The distinction between broadcast and professional AV is blurring as the two worlds converge and overlap, creating a new era in content creation that benefits both markets.

Historically, broadcast-quality production required dedicated studios, specialized engineering teams, SDI-based infrastructure, and significant capital investment. Today, many of those barriers are coming down. But the end goal remains the same—to produce high-quality content that looks good, helps deliver important messages, and fosters engagement while being cost-effective and easy to use.

Corporate and education customers are increasingly expected to create, deliver, and distribute high-quality video content at speed, whether for executive communications, training, education, live productions, hybrid events, product launches, or customer and student engagement. As a result, these end users are turning to technologies that combine the reliability and image quality of broadcast with the flexibility and accessibility of AV. This creates new markets, customers, and opportunities for those in both broadcast and Pro AV.

Interest is growing in solutions including budget-friendly studio cameras with expandable future pathways and PTZ options that incorporate the cinematic look, zoom, and AI-based technologies.

The Drivers

Several trends are accelerating this convergence. AV-over-IP is moving video and audio transmission away from dedicated media and cabling toward standard IT networks. This gives organizations more flexible production environments and broader ways to deliver content across rooms, campuses, and remote locations.

At the same time, remote and cloud-based production tools are reducing the need for physical control rooms, fixed studios, and specialized editing suites. Teams can now switch, manage, and edit content from virtually anywhere, lowering both operational complexity and cost.

[Sony Electronics to Launch Two Compact, Lightweight 4K PTZ Cameras at InfoComm 26]

AI-powered capabilities are also playing a critical role. Intelligent features such as AI auto framing, tracking, and enhanced autofocus, seen in Sony’s latest PTZ cameras, are helping non-technical or less-experienced users produce more professional results with less manual input. These capabilities are especially important in corporate, education, and faith environments, where internal teams or volunteers may not have traditional broadcast expertise but still need to deliver polished, consistent content using intuitive technologies.

Video Becomes Central

This evolution is visible in the growing use of PTZ cameras across auditoriums, mixed-use spaces, lecture halls, studios, and meeting environments. Equipment is becoming smarter, easier to deploy, and better suited to multipurpose use cases. Instead of building production around highly specialized facilities, organizations can create scalable video ecosystems that support everything from simple internal messaging to sophisticated live productions.

As video becomes central to how organizations communicate, thought leadership, internal messaging, and education are becoming more dependent on production capabilities. Using the latest technologies, end users can now create high-quality content quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively with fewer barriers and resources, making them better positioned to inform, influence, and engage their audiences now and into the future.

Sponsored Content

Samuel Recine, vice president of global strategic partnerships at Matrox Video, sits down with Cindy Davis, brand and content director of AV Technology, to discuss the paradigm shift in live production applications.

What used to be a broadcast-only discussion, live production is now being incorporated into collaboration and streaming town halls within enterprises, live streaming and lecture capture in higher education, and more.

Recine discusses the trends that have led to a blurring of the line between broadcast and applications, such as enterprise, higher education, and government creating higher-grade productions because of the different ways in which they can be assembled, and the cost has decreased.

"We're seeing that people have been mixing and matching a lot of AV and IT tools," Recine said. In the past, broadcasters or live event producers used specialized equipment. "But the cost of that equipment has come down, and the ability to do a lot of things in PC-based software has proliferated," he added. "The result has been that a lot of medium- and large-sized organizations, schools, government, etc., have been upping the sophistication of their productions for their own internal events, for their customer training, for their education, for their partner communications, et cetera."

In this interview, Recine also explains the role of IPMX, the AV-over-IP open standard for the pro AV market, in the conversion of AV and IT. He further explains why Matrox Video depends on standards for its products to be useful in ecosystems of related products. "It's a lot easier to get things to work in an integrated system when people are following similar rules and similar implementations of technology," he said.

Check out the full video interview to learn more about how live production has made its way into applications for corporate enterprise, higher education, government, and more. 

About Matrox Video: Matrox Video is a global leader in video technology. Featuring a complete portfolio of best-in-class hardware, software, APIs, and SDKs, Matrox Video enables OEMs, system integrators, value-added channel partners, and end users to push the boundaries of video innovation. Serving the AV/IT, broadcast, and emerging markets for over 45 years, Matrox Video is synonymous with quality, performance, interoperability, and support. Matrox Video’s legal entity is Matrox Graphics Inc., part of the Matrox Group.

REGISTER NOW to join this engaging discussion on the new applications and tools used for creating a High-Quality Live Production. 

Wednesday, April 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET

From virtual production studios for classrooms and training rooms to broadcasting town halls, to corporate and sporting events, high-quality productions have become a necessity. This panel discusses products, solutions, and best practices for ensuring broadcast-quality streaming and recording. 

>>  When and where broadcast quality is worth the investment

>>  Live video production tools and workflows

>>  Applications for virtual studio LED walls you hadn't considered

>>  The real cost of not creating a high-quality event

REGISTER NOW and join the discussion with:

Special Guest Panelist: Joe Way, Director, Learning Environments Information Technology Services at the University of Southern California

Aaron Kipfer, Chief Technology Officer Neoti

Nic Milani, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at Epiphan Video

Matt Morgan, Business Development Manager, Corporate Solutions at Ross Video

Webster Moyle, Key Account Manager at Absen

Cindy Davis (Moderator), Brand and Content Director of AV Technology

REGISTER NOW

The turn of the new year brings ISE into focus and the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) is ready to bring the latest round of developments, demonstrations, and IPMX-ready products to attendees. ISE is the most international pro AV show, which was a big part of why we picked ISE to launch IPMX in 2020. Not only is IPMX a truly open standard, but its development is a truly international effort drawing engineering and marketing talent from more than a dozen countries.

Swing By the AIMS Stand

This year at ISE, there are many reasons you’ll want to swing by the AIMS stand (5J550), starting with the many demonstrations planned throughout the show floor. To start, the AMD-Xilinx booth (5D300) will include a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration that includes an IPMX dvLED wall tile. Macnica (5E670) will be showing 1, 10, and 100 GbE ST 2110 and IPMX components and software in a live demonstration while Matrox (5C500) will be featuring their IPMX-Ready senders and receivers that work with HDMI and HDBaseT. In fact, the HDBaseT Alliance (2M650) will show seamless integration between HDBaseT and IPMX using the same control software, highlighting the power of blending protocols and transport into a single system.

[The AV Network ISE 2023 News Hub] 

At the AIMS booth, home of IPMX, we will be showing off the latest advancements in the standard, including the premier of interoperable HDCP between IPMX HDMI, and HDBaseT devices, along with demonstrations of synchronization, subframe, latency software implementations, and the NMOS control protocol. All the above is on top of even more demonstrations and activities that we’ll have to save for the show.

We are also making sure that we have plenty of technical experts on hand to share their knowledge and insights with anyone interested in the details and direction of IPMX. In many cases, these are the same people who are working on the standard, so you’ll never have a better chance to have your questions answered! 

That’s why we’re confident that no trip to ISE would be complete without a visit to AIMS and we cannot wait to see you there!

RELATED:

IPMX's Soft Spot 

IPMX: Media Experience Nirvana? 

IPMX: The Next Great AV Standard?

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.”

In the live video production industry, I think it's safe to say, although I have not researched it thoroughly, that the two fastest growing live video production switching products are Open Broadcaster Software (OBS Studio) and VMix. These two products share two interesting characteristics:

1: Neither came from the live production or broadcast industry.

2: Both are software products.

The idea that “software is eating the world,” as Marc Andreessen has written, has become the generally accepted conventional wisdom, and yet, as is often the case with disruptive events, the incumbent solutions providers are not the primary source of change.

In the broader professional audiovisual world, we can see this play out amongst the proprietary AV-over-IP solution options, with the notable exception of NDI. Each one of the AV-over-IP solutions that were primarily designed for perfect desktop and KVM performance (SDVoE, Dante AV, ASPEED) are, at bottom, hardware solutions.

For the SMPTE ST 2110 open standard, it's a bit murkier. There are software-based SMPTE ST 2110 solutions, but handling uncompressed video over an IP network is processor-intensive work. SmartNICs and hardware accelerators are often used to lessen the impact on CPU and GPU usage. Compressed flows are much easier to work with and SMPTE ST 2110-22, along with the lightweight and visually lossless JPEG-XS, make these streams much easier to handle for broadcast production software. That said, not everyone has a grandmaster PTP clock lying around or IT engineers who know how to design and scale PTP on a real-world network. The bottom line is that while multiple successful software implementations of SMPTE ST 2110 exist, for laypeople, technicians, and other mere mortals, a more accessible solution would be welcome.

Defining the Requirements for IPMX

When the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) set out to define the requirements for IPMX, deference to software implementations and everyday IT environments was established as a core principle. We understood the lesson that NDI has demonstrated so well: AV professionals want an accessible transport technology for use in systems made up of a mix of hardware and software. That said, there are many times they need to turn the dial on quality, latency, and/or reliability to 11, just as they can with SMPTE  ST 2110. There are a few important ways that IPMX enables this balancing act.

