The 2026 FIFA World Cup is on track to become the most profitable tournament in history. Expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches, it is creating more advertising inventory than any previous edition. The addition of hydration breaks has further increased inventory for some broadcasters, creating two extra advertising opportunities every match.

Yet despite the records being set in 2026, the industry is only beginning to unlock the full commercial potential of major live sports. The next wave of Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) innovation promises not only to improve the viewing experience, but also to create entirely new forms of inventory and measurement.

Better Viewer Experiences Create More Inventory

One of the most significant developments is Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI), the next evolutionary step in DAI technology.

Because advertising is handled separately from the primary content playlist, SGAI makes long DVR windows easier and more cost-effective to support. Viewers can rewind further, while broadcasters gain new monetization opportunities through historic ad breaks being resolved dynamically at the point of viewing, which was previously much harder to do.

SGAI also enables addressable advertising without adding latency. As broadcasters push toward broadcast-comparable live streaming, the ability to combine low latency with addressable advertising ensures monetization can now evolve alongside improvements in the viewing experience.

The Rise of Non-Linear Advertising

Perhaps the biggest growth opportunity lies in non-linear ad formats.

Traditional commercial breaks remain highly valuable, but advertisers increasingly want formats that keep viewers engaged with the action. Industry efforts led by the IAB's Ad Format Hero initiative are standardizing overlays, lower-thirds, squeezebacks, side-by-side presentations, and other interactive formats.

Some 2026 World Cup viewers have already seen similar examples. During hydration breaks, Telemundo has displayed sponsored graphics on-screen while maintaining live match commentary. Standardized formats will make similar executions easier to buy, deploy, measure, and scale across multiple broadcasters and markets.

Importantly, these formats are not dependent on SGAI. They can also be delivered through existing Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) deployments, meaning broadcasters are likely to benefit from them sooner rather than later.

Closing the Measurement Gap

The final missing piece is measurement. Viewability remains one of advertising's most important metrics but measuring it consistently across connected TV devices has proven difficult—particularly for syndicated channels and distribution partners where the rights-holder does not control the player environment.

Two emerging standards are helping solve this problem. SVTA’s ad creative signaling provides a standardized way for players to process tracking information without custom integrations. CMCDv2, developed by CTA WAVE, enables players to report standardized playback information such as playhead position and user interactions, allowing the DAI platform to perform the tracking.

Together, these approaches create a path toward reliable, IAB-certified measurement in environments where granular reporting has historically been difficult to achieve.

Records Today, Bigger Opportunities Tomorrow

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is delivering more matches, more viewers and more advertising opportunities and is already driving record revenues.

But the industry's next phase may prove even more significant. SGAI promises better viewer experiences and new monetization models. Standardized non-linear formats will create entirely new inventory around live events, while CMCDv2 and related initiatives will close long-standing measurement gaps and improve advertiser confidence.

While this World Cup may be the most profitable yet for rights-holders, the next era of Dynamic Ad Insertion is set to create an advertising ecosystem with more inventory, better measurement, and greater flexibility—further increasing the value of major sporting events.

We sat down with Paul Briscoe, TAG's chief architect, to talk about why TAG is developing MXL capabilities and what it means for broadcast operations directors navigating the complexity of IP workflows.

Q: Why did TAG decide to build MXL capabilities now?

Because our customers told us they'd hit a wall. And when that happens, you listen.

We've been in the room with broadcast engineers and ops directors through their SDI-to-IP transitions for years. They did everything right: they mastered ST 2110, got PTP timing under control, built out the infrastructure. And then they ran into a new problem: the complexity of 2110 itself became the ceiling.

Every time they wanted to add a workflow or move something to cloud, they were managing exponentially more timing constraints and engineering hours just to keep things running. The technology that was supposed to give them flexibility was now the thing limiting their growth. That's not only a technology problem, it's a business problem.

Q: What do 2110 operational challenges look like day-to-day?

Here's what we kept hearing: "We need to cover more events, but we don't have the engineering capacity to stand up another ST 2110 facility." Or: "We want to scale into cloud for certain productions, but the protocol conversions and timing challenges make it difficult to achieve."

One ops director told us they were burning 60% of their engineering time on commissioning and managing system complexity, not actually improving their workflows. That's the real cost. It's what you can't do because your team is buried in technical tasks that should be simpler.

Q: So how does MXL change that?

MXL takes the parts of ST 2110 that work really well, the formats, the capabilities, and strips out the complexity that's blocking people.

Instead of managing thousands of packets per frame with nanosecond-precision timing, media moves as straightforward memory-to-memory transfers. No PTP. No specialized UDP networks. And the same workflow runs on-prem or in the cloud without protocol gymnastics. For ops engineers, that means teams stop spending the majority of their time managing infrastructure and start spending it on work that actually drives value. That's the whole point.

Q: TAG is known as a monitoring company. Why get into transport layer technology?

We're a software company that specializes in monitoring, and because of that, we've had a front-row seat watching customers wrestle with IP workflow complexity for years.

Here's the thing: you can't monitor what you can't see, and you can't optimize what's technically constrained.

We're building MXL support into TAG's platform because monitoring needs to work seamlessly whether workflows are running on ST 2110, MXL, or any other format, on-prem or in the cloud. MXL also happens to eliminate a lot of the timing and interoperability issues that created monitoring gaps in traditional IP workflows. Our job is to make operations more efficient and workflows more reliable, regardless of transport technology.

Q: Where does an ops director start?

Start by finding where ST 2110 complexity is actually costing you.

Are deployment cycles dragging because your team is navigating integration challenges? Are cloud-hybrid workflows off the table because the complexity doesn't justify the business case? Those are the places where MXL delivers immediate value. You don't need to understand RDMA specs to make this decision. You need to understand whether eliminating PTP timing constraints or multicast networking would let you deploy faster or scale more efficiently. Then have a conversation with your infrastructure partners about how to architect for flexibility.

Q: What does MXL mean for broadcasters who are still mid-way through their ST 2110 journey, or haven't started yet?

Good news on both counts.

If you're mid-transition, nothing you've done is wasted. The video formats, audio, metadata, the fundamental constructs of 2110 are exactly what MXL moves. You're not ripping anything out. ST 2110 compatibility is fully retained, and TAG's platform already monitors both.

If you haven't started yet, you get to skip some of the hardest parts of the 2110 learning curve: the PTP domains, the specialized UDP networking, the timing dependencies that have kept IT departments at arm's length from broadcast infrastructure for years. MXL is built from an IT-centric viewpoint; RDMA and RoCE are standard IT services. That means your IT team can actually be part of this, which changes the economics and the operational model considerably.

Q: What should customers expect from TAG as MXL adoption grows?

The same thing they've always gotten from us: monitoring and multiviewing that works across whatever infrastructure they're running, with unified visibility that helps them operate more efficiently.

MXL support is already in TAG's platform. As customers deploy MXL-based workflows, whether that's in six months or two years, their monitoring keeps working and scales with them.

About TAG Video Systems: TAG Video Systems is the global leader in software-based integrated IP probing, monitoring, visualization and analytics solutions. TAG enables broadcasters, content creators, and service providers to streamline operations, cut through the complexity of IP media workflows, and keep infrastructures ahead of shifting technology and demand with Zero Friction agility. The TAG platform empowers users with innovative toolsets to ensure video quality, improve overall efficiency across all media workflows, and provides invaluable business and operational insights.

At NAB 2026, Emergent Vision Technologies showcased a cutting-edge 36-camera array. The multi-server system with GPUDirect processing is designed for high-resolution volumetric capture and renders out a 4D Gaussian splat. A 4D Gaussian splat is a 3D video that allows creators to manipulate perspectives after filming, and Emergent’s capabilities now include synced sound recording. The perspective and background can be edited in post production to create truly immersive content in VR and entertainment.

Also featured were ZENITH high-resolution, high-speed cameras built on new Sony camera sensors. These cameras are capable of up to 105MP and 811fps, with a range of resolutions and framerates in-between. These cameras are being deployed in sports and immersive content industries to capture realistic motion at very high resolutions.

Watch the video to learn more!

The GV Forum offers broadcasters and other media professionals the chance to address the pressing issues of the day.

At this year’s forum, April 18 at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, those issues ranged from software-defined workflows and new operating models for live and linear media production to artificial intelligence and aligning business and tech strategies.

The following snapshot from GV Forum offers a glimpse into some of the insights and experiences of media pros who spoke at the event.

Dynamic Streaming

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, offered CBC/Radio Canada a chance to see if the concept of a Dynamic Media Facility could deliver on its promises of agility, flexibility and scalability, said Francois Legrand, the broadcaster’s senior director at its Innovation Hub.

“We wanted to find a way to improve the production value of our digital streams without increasing the cost and maybe at the same time generate additional revenue,” said Legrand.

For its streaming coverage of curling, CBC replaced an entire production control room with a Grass Valley AMPP-based software-defined production workflow running on a server and an operator controlling the production from a laptop via a custom, CBC-built interface.

“We wanted graphics, video, audio—everything—in the same tool to have the same unified interface, not multiple windows and multiple screens,” he said. The operator could also add commercial breaks via the interface.

CBC found it to be much easier to build the interface than expected due to the “great API,” said Legrand, adding the interface enabled the operator to do bumpers and stings, add graphics, lower-thirds and perform squeeze backs.

The broadcaster targeted operational simplicity when creating the interface, providing only “the right amount of tool to do the job assigned,” thereby minimizing the amount of training time needed and operator expense, he said.

The software-defined workflow proved to be a success. Not only did it support insertion of 676 branded promos during multiple games, production of 144 hours of content and delivery to some 500,000 streaming viewers for some matches, but it also proved to be quite agile and flexible, said Legrand.

Automation, Orchestration and AI

Globo, like other broadcasters, is being asked to address the appetite of viewers for more live sports coverage without significantly larger budgets, creating the need “to do more with less,” said Mauricio Felix Vasconcellos, Globo executive director of technology.

The first step in achieving that goal is to have the right technology in place. “We need a platform that can guarantee that we can orchestrate it and change quickly,” he said.

“We believe we can reduce the operational requirements a lot with automation, orchestration and using artificial intelligence,” said Vasconcellos.

While technology costs money, it can also enhance the efficiency of staff to enable Globo to do more with less. “Today we operate in a control room with six or seven people,” he said. “How can we reduce that to two multi-skilled people so we can do more events at the same time?”

The right technology can make workflows more efficient, transforming the business to achieve this productivity goal, he said.

Getting to a platform that can unlock these workflow benefits, however, will require Globo to transition to IP to leverage the benefits the IT world brings to the table, he said.

“With IP, we can have the flexibility to use the network and infrastructure as we want,” said Vasconcellos. “This is where we want to get, and that is why it is important we keep focusing on our partners.”

The technical component to workflow efficiency also involves an orchestration layer with the intelligence to enable production of multiple sports at the same time or multiple newscasts simultaneously while accommodating the specific capabilities and characteristics of different operators, he said.

The cloud, too, will play an important role going forward. “I see that three years from now, we are going to improve the interoperability between cloud and on premise. MXL is coming. I think in two or three years things are going to get simplified and streamlined.”

Software-Defined Live Production

Enhancing production efficiency is a priority at Warner Bros. Discovery, said company vice president, operations, Chris Brown, and the media giant’s “integration rooms,” the production control rooms sitting between multiple sites, game sites and its studios, have been a great place to start.

“We looked at where we could save a little bit of money, become a little bit more efficient because of all of what it [software-defined production] promises as far as the reduction of staffing,” he said.

Deployed for “some time now,” the GV AMPP-based software-defined live production workflow is enabling Warner Bros. Discovery to run those rooms consistently with no engineering.

To a casual observer, the Warner Bros. Discovery’s integration rooms look a lot like a traditional control room. But upon second glance, there are only control surfaces and some monitoring—no other equipment. “There are just HEVC streams coming from the cloud or on-prem, depending on where you’re running it,” he said.

Production teams simply enter an integration room, decide what they want to do and provision the room as required via GV AMPP’s API orchestration, he said.

Pressing a single button provisions the room to the production requirements of a specific live show. “It will spin up an AWS machine, deploy the GV workspace, spin them all up and wire them all together,” he said. “Then what you see are monitors light up and pictures appear so you can do the production.”

“What we’re hoping to be able to get to is a place where we can then begin to realize an economy of scale with the [Elgato] Stream Deck [control surface] in conjunction with AMPP,” said Brown. “Ideally, we are hoping to keep it that simple.”

AI and simplification: It’s not so easy

One of the biggest challenges facing Sky is the complexity of delivering content across multiple platforms via IP, said Dave Travis, group director of content, broadcast and platforms, at Sky.

“That puts a lot of pressure on our team,” said Travis. “So, our biggest priority is managing that demand and trying to simplify. Simplification is absolutely critical, not just to Sky but to the industry at large. I think in the future, we need to make it easier across the board.”

Artificial intelligence holds the key to simplification, but it is not without risk. Noting Sky would like to introduce AI to address a range of issues, including its software development lifecycle where it could accelerate how Sky develops code, Travis said adopting artificial intelligence remains a challenge due to concerns over security and corporate compliance.

“It is a real big challenge. Some are doing AI really quickly,” he said. “If you're a small organization and don't seem to have the same corporate compliance obstacles, that may be possible. But we're a big organization, and we want to protect ourselves.”

One path forward may be promoting collaboration among various stakeholders in the industry. Still, he fears even these collaborations could lead to “an arms race patching” vulnerabilities—something he is unsure about managing. “I think our CTO conversations and technology leadership calls are going to very much focused on that properly for the foreseeable future. We have to really learn together and find a solution for that problem.”

