio system, which interfaces with the fire alarm system for egress announcements during emergencies.

MGM Music Hall, Boston, MA

Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) systems engineer, Judy Elliott-Brown, specified a Dante and video-over-IP infrastructure for the 5,000-seat MGM Music Hall, a joint venture of Live Nation and the Fenway Sports Group. While primarily envisioned as a concert venue, the Music Hall systems are flexible, enabling the venue to host events ranging from conventions and banquets to remote Red Sox games. Brown’s original systems integration program from 2019 was significantly expanded to leverage new technology. Changes ranged from switching to NDI cameras for the production video to facilitate usage with an NDI flypack, as well as creating a VPN to feed bar displays. Ballpark RF distribution systems were interfaced via a tuner and encoder. A WyreStorm system was also added for concert video distribution.

Fly, Eagles fly. The NFL's Philadelphia Eagles are using Black Box Emerald SE and PE KVM-over-IP systems across the sports team's facilities and production sites to support game-day production. The Emerald KVM solution gives the team's production staff the ability to work anywhere via an Ethernet connection, accessing both virtual machines and remote desktops without experiencing delays or any degradation of video quality.

[Black Box Partners With Juniper Networks to Move Wi-Fi Beyond NextGen]

"Of the products out there, Emerald checked all the boxes," said David Sullivan, senior broadcast and media engineer, Philadelphia Eagles. "Because it is standards-based networking and it's over a one gig infrastructure, I can take a KVM receiver and go to any port in the building, drop it down, and have full access to all of our production systems. Production folks, graphics designers, and editors have no idea that there's any device between them and the host machine. The video performance is exceptional, especially considering the bandwidth that it averages. And in addition to all of those things, the price is attractive."

Sullivan and the Eagles successfully installed the Black Box Emerald KVM-over-IP system to move toward more flexible signal distribution and extension across multiple sites with full support for virtual machine access, without compromising the performance essential to a seamless user experience. The Eagles so far have established approximately 100 Emerald endpoints, spread across two TV studios and one control room in the team's practice facility at the NovaCare Complex and also at Lincoln Financial Field to accommodate the scoreboard control room and all of the associated devices there.

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights] 

The Emerald KVM network supports every graphics processor for the scoreboard and for the television studios, which feed social media, local television partners, and daily press conferences. The KVM system also supports user desktops—including Sullivan's—across the production team. Staff need only a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and Ethernet connection to log in and get to work. "It's our connection to everything," Sullivan said.

As it turned out, the shift onto the Emerald KVM platform also gave Sullivan and his team much-needed agility as COVID brought about new protocols for distancing and remote work. As long as there is an Ethernet connection, Sullivan can put a producer or engineer anywhere. Taking advantage of the Emerald network's resilience over WANs, Sullivan sometimes brings an Emerald receiver on the road with him so that he can dial back into any of the team's production servers while he's at an away game.

Every so often a project comes along that not only allows a company to technically innovate and push boundaries but also work with a highly respected educational institution in one’s own backyard. The project, for the University of Connecticut’s (UConn) Athletic District, was honored by the Associated General Contractors of CT (AGC) 2022 Build Connecticut award for the large new construction category.  

Connecticut-based Metinteractive, which provides strategic solutions for architecture, communication, and technology, furnished AV and broadcast integration to UConn Athletic District Development (ADD). The ADD program solved the challenge of improving the outdoor sports venues while consolidating efforts onto a single campus high above Gampel Pavilion at UConn’s Storrs Campus in Mansfield.

“Metinteractive is committed to supporting our home teams,” said Jeff Mele, Metinteractive’s CEO. “Over the years my father and other family members have been big UConn fans so, for me, that very personal legacy made me want more than ever to deliver the best product we possibly could for ADD at UConn. We have a history of working successfully with the university, including on the award-winning Student Recreation Center. It makes us feel good to support UConn over and above our obligations.”

The project also dovetailed nicely with Metinteractive’s expertise in sports nationwide, he points out. “Metinteractive has a significant foothold in the college sports market across the country as well as with Major League stadiums and minor league arenas and stadiums. Thanks to our work with leading teams, particularly MLB scoring and stats, we can produce a workflow for these projects that most integrators are not be able to achieve.”