First, IPMX requires that the base codec be lightweight for software, GPU, and ASIC/SoC implementations. There are only a handful of codecs in this category, and even fewer with the efficiency of JPEG-XS, which is currently the leading candidate codec for IPMX. JPEG-XS has already proved itself in broadcast, and the latest advancements in the codec include support for P-frames, which is information from Previous frames used to increase quality while maintaining subframe latency. This is critical for IPMX, where the extra efficiency bump is required to achieve visually lossless 4K60 4:4:4 desktop video on a 1GbE connection.

Another way that IPMX supports software is through its use of PTP. In IPMX, PTP is optional. Each source can use its own media clock, while the receiver is given a constant stream of timing information (through RTCP Sender Reports) so that it can quickly recover timing. For software implementations and applications that do not require subframe latency, this is often ideal as memory for buffering is abundant, but CPU/GPU cycles are rather reserved for other tasks and low-power operation. When PTP is present, IPMX makes it simpler to handle by backing off the default frequency of PTP delay request packets from eight times per second in SMPTE ST 2110 to once every four seconds in IPMX.

      Read the first two articles in this series on IPMX
      IPMX's Strength is its Interoperability
      IPMX: Media Experience Nirvana?

As a final example of how IPMX supports software implementations, let's consider the Virtual Receiver Buffer, or VRX Buffer. In SMPTE ST 2110, the VRX Buffer model is used as a mechanism for reasoning about the receiver's buffer, and therefore the required behavior and transmission pattern of the sending device. Since the goal is to reduce latency, you'd ideally want to start displaying video as soon as you received the first packet. Given the jittery nature of IP networks, that is impossible, and so the VRX Buffer represents a "leaky bucket," where packets come in the top and leak out at a constant rate from the bottom, starting at a very short time after the first packet is received. The VRX buffer model describes the size of the buffer and when it will start draining.

The trouble is, software implementations can introduce their own jitter, overwhelming or starving some SMPTE ST 2110 receivers, causing a loss of video or degraded quality for the user. While an IPMX receiver may support SMPTE ST 2110’s VRX Buffer model as described by the standard, a new default profile is defined to help overcome this situation. In short, IPMX source devices can depend on the fact that the receiver will not start draining its “leaky bucket” until it is half full, significantly reducing the burden on software-implemented senders and receivers.

By carefully defining limitations such as a default codec, PTP profile, and settings for a receiver’s buffer, we’ve made IPMX software-friendly by default. Because it’s all based on SMPTE ST 2110, it’s simple to interoperate with broadcast systems, or make devices that can seamlessly operate in both worlds. In the end, this gets us to a world where video is just video and we pick the devices that suit our needs best, no matter what they’re made of.

University of Southern California's Joe Way shares his approach to pop-up studios and live production. 

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From pop-up studio classrooms and training rooms, to broadcasting town halls, to corporate and sporting events, high-quality productions have become a necessity. This panel discusses products, solutions and best practices for ensuring quality recording and streaming – whether you are working with a production company or producing the event in house. Portable video walls and projection mapping create engaging and memorable indoor and outdoor experiences.

+ Video cameras, PTZs, microphones and headsets

+ All-in-one video production

+ IP workflows and streaming services

+ Cellular bonding

+ Pop-up production studios – audio, video, lighting, and connectivity

+ Projectors and portable video walls to engage audiences

Panelists:

Daniel Pisarski, Vice President of Engineering at LiveU

Paul Richards, Director of Marketing at PTZOptics & HuddleCamHD

Tobi Tungl, Vice President of Sales, North America at Epiphan Video

Joe Way, Ph.D., CTS, Director, Learning Environments Information Technology Services University of Southern California

Moderator: Cindy Davis, Brand and Content Director of AV Technology

REGISTER NOW!

The entertainment professionals at Digital Cinema Collective say they create exceptional productions with a smile. Those smiles have broadened since adding SilverBack-V fiber camera adapters from MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Solutions to its live production model.

The creative professionals responsible for diverse productions such as the Democratic National Convention Digital Production and ABC holiday specials have utilized several MultiDyne SilverBack models, and simplified how they bring digital cinema cameras into broadcast TV productions.

“We specialize in multi-camera TV shows that capture a cinematic feel,” said Aaron Cooke, CEO, Digital Cinema Collective (DCC). “That means using digital cinema cameras from Sony, ARRI, Panasonic and others with a variety of cinema lensing to enhance any broadcast production with a film aesthetic. The SilverBack systems help us incorporate these cameras into the broadcast workflow, which has not historically been easy to accomplish.”

The SilverBack-V and SilverBack-4K5 both convert digital cinema cameras into SMPTE studio cameras for live multi-camera productions. Adaptable to any digital cinema or broadcast camera, both systems multiplex video, audio and data signals for multi-camera 4K/UHD productions onto a single tactical or SMPTE hybrid fiber cable—with robust connectivity and remote powering.

[ MultiDyne Expands SilverBack Fiber Camera Adapter Series ]

James Coker, Technical Engineer, who has used the SilverBack-4K5 on many large multi-camera shows including the widely seen live broadcast of last year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, said: “We have pushed the envelope with the 4K5 in 110-degree heat, and they held up incredibly well in extreme heat and direct sunlight. It’s amazing to think that with all the added processing power of the SilverBack-V, they somehow stay even cooler in the outdoor heat.”

Up and Running in Less Than Half the Time

Beyond being camera-agnostic, Coker points to two SilverBack benefits as particularly helpful: quick-set up, and network connectivity. “We do live-to-air and live-to-tape events, which have different yet challenging timeline demands,” he said. “I can now get a 10-camera production up and running in four-to-six hours, compared to what used to take up to two days. The SilverBack-V has a more direct mounting interface that makes camera adaption even faster. From there it’s just pulling all the feeds from the I/O of the cameras, including SDI 12G, 6G, and 3G signals, as well as sync, timecode, power, audio, intercom and other important elements for the editors.”

Coker adds that MultiDyne’s 12G throughput and fiber-optic connectivity make it easy to manage cameras across multiple locations for live productions. He points to a recent large corporate event from a global provider of Internet-related services and products as an example of how MultiDyne makes complex shoots efficient. 

“We had 12 cameras for the main show and six remote cameras in other states, and we used the SilverBack to send everything over fiber and into the cloud for a three-hour event,” he said. “This is a show that has been done for 10 years and was enormously complex. Now we can provide everything back to the truck over the network with livegrade instead of RCPs. We brought the cinema world to multi-camera along with all the power to do everything with live control.”

Jesse Foster, Director of Product Development and Western Region Sales, confirms that MultiDyne evolved the SilverBack series specifically to support the advanced broadcast cinematic production requirements of 4K resolution, HDR and Wide Color Gamut, as well as 24fps support for film-like motion blur as well as high frame-rate acquisition for slow motion. “We are providing our customers with quick-set up, camera adaptability and flexible networking in ways that help them easily achieve their storytelling goals with greater cinematic emotion.” 

Cooke confirms that both SilverBack models will play significant roles in future live and recorded productions. He noted that the SilverBack-V was used for several holiday specials that aired over the 2021 holiday season and would be used for this year’s Super Bowl Halftime show. 

“These systems have completely changed the look and feel of these shows, and elevated the overall production quality for our clients,” said Cooke. “This has been a gamechanger for our high-end clients that are seeing something very different than what they were previously used to and commenting that they never thought they could achieve this level of quality.”

FOR-A Corporation of America is introducing a suite of new products ideal for deploying 12G-SDI 4K live production, including its HVS-1200 video switcher, MFR-1000 routing switcher, and the FA-9600 multi-purpose signal processor which provides optimal color correction on large displays. 

Large-screen projectors and videowalls for live events not only demand the quality, flexibility, and speed of 12G-SDI 4K transmission, but also benefit greatly from a solution that’s lighter to transport and easier to set up. FOR-A’s 12G single-cable solutions were designed with live events in mind and have proven to be star performers. FOR-A’s live event package is being selected by a growing number of live event production companies, mobile truck providers, houses of worship and in-house corporate video departments.

Music Matters Productions, an Atlanta-based live event producer of concerts and corporate events, recently started using a 12G-SDI 4K workflow anchored by the complete FOR-A package: an HVS-1200 video switcher, MFR-1000 routing switcher and FA-9600 multi-purpose signal processors. Ken Sorrell, national account manager for Music Matters, said the color correction capability on the FOR-A signal processors, FA-9600 makes it easy for engineers to “paint” outputs so LED walls and projection displays look uniform when positioned close together, especially because of having “knobs” give artist more intuitive touch and feel of precise and detailed color correction.

Lyon Video, a Columbus, Ohio video broadcasting and mobile production company, recently purchased 42 FA-9600 signal processors and the high dynamic range (HDR) software option. While the units will first be used for live broadcasts of NCAA college football games, the long-term plan is to incorporate them into a variety of other live productions as well. Chad Snyder, president of Lyon Video, said, “Having these signal processors as part of our equipment package allows us to include the extra visual elements that viewers are accustomed to seeing, which gives our productions a consistent feel at the network level.”