About Grass Valley

Grass Valley drives the future of media production with seamless, scalable solutions that empower top content creators. Its integrated ecosystem—featuring industry-leading hardware, the AMPP Media Operating System, and a robust Alliance Partner network—enables efficient content production, management, and distribution.

From live global events to browser-based independent projects, Grass Valley maximizes content value, streamlines workflows, and future-proofs media operations.

With over 65 years of innovation and a commitment to open, agile solutions, Grass Valley is leading the media revolution and shaping the future of storytelling. https://www.grassvalley.com/

The intersection of Wall and Broad Streets in Lower Manhattan has seen its share of memorable events over the years at the New York Stock Exchange.

Whether it was the first time more than 1 million shares were traded in a single day 131 years ago, the Great Crash of 1929, the installation of the bronze Charging Bull sculpture two blocks south of the exchange in 1989, or simply the trading floor where traders and market makers each weekday transact, the exchange occupies a special place in the psyche of the nation.

Less public but equally noteworthy to NYSE insiders is the exchange’s recent completion of three new video production control rooms to support financial journalists and news organizations reporting on the exchange as well as to meet its own video requirements, ranging from coverage of opening and closing bell ceremonies, corporate announcements and interviews with business leaders to producing its own one-hour “NYSE Live” show streamed weekdays from the exchange via its website, the NYSE app and other streaming platforms.

Ian Wolff, director of Broadcast & AV Operations at the exchange, long dreamed of expanding the NYSE’s video production technology. So, when the exchange approved a major upgrade in 2023, Wolff was more than ready.

“It was time to do a full infrastructure upgrade,” said Wolff. “There were times we were doing three events at once in a control room designed to do one event. I wanted three control rooms that had the same exact gear and management said, ‘OK, go for it.’”

“We replaced every piece of equipment that dealt with the New York Stock Exchange control room. We went from pretty much one and a half control rooms to three control rooms.”

Before the project began, the NYSE production team was using the Ross Video XPression broadcast graphics solution and saw it could more fully leverage the system if it moved away from its existing production switcher to the Ross Video Carbonite.

“We realized that once the XPression and the Carbonite got together with RossTalk, it was a lot easier for the two of them to communicate to each other,” explained Wolff. “If we wanted to have a whoosh or something from the XPression, we could trigger it on the Ross Carbonite with ease.”

When management authorized Wolff to upgrade its video infrastructure and production control rooms, that level of seamless integration made it easy for Wolff to select Ross Video, he said.

CTI, a Ross Video Diamond systems integrator, assisted Wolff and the NYSE with the design of the rooms as well as installation and integration of the production control room technology. “CTI made me feel like I was part of the team and always treated me with respect,” said Wolff.

A large part of creating that rapport was CTI’s willingness to sit with Wolff and the production team, observe what they used to do, how they did it and ultimately bring in the new technology that met today’s production requirements, he said.

The centerpiece of each new control room is a Ross Video TouchDrive control panel controlling its own Ross Video Carbonite switcher. The main control room uses a Ross Carbonite Ultra 60 3 ME advanced production switcher, while the other two control rooms are each outfitted with their own Carbonite Ultra 24 3 ME switchers. The installation also relies upon a variety of Ross Video openGear modular cards to support various signal processing tasks, as well as Ross Video Tally Control.

The NYSE also deployed Ross Video XPression with support for real-time data to power broadcast graphics generation in each control room. Having the ability to import real-time data into XPression is critical to much of what the NYSE produces as the constantly changing stream of price ticker data drives the on-screen presentation of ticker crawls that many viewers tune in to see.

Production Workflow

Production control room workflows at the NYSE are essentially identical to those that drive most TV newscasts and other live shows. Typically, about 10 production personnel are required in the control room. From directors and floor producers to camera operators and teleprompter, also included are playback and show producer.

The NYSE house production format is 1080p 60. However, Wolff’s production team hands off 1080i HD to journalists, broadcasters and outside production houses that frequently rely upon the exchange for video. The exchange uses Ross Video openGear processing modules to convert from the house production format to 1080i.

In October 2025, the NYSE began using the last of its three new production control rooms to come online. Having three rooms available has proven to be a blessing due to the increasing volume of live production done daily at the exchange. Rather than having to double or triple up simultaneous productions in a single control room, NYSE is well-equipped to handle multiple live productions at the same time.

For the foreseeable future, the NYSE production control room buildout will continue to support a mix of HD-SDI 1080p baseband signals as well as a limited number of NDI IP video sources. While 4K isn’t on the table at the moment, Wolff and CTI worked together when designing the control rooms to be prepared for 4K/UHD. “We’re ready for 4K if somebody says the world is going 12G and everybody needs it,” said Wolff.

“I think we’ve futureproofed this house as much as we can. If management says, “We want you to start going 4K, we have the gear and the capability to do it.”

Looking back on the project, Wolff expressed a great deal of satisfaction with and an appreciation for the willingness of both Ross Video and CTI to address any issue that came up during the buildout.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of different manufacturers, and I’m not saying they don’t have good support, but Ross is at the top right now—just from what they gave us anytime we needed help. Even after the buildout, when we have questions for them, they are very responsive. They treat us like family,” said Wolff.

The recent crackdown led by the U.S. Department of Justice targeting several large-scale piracy websites should be seen as both a win and a warning for the media and entertainment industry.

In a coordinated international operation, authorities seized domains tied to some of the most popular piracy platforms, including sites that attracted tens of millions of visits annually and enabled widespread distribution of unauthorized movies, TV shows, and other digital content. These platforms hosted thousands of infringing works and facilitated millions of illegal downloads, generating significant revenue in the process.

On the surface, this looks like progress. And it is. But it also highlights a deeper issue that the industry can no longer ignore. By the time enforcement actions like this take place, piracy has already scaled, monetized, and caused substantial damage.

The Reality Behind Modern Piracy Operations

What the recent takedown reinforces is just how advanced piracy ecosystems have become. These were not small, niche operations. They were highly trafficked platforms, in some cases ranking among the most visited websites in their regions.

This reflects a broader shift. Piracy is no longer a fragmented activity driven by individuals. It has evolved into a structured, scalable business model. Today’s illegal platforms are often built using cloud infrastructure, automated ingestion tools, and sophisticated distribution pipelines. In many cases, they offer user experiences that closely resemble legitimate streaming services. For consumers, the line between legal and illegal access has never been more blurred.

This is why the concept of “piracy-as-a-service” is no longer an exaggeration. Entire ecosystems now exist to support the rapid deployment and monetization of stolen content.

Enforcement Alone Can’t Keep Up

The DOJ-led seizure demonstrates that coordinated enforcement can be effective. But it also illustrates a fundamental limitation. Enforcement is, by definition, reactive. Authorities step in after platforms have already gained traction, attracted millions of users, and distributed vast amounts of content. Even when domains are seized and infrastructure is dismantled, the underlying networks and expertise often remain intact. New platforms can and do emerge, sometimes within days.

We see this pattern repeatedly. A major operation shuts down one set of sites, only for others to take their place. It is an ongoing cycle that mirrors a game of whack-a-mole, but at global scale. For broadcasters and streaming providers, this creates a critical gap. By the time action is taken, the most valuable window for protecting content has already passed.

The Live Content Problem and Expanding Attack Surface

Nowhere is this more evident than with live programming. Sports, news, and special events derive the majority of their value in real time. If a live stream is captured and redistributed during the broadcast window, even a swift takedown may come too late. The audience has already migrated, and the revenue opportunity is lost. This is why relying solely on enforcement is increasingly risky. It does not align with how quickly piracy operates today.

Another factor complicating the challenge is the rapid expansion of the content delivery ecosystem. Streaming services now reach audiences across a wide range of unmanaged devices, including smart TVs, mobile apps, browsers, and connected set-top boxes. Each of these endpoints represents a potential entry point for piracy.

If protections at the device or session level are insufficient, streams can be captured and redistributed with minimal effort. In parallel, techniques such as CDN leeching allow bad actors to exploit legitimate delivery infrastructure to scale their operations further. The result is a vastly larger and more complex attack surface than the industry has faced in the past.

Why Proactive Defense Is No Longer Optional

The lesson from the recent DOJ action is not just that piracy is widespread. It is that the industry is still largely responding after the fact. To change that, the focus must shift toward prevention.

A proactive anti-piracy strategy starts with visibility. Operators need to understand how their content is being accessed, where it is flowing, and how it behaves across networks and devices. Abnormal patterns, such as unusual concurrency levels or unexpected geographic distribution, can provide early indicators of illicit activity.

From there, the goal is to reduce the opportunity for piracy to occur in the first place. This includes strengthening device authentication, limiting credential abuse, and deploying forensic watermarking to trace leaks back to their source. Real-time monitoring and automated response mechanisms are equally important, enabling operators to act immediately rather than in hours.

Perhaps most importantly, anti-piracy systems must be adaptable. Pirates are constantly evolving their methods, often iterating on new techniques within hours. Defensive strategies must be just as dynamic.

The recent enforcement serves as a snapshot of an ongoing battle. It also serves as a reminder that the industry cannot rely on enforcement alone to solve the problem. Legal action will always play a critical role, but it is only one part of the equation.

For broadcasters, streaming providers, and content owners, the path forward requires a true shift in mindset. Instead of asking how quickly pirated content can be taken down, the more important question is how to prevent it from appearing at all. That shift from reactive to proactive is a strategic necessity. Because in today’s piracy landscape, being even a few steps behind is no longer sustainable.

Learn more at www.verimatrix.com.

As the broadcast industry expands to include more distribution partners with data-heavy workflows, the need for robust quality monitoring has never been greater. At the upcoming NAB Show 2026, Actus Digital is set to showcase major enhancements to its flagship Actus X platform, focusing on NextGen TV with A3SA encryption, sub-second browser-based interactive multiviewers, Alert Center updates, and AI-powered automation.

In the traditional broadcast world, the “compliance logger” was often a silent observer –a safety net tucked away in a server rack, recording feeds just in case there was an FCC inquiry or they needed to verify the air-check recording. Actus revolutionized a shift where the technology that once merely recorded history, is now being used to shape the present, and maintain quality through the chaos of modern content distribution.

Strengthening the Infrastructure: New Native ATSC 3.0 Monitoring with A3SA Encryption

As broadcasters rollout NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0), maintaining quality and compliance are primary concerns. Previously, monitoring these feeds was a fragmented process or not done at all. Actus X with built-in support for ATSC 3.0 with A3SA DRM encryption ensures that broadcasters can monitor encrypted NextGen TV services with the same depth, reliability, and compliance confidence they have long enjoyed in traditional broadcast environments. By decrypting and analyzing these feeds in real time, Actus X provides a seamless bridge between legacy over-the-air broadcasting and the future of television, including ATSC 3.0, FAST/CTV/OTT streaming partners, and modern baseband/2110 operation centers.

For station engineers, this means the era of “black box” monitoring is over. They gain the ability to decrypt and analyze their workflows for 3.0 and other distribution partners with the same confidence they’ve had for decades. This continuity and the ability to monitor all workflows on one intelligent monitoring platform ensures that as stations evolve, their operational integrity remains intact, allowing them to focus on the transition without fearing a loss of oversight or quality.

Actus Addresses FCC Requirements

While the shift to ATSC 3.0 introduces new technical complexities, fundamental regulatory requirements remain the same. The Actus platform is designed to handle compliance logging seamlessly across both standards, including regulatory documentation and “Proof of Compliance”.

Beyond just monitoring, Actus automates the “paperwork" side of broadcasting:

• Closed Captioning: Provides proof that captions were present and accurate, and alerts engineers when they are missing.
• Emergency Alert System (EAS): The system automatically logs all weekly and monthly EAS announcements.
• Efficient Reporting: With automated reporting, Actus makes quick work of generating and submitting reports and/or the associated media.

New Sub-Second, Interactive Browser-Based Multiviewer: Precision in the Moment

In the heat of a live broadcast, every second counts. A traditional multiviewer shows what is happening in the moment, but doesn’t always ‘catch’ issues that appear briefly. The introduction of the Actus sub-second monitoring via unlimited multiviewer layouts and MV heads changes the dynamic for on-air operations.

Not only is Live sub-second monitoring extended to Master Control multiviewers, but organization wide via standard networking on any HTML-5 browser. Monitor all of your feeds from any combination of formats or use the Penalty Box to give attention to just those in fault. In either case, Actus now provides global access with individual or grouped interactive controls.

Imagine a scenario where a Master Control Operator notices a slight sync issue across three different regional feeds or probe-points. Instead of toggling between systems, they can now quickly pause, rewind, and synchronize those feeds in a single browser window to review where issues entered a workflow, and which distribution points have been affected.This level of interactivity turns the multiviewer into a diagnostic tool. By identifying and resolving issues in real-time, stations minimize technical glitches that drive viewers away, maintaining optimal viewer experiences that protect the brand’s reputation.

Automating Quality Assurance Monitoring and Reporting: In an era where operators are managing more channels with fewer resources, manual monitoring and report generation is no longer sustainable.The Actus platform has one of the best and deepest toolsets for Quality Assurance monitoring. In addition to the extremely healthy set of parameters set to identify and alert on issues affecting audio, video, and metadata, the system also tracks additional issues of vital importance to broadcast engineers.

• SCTE messages are shown on the Multiviewer and captured for analysis with access to the JSON message data
• TR 101.290 and Transport Stream information identify P1, P2, and P3 errors
• NAVE watermarks show up on the Multiviewer and can be analyzed over time
• Loudness graphs and data can be reviewed, including a breakdown by AsRun Log

New at NAB, Actus will introduce Automatic Alert Reporting, which streamlines the oversight process. Broadcasters can now receive automated, customized alert summaries delivered directly to their inboxes. By filtering for the issues that matter most, the system eliminates “alarm fatigue” and ensures that critical errors are addressed immediately without the need for manual identification of which needs attention.

