Driving NDI-Based Live TV at Celebro

LONDON—Celebro was founded on the basis that we wanted to be a world-class provider of pioneering and cost-effective live broadcasting solutions. Since opening the doors of our global facilities in Central London, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, we’ve welcomed clients such as BBC World Service, MTV, Discovery Channel, Reuters and TRT World. The flexible 4K studio locations offer the ideal space for both live and prerecorded programmes: we also can deliver outside broadcasting capabilities for breaking news events.

In 2016, TRT World needed immediate support to help them continue reporting live during the 2016 Turkish coup attempt and the only way to do so was through a NewTek TriCaster Advanced Edition. The TriCaster allowed us to produce and stream live news reports from London-based journalists via Facebook Live within a very short span of time, and later to stream on YouTube and the TRT World website. As events progressed in Turkey, we were able to receive additional video reports and incorporate them into the live stream. This emergency transmission stream rolled for approximately 15 hours, until the channel was able to get back on air in Istanbul.

Celebro has embraced 4K and video production over IP made possible in part by the NewTek IP Series switcher seen here in the heart of their London control room.

Celebro has embraced 4K and video production over IP made possible in part by the NewTek IP Series switcher seen here in the heart of their London control room.

SOFTWARE-DRIVEN

After great success with the TriCaster Advanced Edition, we turned to NewTek and its IP Series to help us significantly increase studio scalability and accommodate our rapid global expansion plans. NewTek’s software-driven live production technology ushered a new model of production workflows. In fact, as part of our global operations, the IP Series’ modular approach has delivered virtually limitless access to video sources and video mixing possibilities.

The IP Series is a hybrid platform that is fully backwards-compatible with traditional SDI equipment. Video, audio, control signals, metadata and tally signals are all transported digitally using NewTek’s NDI technology that creates a fully customisable IP workflow solution with endless scalability. Furthermore, the IP Series’ modular approach to production systems delivers virtually limitless access to video sources and video mixing possibilities.

Offering more configurations and complete set of capabilities, we’ve found no other solution that would enable a complete unified production workflow to the scale and scope of the NewTek IP Series. Since embracing this software-based production solution, we can provide uncompromised 4K UHD services and handle the most demanding production needs. We can also offer global broadcasters the chance to link to other studios to create more diverse content and when using NDI’s inputs, outputs and media assets that are readily available and accessible by all users in any location on the network.

LINKING GLOBAL STUDIOS

To further enhance our offering, we invested in several NewTek TalkShow VS 4000 systems, which offer professional, multichannel video calling for both SDI and IP workflows. This means we can now conduct multiple live, production-ready Skype video calls simultaneously during a broadcast. We can cost-effectively offer our clients the opportunity for presenters to facilitate compelling conversations or in-depth discussions between multiple remote guests in real-time regardless of location. Celebro is currently using TalkShow to link up our global TV studios in different parts of the world to provide multiviews from one studio location to another.

At Celebro we believe that IP is changing the way journalists can get a story on air and NewTek’s NDI solutions are a huge part of this. For most broadcasters, using IP is much faster, easier and cheaper, but it also creates a more immersive and interactive viewer experience. With the IP and NewTek solutions that we have in place, our team can build a complete gallery in one day.

As Celebro Media continues to grow worldwide, so will our investment in NewTek NDI solutions.

Wesley Dodd has 25 years of industry experience as a director, output editor, presenter, and systems integrator. As CEO, he ensures technical, operational and professional excellence across Celebro and runs its global operations. He can be reached atwesley@celebromedia.co.uk.

For more information, visitwww.newtek.comor call 800-368-5441.