The FOR-A HVS-1200 video switcher offers 12G-SDI compatibility with 10 inputs and 10 outputs, as well as mixed inputs of single-cable 12G-SDI and quad-link 3G-SDI. It supports one M/E switching and one-color corrector in 4K UHD mode, while its FLEXaKEY keyer is designed for flexible reassignment. With all this capability in an exceedingly compact 3U form factor, it’s the ideal choice for mobile production or live events.

The MFR-1000 routing switcher accomplishes 4K and 8K routing with 12G-SDI compatibility and 4K-UHD conversion across all inputs and outputs. It automatically determines the type of I/O signal format, and AVDL functionality can be added to eight outputs, enabling smooth changeover with a clean output.

The FA-9600 multi-purpose signal processor is much more than a basic frame synchronizer, offering four synchronization modes, flexible timecode management, high-quality conversion, and versatile video and audio I/O. Its powerful color processing is perfect for videowall color management, with support for HDR and wide color gamut. And its broadcast-style operation, with everything included on the front panel for input source monitoring, means no PC is required. It’s an ideal standalone solution for live events and production.

Church on the Rock in St. Peters, MO, considers its online community a distinct campus, with distinct needs that go beyond the church’s physical space. With its emphasis on high-quality streamed services, the church places a high priority on having the right digital tools. The team there chose the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer to mix and stream the church’s services

Mixer, producer, and audio consultant Yamil Martinez consulted Church on the Rock on this project. His recommendation to adopt the eMotion LV1 was based on the LV1’s ability to deliver precision sound for live events and streams: “LV1 is based on integrated Waves plug-ins, so it helps me tailor the sound to any requirement in ways that most regular consoles can’t,” he said. “Because Waves’ precision plug-ins are so accessible from within the mixer, eMotion LV1 enables us to achieve an extremely polished studio sound in a live situation. We’ve been able to accomplish processing chains that make miracles happen, especially when dealing with unwanted noise. To me, the LV1 is a chameleon-like console that I can personalize to achieve any coloring palette needed.

“Our decision to adopt the LV1 was driven, first of all, by our need to improve the church’s online experience,” Martinez continued. “Before the LV1, the church’s broadcast system was quite convoluted. It was based on a combination of groups and direct outputs from the Avid Venue D-Show console at FOH, plus a few direct analog splits that fed an analog Midas Heritage mixer. Drums were fed from a premix, as were the brass and half of the vocals. Lead vocals were received individually from a processed direct-out feed. Secondary sources, or sources that aren’t used every day, derived from a split of a split, out of the main splitter. But the biggest drawback prior to adopting the LV1 was that not all the decisions made for the FOH mix translated properly in broadcast. This was both because of the physical sound of instruments in the auditorium, and because each of the church’s mix engineers or mix volunteers had different criteria. Just imagine all the inconsistencies that the former system had. This is why our big LV1 project was born.”

One Mixer Turns to Three

“Our initial idea was to extract unprocessed individual audio channels from the FOH console to a dedicated TV mix in a single eMotion LV1 mixer, but we quickly discovered that interfacing with the existing consoles just wasn’t cost-effective, nor did it provide the flexibility needed or the necessary channel counts. Neither did we want to replace the analog splitter with another one with a third output, or to invest in connectivity for outdated consoles. These were not viable solutions,” Martinez explained.

[ Streaming Audio in Houses of Worship ]

“In the end, we simply replaced our Midas Pro digital console at monitors with an eMotion LV1 mixer and shared its inputs with broadcast. But that was just the start! Eventually, three high-end consoles got replaced with eMotion LV1 mixers: two Midas consoles, one analog and one digital, which reached their limits; and a Yamaha PM1D that was stuck in outdated technology. Those consoles had to be replaced because they couldn’t adapt to our new circumstances and needs.”

Freedom of Movement

“With the Waves eMotion LV1, we are able to have full console control from different locations at the same time,” Martinez said. “This has been absolutely crucial to the church’s TV broadcast, 2D streaming and 360° VR operations. To provide a better online experience, Church on the Rock has content variations that include online hosts who interact with the online campus community and inform them of COTR’s wide variety of activities. Those hosts move around the facilities, depending on where the activities are being held. No matter where you are within Church on the Rock’s facilities, if there is a network connection, all you have to do is assign the specific port to the proper subnet to send and receive audio.”

“One huge advantage of the Waves LV1 is that it’s based on Waves SoundGrid technology, which is an Ethernet network-based system with minimum operator interaction. It does away with all the messy networking challenges, and it eliminates the hassle out of the crew hands,” Martinez explained. “You just assign the network ports and then select, update and enable the devices, assign the clock master, and you’re done. Your network is ready. Church on the Rock already had in place a solid Ethernet network infrastructure that allowed a dedicated network for SoundGrid. This made it easy to implement SoundGrid as the central hub for all the audio connections from anywhere in the buildings. All this has been a big plus for COTR’s Creative Arts team. Now they can generate content without boundaries within the buildings, or anywhere an Ethernet cable can reach. Our network covers two physical campuses across a street, with ten audio working areas. Any corner can be a creative spot!”

Modular Setup

Martinez continued, “Our designed system consists of an audio network that covers two different buildings across a street. It includes three LV1s, one Avid VENUE D-Show, one Pro Tools HDX, two Behringer X32 mixers, one Zilia 3D ambience microphone, and 14 Waves SoundGrid devices (excluding various DAW computers), including four DSPRO StageGrid 4000 stageboxes, three DiGiGrid IOC audio interfaces, one DiGiGrid IOX high-count interface, two DiGiGrid DLI interfaces, two DN32-WSG cards for Behringer, one Waves DMI interface and one DiGiGrid D portable desktop interface. The compact DiGiGrid D interface moves all over both buildings, depending on where the TV hosts are. The latest addition to the system is a 3D immersive audio mixing system that complements a 360° video content destined to COTR VR campus. Virtual reality is the best way to remotely be part of the COTR experience.”

[ How Audio Helps Houses of Worship Regather with Confidence ]

“This setup is wonderfully modular and expandable,” Martinez said. “As your audio needs evolve, the system can grow, too. Our project is proof: we started with a single LV1 as a simple broadcast mixer, and evolved to an entire audio network that covers two multistory buildings.”

Communication

About the facility’s monitor system, Martinez said, “At Church on the Rock, we don’t have a dedicated person for monitor mixing. Each musician controls their own mix wirelessly with an iPad running the Waves MyMon personal mixing app, which ‘communicates’ with the LV1. Having the MyMon app was indispensable in the selection of the LV1. The monitor LV1 can be fully mixed and cued from the stage, FOH and broadcast positions, with the latter two having absolute control over the monitor console. The more experienced FOH and broadcast engineers can assist musicians from their own position.”

He added, “The LV1/SoundGrid system allows us to have an elaborate internal communication system through a dedicated matrixing system that receives 15 talkback/communication inputs and distributes to seven destinations throughout both buildings. Before the LV1, there was no way of getting completely rid of the sinful mono IEM mix. Now, every IEM mix is stereo. Any instrument can have its own stereo reverb without complicated routing or mixing procedures. Having the reverb as part of the channel signal flow keeps the proper relation between dry and wet at every monitor mix.”

Waves Plug-Ins

About using Waves plug-ins, Martinez said, “Church of the Rock has always invested in top-notch gear since the analog days, but the results we’ve achieved with the LV1 are unprecedented. The wide selection of plug-ins from the Waves Mercury, Abbey Road, SSL, Dugan Automixer and DTS Neural Surround bundles gives us precise solutions for every need. We use many plug-ins; however, there are what I like to call ‘MVPs’—most valuable plug-ins—that make an especially huge impact on the final result. First, the Waves Playlist Rider plug-in is great for content that alternates between music and speech and has a broad dynamic range. We don’t want people constantly adjusting their volume and getting bothered by level inconsistency. Playlist Rider stabilizes all pre-recorded material, speech microphones and broadcast master output, providing smooth transitions without distraction.”

He continued, “Another situation where Waves plug-ins are life-savers is stage mic bleed. Having many instruments and numerous vocal mics open at the same time can result in a lot of stage bleed that clutters the mix and compromises intelligibility. Waves’ Primary Source Expander (PSE) plug-in eliminates stage bleed, especially when using automatic pitch correction for broadcast. With its sidechaining capabilities, PSE can be placed after a few layers of EQ, saturation and compression and still track properly. We replaced all the filters and EQ that we used to use with the extremely flexible and low-latency F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ. With its different slopes, the F6 filters are more adaptable. The dynamic low- and high-shelf bands allow you to expand those frequencies as needed instead of using fixed gain, reducing bleed when a direct source is not present enough. The narrow parametric bands, with a Q of 60, make the F6 perfect for surgical needs. It’s like a crossbreed between a Swiss Army knife and a scalpel.”