The shift toward automated, customized alert reporting changes the workflow from reactive to proactive.

Ultimately, every technical advancement in the Actus platform serves a singular purpose: to protect the connection between the broadcaster and the viewer. Whether it’s navigating the complexities of ATSC 3.0 encryption or silencing the noise of "alarm fatigue" through automated reporting, these tools bridge the gap between technical compliance and creative excellence. By allowing media professionals to work smarter and troubleshoot faster, Actus X empowers teams to focus on what they do best - telling the stories that matter - with the absolute confidence that their audience is receiving them exactly as intended.

About Actus Digital

Since 2005, and now in a bigger capacity as a LiveU company, Actus Digital has set the standard for intelligent media monitoring and compliance logging, trusted by broadcasters, media regulators, public sector organizations, and governments. With over 2,000 installations, Actus delivers a QA Compliance Logger enhanced with advanced solutions like Actus SW based multiviewer, Actus AI Media Insight for content analysis, Clip Factory Pro for content repurposing, OTT StreamWatch for OTT/FAST monitoring and Actus Remote post-STB Video monitoring (RVM). Each product can stand alone or be fully integrated into one unified platform.

Actus supports all broadcast video and streaming protocols and is available as a turnkey appliance, software/VM-based system, or SaaS. Headquartered globally with 24/7 support, Actus Digital, now a LiveU company, is accelerating innovation and delivering even greater value to customers. For more details, please visit actusdigital.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or YouTube.

I can still remember the first time I clipped a lavalier microphone on someone for a TV broadcast. It was during my internship at AT&T Corporate Television in 1978, back when razor blades were still used for editing and the smell of hot glue meant progress.

The mic was a Sony ECM-50, a small, rugged piece of engineering that quickly became my favorite. It needed a quirky little “N” battery that you could only find in specialty stores, but it sounded beautiful.

A few months later, I met what felt like pure science fiction: my first professional wireless microphone system. It was a Sony UHF transmitter and receiver paired with that same ECM-50 element, and for the first time, I could capture sound without being chained to a cable. The audio was clear, the signal was stable, and there were no wires to trip over. It just worked.

For a long time, wireless microphones felt like magic. Today, they feel more like triage. The magic has been replaced by management. Behind every concert, broadcast, or corporate event, there’s now a quiet war being fought over invisible real estate: radio spectrum.

The Shrinking Airwaves
Wireless microphones used to have plenty of room to breathe. For decades, most systems operated comfortably within the UHF television range from 470-806 MHz. These frequencies offered the perfect balance of power, antenna size, and propagation. But that was before governments realized the commercial value of those airwaves.

The first big hit came in 2009, when the transition to digital television freed up the 700 MHz band. The Federal Communications Commission auctioned that space to mobile broadband carriers like AT&T and Verizon, shrinking the number of open TV channels available for wireless microphone use. A few years later, it happened again with the 600 MHz band, much of which went to T-Mobile. Each time, the usable spectrum for professional microphones shrank.

While those auctions raised billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury, none of that windfall ever found its way back to the professional audio community that once depended on those frequencies. Wireless microphone users—from broadcasters to theaters to houses of worship—lost access to critical portions of the spectrum without compensation or assistance to transition. The mobile carriers that won the auctions gained valuable assets, while production teams were left scrambling to replace equipment and redesign systems at their own expense. In effect, it was a one-sided trade: Culture and communication ceded ground so commerce could expand.

What had once been an open field is now a narrow alley. In most major cities, there may be only one or two available TV channels left for unlicensed wireless microphones. The rest belong to high-power mobile networks or other licensed users. As one engineer put it, “It’s like trying to park 50 trucks in a two-car garage.”

Problems and Solutions
I recently sat down with Mike Sinclair, a professional sound designer, to chat about problems and possible solutions. He's worked on everything from live events to concerts to corporate audio and described it bluntly: “You can plan every cue, map every signal path, and test every channel, but if you don’t have enough frequencies to manage the production there’s very little you can do.”

Even when you do find enough open frequencies, it doesn’t mean it will stay quiet. Modern environments are packed with devices that share or spill into the same spectrum. Multiple digital services are now actively competing for what is ultimately the same limited bandwidth.

The problem isn’t just about congestion; it’s about unpredictability. What used to be simple “set and forget” gear now requires active management. Sound engineers who once mixed audio now find themselves either running RF scans, plotting frequency tables, and negotiating for airspace—or spending a boatload of additional cash buying wireless systems that will do the investigating and hopping for you. Every production feels like a temporary truce with chaos.

The answer is often counterintuitive. You might think throwing more power and more money at the problem would make things easier, but in many cases, it doesn’t. As Sinclair told me, when multiple wireless systems have to coexist in tight spaces, very close together—like, for example, Broadway theaters—the solution is precision, not brute force. Engineers have to be surgical, using highly directional antennas and carefully tuned devices that keep their signals tightly contained to avoid interference.

Devices Fight Back
To survive in this new landscape, manufacturers have had to reinvent their technology. Early wireless microphones operated on fixed frequencies. Modern systems can tune across wide ranges, automatically scan for open spectrum, and adjust power output on the fly.

One possible approach could be treating each microphone as a separate radio signal, using one wide channel to transmit dozens of audio streams using time-division multiplexing. In simple terms, it sends tiny slices of each audio channel in rapid succession so that multiple mics can share a single piece of spectrum without stepping on each other. Sennheiser, one of the world’s leading innovators in professional wireless audio, has been at the forefront of developing new spectrum-efficient technologies, such as Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems (WMAS).

Joe Ciaudelli, the company’s director of spectrum and innovation, explained that WMAS technology "occupies a broader bandwidth but transmits multiple audio channels within that space using time-division multiplexing. This design dramatically increases spectral efficiency, enabling dozens of microphones to operate in a single TV channel.”

Solutions like this allow both microphones and in-ear monitors to operate in the same RF channel, dynamically allocating bandwidth based on priority. A lead performer can get full-fidelity, low-latency audio, while a backstage communication channel can tolerate higher latency and lower quality. For large productions, this means far more microphones can coexist peacefully in the same space.

For high-profile events, technology alone isn’t always enough. On-site professional frequency coordination can offer productions peace of mind by managing and accounting for each frequency.

Companies like Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) provide RF management and coordination for various events, including major productions like the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Jim Van Winkle, general manager at PWS, emphasizes that their competitive edge lies in on-site experience. He notes that an experienced RF coordinator is a "game-changer," bringing invaluable knowledge for pre-planning and crucial troubleshooting if issues arise.

For smaller or budget-limited productions, advanced technology safeguards can still help avoid chaos. One such approach uses wireless transmit/receive pairs that continually search for and stand by with clean backup channels. If interference or dropouts are detected on the main channel, the devices automatically switch to that backup while beginning a new search for the next available path.

Another company that has fully embraced the need for adaptability is Wisycom, a manufacturer long respected for its RF engineering in broadcast, live performance, and location sound. Its CEO, Davide Morsiani, said RF coordination has become "one of the biggest challenges in modern production—not because engineers lack skill, but because the spectrum itself is shrinking and unpredictable. Every location behaves differently, and even the same venue can change throughout the day. Our goal is to give users visibility and flexibility across the widest possible tuning range, so they can adapt instantly rather than rely on luck."

And one final approach that should be mentioned, despite its quixotic nature, would be for the FCC to actually begin policing the use of approved frequencies, as it's clear that everyone isn’t playing nicely in the sandbox.

Unified Voices
Technology alone isn’t enough. The professional audio industry has also learned that it needs a stronger and more unified voice in the policy arena. Shure led the formation of the Wireless Microphone Spectrum Alliance (WMSA), bringing together manufacturers, engineers, and end users to create a coordinated front at a time when spectrum access continues to shrink.

Shure has been deeply involved in the development of regulations in the United States and other countries, with spectral efficiency as the center point of its advocacy. According to Prakash Moorut, Shure’s global head of spectrum and regulatory affairs, WMSA now provides a platform for the industry to proactively educate policymakers about preserving wireless microphone access to spectrum, even as manufacturers innovate to use the remaining airwaves more efficiently.

The WMSA's work is already gaining traction. With more than 200 members, it has begun drawing attention in Washington at a critical moment, as the United States prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and later welcome the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, two enormous global events that will rely on hundreds of wireless microphones for live performance, broadcast, and ceremony production.

Its outreach spans the White House, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), FCC, and Congress, reinforcing how essential wireless microphones are to live performance, broadcast, cultural storytelling, religious services, and civic engagement. As Sinclair put it, “We can innovate all we want, but without spectrum, we’re just building better paperweights.”

Sinclair also floated an idea that goes beyond better microphones and smarter antennas—fixing the imbalance at its source. Many parts of the radio spectrum are still occupied by legacy government systems that haven’t been modernized in decades. Instead of pleading for scraps of spectrum, the professional audio industry could partner with agencies to modernize their outdated communications equipment, offering better technology in exchange for access to cleaner airwaves.

He suggested manufacturers and private sector innovators could help by providing modern replacements for that aging infrastructure, freeing up underused bands for shared, coordinated access. “There are military and public safety systems out there still running gear designed in the 1970s,” Sinclair said. “They’re holding huge chunks of spectrum hostage because no one’s upgraded them.”

As Moorut noted, during the 600 MHz auction, broadcasters—one of the largest groups of professional wireless microphone users—received roughly half of the auction’s proceeds, around $10 billion. That scale of compensation underscores how valuable this spectrum is to the wider media ecosystem, why the wireless production community must be included when national spectrum decisions are made, and how meaningful funding already exists to support the kind of modernization Sinclair is calling for.

Engineering Creativity Under Constraint
Despite the challenges, the show always goes on. Engineers have adapted by developing meticulous coordination strategies that resemble air traffic control. Frequencies are planned weeks in advance, with backup sets pre-programmed and tested. Large events can involve dozens of engineers managing hundreds of transmitters and receivers, all synchronized to avoid collisions.

Sinclair recalled a recent broadcast where every spare frequency was spoken for. “We had to label each transmitter like it was a boarding pass," he said. "One mistake and someone’s mic would vanish mid-sentence.” Some productions have even started reverting to wired microphones for reliability, not as a nostalgic choice but as a practical one.

It’s a strange twist: The technology that once symbolized freedom now represents a kind of scarcity. Yet within those constraints, creativity thrives. It forces precision, collaboration, and a renewed respect for the craft of live sound.

If history is any guide, the demand for wireless bandwidth will only grow. Each new generation of mobile networks (5G, 6G, and beyond) will hunger for more spectrum. Without deliberate protection for professional audio, the remaining white spaces could vanish entirely.

Spectrum is a shared public resource. Every wireless signal, from a singer’s microphone to a teenager’s smartphone, travels through the same air. What’s at stake isn’t just bandwidth, it’s the ability to express and connect through live sound.

The professional audio community has always been inventive, finding ways to make art work under constraint. But the next chapter will depend on collaboration—engineers pushing technology forward, manufacturers sharing innovation, and policymakers ensuring that culture has a place in the spectrum. The future of wireless audio won’t be about finding empty space. It will be about learning how to share it wisely.

This op-ed originally appeared on our sister brand AV Networks/Systems Contractor News.

Ever feel like simply keeping up with the mixing demands of live production prevents you from doing your best work?

With so many microphones across the field, court, or set and so many channels to monitor and mix, it can be overwhelming. Adding to the challenge are ever-present budget realities that demand A1s do more with fewer people and tighter timelines.

But that equation is changing. The new Shure DCA901 digital broadcast mic array combines 78 individual microphones to create eight distinct software-steerable channels, an audio DSP that powers a built-in automixer, and control software to ease setup and reduce the burden of managing multiple microphones used to create a conventional mix.

With the DCA901 array, A1s can build their mixes as they truly intend them to be rather than out of concern over the precise positioning of mics, microphone failure or unwanted noise from, for instance, fans in the stands who may drown out the sound of a shoe squeak on court or a player calling for the ball on a football (soccer) pitch.

Ultimate Control

Consider a conventional live audio production for a televised basketball game. An A1 working with assistants would attach shotgun microphones to the stanchions supporting the backboard and point each toward the court, providing a wide pickup pattern. A pair of lavalier mics—one at each net—would also be attached to pick up the ball hitting the rim or the swish of a nothing-but-net free throw—and another shotgun mic at midcourt.

Add into the mix an assortment of on-camera mics, other mics positioned around the arena for crowd noise, and a couple of cameras with shotgun mics attached to capture the sound of those in-your-face under-the-basket shots.

Now consider replacing most, if not all, of that with a DCA901 mounted to each stanchion. With the microphones’ easy-to-use control software, individually steerable coverage lobes are positioned to cover each half of the court. Using the array’s Auto Position feature found in its web-based GUI, an A1 selects a channel and instructs an assistant to make a sound at a desired location. Using that sound, the system automatically aims one lobe at the sound to pick up audio from that location.

The DCA901 offers several key benefits in this scenario. First, there are far fewer possible points of failure—fewer mics and backup mics, less cabling, and fewer wireless channels that might fail. Next, setup time drops dramatically—from hours to as little as 30 minutes. Gone is the need for back-and-forth between an A1 and an assistant, tweaking each mic's orientation. Instead, DCA901 lobe steering is done in software away from the array. Fewer mics, backups, and support gear, along with faster setup, translate into lower production costs.

More Intentional Mixes

Perhaps the greatest benefit of using the DCA901 is that it unlocks the full potential of A1s to mix live productions the way they want, not as they must. The array’s powerful, yet easy-to-use functions and software give A1s the freedom to mix with intention.