Under the partnership of contractors Daniel O’Connell’s Sons and McPhee Electric, UConn’s ADD improvements replaced outdated facilities with new stadiums for men and women’s Division I soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball plus track and field. A new Performance Center, contiguous to the soccer stadium, was also added with a state-of-the-art broadcast control room, locker rooms, offices, training space, strength and conditioning equipment, conference rooms and support space.

The Broadcast Control Room

“Our challenges for this project were twofold: improving the in-venue fan experience and adding a broadcast control room for linear TV and streaming,” noted David Kaplan, assistant athletic director of Video & Production Services at UConn. “Metinteractive brought to the job experience and expertise in building out production rooms and venues and demonstrated a willingness to work with us across our specific needs.”

The Performance Center’s broadcast control room is believed to be unique in college athletics allowing UConn to simultaneously produce multiple shows. “Everything we talked about from design to inception came to fruition in the broadcast control room,” said Kaplan. “It works flawlessly.”

“Creating a user-friendly environment for a control room that technically complex was a challenge,” Mele said. “Workflow is rarely translated through construction documents and drawings; in fact, it’s often overlooked in putting projects together. But David understands how to build a quality experience and was instrumental in how we developed the workflow for this project; we pushed to make the changes necessary to satisfy the control room’s workflow needs.” The project’s AV consultant Jaffe Holden Acoustics, worked very closely with the integration team to marry the workflow needs of the owner into the project.

Enhancing the Fan Experience

Metinteractive’s project manager Kyle Passaro explained, “all the outdoor sports venues’ AV signals—the cameras, the live sound components in the stadia—and communications now connect via fiber to the control room where two events can be broadcast simultaneously. ESPN can pull in and use the control room for tournaments while local TV takes advantage of its capabilities and UConn streams events.”

The broadcast control room’s extraordinary capabilities even exceed expectations. UConn “actually produced two in-stadium events and two streams out of the control room at one time,” Kaplan added.

Even more expansive service will be available when field hockey, basketball from the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, and ice hockey from a new arena tie into the broadcast control room extending coverage to those sports.

Metinteractive also filled AV needs throughout the 54,000-square-foot Performance Center, including video monitors and playback systems—with outdoor-rated TVs in the hydrotherapy room—and ceiling- and wall-mounted audio speakers for each room.

In the baseball and softball fields Metinteractive installed batter analysis systems in which multiple software-enabled cameras, mounted in specific locations, analyze the swings of players coming up to bat.

The new stadia feature custom-mounted EAW outdoor speaker systems for what Kaplan called “spectacular sound.” Most of the speakers are positioned on poles with some on the exterior of the Performance Center, which is contiguous to the soccer pitch.

In addition, “thanks to our work with Major League Baseball we were able to offer the venues a level of graphics automation, for scoring and stats, typically found only in Major League stadia,” Mele said.

Metinteractive also developed a custom camera trolley system for the stadia to enable broadcasters to capture dynamic camera shots that could not otherwise be achieved due to the physical constraints of space, windows, and walls.

Continuing the Mission

Although the first phase of the UConn project has been completed, more remains to be done. “We’re very excited about working with Metinteractive on our new hockey arena due to open later this year,” noted Kaplan. “Metinteractive will handle all its camera and audio needs and tie the facility into the broadcast control room.

“The Metinteractive team has shown a real affinity for UConn,” he added. “I can’t speak highly enough about the work they’ve done for us.”

Greg Downing served as Metinteractive’s engineer on the project and Jesse LaBranche was the lead technician.

Tracking the migratory path of the Osprey over a 10,000-kilometer expedition is no easy task. However, live video solutions from LiveU are helping to make it a reality.

Flight of the Osprey: The Conservation Without Borders Project

The approximately three-month, overland journey, which recently started in Findhorn, Scotland, and will finish at the end of November in Ghana, is following the migratory path of the Osprey, accompanying the birds on their 2022 autumn migration across Europe and Africa. This nine-person expedition, using specially equipped Land Rovers, will gather vital data on the threats faced by this iconic bird of prey and other migratory species.