He added, “When it comes to reverbs, the OneKnob Wetter and GTR Reverb plug-ins are great for mixing with simplicity and consistency. We need good-sounding, low-latency and CPU-friendly reverbs to insert on a great deal of individual channels. With these two plug-ins, we cover all our bases for channel-inserted reverbs on instruments, and even on vocals in monitoring duties. Another plug-in that deserves special mention is the eMo D5 Dynamics , which is part of the eMotion LV1’s channel strip. It’s a wonderful-sounding dynamics plug-in with extensive side chain capacity—the only plug-in inserted on every single input and output of all three LV1 consoles. It handles beautifully all the heavy lifting in terms of dynamics. The church’s latest plug-in addition has been the Waves Dugan Automixer for auto-balancing multiple talkback mics. We throw at it constantly changing combinations of 15 possible inputs, and it keeps them all totally balanced, automatically. Talkback screamers are welcome since the Dugan will take care of them—easy.”

[ The Next Wave of Virtual Events ]

“The consistently great sound quality we’ve achieved with the LV1 exceeded our expectations,” Martinez noted. “With Waves’ eMotion LV1 mixer, Waves plug-ins and Waves SoundGrid real-time processing and networking technology, we’ve been able to achieve more polished results, faster and more easily, delivering better broadcast services to Church on the Rock’s online campus community.”

More on Audio in Houses of Worship

Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer Enhances Michigan Church Streaming Services • In order to keep parishioners connected while in quarantine, Mount Hope Church in Lansing, MI, has been presenting its services via livestream to the community, with the help of a Waves eMotion LV1 mixer.

Streaming Audio in Houses of Worship • There's no question that the ways people come together to worship have changed dramatically this year. That has also meant a lot of changes to the way services sound—and what they may sound like in the future.

A New Way to Worship • During the pandemic, houses of worship often held virtual service, which in turn has meant an increase in requests to systems contractors and integrators to facilitate streaming services.

Getting Started in House of Worship Integration • Just Add Power’s Ed Qualls shares best practices to limit project hiccups and help integrators deliver the perfect solution for house of worship customers.

How Audio Helps Houses of Worship Regather with Confidence • The new normal has proven to be particularly challenging for church leaders who are tasked with bringing parishioners together across a variety of locations, whether in-person or attending virtually from home.

More on Livestreaming

Going Live: Planning an Engaging Livestream • Your organization has asked you to livestream an upcoming event. Now what? Industry experts provide their advice on how to plan and execute a livestream that looks great and boosts engagement.

The Next Wave of Virtual Events • When the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined live events, out-of-the-box thinkers came to the table with solutions to keep the events industry alive by connecting people virtually.

What’s Next for Streaming? • During the pandemic, streaming services kept businesses running, friends connected and entertainment rolling out to fans. Now that streaming has become indispensable, what else can it do?

The What: Telestream has announced the latest version of Wirecast, its live production and streaming platform for Mac and Windows. 

The What Else: Wirecast’s Rendezvous peer-to-peer remote conferencing and multi-site production feature now includes a back-channel chat feature enabling behind-the-scenes messaging between hosts and guests. Replicating an on-set comms network, it helps keep programs organized and professional with no surprises during live events.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Videoconferencing and Streaming]

For Wirecast Pro, the new Shot ISO feature allows users to independently record any shot to disk including Rendezvous shots, audio-only shots, or any user-generated shots. This guarantees that original content is preserved when repurposing or further editing of content is required.

The latest version also supports Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) output using the Caller method with either x264 or Apple H.264 encoding.

The Bottom Line: According to the company, the new version is "filled with features that users have asked for as Wirecast continues to be relied on for remote production and live streaming as well as a capture source for further postproduction and editing."

It’s safe to say, no other year in our lifetime was like 2020. We have all seen and heard of the many challenges companies have faced during COVID-19.

Working for a software provider for AV and live event suppliers, I’ve experienced firsthand the impact of COVID-19 on our industry. With more than 50,000 users across 70 countries, our data and daily conversations with users have allowed us to see the global impact on activities for the industry. What was the initial response from companies? Were companies able to keep afloat? Are there any longer lasting effects for companies after COVID-19? 

[The Integration Guide to AV in a Post-COVID-19 World]

I want to share some of these global trends with you and what we expect to see in 2021. The trends I'm sharing rely on activity indicators in Rentman's software, such as creating packing slips, call sheets, quotes, and invoices—as well as, planning crew. It should be noted that we are not looking at individual accounts or user data, only the average values of activity within the software. 

First Wave: Global Industry Shock

The first wave of COVID-19 was a hard hit for many companies. When restrictions around events were first introduced in March, we immediately saw activities drop to roughly two-thirds the normal level. However, there were still many quotes being created which gave us the indication that companies were still planning ahead with the belief that the restrictions would be a temporary problem.

[An April 2020 Overview of COVID-19’s Impact on Live Events Industry]

This view turned around in April. With little perspective and much confusion regarding government support, many companies were forced to cancel their accounts, in most cases because of bankruptcy. Among the companies that were able to survive, many downgraded their accounts due to redundancies of staff.

Finding New Revenue Sources

As the first wave continued and more countries went into lockdown, we expected to see activity decreasing even more. However, this didn’t happen. Instead we saw activities—such as packing and call sheet creation—start to rise slowly. This rise came from companies finding or growing other revenue streams in areas like live streaming, broadcasting services, and installations. These revenue streams heavily increased in demand as a large part of the workforce moved to working remotely. We also witnessed how innovative our industry can be, with new initiatives to help out governments, healthcare, and home-workers.

Smaller-Scale Projects

This shift in revenue streams, along with the restrictions on large events, also caused a change in the type of projects being planned. Event production businesses seemed to move away from planning complex, multi-day events to executing smaller-scale projects with fewer resources planned.

The Second Wave: Resilience of the Live Events Industry

Springtime showed us just how quickly the global event industry could come to a sudden halt. It took some time, but, over the summer months, activities and confidence slowly started rising again. The number of created packing lists, call sheets, quotes, and invoices being generated was three times higher compared to April.

In September of 2020, our users saw their busiest month since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in the spring. More knowledge of the virus, safer ways to conduct business, and fewer government restrictions helped planning activities to grow. 

Europe entered its second period of lockdown in October, which was reflected in the decrease of activity numbers. However, the decline was less drastic than the one we had witnessed in the first wave. More knowledge on how the virus spreads gave way to more small scale events being allowed during partial lockdown periods. While most companies probably did not make a profit, the smaller events helped companies keep their heads above water.

Government Responses Important for Market Stability

Another differentiating factor for how COVID-19 impacted companies in different countries was government responses. In countries where there was a lot of uncertainty about government support, we witnessed more cancellations and accounts being put on hold. 

Out of the 70 countries we currently serve, we saw the most stability in Germany. German event professionals managed to get more done with a larger support fund from the government and much earlier exceptions for events in the national policy. For example, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions, Germany announced a €550 billion package which would also help the music and creative industries—the biggest aid package in the country’s post-war history. By far, this was one of the largest aid packages offered to companies affected by COVID-19 in Europe. 

As a result, Germany was the market that remained the most stable in terms of activity and with fewer cancellations. This highlights how important it is for local governments to react quickly, provide monetary relief, and offer perspective for affected companies. Something we witnessed around the world when event professionals called for support in various initiatives.

Crew Were Hit the Hardest

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting impact on the industry. While we’re happy to see that many companies are still operational, the same can sadly not be said for a lot of individuals working in our industry. We have seen and heard from many professionals in the industry that finding jobs has become significantly harder. Some have even had to turn to other industries or jobs just to stay afloat. 

We can certainly see this impact in the numbers. Crew planning in Rentman is still at only 25 percent of what it once was. With ongoing restrictions on large events, many projects being planned are much smaller in scale and, therefore, do not require a lot of staff or freelancers. This has greatly reduced the crew planning activities in Rentman overall as well. 

Downtime Has Not Been Wasted

In every cloud, there is a silver lining. While this has been a very dark moment for the industry, we have also witnessed some positive trends that could be beneficial for companies and the industry as a whole. Apart from establishing new business services like live streaming and broadcasting services, companies also invested in improving their processes and organization.

Adopting New Cloud Solutions

Cloud software became a must-have during remote working so teams could keep up with changes and communicate more easily—this required software changes for some businesses. 

For other businesses, we saw this slow period finally give them the opportunity to implement new software. We saw larger companies (over 20 office employees) take the time to renew their business and update their inventory with new software. Larger companies typically have longer software procurement and implementation processes.

Optimizing Business Processes

We also saw our existing customer base use this time to learn new processes and to improve workflows. As part of these improved workflows, we witnessed a higher adoption of companies serializing their equipment. This optimized process gives these companies greater insight in the future of their equipment use. 

Similar adoptions happened with crew scheduling. Typically, planning crew is a process that is very labor-intensive due to the use of multiple communication tools and a lot of back-and-forth. While the number of projects being planned was going down, we witnessed a relative growth in the adoption of crew scheduling features. This rise was due to the fact that more companies adopted the crew scheduling and communication options.