For instance, replacing so many conventional microphones with a pair of DCA901s in the basketball scenario means A1s can rely upon the array’s automixer to create a submix of the action on court as it moves from coverage lobe to lobe rather than mixing multiple audio channels coming from stanchion shotgun mics, lavaliers, camera mics, and the rest.

Rather, taking the submix from the DCA901 automixer and a few mics around the arena for crowd noise, an A1 has enough time to focus on the other sound elements that go into the main mix, such as sound effects associated with animated graphics, which might otherwise have been missed.

Of course, these same benefits can enhance audio production by opening up new possibilities for A1s to mix intentionally and achieve their creative vision for other sports, studio shows, and even reality TV.

Having that extra set of virtual hands makes all the difference not only for A1s but also for producers and directors, who expect their shows to look and sound great.

Click here to learn more about the DCA901 and schedule a demo in your environment.

Broadcasters, production companies, and show producers alike know that engaging audiences more deeply in their productions not only makes their work memorable but keeps the public coming back for more.

That’s why there’s been so much attention paid over the past few years to enhancing resolution—taking it to 4K and even 8K UHD—and transitioning to high dynamic range (HDR) pictures offering a much wider color gamut than standard dynamic range. Each helps to put lifelike images—those that pull viewers into content—on screen.

But what about audio production? Equal effort is being given to enhancing viewers’ audio experience as well. A number of technologies have emerged to enhance the audio experience, such as speech enhancement and descriptive audio. But it’s immersive sound that most directly engages audiences in the action by creating a captivating audio experience that’s the perfect match for 4K/8K UHD images and HDR.

Until recently, capturing immersive audio, especially for live productions like sports, has required elaborate, time-consuming mic setups and exceptional mixing diligence to create an immersive sound experience. Not only was a good deal of work needed to precisely position and tweak the mics' aim to pick up the channels required for the immersive mix, but cabling and mounting complexity grew with each new microphone.

A new digital broadcast microphone array from Shure, however, is changing that equation. The Shure DCA901 is equipped with 78 individual microphone elements that form eight lobes, which can be steered remotely in real time to create a sound field that changes as the action moves across the screen. During setup, having steerable lobes means adjusting the pickup from a central computer, not physically at the mic. During production, they mean being able to capture audio as the action unfolds.

For instance, for basketball games, two DCA901 arrays—one mounted to each backboard stanchion—provide A1s with total court coverage and the ability to steer audio pickup to capture dribbles and shoe squeaks as play moves around the court.

Beyond sports, the DCA901 is leaving its mark in live studio production, newscast production, reality TV production, and even after a shoot is finished in post-production.

Bill Oakley, Shure Associate Director of Global Product Development, recently sat down with TVTech contributing editor Phil Kurz to discuss immersive audio and the role the company’s DCA901 is playing in simplifying production of live immersive audio.

Click here to watch the interview.

If you’re running a modern media business, your technology stack probably looks like a patchwork quilt: one vendor for encoding, another for your player, a cloud studio for channels, a separate SSAI platform, and yet another system for analytics. Individually, each component might be “best of breed,” but together they create drag, integration overhead, and constant manual work.

The next wave of media companies won’t win by adding more tools. Their advantage will come from adopting an AI-First platform that understands the entire workflow—ingest, editing, playout, apps, and monetization—and uses AI as the connective tissue across every step. This is the challenge Akta was built to address.

From Disconnected Parts to an AI-First Control Plane

Today’s video stacks are assembled from disconnected parts: a dedicated encoder and packager, a separate player SDK, a QoE-focused analytics platform, and stand-alone systems for scene or content analysis. This creates isolated pockets of intelligence but no central, unified brain.

An AI-First platform like Akta takes the intelligence buried inside individual tools and extends it across your entire operation. End-to-end by design, Akta brings together live streaming and events, VOD libraries and cloud editing, FAST and linear channels, SSAI and rights/DRM/entitlements, and OTT/CTV app delivery in a single SaaS platform with a common data and metadata model. Instead of juggling vendors, you operate one integrated system.

Akta is architected as AI-First, with agents embedded throughout. These agents detect scenes and key moments, automatically cut highlight clips and alternate versions, enrich assets with contextual metadata, assemble schedules and lineups with advanced logic, and determine optimal ad opportunities and break structures in real time.

Critically, Akta moves you from “insights” to “automatic actions.” Traditional analytics can flag problems like viewer drop-off, but humans still have to log into multiple systems to fix them. With Akta, the platform that detects the issue can also edit, repackage, reschedule, and remonetize the content—often automatically—creating a control plane for your business.

Programmers Need AI-Driven Operations

Akta gives programmers a broader, AI-First model for managing channels, apps, live, and VOD in one environment. Channels sit alongside live events, OTT services, CTV/mobile apps, and deep VOD catalogs, all governed by the same AI.

Instead of basic automation, Akta’s AI Scheduling Agents understand content at the scene level, not just the asset level. They assemble channels based on editorial rules, audience behavior, and rights windows; place ad breaks at contextually appropriate, non-intrusive moments; and automatically curate special blocks from your library.

The same intelligence powers multiple experiences. The AI that programs channels also suggests homepages and rails in your apps, builds highlight playlists for live events, and surfaces the right content to the right audiences in both linear and VOD environments. You get a programmable AI brain that applies business rules consistently across platforms.

Monetization Beyond a Single Surface

Akta treats monetization as a unified discipline. One engine and one understanding apply to FAST and linear channels, live events and sports, and VOD libraries and clips, so you can harmonize strategies instead of building separate playbooks.

AI is also pushed further upstream. Akta optimizes not just at the moment of ad insertion but earlier, by detecting narrative breaks and emotional beats for better ad placement, creating alternate edits and highlight packages tailored to specific monetization needs, and identifying segments suited for sponsorships, branded content, or premium formats.

Because Akta treats broadcast, OTT apps, and FAST channels as different views on the same content and data fabric, metadata, identity, rights, entitlements, and decisions are shared. Learning from one domain (for example, VOD completion rates) can immediately inform how you package and monetize live replays or FAST channels.

The Real Business Advantage: Efficiency and Focus

The value of an AI-First platform is primarily operational. Multi-point solutions force teams to copy data between systems, manually build playlists and ad pods, repeat edits for different surfaces, and spend time on integration instead of storytelling and strategy.

Akta flips that equation. AI agents automate repetitive work like clip cutting, rough editing, and initial scheduling, so teams can focus on creative review and business decisions. A single platform becomes the source of truth for content, rights, performance, and value. Launching a new themed channel, campaign, or monetization model becomes a configuration change, not a multi-month project. Consolidating multiple vendors into one AI-centric platform reduces integration burden, contract sprawl, and maintenance costs.

Akta is built for a media landscape where AI is the operating system for your entire video business. By moving beyond a patchwork of point solutions, Akta delivers a unified, AI-First control plane and a step-change in operational efficiency—freeing teams to focus on what matters most: creativity, audience growth, and revenue.

About Akta

Akta is the award-winning, AI-first digital video platform for broadcasters and media companies, powering TV Everywhere and OTT for live and on-demand. Its turnkey workflow streamlines video from ingest to playback and monetization, tuned to perform at extreme scale for marquee events like the Super Bowl and World Cup. Beyond SVOD, Akta’s server-side ad insertion delivers premium, targeted advertising across every device, making it a leading choice for AVOD and FAST channels. Trusted by brands including CBS Stations, Nexstar, Fox TV Stations, Discovery Latam, and TelevisaUnivision, Akta unifies quality, reach, and revenue in one platform.

There’s little doubt IP-based production and contribution continue on a rapid upward trajectory in the Media & Entertainment Industry.

Offering clear advantages like flexibility, cost-efficiency and scalability, IP transport of media essences and metadata throughout studios and in other production settings has become the go-to technology for many media organizations looking for an effective alternative to SDI or a way to augment their existing baseband infrastructure.

However, choosing which IP transport makes the most sense as well as the IP contribution link solution best suited to a given application can be complicated. From a technology point of view alone, literally hundreds of data points must be compared to arrive at a solid decision. And that’s only part of the story.

The other part –and some might say an even more fundamental aspect—is consideration of the non-technical factors that go into selecting the right IP transport and contribution link technology. Things as seemingly unrelated as the revenue potential of a given production or ideal deployment of production personnel can play significant roles in making the right decision about what IP alternatives are best.

Non-Technical Factors While anticipated revenue establishes financial guardrails for all other considerations that factor into decision making, the financial equation actually starts with the size of the event in the case of remote mobile production or live studio shows to be produced in a brick-and-mortar facility.

The bigger the event and corresponding audience size, the greater the budget ad agencies and brands will spend on commercial placement. For example, the average price of a 30-second spot during the most recent Super Bowl—watched by a global audience—averaged $8 million. In contrast, a 30-second commercial during a local University football game could cost around a thousand dollars.

While a rather extreme example, the difference clearly illustrates how size and audience dictate revenue potential, which determines production budget and ultimately the technology—including IP transport and contribution technology—from which to choose.

Many other non-technical considerations factor into selecting the appropriate IP transport and contribution technology for a given project or facility. For instance, how personnel are deployed to support a preferred workflow plays a role as well.

Will everyone be on site for a remote live production, or will only select personnel, such as camera operators and an engineer in charge, be remote while others work from a brick-and-mortar production control room (PCR)? Or will even those PCR personnel work remotely from their homes or offices via their laptops, an internet connection and a cloud instance with virtual production tools?

Ross Video has recently published a new white paper, “How to Select the Right IP Transport,” which examines these and other important considerations that go into selecting the right IP transport and contribution alternative.

A perfect companion for “The Future of Signal Transport in Media" white paper that Ross Video published last year, the latest work offers guidance on what to consider in addition to the technical characteristics of various alternatives when selecting the IP transport and contribution solution that makes the most sense for any given media organization.

To read the new white paper, click here.

With so many alternatives available when it comes to leveraging IP production transport and contribution, deciding on which path to take can feel a bit overwhelming.

Not only are there numerous technical and video quality issues to keep in mind but non-technical factors that in most situations will play an even greater role in which way a media organization ultimately chooses to go.

Money, Money, Money

If money were no object, making decisions about the best IP transport around which to build a video production network would be rather simple. With unlimited funds, bandwidth isn’t really an issue, so why even compress video? Ditto for network management. If money were not an issue, organizations could simply throw more IT personnel at network hiccups, Precision Time Protocol (PTP) clock setup and synchronization maintenance, orchestration and the like.

But for most media organizations most of the time, money is a major factor—whether it’s the revenue-generating potential of the event covered or the production budget associated with those potential earnings.

That’s why those producing the few events at the pinnacle of live television production with massive advertising revenue to support the biggest production budgets, like the Olympics or World Cup, may choose to move uncompressed 1080p HD or even 4K UHD across their SMPTE ST 2110-based production network while a small- to medium-sized TV station with limited financial resources may decide on an NDI network moving an AVC or HEVC compressed video.

As the term implies, “uncompressed” in effect means “untouched.” No effort has been made to reduce the amount of data required. AVC or HEVC on the other hand apply a good deal of compression to reduce the amount of data that must move across the network. So, how much data?

By way of comparison, an uncompressed 1080p 60 HD signal translates into 3000 Megabits per second (or 3Gigabits per second). The same signal compressed using the HEVC codec ranges from 3.5 to 15Mbps, but a nice midpoint is about 10Mbps. Clearly, the bandwidth needed for the latter is far less.

Between these two extremes there are a number of other alternatives, such as IPMX and Dante AV when it comes to IP transport protocols, and JPEG XS and JPEG 2000 when it comes to codecs. Each changes the equation, not simply in terms of how much network bandwidth is necessary but also when it comes to many other technical and non-technical factors, such as latency, workflow, network management and where production personnel will be located.

On top of these decisions, it’s necessary to take on a similar balancing act to select the IP contribution link that best meets a media organization’s needs.

Ross Video has published a new white paper, “How to Select the Right IP Transport,” which examines these and other considerations Media & Entertainment Industry organizations should think about before making a decision about which alternatives best suit their individual needs.

This examination does not seek to recommend one alternative over another but rather to equip readers with the knowledge and background they will need to assess their organization’s requirements and evaluate various options.

Click here to read this new white paper.

Remote integration model (REMI) production is transforming how live television sports and entertainment events are being produced.

Increasingly, the producers of these events are opting to contribute video and audio from the field to a centralized production control room hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away to switch the show, mix audio, create graphics, titles, and replays and add all the other production sizzle once nearly exclusively done on site from mobile units.

Whether done from a brick-and-mortar production control room or a cloud instance of one with virtualized versions of those familiar production tools, REMI offers media organizations and other rights holders significant cost savings, greater staffing flexibility and more efficient production workflows.

When paired with live video streaming, REMI production has played a significant role in the growth of remote productions, as smaller audiences can be served affordably with live production of special-interest events and niche sports.

Given the reliance on remote video and audio contribution to make REMI production successful, it should go without saying that the greater the level of real-time remote monitoring and control of audio and video sources, the higher the level of production that can be delivered.

When it comes to audio, Shure unveiled a new mic’ing solution in September that not only can easily be monitored and controlled remotely but also delivers unmatched convenience and audio quality.

The new Shure DCA901 Digital Broadcast Microphone Array is an ideal REMI audio solution thanks to its eight individually steerable lobes that are fully controllable remotely via Ethernet LAN or WAN connectivity.

The Technology

The DCA901 uses an array of 78 elements that create the eight steerable lobes. Together, they create wider sound field coverage than traditional analog setups.