[LiveU Moves to the Cloud with Solutions for Live Productions]

As Conservation Without Borders said, this is a “journey across rising seas and vast deserts, diving into the hidden world underwater and battling frequent storms, the team will show in a dramatic and tangible way, the catastrophic effects of a changing climate and other human impacts on our wildlife, their habitats and people that live along the flyway.”

"We looked at the Osprey and there were several aspects that attracted us to following these birds, central to this being they are so recognizable and identifiable," explained Sacha Dench, ambassador, UN’s Convention on Migratory Species and founder of Conservation Without Borders. "We like the fact that it has come back to living in places from where it was previously pushed out. This shows what we are capable of if we put our minds to it.”

LiveU Helps Tell the Story

LiveU is supplying its live video solutions, as well as training for the media team, to support the project, helping communicate the overall messages as well as interviews and updates along the way via a variety of national, local and social media. LiveU has supplied a field unit and a cloud server so they can create live content as well as using the technology to easily create and distribute content packages that can be downloaded. This server can also be associated with broadcast partners to provide live contribution feeds. A range of international roaming SIMs has been supplied as well.

“It’s very clear the perilous place the world finds itself when it comes to the environment," said Malcolm Harland, UK country manager, LiveU. "It’s a global issue of overriding importance and continuing to raise awareness, using relatable stories, is essential. We are very happy to support this expedition and the storytelling aspect, helping to bring these messages to people as far and wide as possible. We wish all involved the best of luck."

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights] 

However, as Dench added, it also illustrates there’s still a huge amount to do as 70% of young Ospreys don’t return from migration. Importantly, the Osprey is top of the food chain and relies on a variety of habitats, including forests, freshwater and saltwater and is a good indicator of the health of those environments.

“The idea is that we are using the Osprey as an umbrella species to show the effects of climate change," Dench added. "We will be talking to people along the route, highlighting humans’ impact on the environment, the wetlands on the route being a prime example, conducting a lot of interviews as well as talking to a lot of media outlets, be they local, national and international. We will also be creating lots of video content for our platforms and our partners’ platforms. We want people to feel as if they are with us on the expedition as we make progress; we want to create visual stories that agencies like the UN can use to continue to attract the vital attention that we need on these issues.”

Event Stream Team has built a new set of services with a live streaming kit featuring a Blackmagic Design workflow. The live streaming company, which has more than 120 active clients, recently incorporated a number of new Blackmagic Design products to better adapt to its diverse clients’ needs.

Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, Event Stream Team is a family business run by Jimmy Reid, who also serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer. With clients ranging from nonprofits and museums to government and state agencies, Event Stream Team has quickly become one of the go-to production companies on the East Coast, and its flexible kit allows the company to deliver on a wide range of needs for a variety of customers.

[Blackmagic Design Launches New ATEM Constellation HD Switchers]

At the heart of Event Stream Team’s production kit is the ATEM 2 M/E Constellation HD live production switcher. “We needed an SDI based switcher that could do some heavy lifting, and its twenty inputs, as well as the built in Fairlight audio mixer, have changed our entire production,” said Reid. “The dynamics and EQ in the Fairlight audio mixer are essential as we use them in every gig to ensure the audio is smooth and consistent between the HyperDeck recorder/player units and the audio mixers from our wireless mics. Also, before, we had to bring a full-size mixer with us for audio. Now, we can just use our ATEM 2 M/E Constellation HD and know that our audio will be top notch.”

Event Stream Team recently used the ATEM 2 M/E Constellation HD for a four-hour live-streamed court hearing in Baltimore County, along with two Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pros complete with Blackmagic Zoom Demands and Blackmagic Focus Demands, and three ATEM Studio Converters. Reid’s setup needed to be whisper quiet given the courtroom setting, while delivering crisp, clean audio and video.

“Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pros, when paired with the ATEM Studio Converters, are just incredible, especially when it comes to simplifying my workflow and cable management. The camera’s dual native ISO makes the image quality look awesome regardless of the event, whether I’m in a brightly lit courtroom or a dimly lit venue,” added Reid. “The Zoom and Focus Demands are a must have accessory for the cameras as well. The ability to dial in and focus from the tripod handles is a game changer. My hands never have to leave the handles.”