What We Can Expect from 2021

In 2021, we can expect a more organized way of working. Time has long been the major limiting factor that held companies back from streamlining certain parts of their operations. With a lot of forced downtime in 2020, we saw that more and more companies in the industry took this time to improve their processes. Whether that means implementing a new software solution or simply automating existing processes, companies who used this time to improve will be even more ready for the busy season once events are back in full force. 

Fighting for Industry Visibility

We must continue to fight for industry visibility and local initiatives for government support in the future. We already saw with data how countries with more robust government support were able to maintain more stable activity levels. By fighting for support, we can hope to minimize some of the above impacts mentioned on the industry. 

Check out what local associations or organizations you can join to help. Together, we are stronger. 

With spectators currently not allowed in the stands of major sporting events as they resume around the world, live streaming has become essential to keeping fans connected. This is especially true for cricket, which ranks as the second most popular sport worldwide. 

Earlier this summer, Cricket South Africa debuted a new Three-Team Cricket (3TC) format, with PT SportSuite—AWS (Amazon Web Services) partners and developers of a modular digital media ecosystem for sports organizations—bringing coverage of the historic event to remote audiences. Providing their technological expertise, three AJA HELO H.264 streamers/recorders, and other services, PT SportSuite delivered a live feed of the first-ever 3TC match to a fan microsite that its team developed for the event.

Related: The Technology Manager's Guide to Distance Learning and Streaming

Held at SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa on Nelson Mandela International Day (July 18, 2020), the event provided a launchpad for the new 3TC format, which includes three teams, playing two halves in one match. Drawing in a number of South African cricket heavyweights, the match attracted a broad audience, who were encouraged to donate to the Hardship Fund, an initiative to help those in the cricket community affected by the pandemic. 

To facilitate a live event stream, PT SportSuite connected two HELO units to an on-site OB truck via SDI and streamed footage over IP to the AWS-cloud based media processing and content distribution infrastructure. Given the production was mobile and lacking network infrastructure, the PT SportSuite team configured the HELOs for redundant inputs, assigning each to a different cellular broadband provider. A third HELO was positioned at the PT SportSuite Cape Town office for automatic failover in the case of an emergency.

“HELO was so easy to use and incredibly reliable,” said Clinton Bosch, PT SportSuite’s chief technology officer. “Our team hadn’t ever set up an encoder before but was able to get all three HELOs up and running quickly and without complication, and throughout the stream, the devices never skipped a beat. The UI is so straightforward, and we love how HELO also gives us the ability to set up, configure, and control each device and monitor the stream from a standard web browser if we want, which will be useful for projects moving forward.” 

Looking ahead, PT SportSuite expects the demand for similar applications in sports to grow in the coming years. “We’ve entered into a new era of sports consumption, in which fans—for the immediate future—can no longer be physically present during matches,” Bosch said. “To adapt, sports organizations are looking to find new ways to connect with fans and monetize content across various consumer viewing platforms from OTT to broadcast and digital. With tools like HELO, helping them deliver will be easier, more affordable, and less time consuming.”  

On July 30, Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty unveiled ATEM Mini Pro ISO, a low-cost live production switcher with a five-stream recording engine that allows all video inputs to be recorded, allowing a live production to be edited after the event.

In addition to recording up to five separate H.264 video streams in real time—a clean feed of all four inputs plus the live program—ATEM Mini Pro ISO also records all audio files, media pool graphics, and a DaVinci Resolve project file, so customers can later adjust edits, change shots, remix audio, and add color correction. The video files include metadata tags such as synced timecode and camera numbers.

ATEM Mini Pro ISO is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US $895.

“This new model of ATEM Mini is a true innovation in workflow. For the first time, live production has been fully integrated into a post-production editing workflow. Not only that, but with Blackmagic RAW integration, we can use the ISO files recorded in the switcher, or the files recorded in the camera,” said Petty. “That’s a RAW film workflow, a post production workflow and a live production workflow all fully integrated for the first time!"

ATEM Mini Pro ISO joins ATEM Mini and ATEM Mini Pro in Blackmagic’s line of multicamera live production switchers. ATEM Mini models make it easy to create professional multicamera productions for live streaming to YouTube and business presentations using Skype or Zoom. ATEM Mini users can switch live between four high-quality video inputs for dramatically better quality images, or connect a computer with a PowerPoint slideshow, video clips, websites, or gaming consoles. The built-in DVE allows picture-in-picture effects and transitions.

ATEM Mini switchers offer two independent 3.5mm stereo audio inputs, allowing users to connect desktop and lapel microphones. You can even connect a music player to generate introduction music after the live stream commences but before the program starts.

Related: Blackmagic ATEM Mini Switcher Powers Live Streaming Workflows for Penny Arcade, May 21, 2020

All ATEM Mini models have USB that works like a webcam so customers can use any streaming software, while the ATEM Mini Pro model adds live streaming and recording to USB disks. There’s also HDMI out for projectors. Microphone inputs allow the use of high-quality desktop and lapel mics for interviews and presentations.

ATEM Mini includes four standards-converted HDMI inputs, USB webcam out, HDMI out, Fairlight audio mixer with EQ and dynamics, DVE for picture in picture, transition effects, greenscreen chromakey, 20 stills media pool for titles, and free ATEM Software Control.

ATEM Mini Pro includes all the features found in ATEM Mini, plus direct recording of streaming data (H.264 video files with AAC audio) to USB Flash disks, stream via Ethernet to YouTube Live and more. There's also a multiview with four cameras, media, preview and program, plus status of recording, streaming and audio.

ATEM Mini Pro ISO adds recording of up to five separate H.264 video streams in real time. A DaVinci Resolve project file is also saved so you can later edit the recorded production.

Related: Blackmagic Design Announces New ATEM Advanced Panels, July 13, 2020

Each of the four HDMI inputs feature their own dedicated standards converter. That means ATEM Mini will automatically convert 1080p, 1080i, and 720p sources to the video standard of the switcher. The switcher sets its video format automatically, but the user can specify a specific video standard if required. The HDMI output is a true "aux" output so you can clean switch each HDMI input or program to this output.

To ensure maximum compatibility, ATEM Mini features a USB connection that operates as a simple webcam source. That means customers can plug in and instantly get working with any video software. The software is “tricked” into thinking the ATEM Mini is a common webcam, but it’s really a live production switcher. That guarantees full compatibility with any video software and in full resolution 1080HD quality. ATEM Mini works with software and platforms including Open Broadcaster, XSplit Broadcaster, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Skype, Zoom, Twitch, Periscope, Livestream, Wirecast and more.

The built-in “media pool” allows the loading of up to 20 separate broadcast-quality RGBA graphics for titles, opening plates, and logos. Graphics can be loaded via ATEM Software Control or downloaded directly from Photoshop using the ATEM Photoshop plug-in.

Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro ISO

As a company specializing in staging large-scale, AV-driven special events for corporations, conferences, trade shows, concerts, and high-level training, Emergency Production (EPAV) was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. In early March 2020, the many video-rich stage events that EPAV was contracted to produce had either been cancelled or postponed amid concerns that having large indoor gatherings—in venues like ballrooms, convention centers, and arenas—risked spreading the virus.

While this unfortunate turn of events might have sidelined any other business, EPAV demonstrated resilience, flexibility, and resourcefulness by successfully adapting to these challenging times. In fact, this Cranston, RI-based full-service AV company has developed tenacity and a real knack for problem-solving over their many years spent producing shows that must go on no matter what.

The key to EPAV’s reinvention is Wirecast Pro from Telestream. While the company has long used this streaming production software for occasional encoding and streaming, today Wirecast is the reason they can reposition their services and keep their business moving forward during the pandemic.

In lieu of staged events, EPAV now produces and delivers engaging, broadcast-quality web video conferences, panel discussions, and other large-scale presentations on behalf of their clients. Wirecast Pro is used for the following kinds of production tasks:

• Bringing live video of presenters at remote locations into the program
• Switching multiple, remote cameras
• Mixing digital audio
• Rolling program opens, b-roll videos, and other preproduced video
• Adding lower-third supers, full-screen graphics, and fly-in title keys
• Bringing in logos and other branding elements as well as speakers’ slides
• Creating split-screens, picture-in-picture boxes and other screen layouts

The Challenge

In pivoting from major venues to online presentations, the biggest technical and logistical challenges stem from the need to produce a fairly complex, multilayered video program remotely, while directing on-camera sources at multiple locations.

Prior to the health and travel restrictions posed by COVID-19, EPAV was able to deploy video crews and stagehands to work at the arena, stadium, ballroom, or other venue where the event was taking place. When they were on site, they could manage all aspects of the event production, including:

• Wheeling in road cases of select broadcast video equipment
• Setting up and running multiple cameras
• Switching cameras for video displays
• Mic’ing presenters and checking their audio levels
• Prepping and queuing presenters waiting in the green room
• Playing out slides and other video collateral on behalf of speakers and panelists
• Controlling the quality of the staging, backdrops, lighting, and house sound
  
  

However, with this new “virtual” web production model, it’s far more difficult to ensure quality control because it’s not possible to visit each presenter’s remote location and double-check that their video production setup is good to go. And given the logistical complexity of managing a broadcast-quality video conference involving multiple sites and sources, the streaming production platform itself needs to be ready and able to deliver a rock-solid, cohesive show.