With a web browser interface, a user working remotely can manually steer each lobe during initial setup to cover where action is anticipated—whether that’s a basketball court or a government meeting—making the process fast and easy.

The array offers a single Dante or AES67 connection to deliver audio, power and control, further reducing setup complexity and eliminating possible points of failure. It also comes with presets, further simplifying setup.

At the heart of the DCA901 is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that provides eight audio channels, stereo and mono automix outputs and Pre-Fader Listen (PFL).

The automixers select the maximum number of lobes to use during a production based on acoustic energy. In addition to automixing, the DSP provides beamforming with precise directional control, noise reduction to minimize ambient sound for clear audio in loud environments and Parametric Equalizing (PEQ) finetuning for tonal clarity. The array also eliminates spatial aliasing and phase misalignment with synchronized processing.

Multiple DCA901 arrays can be used together, ranging from as few as two for basketball to 12 or more for soccer.

For certain sports, such as soccer, using DCA901 arrays with Edge Sound Research Virtual Sound Engine control software is highly desirable. The software relies on tracking data from systems like Hawkeye to control which DCA901 array lobes capture desired sound from the field—whether it’s the sound of a specific player kicking a penalty shot or multiple players battling for the ball.

REMI Setup and Workflow

The DCA901 streamlines remote production setup and workflows. The arrays can be used as a drop-in replacement for shotgun, parabolic and even wireless lavalier mics typically used for remote sports, meaning no special setup accommodation is necessary.

Offering independent, precise control over the steerable lobes, the mic’s web browser-based interface makes setup simple and fast. If game conditions should change, on-the-fly adjustments are just as fast and easy to make.

Rather than a long, tedious setup of multiple shotgun and parabolic mics to ensure proper placement for anticipated game conditions, the eight lobes of each deployed DCA901 can be set up quickly and remotely with the web browser interface. Changes can be made manually, and tracking solutions are available.

This is especially important in REMI workflows where audio engineers work remotely and use WAN connectivity via Ethernet, making it feel as if monitoring and controlling arrays is done on-site.

Beyond REMI

While the DCA901 is an ideal audio pickup solution for REMI production, it’s equally well-suited to other production applications. On-site sports and entertainment production can benefit from the same setup, monitoring and control convenience as well as audio quality of the array as REMI applications.

In TV studios, the DCA901’s steerable lobes can be used to ensure audio pickup of talent walking across a set, such as a meteorologist walking in front of a green screen.

Affixing a DCA901 overhead in a lighting grid is another great studio application for the array. In the event the wireless mic or mics used by talent fail, the overhead array can guarantee that clean, intelligible commentary continues to reach viewers at home.

The DCA901 even offers documentarians a great audio pickup solution for shooting environments with restrictions on the number of crew members and equipment allowed to enter.

Capable of picking up 360 degrees of audio, the array eliminates the need to mic every individual in a setting, and recording each lobe separately gives documentarians a lot of flexibility in post-production.

Fading Out

Remote TV production is changing as rightsholders, event organizers and producers look for more cost-effective production approaches with simplified workflows.

REMI—both from brick-and-mortar control rooms and virtual—has continued to grow, as many of the video and audio production tools once confined to mobile units can now contribute content and be controlled via IP connectivity.

Shure’s new DCA901 Digital Broadcast Microphone Array is the perfect audio pickup solution for REMI workflows. It can contribute audio and be remotely controlled and monitored via IP and respond instantly to changing pickup requirements with eight individually steerable lobes.

The DCA901 delivers crisp, clear audio of dribbling, shoe squeaks, swishes, baseball bat hits, golf swings and other sports sounds without having to have mic operators on hand.

Even outside of sports, the Shure DCA 901 Digital Broadcast Array microphone has what it takes to leave a lasting mark on the game of TV production.

Shure Incorporated, founded in 1925 by Sidney N. Shure as The Shure Radio Company, is an American audio products manufacturer, recognized for its microphones and other professional audio electronics. Initially selling radio parts, the company later expanded into consumer and professional audio products, including wireless systems and phonograph cartridges. Shure microphones have been used by numerous performers and public speakers, and are endorsed by many professionals. Privately owned by the Shure family, the company maintains a global presence. In 1998, a Shure product was utilized to transcribe a large library of music.

Modern newsrooms are under pressure to deliver compelling content in an increasingly competitive media environment. Viewers expect more than just accurate reporting—they want visually engaging stories that keep them watching. Traditional, static graphics fall short of meeting these demands, leaving newsrooms struggling to capture attention, maintain retention, and stand out.

To overcome these challenges, Ross Video offers a comprehensive graphics suite tailored for modern newsrooms. Combining powerful tools like XPression, Voyager, and Datalinq, the suite empowers broadcasters to deliver captivating, data-driven visuals with unmatched efficiency.

Static graphics limit engagement

Newsrooms face several key challenges when it comes to engaging their audiences with graphics:

1. Lack of viewer engagement

Static, linear graphics are often clear but fail to excite or immerse viewers deeper into a storyline, leading to reduced attention spans and lower retention.

2. Limited workflow efficiency

Integrating advanced graphics such as virtual sets, touchscreens, and data-driven visuals can be cumbersome without the right tools and can slow down production teams during live broadcasts.

3. Adapting to diverse formats

Newsrooms need graphics that can seamlessly transition across platforms and formats, from traditional broadcast screens to AR and virtual environments, without creating technical bottlenecks.

Ross Video’s graphics suite

Ross Video’s graphics suite redefines what’s possible in newsroom visual storytelling. By combining cutting-edge technology with user-friendly workflows, the suite enables broadcasters to create captivating visuals without compromising efficiency.

Dynamic visual storytelling:

Tools like XPression and Voyager enable newsrooms to craft immersive visuals for LED displays, on-set monitors, touchscreens, and augmented reality or virtual sets. Imagine election night coverage where an anchor interacts with real-time vote tallies or weather forecasts enhanced by dynamic 3D animations. With XPression Tessera, broadcasters bring dynamic storytelling to life by scaling graphics seamlessly across multiple screens, from video walls to on-set monitors. Its streamlined workflow—from design to MOS-driven playout—enables teams to deliver visually impactful, story-centric content with unmatched efficiency.

Real-time data integration

Datalinq, Ross Video’s powerful and unified data integration tool, connects your newsroom to live data sources across the entire suite of Ross Graphics solutions, such as election results and financial updates. This ensures that graphics are always up-to-date, accurate, and delivered in real-time, critical for maintaining audience trust during fast-paced news cycles.

For example, broadcasters can display real-time vote counts across interactive maps during election night, ensuring viewers stay informed and engaged.

For weather data, Ross Video’s Raiden integration is a specialized solution designed to enhance broadcasts with visually rich and precise weather graphics. Raiden is accessible through a web-based UI that can be used anywhere and has full MOS integration for seamless newsroom workflows.

Keep Reading: Discover how Raiden has Transformed Weather Coverage Workflows with RÚV

Simplified workflows for complex graphics

Ross Video’s graphics suite is designed to simplify even the most complex production workflows, providing a unified platform to create, manage, and control all graphics systems seamlessly. With the single MOS plugin, broadcasters gain unparalleled efficiency by controlling virtual sets, video displays, linear graphics, maps, and weather graphics—all from one interface and gateway.

This level of integration is a game-changer, reducing complexity while enabling teams to deliver high-impact visuals with ease. Tools like XPression Maps/Maps Touch and XPression Touch Factory further enhance this capability, allowing on-air talent to interact directly with graphics and create a more engaging viewer experience—all without adding burdens to production teams.

Scalable and future-proof solutions

Ross Video’s suite is built to adapt to the changing needs of newsrooms. Whether you’re integrating virtual sets with Voyager or expanding your capabilities for new platforms, the graphics suite scales effortlessly, ensuring your newsroom remains competitive in a rapidly changing media landscape.

What sets Ross Video apart

1. Unified Data Connectivity: The Datalinq plugin connects all devices to deliver real-time, data-driven graphics seamlessly.
2. Advanced graphics capabilities: Ross Video provides the tools to create captivating visuals, from AR and virtual sets to dynamic video walls. Video walls are now essential for modern broadcasts, enabling impactful standups with engaging, branded content. By integrating video walls, AR, XR, and insert graphics into the same platform with MOS workflows, Ross Video ensures seamless branding and streamlined operation, simplifying production while maintaining visual consistency.
3. Streamlined workflows: The single MOS plugin ensures easy operation across the entire graphics suite, reducing complexity, training time and costs.
4. Innovative weather integration: Features like Raiden weather integration empower broadcasters to enhance their weather coverage with visually stunning, easily customizable, data-rich graphics. With the ability to create and deliver weather graphics from anywhere in the world and seamless MOS workflow integration, Raiden streamlines production while maintaining flexibility. This unique combination ensures broadcasters can easily deliver impactful, real-time weather updates, no matter where their weather teams are located.

Real-world success stories

Broadcasters worldwide trust Ross Video’s graphics suite to elevate their newsroom operations:

• Election night coverage: A leading broadcaster used XPression and Voyager to create real-time, interactive election maps that displayed live vote counts and historical comparisons, keeping viewers engaged throughout the night.

• Weather reporting: By integrating Raiden weather with XPression, broadcasters transformed their weather segments with dynamic, 3D visuals, showcasing storm trajectories and rainfall predictions in ways that captivated audiences.
• Captivating storytelling: Ross Video’s XPression Tessera powers video walls with dynamic, story-centric visuals for breaking news updates, live interviews, and interactive storytelling. Whether showcasing real-time market fluctuations or presenting a timeline of unfolding events, XPression Tessera simplifies operations while delivering a polished, professional look that captivates audiences.
• Public health and crisis reporting: For public health crises or large-scale emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ross Video’s Datalinq plugin integrates live data feeds directly into graphics. From tracking infection rates to visualizing vaccine distribution, these tools provide audiences with accurate, real-time updates in a visually compelling format, fostering trust and understanding during critical moments.

Transform your newsroom graphics

Boost viewer engagement: Dynamic, interactive visuals capture attention and keep viewers watching longer, increasing audience retention and loyalty.

Streamline newsroom workflows: Simplified integration and operation free up production teams to focus on storytelling, not troubleshooting or specialized content creation.

Future-proof your broadcasts: Scalable solutions ensure that your newsroom can adapt to new technologies, formats, and audience expectations.

Next Steps: Elevate your newsroom today

Ross Video’s graphics suite offers the tools, integrations, and support you need to transform your newsroom’s visual storytelling. From live data integration to dynamic visual effects, our solutions ensure your broadcasts captivate and inform.

“Chanteurs Masqués” (Canada’s version of “The Masked Singer”), one of the most popular shows on the airwaves north of the border, is riding high with this season transitioning from hourlong episodes to 90 minutes to feed the insatiable fan appetite for the program.

An entertaining mix of singing celebrities in elaborate costumes, exciting choreography and fantastical sets, the show has captivated the imagination of viewers with audiences of almost 2 million tuning in weekly to the show on Canada’s TVA French-language television network.

Going into its second season with augmented reality (AR) Sept. 14, the show’s producers have turned to the technology to keep viewers on their toes and wanting more.

“With AR, it’s possible to transform the studio into a completely different space,” says show Producer Julie Ross. “It allows us to open up a range of possibilities that we don’t have with real set elements.”

Since September 2024, “Chanteurs Masqués” has wowed fans with everything from a virtual airplane flying overhead on set to a tropical paradise complete with virtual palm trees gently swaying in the breeze thanks to augmented reality.

Luc Sirois, director of the show, remembers seeing what augmented reality could do for the first time in 2019 during the Video Music Awards performance of Missy Elliot when a UFO appeared above the stage. “I didn’t understand what it was,” he recalls. “It was too big to be rigged on the floor. I called Jonathan [Fortin, CTO of Montreal-based mobile production firm Rec4box] and asked him: “What the hell is going on?”

Fortin began to do his research, and by the next year he and Sirois were ready to tackle Canada Day production for CBC/SRC with AR. “It was a total learning experience, but we did it,” says Sirois.

When the show’s producer came to Sirois about adding AR to the production of “Chanteurs Masqués,” he expressed confidence and trust in selecting and using Ross Video’s technology.

Rec4box developed its AR tech infrastructure around the Ross Video Voyager and Lucid virtual production solution, which harnesses the Epic Games Unreal rendering engine to create photorealistic virtual environments.

Four flypack-housed servers, each running Ross Voyager, are positioned front of the house at the studio. Voyager AR is applied to four channels of video from the 12 cameras used for the production. The AR channels, clean feeds of those four channels and feeds from the other eight cameras are sent to a mobile production unit where the show is switched, mixed and recorded live to tape.

Rec4box owns a host of Ross Video Voyager AR systems used by other clients and was contracted by Canada’s Bell Media to build and manage another 17.

“One of the main reasons we went with Ross is because every time we need to have a specific software feature, they listen to us,” says Fortin. “We push the boundaries of the software pretty hard because we want to do big things for ‘Chanteurs Masqués,’ which is the biggest show in Canada.”

Workflow Demands
Transitioning the production of “Chanteurs Masqués” to integrate AR required Rec4box to train the production crew on the technology.

“A show like ‘Masqués’ is very regimented and requires a huge team,” says Fortin. “That team didn’t know what the effect of augmented reality would be on their jobs because it’s different. You don’t work the same way that you have worked for the past 20 years.”

However, after the training, the production staff quickly became proficient in AR. The team now thoroughly understands what AR can do and how to use it. “They've learned pretty fast, and they've discovered that they can do pretty cool things that were impossible before,” says Sirois.

Echoing Sirois’ comments, Fortin says Rec4box originally chose Ross Video’s Voyager AR solution specifically because it was so easy to learn.