[Viewpoint: The Future is Repeatable, Dependable AV] 

Event Stream Team also relied on Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pros to capture the historic unveiling of William Arthur Smith’s painting “Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker Surveying the Boundaries of Washington, DC,” which was preserved and displayed by the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, MD. Reid focused one Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro on the artwork, while the second camera was situated by the ASL interpreter during the live stream.

For smaller gigs or live streams where there is limited space, Reid created a portable production kit equipped with an ATEM Mini Pro ISO, a HyperDeck Shuttle HD and a HyperDeck Studio Mini for live graphics. In addition, Even Stream Team utilizes a HyperDeck Studio HD Plus for video playback and four HyperDeck Studio 4K Pros for backup recordings. Reid also recently made the switch to DaVinci Resolve Studio 18 editing, grading, visual effect (VFX) and audio post-production software. “Editing takes up a lot of my time, so I’m really looking forward to outsourcing that with Blackmagic Cloud,” he said.

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights] 

“Blackmagic Design has given us the confidence and the gear to come onto any site and know that we’ll deliver top quality,” concluded Reid. “In doing so, we’ve been able to create a reputation for ourselves as the go to team for live streams.”

TVU Networks, the market and technology leader in cloud and IP-based live video solutions, helped the Confederation of independent Football Associations (CONIFA), representing more than seven billion people in eighty regions around the world, achieve a seemingly impossible goal. In late June, CONIFA successfully produced and broadcast a professional football tournament from the remote Chilean city of Linares, with practically no equipment, minimal personnel and at a low cost. Even more challenging, due to last minute problems with the conventional transmission system, they had just few days to plan and carry out production of this high-profile event. The solution CONIFA employed to achieve their goal in record time was a mix of TVU Networks cloud-based solutions that enable a new way of producing sporting events with smart phones.

“We’re proud that the TVU ecosystem met CONIFA’s formidable challenge, delivering the high quality of a traditional broadcast, with reliability, stability, and worry-free operation even in an extremely demanding environment," said Rafael Castillo, TVU Networks general manager/vice-president, EMEA and Latin America. "With our modular, building block approach with easy-to-deploy infrastructure-free solutions, limited resources and remote locations no longer limit what you can achieve.”

[Syracuse Orange to Deploy Cloud-Based Instant Replay System for Fall Season]

CONIFA’s hardware on-site in Chile consisted only of three smart phones and two tablets connected to the available 4G network with SIM cards, plus microphones, tripods, and stabilizers for field shots. A TVU PowerPac ultra-portable lithium-ion battery pack kept the phones and tablets charged. TVU cloud-based solutions—TVU Producer multi-camera live production platform; TVU Partyline cloud collaboration solution; TVU Remote Commentator cloud-based commentary platform; and the TVU Anywhere mobile, live streaming app—did the rest of the work to create a reliable and affordable workflow with just a few technicians on-site.

For the Copa América event, the video captured with smart phones and tablets in Chile was sent directly to TVU Producer via the cloud, where two TVU Networks’ solutions architects in Mexico managed the video, graphics, and audio production. TVU Remote Commentator, also managed from Mexico, enabled TVU staff to insert stories and comments from guests around the world in the transmission, keeping all elements perfectly in sync. Via TVU Partyline, crew members in both locations collaborated in real-time during the production. Finally, TVU Anywhere live-streamed the broadcast on CONIFA TV, other content distribution networks, and social media platforms.

[Big-League AV Comes to Single-A for Gameday at Chukchansi Park] 

“With the TVU ecosystem, four or five people in different countries participating in production and transmission, a few pieces of basic equipment, and a couple of smart phones, we were able to stream live to the whole world from one small city in southern Chile,” said Diego Bartolotta, president of CONIFA Americas. “Before the Copa América, I was a bit incredulous that we could achieve the quality broadcast of a professional football game with only interconnected phones. But TVU has totally changed my perspective. First-class quality broadcasting in this fashion can give us the widest possible reach and will be very important for the future of CONIFA’s games and tournaments throughout Latin America and around the world.”