The Solution

With its robust streaming capabilities, integrated production feature set, and compelling price to performance ratio, Wirecast Pro is proving to be the ideal solution for Emergency Production. While EPAV has used Wirecast for over a decade, until now it had only been used occasionally, whenever a particular customer wanted to distribute a live video stream of an event that would be accessible by those who couldn’t attend in person.

EPAV owns two licenses of Wirecast, which is a cross-platform solution; however, they choose to run both licenses on Apple Mac Pro systems.

During production, Wirecast Pro allows intricate video shows to be built up in layers, and even sublayers, filled with a mix of video, audio, graphics, text, music, video clips, and more. And tools integrated within Wirecast software—such as digital audio mixing/monitoring and the NewBlue Titler Live Complete for designing rich, animated title designs—further enrich the look and production value of the online video presentations.

EPAV’s events typically feature subject matter experts, corporate executives, and other noteworthy people with something important to convey to an invited audience. While the structure of the streamed event is hosted and script-driven, the speakers come on to share their expertise about trends, technological advances, marketing plans, and other interesting topics. They underscore their talks by showing PowerPoint slides or sharing their computer screens.

Typically, these presenters take the stage one after another, but at other times, they may appear together as panelists. According to Chris Hubbard, his company produces online conferences where well-crafted, broadcast-quality video programs are pushed out one way to viewers, which is significantly different from the interactive group meetings that are increasingly popular on platforms like Zoom or Teams.

When EPAV video crews were able to work on site at big events, they could stage manage the featured guests and presenters in the following ways:

• Attach wireless microphones to their clothing
• Check their audio levels
• Give them last-minute stage directions
• Make sure the graphics operator backstage had their slides in good order
• Cue presenters when it’s their turn to take the stage

Since there is no green room in the remote production world, a conferencing management system built into Wirecast, called Rendezvous, fills this need. It allows people in remote locations to click on an email or text link and have their webcam or video camera instantly become a video production source available to Wirecast.

The Workflow

The biggest impact of COVID-19 on EPAV’s workflow is the need for social distancing to prevent spread of the disease. Not only are presenters in their own respective homes or offices worldwide, the EPAV crew must also keep a safe distance from each other at their Cranston, RI, offices that serve as the production control facility.

Chris Hubbard serves as the technical director from an ad-hoc video production control room set up in a conference room that is equipped with the following gear:

• A large display showing the entire Wirecast production environment, including program switching, keying, lower-thirds, music
• A smaller display with the seven Rendezvous windows
• A third display for digital audio mixing and creating New Blue Titler CG text
• A Midas M-Series digital audio mixing console that connects via USB to the Wirecast laptop. While Wirecast features 16-channel mixing and mix-minus capabilities, Midas Auto-Mix is used to automatically manage volume levels whenever multiple speakers are conversing, such as during panel or group discussions
• Several Fostex nearfield audio monitors
• Three additional MacBook Pros devoted to running full-screen and looping slideshows, sponsor logos, and more
• Video capture cards, converter cards, and other peripherals

In a nearby office, EPAV senior project manager Ross Davidson serves as the graphics operator. He uses his computer and monitor to contribute to the production, while following production cues from Hubbard. Jesse Bastos, EPAV head audio engineer, also has a workspace in Cranston for managing and QC’ing production audio. While Hubbard, Davidson, and Bastos constitute the production control crew, there’s also a “show caller” who calls in via Rendezvous from his own remote location. While his Rendezvous video is never taken live, the show caller can view all the presenters and stage manage them within this workflow.

As a Wirecast switcher function, one or more Rendezvous sources can be brought into one of show’s five video layers, which can be further broken out into sublayers. While Rendezvous callers wait to “go on” in their respective Rendezvous video windows, they must remain silent or mute their microphones so they don’t distract the live speaker; and then remember to turn their audio back on when it’s their turn to speak live.

In an effort to ensure a consistent, quality-controlled workflow, Hubbard’s team performs technical rehearsals with each of the presenters a few days prior to the web event. These rehearsals give the presenters a chance to get comfortable with Rendezvous, practice switching between their camera view and shared screen, mute and unmute their microphones, and run through their talk with their slides. It’s also an opportunity for EPAV to assess the quality and dependability of each presenter’s equipment. If there’s any concern about their setup, EPAV can rush them “care packages” with the following kinds of gear to use instead:

• Panel lights that can stand beside the desk or table
• Small LED lights that can sit on the tabletop
• A black velour fabric that can hang behind the chair to serve as a neutral background
• A broadcast-grade laptop
• HD webcam or video cameras/tripods
• USB microphone

Emergency Production | www.ep-av.com

Telestream Wirecast Pro | www.telestream.net/wirecast

Custom Media Solutions, a live event video production company based in Cumming, GA, has provided streaming coverage of The Orange Conference, an annual event in Atlanta for Christian family ministry teams, for years. With its backstage experience, the company created an online presence for people who could not attend. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Orange Conference 2020 to convert from a live, arena-sized event to a three-day streaming program that began on April 29, CMS relied on its HVS-2000 video switcher from FOR-A Corporation of America to deliver a high-end production to a much larger online audience.

“We automated as much as possible using the features from the switcher,” said Marc Shroyer, president of CMS. “We had a couple of still stores with user flags and a lot of lower-thirds from the ProPresenter presentation system. We used DVEs for picture-in-picture looks that we could display on the multi-view at all times, so we could decide when to use them on the fly.”

Related: NewTek Ships Latest TriCaster Mini 4K With Tools for Small Production Teams

Most of the content was prerecorded, but live hosts connected the short segments together. Orange converted its local retail store, which was temporarily closed, into three studio sets. Client cameras were used as studio cameras for the two main sets, and robotic cameras were positioned above the two sets to provide wide transition shots and a birds-eye view for the production crew. The third set, located upstairs and equipped with CMS’s Hitachi production cameras, hosted two live keynote presentations.

Due to social distancing requirements, CMS had to produce the event using less than half of its usual crew in its production trailer. The coverage required 16 inputs, 10 keyers, 11 DVEs, and at least four AUX buses. “The FOR-A was great, it always performs for us,” Shroyer said.

One challenge the production faced was integrating a Zoom-based game show into the live program. During the game, the video switcher received two separate computer feeds, so the TD had the option of taking the Zoom gallery display of the four players or the full-screen speaker display. The host interacted with all four players through a monitor on the set (populated by one of the HVS-2000 AUX buses), which showed the Zoom gallery display as a picture-in-picture inside the game graphics and allowed the players to the see the game board. To avoid audio feedback, a USB interface sent the mix/minus from the digital mixer to the participants.

The ProPresenter system was used for playback of the recorded content, and two keys were used to show the timers from the ProPresenter’s second display on the confidence monitors. A backup system rolled the videos on a slight time delay. Each of the two main sets had a confidence monitor, which received feeds from the HVS-2000’s AUX bus.

Using the HVS-2000’s internal GPI system called user flags, the AUX bus feeding the confidence monitor would switch automatically to the second display from the backup system when necessary, so the hosts and crew always knew when the recorded content would end. The user flag would also make it switch it back to the primary stage display graphics when any other source was selected.

There were two streaming feeds: the main feed provided all programming to the Orange website, while a second feed only shared the two-hour main session to Facebook Live on April 29. At one point, the production had to cut the Thursday night feed to Facebook Live because of potential music copyright issues.

In anticipation of the interruption, Shroyer created a GPI interface between the HVS-2000 and a Clear-Com intercom system to allow switcher commands to be fired from communication panels at several stations in the production truck. From his location in engineering, Shroyer switched the AUX feed with transition to a graphic (without sound) and keyed a countdown timer from the ProPresenter system using the HVS-2000’s key over AUX function to let the Facebook Live audience know when programming would resume.

“Production companies appreciate the flexibility of the HVS-2000, which went from backstage to center stage for Orange Conference 2020,” said Adam Daniul, FOR-A director of Midwest and South regional sales. “We are proud to partner with Custom Media Solutions and provide the live production equipment to help them deliver high-quality coverage for such a prominent event.”

When TV comedy show 7 Days Live visited the Queenstown Winter Festival, the festival’s production supplier, TomTom Productions, was on hand with its Hippotizer Karst media servers from Green Hippo. A favorite of TomTom, thanks to its advanced integration and control features, the Hippotizer enabled them to deal with the additional visual requirements of the television recording.

Produced by MediaWorks NZ, 7 Days Live is a popular TV comedy show in New Zealand. In June, the show took a road trip to the Queenstown Winter Festival, on the shores of South Island’s Lake Wakatipu, to film a TV special.

“The brief was fairly simple,” said Hamish Edh, director of TomTom and designer of the festival’s live stage video elements. “Background eye candy that looks great on camera, as well as for the live audience, and having the 7 Days logo on the screens for the wide shots.”