Planning for augmented reality for each episode begins two months before filming via creative meetings with artistic director Geneviève Dorion-Coupal, Voyager designer/Unreal artist Maxime Rouleau-Villeneuve and some members of the production team. Depending on the characters and costumes that will be part of the season, the team develops ideas and universes to create with AR that can be advanced throughout the season and as characters develop over the course of the competition.

In a second phase, depending on the universe and the scenes created, the rest of the teams must accommodate the AR technology in different ways. For example, the choreographers must adapt their dance routines according to the AR elements and make sure the singers and dancers remain positioned in specific places to maintain the AR illusion of reality, says the producer.

“Augmented reality is a big part of our show,” she says. “In any given episode, we are using AR for two to three performances for show.” For the 2024 season, 13 episodes aired, meaning AR was deployed up to 39 times last year.

Touring the production last summer, Mike Paquin, senior product manager of Ross Video Virtual Solutions, noted the frequency at AR was being used. “I was impressed by how many AR musical numbers, they were able to create in such a short time,” he says. “If they are able to do that, there’s nothing to stop other producers from adding AR and virtual elements to their productions.”

Looking back on deciding whether or not to integrate AR into the production, Ross says she believed in what Rec4box could do with the technology, and that adding it was the right decision.

“We did it. We are proud of it, and it’s adding a very big touch to the show. I think AR is one of the reasons the show is remaining so popular,” she says. “Our AR opens up a range of possibilities for artistic direction that we can ride far into the future.”

Learn more:

Ross Video Virtual Solutions

Productions Déferlantes Demo

Rec4box website

MELBOURNE, Australia—BirdDog Technologies has made a string of new product releases aimed at helping the professional production community and the rising influencer/creator economy meet their acquisition needs with a wide range of PTZ cameras as well as IP connectivity and switching solutions—and more is on the horizon.

With IBC 2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center, fast approaching, Dan Miall, BirdDog CEO, sat down with TV Tech Contributing Editor Phil Kurz to discuss what product introductions to expect and where the company is headed.

The company, which Miall says has been hard at work “filling in a whole bunch of niches in the market,” will arrive in Amsterdam with a couple of new PTZ camera offerings. Its new XL—BirdDog’s high-end PTZ—has a 4/3-inch digital image sensor, which brings “a bit of a cinema” look to the broadcast environment, he says.

Joining the BirdDog XL PTZ at the show will be a new outdoor, weatherproof camera designed for remote operation in applications like sports and weather.

But BirdDog’s work over the past year or so hasn’t been limited to PTZ cameras. What has driven the company forward is the goal of building workflows around these cameras, whether they are deployed locally or at a distance and controlling them as easily as possible, he says.

That’s where BirdDog Connect enters the picture. The connectivity solution not only supports accessing and controlling the company’s cameras via a secure IP transport protocol but also enables the various people and functions needed to produce video, such as monitoring, switching, graphics and audio mixing, to be geographically separated as long as they have an internet connection.

The company will also highlight its MAKI Live professional stream camera and MAKI Studio production solution at IBC 2025. Click here to watch the full video interview with Miall.

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About BirdDog

BirdDog is a global video technology company dedicated to improving the quality, speed, and flexibility of live video workflows. Leveraging the power of IP video, BirdDog enables products to transmit, receive, and communicate high-definition video over standard computer networks—with low latency, broadcast-level quality, and frame accuracy for real-time switching in live production environments.

Today’s news production teams are expected to deliver broadcast-quality content in real-time across linear, streaming, and social media platforms. Despite these increasing demands, production switcher technology and workflows largely remain the same, still relying heavily on operator experience and skill to meet rising expectations.

Carbonite production switchers from Ross Video challenge this status quo. They’re packed with innovative features not typically found in standard modern video mixers and switchers—features that streamline workflows, reduce hardware dependence, and dramatically improve newsroom agility and output quality.

With tools like MiniMEs, UltraScenes, Sequences, Output Rotation, Canvas Mode, UltraChrome Chroma Keyers with Input Delay, and Rave audio mixer, Carbonite enables your team to do more with less, delivering more high-quality content across platforms while maintaining an intuitive and reliable user experience.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the advanced features within the Carbonite Switcher series and how they can help your newscast stand out while reducing the pressure on your production teams.

Assemble complex scenes with confidence

Live news moves fast. Operators must handle multiple camera angles, graphics, and data-driven overlays without missing a beat. Unlike traditional switchers that require external gear or manual layering, Carbonite’s UltraScene tools simplify complex compositions, allowing you to build and recall intricate compositions — such as multi-box interviews, layered election graphics, or branded feeds — directly within the switcher. That means more polished visuals, fewer errors, and less pressure on your crew.

Keep Watching: Discover the full power of Ross Carbonite Production Switchers in our Did You Know? video series!

Publish to every platform without extra effort

Modern newsrooms are multiplatform by default. A story might need to go out simultaneously on air, social media, and the station’s live stream. But many switchers still treat vertical video as an afterthought, requiring post-production workarounds or dedicated gear.

Carbonite supports Output Rotation, enabling native horizontal and vertical outputs. Your team can create platform-specific versions on the fly, without added editing or staffing. That means your team can produce traditional broadcast and social-first versions without re-editing or extra resources.

Deliver a consistent, on-brand look

Your newsroom’s visual identity matters. Many switchers may require external systems or manual timing to execute transitions and recurring segment templates.

Carbonite helps maintain a consistent aesthetic with pre-programmed templates for common segments, such as weather, traffic, or breaking news. With Production Sequencer, Technical Directors can pre-build more complex sequences and trigger them step-by-step during the live show. That means smooth, error-free transitions, regardless of how fast-paced the show becomes.

Scale as your production grows

News operations are constantly adapting. Whether you’re adding remote guests, launching new digital channels, or expanding coverage, your tools shouldn’t hold you back. Many modern switchers still require hardware upgrades when production demands grow, which comes with significant costs and implementation time.

Carbonite’s modular architecture and software licensing model enable you to add capacity or functionality as needed, without the need to add or replace equipment. Combined with software upgrades, Carbonite switchers evolve with your newsroom, whether you’re adding remote guests, launching new platforms, or experimenting with new channels.

Create stunning virtual sets

In today’s visual-first media environment, virtual sets and augmented reality elements are increasingly common in news production. But the high-quality chroma keying and technology required often means expensive external gear or a complicated setup process.

Carbonite’s chroma-keying capabilities are built in, making it simple to replace green or blue screen backgrounds with polished, branded virtual environments. Operators can fine-tune key edges, suppress color spill, and adjust foreground settings directly from the switcher interface, ensuring clean, believable composites and virtual sets on air. Whether you’re creating immersive weather segments, virtual interview spaces, or AR-driven election graphics, Carbonite gives you complete creative control and broadcast-ready results right from the switcher interface.

Engage audiences with multiscreen displays

Modern newsrooms often feature large-format displays, video walls, or multiscreen sets, but managing these setups usually requires complex routing and precise coordination across multiple outputs and devices.

Carbonite’s Multiscreen functionality allows operators to easily map content across multiple displays, creating a unified visual experience. Carbonite controls all outputs from a single Canvas control layer, keeping video walls, banners, and studio monitors in perfect sync during live segments.

Intuitive control with TouchDrive panels

It’s crucial to have tools that help your team stay composed on-air, even during the most intense moments. Some switchers bury advanced functionality in complex menus or require specialized training to operate efficiently. Carbonite’s interface is purpose-built for the pressure of live news production — designed for speed, flexibility, and ease of use.

TouchDrive™ control panels, combined with Carbonite’s intuitive software UI, deliver a production experience that empowers operators at every level. Quick-touch actions to trigger macros and transitions, highly customizable workflows, real-time responsiveness, and a clean interface design help eliminate guesswork, reduce errors, and boost operator confidence.

Introducing the Carbonite production switcher lineup

Ross Video’s Carbonite series of production switchers offers powerful, flexible, and scalable solutions tailored to the diverse demands of modern live production environments. Whether you’re working in a compact studio or a large-scale control room, there’s a Carbonite model engineered to meet your needs without compromise.

• Carbonite Ultra is the flagship mid-sized production switcher built with versatility in mind. Compact yet feature-rich, it supports up to 3 M/Es, 4 MiniMEs, and multiple DVEs, keyers, and format conversion paths, making it ideal for a wide range of production scenarios. It’s a reliable workhorse for broadcasters looking for high performance in a cost-effective form. 
  • Ideal for mid to large-size stations managing broadcast + digital. 
  • Flexible licensing model lets you scale features as needed. 
  • Simultaneously outputs for traditional and vertical video platforms. 
  • Delivers high-end production value without needing extra hardware.

• Carbonite Ultra 60 elevates the capabilities of the Ultra series by offering increased I/O capacity—up to 60 inputs and 25 outputs. Designed for more demanding productions, it’s a perfect fit for larger studios or multi-studio environments that need greater connectivity and future scalability. 
  • Built to handle complex, high-volume productions. 
  • Full feature set with maximum ME layers, MiniMEs, keyers, and more. 
  • Scales to the demands of regional or national broadcasters. 
  • Engineered for speed, reliability, and redundancy at scale.

• Ultrix Carbonite combines the routing, audio mixing, and multi-viewing power of the Ultrix platform with the robust Carbonite switching engine. This hybrid system delivers an all-in-one production solution that minimizes rack space and cabling while maximizing workflow efficiency, making it particularly beneficial for facilities looking to modernize or consolidate their infrastructure. 
  • Hyperconverged production platform reduces complexity and equipment.  
  • Scale quickly and economically with functionality expansion via software licenses. 
  • Hybrid SDI/IP workflow support gives you flexibility and optionality.  
  • Ideal for centralizing multiple control rooms for shared infrastructure efficiency.  

Whether you’re running a single-camera studio or coordinating a live, multi-studio newscast with AR graphics and digital outputs, there’s a Carbonite switcher built for your workflow. Each model shares the same intuitive control experience, powerful live production tools, and seamless integration with Ross infrastructure so you can grow without compromise.

Choosing the best model for a newsroom setting

In a newsroom production environment, speed, reliability, and workflow integration are crucial. In this context, Carbonite Ultra often presents the best balance of features and value. Its native compatibility with Ross OverDrive automation, streamlined control panel options, and ample M/E resources make it ideal for managing dynamic, fast-paced newscasts where operational simplicity and technical reliability are essential. Additionally, its compact footprint suits smaller control rooms, while still offering the performance needed for complex graphics and multi-camera setups.

However, for larger newsroom operations with multiple incoming feeds, remote contributions, or integrated master control, the Carbonite Ultra 60 or Ultrix Carbonite may be more appropriate.

These models offer enhanced flexibility and I/O scalability, enabling more robust routing and signal management without requiring separate infrastructure.

Why Carbonite works for news studios?

Carbonite isn’t just a switcher. It’s a newsroom production platform designed for the realities of live, multiplatform broadcasting. It helps your team:

• Automate complex tasks with one-touch precision 
• Deliver consistent, branded visuals across every segment 
• Publish to linear, social, and digital channels simultaneously 
• Create virtual sets and multiscreen visuals with ease 
• Grow capabilities without changing gear 
• Reduce errors and stay on air—even when things change fast 

Modern demands need modern tools. With Carbonite, your team moves faster, works smarter, and produces better content day after day.

Contact our team for assistance in finding the ideal Carbonite switcher for your needs.

Local newscasts don’t exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what’s working, what isn’t and perhaps most importantly, what’s working for the competition.

Many are starting to take note of competitors that have introduced striking camera movements into their news programming—something that more closely resembles what viewers see at the movies, not traditionally on their TV screens.

A good case in point is ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” the morning news staple that’s using more cameras and cuts than ever as well as cinematic camera movement to create drama—even when stories seem run of the mill and not particularly dramatic—and engage viewers more deeply in stories.

Many local news directors have noticed what GMA is doing and are getting serious about adopting similar techniques with the help of next-generation camera robotics from MRMC to help replace the typical lean-back news viewing experience with one that pull viewers into their stories..

Midwestern Mid-Market Station
One mid-sized station group recently deployed three MRMC robotic systems with lift, pan and tilt capability, including one in a studio some 60 miles from the station under centralized remote control to make the most efficient use of station personnel.

The units, which almost always are moving, enable the broadcaster to integrate a wide range of shots into its productions, including those typically associated with studio camera robotics as well as a more dynamic wide shot that emulates one from a traditional jib that is much slower and drifts.

The never-ending stream of shots from this robotic unit as the camera slowly ping-pongs up and down to capture video from different elevations and angles is frequently switched into news programming to hold the attention of viewers. A long-time producer of the show estimates the addition of this setup has enabled 40% to 50% more cuts to heighten viewer engagement than were typically used in the same show 15 years ago.

Large-Market East Coast Station
One large-market station on the East Coast has deployed an MRMC StudioBot XL robotic arm in its news studio to replace a Steadicam rig and operator with a fully automated alternative that can reliably and repeatedly capture interesting moving shots designed to attract and hold the attention of news viewers.

The broadcaster now relies on the robotic arm to integrate camera movements around physical objects, news anchors and reporters and virtual objects into its newscasts, effectively bringing camera movement to its production that were only available in top tier productions a few years ago.

Knowing the camera moves it wanted, the station pre-programmed the StudioBot XL to automate desired movements when launched by an operator who also attends to other duties. At present, the station is at work on integrating the robotic arm into its MOS-driven news automation system and control.

The news studio where the StudioBot is deployed is three studios in one. As multiple StudioBot robotic arms are deployed, the station will have the ability to do so-called “down-the-line” shots from different studios and make it look to viewers as if the talent in the shots are in the same studio.