Simple enough, with the stage’s varied visual elements already in place. “The design concept was based around mismatching elements with different LED pixel pitches,” Edh said. “To create contrast between the different pixel pitches, I use Martin Sceptron 20 battens in an array to complement the 6mm LED panels and to add horizontal lines to the overall look.”

Edh used TomTom’s go-to media server system, Hippotizer Karst, running two outputs, one to the 6mm LED panels and the other to the Sceptron via the Hippotizer’s Martin P3 System Controller integration. The textures played out on the low-resolution Sceptron were from stock content, while the 6mm panels showed custom content including Queenstown’s iconic mountains, created by Tim Goddard of TomTom, as well as the 7 Days Live logo where required. The operator was TomTom’s Matt Cooper.

Edh’s design included four horizontal LED banners rigged at staggered heights, from the lower upstage to the highest above mid-stage, each with the mismatched pixel pitches of 6mm panels and 20mm Martin Sceptron. Visuals were controlled from a Hog 4 console, one of the many consoles which integrates with Hippotizer.

“The direction we’re going in with design is to integrate traditional video and lighting elements,” Edh said. “This is why Hippotizers are great for us—they’re designed around control from the lighting console, which gives intimate creative freedom to the lighting designer to manipulate the entire visual look of a show.

“The Hippotizer’s P3 integration for Martin Sceptron played a big part in our decision to invest in the Sceptron. Again, it gives us the freedom to design video and lighting elements into one product.” 

Following the comedy performances, the stage design and the use of Hippotizer changed again. “For the music night we dropped the 6mm screen and used the Hippo as a busking VJ machine,” Edh said.

“For anything using Martin VDO, Hippo is our go-to solution,” he said. “It’s also our go-to for anything where the lighting designer requires end-to-end control of all the visual elements, so live music in particular is made so easy with Hippotizer.”

New Jersey’s second largest cultural provider, the 1,850-seat historic State Theatre New Jersey, is a magnificently renovated 1921 vaudeville/silent-film house that flourishes today as a premier not-for-profit venue. The theater presents a diverse lineup of world-class performing artists and education programs that enrich the lives of nearly 200,000 visitors each year. 

To make sure each production team has an intercom system that is reliable and flexible, State Theatre New Jersey has upgraded to a Clear-Com HelixNet Digital Network Partyline Intercom System and a FreeSpeak II Digital Wireless Intercom System, purchased from Panavid, with offices in New Jersey, New York City, and Dallas.

With a busy calendar that can stage different events night after night, Willie Weist, head audio engineer, and Roman Klima, head of the video department, designed a system that is perfect from national Broadway touring companies to smaller local performances.

“Most Broadway tours are self-contained—they come in and tie in dry lines for spotlight communication and house light control, or tie into the Clear-Com system, with 99 percent of the intercom being their own gear,” Weist said. “But the smaller the show, the more they rely on our system, whether it’s a mix-and-match or all ours. The new HelixNet and FreeSpeak II systems are open-ended enough that whatever system someone comes in with they can just tie in. With this system we can adapt to any situation, both small and large.

State Theatre New Jersey has been a Clear-Com house for decades, this upgrade being its third system—enabling it to use parts of the previous Clear-Com systems with the new gear. This made the changeover especially easy and cost-efficient.

“We started our theater upgrade with audio and programmable moving lights, saving the intercom system for last,” Weist said. “We had one and a half weeks until our first performance, so while 4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Princewas in rehearsal with musicians, vocalists, and an orchestra, it was the perfect time to change over to our new Clear-Com system.”

Hoping for the best, but being prepared for anything, the existing Clear-Com system was kept intact at each location, with Ethernet lines being run next to existing XLR cable.

“We had both systems, just in case, but the HelixNet and FreeSpeak II worked just like they were supposed to. It was great,” Weist said. “You always worry when things change. We were used to a single-channel system; now users can select from several private conversations with different departments while still being connected to all departments. It only took a short time for the crew to take advantage of the flexibility of this system.

The new digital intercom network consists of a HelixNet digital network partyline intercom system with 16 beltpacks and a FreeSpeak II digital wireless intercom system with 10 wireless beltpacks and four transceivers. An LQ-R IP interface ties everything together.

What State Theatre New Jersey gets with its new intercom system is something it’s needed for years: multiple isolated channels for separate conversations, with the ability to reach anyone on the system at any time. In addition, it allows the theater to service shows that come in that are more demanding in terms of technology.

“The biggest feature is being able to switch between channels for camera operators and the video crews,” Klima said. “I can have channels for the director, audio, lighting, even a general channel. We didn’t have that before. Every group would use their own comms and I used to sit with two biscuits [intercom speakers] and two headphones on my desk.”

“We’ve been looking at FreeSpeak since it first came out,” Weist said. “It’s wonderful to have up to four conversations available on each beltpack with no interference, since the beltpacks are registered to our system. I wish we would have done it sooner, but waiting meant we wouldn’t be installing a new system piecemeal. Now it’s built exactly the way we want it.”

“Anyone looking at a new intercom system should just do it,” Weist said. “It’s the backbone of everything you do. It makes everyone more comfortable knowing that they can have a conversation with anyone. And there’s no more hum and buzz. It’s so clean; you don’t know it’s on until someone starts talking to you. It’s like getting a new pair of glasses.”

The What: NewTek has released LiveGraphics as part of the Premium Access monthly subscription service. LiveGraphics allows users to go directly to air with 10 channels of real-time animated graphics authored in Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe After Effects CC for live output from TriCaster TC1 and NewTek IP Series. In addition to LiveGraphics, Premium Access gives subscribers, five additional highly innovative applications including LivePanel, NDI KVM, Advanced Audio I/O, Virtual PTZ, and NewTek’s entire Virtual Set Library. Premium Access is the gateway to new advanced software features; subscribers will receive automatic updates as new capabilities are implemented.

The What Else: First demonstrated at NAB 2018, LiveGraphics innovative approach to graphics creation allows users to replace text, images, and create links to live data, and then play those graphics back in real time. The result of extensive development, LiveGraphics does not require a proprietary hardware graphics engine and delivers on the promise of Adobe Creative Cloud in real-time.

“Our software-centric approach to innovating tools for live video production allows us to develop at a fast and relentless pace,” said Dr. Andrew Cross, president and CTO of NewTek. “Premium Access is an affordable and highly convenient way to make our current and future software innovations accessible and available to customers. We are proud to initiate this service with truly revolutionary features like LiveGraphics and a robust selection of other ground breaking advancements.”

The Bottom Line: Premium Access requires the latest version of TriCaster TC1 and NewTek IP Series software now available to all users. This free software upgrade includes more than 20 new features. NewTek Premium Access is available now for the limited time special introductory subscription price of $99USD per month, or $1,149USD per year. International pricing will vary.

UK band alt-J, currently on a world tour in support of their third studio album, used L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology to envelop nearly 12,000 fans in a 360° soundscape at Forest Hills Stadium in the New York borough of Queens on June 15.

“Wherever you’re standing in the audience, you’ll be able to hear the music coming from all around you,” alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton told UK music publication NME ahead of the show.

Lance Reynolds is alt-J’s Chicago-based FOH engineer and has been using L-Acoustics sound reinforcement systems with the band since 2015. He said that the band’s manager, Stephen Taverner, had been searching for the right technology to present a show in surround for quite a while, so Reynolds visited L-Acoustics’ U.S. headquarters in California’s Westlake Village to explore L-ISA as a potential option. “Once I got my hands on it, I was very excited—and immediately started thinking about what we could do with it,” he said.

With everyone on board, Reynolds returned to L-Acoustics to familiarize himself with mixing in L-ISA and, alongside alt-J’s three band members, design a mix for the show incorporating live and pre-recorded elements that would take advantage of the surround capabilities of L-ISA.

“In preparing the mixes for this show, I’m lucky that alt-J has a lot of interesting sonic nuggets and a little bit of sound effects,” said Reynolds. “These elements exist in our normal live show, but with L-ISA, it’s much more evident. There are a lot of things that I’ve been able to just draw out—pinpointing instruments and sounds in specific places. That’s really what this ‘360’ mix is; it’s an extension of what we already do, but a really big extension. Usually, I don’t want the audience to notice my mix, per se. Ideally, I want it to sound great while keeping the audience focused on the band. But using L-ISA for this show, I wanted the audience to notice the difference. My hope was that the fans would walk away saying, ‘wow—did you hear that?’ I wanted heads to turn and the audience to feel completely immersed in alt-J’s music.”

Another thing that Reynolds wanted to accomplish was to broaden the show’s sweet spot: “Being at the mix position, I generally have the best seat in the house—I’m creating what I want to hear and hopefully everyone else is hearing most of that,” he said. “But when you get off to the sides, when you get into the balcony, it can’t be the same as what I’m hearing. This technology helps you do that. If you‘re sitting in an L-ISA show, you’re going to get that experience that I’m getting at front of house. It has the ability to be a better experience all throughout the venue.”