Large-Market Southwest Station
Attracting attention and engaging viewers doesn’t simply have to be confined to newscasts. A large-market station in the Southwest has deployed an MRMC StudioBot to do double duty. During newscasts, the StudioBot XL robotic arm is used to add striking camera movements to stories to drive viewer engagement.

When sweeps occur, the station pairs the same robotic arm with a high-frame-rate camera to create high-speed whip pans around anchors and other presenters that are used in interstitials and promos.

The station has setup two software profiles for StudioBot XL—one a broadcast profile for everyday work and the other for the high-speed moves—making it fast and easy to modify operation of the robotic arm to match the task at hand.

Cashing in on Robotics
Another call letter station has deployed MRMC robotics and motion control to drive production and commercial revenue. By integrating cinematic camera moves into its production services portfolio, the station is now able to offer local and regional advertisers production techniques typically associated with national spots.

The station has combined its StudioBot robotic arm with an LED stage, making it possible for clients to unleash their creativity. Not only does this mean more billable hours for production services, but it also has given the station a powerful way to incentivize clients to book commercial time and drive higher revenue.

Regardless of a station’s size, local newsrooms face a similar challenge. How can they hold onto existing viewers and encourage those who have left to return?

Adding cinematic camera movement into the mix of shots making up a newscast can set a station apart from its competitors and give viewers a new way to experience the news. MRMC is helping many stations to realize these goals with the addition of the company’s next-generation robotic pedestals, arms and lift systems.

Each delivers the repeatability, workflow integration and performance stations can rely upon to achieve the dramatic visual flair they require to capture the audience without disrupting ongoing operations.

With the help of these next-gen camera robotics and the fluid motion control they deliver, call letter stations are attracting audience, building viewer loyalty and opening up new opportunities to enhance their standing in the highly competitive news marketplace and grow commercial revenue.

MRMC Broadcast is a leading provider of camera robotics systems built on intelligent automation for virtual production and remote acquisition. As the industry shifts toward more agile workflows, MRMC Broadcast continues to deliver solutions aligned with emerging trends to enable greater flexibility, scalability, and creative freedom across studios, live productions, and hybrid environments. Learn more here.

Camera robotics and local newscasts go hand in hand. For years, stations have added robotic pedestals operating under automation control to improve workflows, save on expenses and ensure consistency.

But there’s much more to robotics and newscasts—especially if the goal is to add striking cinematic camera moves with the range and fluidity of camera motion associated with Steadicam rigs without incurring the initial cost of equipment and recurring expense of an operator.

For those types of moves, a robotic arm mounted to a robotic pedestal or track system can unlock the true potential of camera movement by enabling cinematic camera motion.

Leveraging the latest robotics technology, such as the MRMC StudioBot multi-axis robotic arm, newscasts can move cameras smoothly behind and around anchors, reporters and AR graphics to engage viewers on an entirely new level.

Similarities and Differences
The technology that creates cinematic camera movement shares many characteristics with the robotic pedestals in use at many local stations. For instance, both ensure camera movements are precise and repeatable. Both also move cameras without a heavy reliance on skilled workers and the physical stamina of operators. Both can even support a full-sized studio teleprompter.

Like the robotics used today at stations, a robotic arm or robotic arm-pedestal combination is cost-effective over time, streamlining labor and operator costs, and when it comes to MRMC’s StudioBot, the robotic arm can be integrated into a Media Object Server (MOS)-based news automation rundown.

There is one critically important difference that distinguishes a robotic arm or robotic arm-pedestal combination from traditional robotic studio camera setups: specifically, unmatched creativity.

When combined with virtual sets and augmented reality (AR) graphics, the freedom of movement MRMC’s robotics offers and their seamless integration into this virtual world create opportunities to engage viewers more deeply in stories and experience news in a way that holds their attention.

A track-mounted robotic arm or one mounted to a robotic pedestal can follow an anchor or reporter walking around a news set. They can shoot behind reporters and anchors as well as move smoothly around AR graphics to reveal critical details viewers need to understand certain types of stories. While sets may change, the range of motion and repeatability of shots allow newscasts to maintain a consistent look. Operators benefit as well because they will remain familiar with the types of shots and workflow required.

The How-To
Creating this type of cinematic camera movement on a news set requires the right combination of hardware and software. From a hardware perspective, stations will need one or more multi-axis robotic arms. They can be mounted to the floor, the ceiling or a track system. The MRMC StudioBot can also be mounted on a robotically controlled pedestal, offering maximum creative and placement freedom.

Software essential to creating cinematic camera moves in the confines of a TV studio includes AI-powered talent tracking, collision-avoidance LiDAR scanning and MOS-compliant production automation software. If multiple systems are needed, software to control multiple cameras and multiple robotic systems will also be necessary.

Understanding a bit of the back story of MRMC, or Mark Roberts Motion Control, makes it clear why the company can help broadcasters make striking cinematic camera moves part of their newscasts.

MRMC was founded in 1966 when its sole focus was building rostrum animation camera stands, which led to developing motion control camera tech for the film industry. The effort included the development of motion control camera tracking software and camera rigs as well as push motion control rigs. Since then, studios and producers have relied on MRMC solutions to make thousands of movies, episodic television shows and commercials.

For its efforts, MRMC has received multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Technical Engineering as well as the Queen’s and King’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade. The company’s technology has even made it to outer space, assisting SpaceX and Boeing with automated docking with the International Space Station.

In 2017, Nikon acquired MRMC and since then has supported the company in its mission to bring motion expertise to television broadcasters and producers. Major broadcasters now use MRMC robotic camera systems for introducing and connecting sequences between live news segments, remote VR-based productions for major sporting events and adding camera control and cinematic motion to broadcasts from small studio spaces.

MRMC Systems For Local TV
To make it possible for local stations to add cinematic camera moves in their news studios, MRMC has developed a range of technology solutions, including:

• StudioBot XL—a 9-axis robotic arm with a 5’8” reach that can support 44 pounds, including a camera, lens and teleprompter. Quick and easy deployment; enables integration into AR and VR setups.
• StudioBot LT—a 6-axis robotic arm with a 4’2” reach that can support 22 pounds. Its compact design offers exceptional flexibility, enhancing production quality in the most confined spaces.
• Prompter support, including a PTZ prompter.
• Robokam control/automation software—MOS-compliant software that enables news producers to trigger cinematic camera moves from newscast rundowns, create dynamic motion paths and control multiple robotic camera systems.
• Track Robotic Head (TRH), a lift column that runs on rails and can also carry a teleprompter.
• Rail Lift Systems (RLS), a cost-effective solution that combines lightweight lift with horizontal rails, creating jib-like motion from the floor, wall or ceiling. Perfect for adding motion to PTZ cameras.
• Polymotion Chat—AI-driven, automatic talent tracking software leveraging a computer vision engine that detects limbs and builds stick models to track subjects more reliably than face-tracking solutions. Supports multi-camera production and allows for people to be occluded by walking in front of one another.

For stations that have previously invested in robotic camera solutions and pedestals, MRMC enables stations to integrate its robotic camera arms into existing studio workflows, while offering a full range additional solutions to support PTZ, studio and cinecameras, creating a pathway to cinematic camera moves while enabling stations to fully amortize their current systems.

Affordability
Local stations have a long history of adopting technologies—some quite expensive, like news choppers—to stay one step ahead of the competition, build bigger audiences and ultimately earn higher ad revenues. When considered in the context of vital news tech investments over the years like ENG and SNG vehicles, helicopters and production control room equipment, the technology required to add striking cinematic camera moves to local news is affordable.

Not only will this technology pay for itself over a three- to five-year period, but it also offers local stations a way to compete more effectively with cross-town TV rivals and the digital platforms Americans increasingly cite as their go-to sources for news.

Adding MRMC robotic solutions to newscasts isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Stations can augment their existing robotic pedestals by separately adding a ceiling track-mounted MRMC StudioBot, for example, to introduce cinematic camera movement while continuing to derive the full value of their investment in existing robotics and replacing those less-capable systems when that technology approaches its end of life.

Given the highly competitive nature of local TV and the never-ending mission of building audience, stations would do well to evaluate the expense of the tech needed to create cinematic robotic camera moves not simply on the basis of its price tag, but also on the cost of doing nothing and missing out on all of the advantages these systems bring to local news.

MRMC Broadcast is a leading provider of camera robotics systems built on intelligent automation for virtual production and remote acquisition. As the industry shifts toward more agile workflows, MRMC Broadcast continues to deliver solutions aligned with emerging trends to enable greater flexibility, scalability, and creative freedom across studios, live productions, and hybrid environments. Learn more here.

Local television news has a serious problem. Average audience size is declining, which threatens ad revenue of news-producing stations and ultimately their long-term prospects.

The decline has occurred across dayparts. Pew Research Center’s Local TV News Fact Sheet, released in September 2023, shows falling audience numbers for local morning, evening and late night local news. For instance, the average number of TVs tuning into the local evening news of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates in 2016 was 4.1 million. In 2022 it was 3 million.

Local stations must find a method to transform typical lean-back news viewing in a way that allows viewers to experience stories as they unfold.

Doing so will stem the viewership slide, bring back former viewers and attract new ones, especially a young demographic that grew up immersed in their Xbox and PlayStation games. With more news viewers, stations will then more easily be able to stave off digital competitors and preserve ad revenue.

Look Alikes
TV newscasts tend to look alike from station to station. Local stations frequently rely on the same, or very similar, camera placements and moves. While there may be slight differences in the number and types of cameras used, shot composition varies little among competitors. For viewers at home, this makes it difficult to distinguish one newscast from the next and offers little reason for them to change the channel.

Over the years, broadcast consultants have made small fortunes on their recommendations about how to set their clients apart from the competition—whether that’s branding, promotions or even a new news set.

News directors, too, take their best shots at setting themselves apart from local competitors with tools like investigative and hyperlocal reporting, the latest weather radar and traffic and tower cameras. The problem is, given enough time and budget, all of the stations in the market adopt similar measures, perpetuating the look alike problem.

A New Approach
There is another way to stand out from the crowd and attract a bigger audience, however. Integrating striking cinematic camera movements with new and advanced broadcast workflows for the right stories can distinguish the look of a station’s newscasts from its competitors.

For example, a medical reporter or guest doctor reporting on a condition like myocarditis might be captured walking around an animated AR representation of a human heart pointing out abnormalities as the camera follows. Similarly, a reporter in studio reporting on a jet crash could walk behind an AR 3-D model of the plane’s engine with the camera following as she points out where investigators are looking for clues for the cause of the accident. These cinematic camera moves, the functional equivalent of shots captured with a Steadicam rig, simply cannot be achieved with traditional studio camera robotic pedestals.

Used appropriately to engage viewers more deeply in a story and give them the feeling of experiencing news rather than simply leaning back and watching, these types of cinematic camera moves are an effective way to stand out from the competition and give viewers a reason to tune in.

They offer a couple of other advantages from an editorial perspective, as well. Not only can cinematic camera movement help journalists tell better stories, but they also offer greater creative freedom, which means that even if a competitor adopts a similar strategy, the creative differences in the ways they are used will still create a noticeable visual difference.

Winning Against Digital Competitors
It would be a mistake to think the other stations in town are the sole competitive concern of news directors and station managers. The Pew Research News Platform Fact Sheet reveals a far from rosy picture for broadcasters in the contest for eyeballs. Pew found in the summer of 2024 that 58% of U.S. adults preferred digital devices while only 32% favored TV for getting their news.

Cinematic camera moves, however, offer broadcasters an advantage over digital competitors simply because of the typical size of a TV screen compared to those on smartphones and tablets. With so much more real estate, television is the perfect medium for dramatic camera movement, giving broadcasters a leg up against digital platforms when it comes to engaging audiences more fully and enabling them to experience—not simply consume—the news.

Beyond Typical Robotics
Robotic pedestals and jibs are nothing new to local newscasts. Local stations have deployed them for years to automate camera movement, reduce expenses and ensure consistent performance.

However, there’s so much more the right camera robotics can do, particularly in terms of creating the cinematic camera movement needed to transform local newscasts. For instance, combining a robotic arm with a robotic pedestal can create the freedom in camera movement typically found in movies but rarely on TV news.

For years, local broadcasters have thanked viewers for allowing them into their homes. Using robotic arms to capture cinematic motion, those broadcasters can now give viewers experiences with their anchors, reporters and stories that more closely resemble the ones they have with invited guests.

MRMC Broadcast is a leading provider of camera robotics systems built on intelligent automation for virtual production and remote acquisition. As the industry shifts toward more agile workflows, MRMC Broadcast continues to deliver solutions aligned with emerging trends to enable greater flexibility, scalability, and creative freedom across studios, live productions, and hybrid environments. Learn more here.

The latest spotlight in TMT Insights’ “A Day in the Life” series, highlighting the skills needed for success in Media & Entertainment (M&E), focuses on Brian Pelletier, Vice President of Technical Solutions at SDVI, a cloud-based media supply chain management company.

Our conversation covers Brian's far-reaching M&E experience, SDVI's approach to customer projects, the industry's shift towards cloud-based workflows and supply chain reinvention, and the advice Brian would give his younger self.

Talk a bit about your current role and what SDVI brings to each customer engagement.

I lead SDVI’s Solutions Team, which includes technical account managers, solutions architects, and customer support engineers, helping customers define and implement their supply chain goals from both technological and operational standpoints. We examine what they want to achieve through technology, and then we ask: What do their operators need to make the system functional, so that the customer’s entire business benefits?

What sparked your drive to go into M&E, and what continues to fuel your passion?