To create that giant L-ISA zone, Rat Sound, the band’s longtime production provider, flew three arrays of 12 K2 each equally spaced above the center of the stage, flanked left and right by single hangs of 16 Kara elements each. Two hangs of eight KS28 subs were flown behind the center K2 array. Outside those five arrays, to left and right, the team flew extension hangs of 16 Kara speakers, toed in toward the center. A hang of nine K2 boxes on either side provided out-fill for those seated immediately next to the stage. Three pairs of Kara and a pair of ARCS II delivered front-fill.

Tom Worley (KSE) of Rat Sound created a mounting system for the 16 Syva surround speakers, attaching poles behind the handrails at the upper edge of the seating bowl and fixed the speakers to them. Frequently used for permanent installations and corporate or private event applications, Syva was also the perfect fit for Forest Hills, said Worley. “They’re loud, lightweight, and have the right dispersion. And even without using a sub with them they go low enough that it made sense,” he said. L-ISA Controller software was used to place sound objects with the L-ISA Processor dedicated to spatial audio processing, and the entire system was powered by a combination of 15 LA12X and 31 LA8 amplified controllers.

The MADI transport capabilities of Reynolds’ console of choice, the Avid S6L, supported 32 outputs to L-ISA, which can accept up to 96. “You could send to individual channels, one to one, but I did it with stems,” he said, noting that it was easier to bus together both kick drum mics to a single channel, for example. “Plus, I needed some extra channels to do some submixing and some things to get sources into the surrounds that made sense,” he added.

Those additional outputs would be put to good use to address timing. With the farthest Syva speakers located 250 feet from the stage, sound coming from the stage would need to be delayed in the surrounds, or those nearby would hear it ahead of the signal from the main PA. But precisely compensating for that 250-foot distance would double that delay for a listener by the front of the stage. “Getting the levels correct so that, if you do hear it, it doesn’t interfere with what’s coming from the stage was the biggest challenge, but it was one that we were able to creatively resolve,” said Reynolds.

L-ISA mixing integrated seamlessly into Reynolds’ workflow at Forest Hills. “The desk was simply feeding mixes to L-ISA and I was doing any movements via snapshot automation in the L-ISA controller,” he said, driven by the timecode running the show automation that controls the lighting and other production elements.

Surround effects throughout the show—including a helicopter fly-by, haunting wolf howls, and a children’s choir during the song “Pleader” that enveloped the audience—generated chills and cheers from the crowd. Reynolds was concerned that a steady, syncopated heartbeat that starts “Hunger of the Pine,” almost like a click track, might not work as well. “We figured out that it was not too obtrusive to do it manually for the first eight bars, before anything else happens in the song,” he said, adding that California-based L-ISA Labs Engineer Carlos Mosquera panned the heartbeat around the venue. “Using a controller on an iPad, Carlos flew the sound around very specifically with the touch of his finger, which was really fun,” said Reynolds.

By the end of the show, Reynolds said he was ecstatic with L-ISA’s performance. “In prep on the day before the show, and even that morning, I still wasn’t quite prepared for what it was going to do and how it was going to feel,” he said. “With the surrounds, there were moments when it absolutely filled the stadium and I just couldn’t believe how amazing it sounded. It covered the venue better than anything I’ve ever heard. I was walking front to back, left to right, across the main stadium floor, and it was the same mix for the entirety of it. It was hard to find a massive difference anywhere. The whole stadium was the immersion zone. It was mind-blowing.”

The What: Magewell has launched two new products designed to help users reliably bring traditional video signals into live, IP-based production infrastructures using NewTek’s royalty-free NDI technology. The new Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus IP encoder hardware provides a standalone, plug-and-play onramp from HDMI sources to NDI-based production networks, while the Magewell Bridge software for NDI enables users of Magewell’s capture devices to convert one or more channels of source video into live NDI streams.

The What Else: Magewell’s self-contained Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus encoder converts HDMI 2.0 signals into full-bandwidth NDI streams with low latency and is plug-and-play, with automatic input signal format detection and DHCP-based network configuration, eliminating the need for manual setup. With Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus, source video is converted at its native resolution and frame rate by default, while a browser-based interface offers users control of FPGA-based up/down/cross-conversion, de-interlacing, image adjustments, and other video processing. Performing these functions can reduce network bandwidth usage and processing requirements for subsequent tools in the production workflow.

Supporting the growing adoption of 4K video in professional production workflows, the Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus transforms sources up to 4K Ultra HD at full 60 frames per second. Measuring 117.5mm by 66.7mm (4.63 by 2.63 inches) and 23.4mm (0.92 inches) thick, the compact and energy-efficient device can be powered over its Ethernet connection (PoE) or the included power adapter.

For existing users of Magewell ingest products or customers who prefer a software-based conversion solution, Magewell Bridge for NDI allows video and audio from any Magewell capture device to appear as a live source to any other NDI-enabled software and systems on the network. Running on the Windows operating system, the software is compatible with Magewell’s USB Capture and USB Capture Plus external devices, Pro Capture PCIe cards and Eco Capture M.2 hardware.

“The use of live, IP-based media transport has expanded from its roots in content distribution to become an integral part of many professional production workflows, giving customers massive flexibility while helping reduce deployment costs,” said Nick Ma, CEO and CTO at Magewell. “NDI has been one of the key enabling technologies driving this transition. While some new products such as cameras support NDI directly, many customers want to use their current equipment with NDI-compatible production software. The Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus and Magewell Bridge for NDI give users a choice of easy-to-use, cost-effective, and reliable hardware or software solutions to connect their existing sources to NDI-enabled networks, systems, and software.”

"Magewell's award-winning video interface products are highly regarded by media professionals for their reliability and simplicity in bringing high-quality video signals into software-based production workflows, and we are excited that they are now offering similar benefits for NDI-enabled workflows," said Dr. Andrew Cross, president and CTO, NewTek. “Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus and Magewell Bridge for NDI will let users easily connect existing gear into NDI-based infrastructures, helping more producers join the NDI ecosystem.”

The Bottom Line: The Pro Convert HDMI 4K Plus can make HDMI input signals from any type of device available on a network as an NDI source, and offers value-added features for camera-mounted use including tally lights and NDI-based PTZ camera control. Additional Pro Convert models—including 1080p60 configurations for users requiring only 2K or HD resolution—are also planned.

The Magewell Bridge software supports all resolutions and frame rates available through the associated capture device—including Ultra HD video with Magewell’s 4K capture models—plus up to eight channels of audio. The software can convert multiple input channels to NDI simultaneously when used with multi-channel capture card models or several Magewell capture devices in the same computer.

Both products will make their world premieres at the IBC2018 exhibition in Amsterdam, where Magewell will exhibit in stand 8.A84.

The What: Renewed Vision has released a new version of its ProVideoPlayer3 (PVP3) multi-screen media server, video processor, and screen control solution for live production environments. Now available for download at the company’s website, the PVP 3.2 release centralizes playback functions to a single workstation, simplifying live production operations for today’s largest broadcast and commercial AV events. The software also adds powerful new synchronization, control, and management functions that further elevate its price-to-performance ratio.

The What Else: PVP 3.2 retains all enhancements introduced in the 3.1 release, including support for the industry-standard DMX512—A lighting control protocol and an integrated HTTP control server for improved data management and integration. PVP 3.2 amplifies the overall value proposition for customers with the ability to synchronize SDI feeds across multiple outputs, while simplifying how users manage effects and transitions in dynamic live productions.

“PVP 3.2 builds on the stable foundation of our best-in-class engine with substantial new playback features and benefits that add signal I/O density and centralize operations to a single workstation,” said Brad Weston, president, Renewed Vision. “It is now possible to play back and frame-synchronize multiple 1080p60 or 4K SDI outputs from one machine. We’ve already seen PVP 3.2 projects with 12 1080p60 outputs and a 4K output off of the same single machine.”

PVP 3.2 also strengthens its effectiveness for live productions by integrating network triggering for backup instances. This effectively adds a redundancy layer with seamless backup protection while in midst of a big event.

“Renewed Vision has consistently improved stability with each PVP release, and we have reached a new level in PVP 3.2,” Weston said. “That said, when the unforeseen should occur, our customers can retain the efficiency of single-machine operation while also achieving redundancy through network triggering that seamlessly triggers backup machines throughout the event.”

While centralizing operations to a single machine is the main value proposition of PVP 3.2, Renewed Vision has also responded to rental market requests to simplify license use across different workstations. The latest release allows users to transfer licenses between machines using a USB dongle without online activation and deactivation. This is especially useful for PVP3 customers working in rental and touring environments as it puts customers in control of their own license management.

The Bottom Line: Well suited for both fixed and event-based applications in markets including broadcast, corporate events, concert staging, and many other professional AV verticals, PVP 3.2 empowers users to design and deliver rich visual experiences spanning multiple interactive, resolution-independent displays. The new playback, control, and stability benefits of PVP 3.2 complement the extensive communications and control advances introduced in PVP 3.1; as well as other foundational features of PVP. These include direct SDI outputs, interactive screen control functionality, an enhanced low-latency video playout engine, and the integration of NewTek’s Network Device Interface (NDI) technology for live, IP-based production workflows.