What else is there for a lifelong media guy to do? I’ve been in the industry for nearly 35 years, in one way or another. I was a kid who grew up listening to the radio and watching MTV. In college, I got a job in master control, working overnight on Friday and Saturday, before I was even old enough to go out for a beer. I started taking on production jobs: master control, directing news, and production manager duties. I did just about every job at the local television level, including graphics, editing, and set design.

Eventually, I moved into regional technical direction for sports, which helped me understand how systems interconnect and led me to engineering and pre-sales roles. I worked on early server and automation systems, think tape-to-server transitions, which led to work as a solutions architect during the “channel in a box” era, working closely with graphics automation and later systems engineering teams. So, it’s safe to say I’ve done a bit of everything.

Many projects in the M&E industry now involve multiple partners and collaborators. How does SDVI approach these engagements? Do you start with a common baseline and customize from there?

Yes, there’s always a baseline approach. For example, every supply chain begins with getting content into the system before it can be modified or processed. That’s a foundational technology layer that’s common across engagements. From there, and I say this a lot, but it’s true: The most important thing we do is listen to how customers describe their pain points and challenges. We then help design a system that not only supports them technologically but also wins the hearts and minds of operations teams. We never want to implement tech just for the sake of having tech. It must be a real solution that moves their business forward, whether they’re shifting to the cloud or optimizing an existing cloud-based supply chain.

SDVI is a long-time partner of TMT Insights. Has SDVI’s collaboration with TMT Insights led to new product integrations, such as combining Rally with Polaris for media supply chain management?

The close partnership between SDVI and TMT has been crucial in delivering integrated solutions to customers. Although each product is agnostic, our two companies and their respective offerings complement each other well, and, similarly, Rally and Polaris are synergistic in the way that they operate. Polaris serves as a single pane of glass that sits atop your existing supply chain, handling order management, demand signaling, systemic gating logic and operational dashboards, while Rally is the supply chain orchestrator, managing all content processing, application services and infrastructure. Working in tandem, the two systems minimize friction between back-end automation and front-end operations.

Not only do our two systems work together in tandem, but our teams also work closely together to ensure customer success. We have tremendous respect for the deep technical expertise that TMT Insights has assembled. They know Rally very well, and they understand the concepts of Rally-managed media supply chains. We share a common vision to bring agility and efficiency to media operations, and the combination of what my team and the TMT team brings to projects makes that vision a reality for our customers.

Cloud-based platforms look significantly different today than it was a few years ago. How has SDVI Rally kept pace with industry trends and changing customer expectations?

Early on, many companies approached the cloud with a “lift and shift” mindset, simply replacing hardware with cloud-based equivalents. Now, customers want to reinvent their supply chains with smarter, more agile operations that can respond to changing business needs. The cloud isn’t just infrastructure anymore. It’s a platform for innovation. Rally has evolved with these changes and today, it truly enables elastic scaling of compute services and the integration of third-party tools.

Can you elaborate on the specific soft skills and mindset shifts that you believe are most important for success in the evolving media and entertainment industry?

Technical broadcast expertise will always be critical, but development skills and listening are the keys for translating customer needs into real solutions. Their businesses are changing rapidly—whether it's marketing, sales, or content distribution, and their systems must keep up. Content is still king, but the speed and diversity of content delivery are accelerating.

How does SDVI's team approach continuous learning and stay up to date with the latest industry trends and technologies beyond just the training provided by cloud vendors?

The SDVI team takes courses on new cloud providers and stays up to date with changes in AWS, GCP, and other platforms, leveraging the facilities each provider offers. We also have regular conversations and meetings with our partners: What’s new in your product? How can we better leverage those tools to stay current with industry trends?

Our customers drive us in that direction, too. When there's a new solution in a space we might not have heard of, our customers often bring it to our attention. We spend a lot of time listening to what they have to say. Staying current is essential for understanding and implementing new technologies.

If you could talk to 2015 Brian, what advice would you give your younger self?

Focus less on specific technologies and more on understanding broader industry trends. You can’t be an expert in everything, but what’s most important is grasping how all the pieces fit together.

No single person can do everything the job entails, so surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. I didn’t fully appreciate that before building our incredible team, that everyone brings something unique to the table.

I’d also tell myself to get comfortable with ambiguity and change. This industry is moving faster than ever. Business models, tools, and technologies come and go, but serving the customer remains constant.

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TMT Insights is a professional services and software development company delivering leading capabilities in the digital supply chain, including media content management, cloud technology, and SaaS/D2C experiences to global media companies. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills within the media & entertainment, digital & cloud technology space, our team offers industry leading services such as strategy and CXO advisory, product ideation & innovation, cloud transformation, process re-engineering and development to our partners. As early adopters of new technologies, we embrace the power of collaboration and work with our partners to combine our guidance with action to further drive efficiency, value, and scale to their communities. www.tmtinsights.com

Change is a constant in news broadcasting, and nowhere is that more apparent than inside the newsroom. As audiences’ viewing habits change, they shift how and where they consume content. In response, broadcasters are being asked to deliver faster, sharper, and more interactive content across more platforms than ever before. 

In response, today’s newsrooms are adapting on the fly, balancing tight budgets with high production standards, and fighting for attention in a crowded marketplace. Every second counts, and every shot matters. 

So, how do you adapt your studio to meet these demands without increasing complexity or cost? And how do you build a production environment that’s agile enough to adjust but strong enough to deliver, day in and day out?

This article explores one of the most impactful answers to those questions: robotic camera systems.

From automating routine tasks to enhancing creative execution, robotics is helping broadcasters rethink how news is made and what’s possible in the studio.

Trends that are reshaping the news broadcast studio

News production changes quickly, driven by technological innovation, diversified competition, and audience demands. The pressure is on newsrooms to adapt—quickly. 

Here are three trends that are reshaping the news broadcasting studio, and the people in it. 

Shrinking budgets and expanding platforms

The media world keeps expanding, but budgets aren’t following suit. Online video subscriptions now top 1.8 billion globally, driven by a seemingly never-ending list of new entrants. New VOD platforms launch constantly, splitting audiences and revenue. Traditional broadcasters are feeling the squeeze.

Every dollar must stretch further. That’s why many are turning to automation to not just cut costs but unlock smarter, more efficient workflows. Robotic camera systems are stepping in to handle routine operations so teams can focus on what matters most—storytelling and production innovation.

Higher expectations and tighter production spaces

Audiences don’t just want the news. They want an experience. Today’s viewers expect dynamic camera angles, creative visuals, and sleek production. And they want that available on the streaming platform of their choosing.

At the same time, studio space is shrinking. Premium real estate comes at a cost, and broadcasters must make the most of every square foot. That means finding tools that deliver more coverage with less clutter.

Robotic cameras integrated into the set design and mounted on ceilings, walls, and rails are helping broadcasters reimagine the studio—not just as a space but as a storytelling tool.

There is no room for poor-quality content

With over 200 streaming platforms and social media creators pumping out content 24/7, standing out isn’t easy. In this saturated environment, quality is everything.

Standing out isn’t just about the content itself, either. It’s how it looks, moves, and feels. To accommodate this need, broadcasters are adopting a stream-first mindset—designing every shot, angle, and camera move to captivate audiences the moment they tune in.

How robotics is changing the game for news production 

Robotic camera systems aren’t just replacing manual operators—they’re redefining what’s possible in the modern newsroom.

In a high-speed, multi-platform environment, broadcasters need tools that deliver precision, consistency, and creativity, without incurring astronomical production costs. That’s where robotics comes in.

Smarter studios with smoother workflows

Today’s robotic camera systems go far beyond basic pan and tilt. They integrate deeply with newsroom automation and AI to help broadcasters:

• Capture complex shots with repeatable precision. Move the camera exactly the same way, every time. No drift. No variance. Just clean, professional results—on cue. 
• Track talent in real time with facial and body recognition; AI-based facial and body tracking systems keep the camera focused on anchors or guests, even if they move unpredictably. No joystick or manual tracking is required. 
• Optimize limited studio space. From ceiling-mounted rails to free-roaming pedestals, robotic systems make full use of tight floorplans. Every wall becomes a canvas, dramatically enhancing storytelling possibilities and viewer experience.  
• Centralized software simplifies control. Operators can manage multiple cameras from a single interface, which means fewer bodies in the studio, more flexibility behind the scenes, and fewer resources needed to create amazing content. 
• Reduce production stress. With pre-programmed shots and automation, producers spend less time chasing camera cues and more time focusing on content. 

Built for today and ready for innovation

The most powerful advantage? Flexibility. Robotic camera systems scale with your needs, making them an ideal solution for today and suitable for what’s to come in the future. 

Add new shots. Reconfigure the set. Integrate graphics. Or flip the whole studio layout on its head. When you do, the system keeps up without the need to purchase or rent additional equipment.

In a world where hybrid production models are becoming the norm, robotics play a crucial role in remote workflows, supporting centralized control across distributed teams.

The result is a smarter, more resilient newsroom. One that’s ready for tomorrow, no matter how fast the headlines move.

Real-world applications for robotics in broadcast news

The shift to robotic camera systems isn’t theoretical. It’s already happening in top-tier newsrooms around the world.

Broadcasters like Sky Germany are proving what’s possible. In a recent studio overhaul, they integrated a combination of cable-based, ceiling-mounted rails, robotic pedestals, and AI-driven tracking systems to support their flagship news and sports coverage. 

The result? A fully modernized studio that delivers dynamic, repeatable shots with fewer resources and zero compromises on quality.

The cameras are no longer just tools, they’re part of the storytelling. With automated tracking and programmable movements, operators can deliver precise transitions, studio sweeps, and close-ups that rival high-end sports productions.

And it’s not just Sky. Across the industry, newsrooms of every size are turning to robotic camera systems to:

• Boost visual quality without growing headcount. 
• Maximize limited floor space with ceiling or wall-mounted units. 
• Simplify multi-camera production for live and breaking coverage. 

Whether it’s a national broadcaster revamping a flagship news set, or a regional station future-proofing its studio, the goals are the same: more creativity, more control, and more confidence with every show.

Robotic news production starts here

News production is evolving, and robotic camera systems are leading the charge. They help broadcasters overcome shrinking budgets, rising viewer expectations, and the complexity of multi-platform delivery. By automating the technical and unlocking creative possibilities, robotics lets studios work smarter, move faster, and deliver sharper content.

Whether you’re looking to modernize your space or scale your operation, robotics offers the flexibility and performance today’s newsrooms need.

Want to dig deeper? Download the full Robotics in Focus guide from Ross Video and explore how your studio can lead the next broadcast revolution.

“Austin City Limits,” the longest running music program on TV, has a storied history, presenting music legends and pioneers since 1974.

Since its launch, which featured Willie Nelson, the weekly show has presented a diverse set of musicians and bands, ranging from B.B. King and Elvis Costello to Garth Brooks and to Allison Krauss & Union Station.

Austin PBS, which is responsible for production of the PBS favorite, recently began a technology refresh to replace its existing technical infrastructure that’s been in place since 2011. First up was the router, which was replaced in February before the start of the show’s 51^st season, says Chris Ostertag, Chief Technology Officer at Austin PBS.

The broadcaster selected the Ross Video Ultrix hyperconverged media processing platform to replace its aging router. The new 80x80 (five 16x16 3G-SDI cards) router is the first component Austin PBS deployed in its hyperconverged Ross Ultrix platform, which brings together multiple capabilities traditionally associated with individual pieces of equipment into an integrated solution.

“The hyperconverged option is able to replace routing and multiviewing, specifically, but also can do embedding and de-embedding,” he explains. “That’s important because we obviously have a heavy, heavy audio component to the ‘Austin City Limits’ show.”

“The Ross Video hyperconverged Ultrix also has enabled us to scale down the footprint of routing and terminal gear,” he says. Saving precious rack space is particularly important to Ostertag because the Moody Theater where the show is produced is not owned by Austin PBS.

Once the next phase of the tech upgrade, including multiviewer and terminal gear, is completed, Ostertag expects to free up about one full rack of space as well as remain “conservative” when it comes to power requirements, he says.

As an added benefit, freeing up space means Ostertag has more room to “space things out,” giving the broadcaster more cooling flexibility. “Our room isn’t really a full-on machine room with redundant CRAC [Computer Room AC] units,” he says. “We generally have good, but kind of normal, office cooling in that room. We feel a little bit better about cooling in there with a smaller, lighter footprint.”

Another important consideration in choosing to deploy a hyperconverged solution for “Austin City Limits” production was cost. “Price obviously is a piece of it, not having to buy all of these different technology components,” says Ostertag. “Plus, if something goes wrong, there is one place to go. It’s the same company for everything, the same chassis. There’s no room to point the finger at someone else.”

Beyond the Ross Video Ultrix, Austin PBS has also deployed a Ross Video Carbonite production switcher, he adds.

While the new technology supports 3G-SDI signal distribution and ultimately 1080i distribution via local public broadcasters, Ostertag is keenly aware that 1080p, high dynamic range (HDR) and even UHD might be in the future for the show.

“It’s going to depend on the trajectory of when PBS gets there,” he explains. “This is a nationally distributed PBS show and that will play a major role in deciding where we go from here.”

But Ostertag is confident the production facility will be able to adapt to any future eventuality, in part, due to the flexible hyperconverged technology vision at the heart of its ongoing technology refresh.

Systems integrator Key Code Media consulted on the design and installation of the equipment refresh for Austin PBS at the Moody Theater.

For more information be sure to check out the following resources:

Ross Video case study

Behind The Scenes Tour of Austin PBS

Consumers today expect broadcast content to be available whenever, and wherever they want. Broadcasters are under increasing pressure to create and disseminate content in real-time and on-demand across an ever-growing number of platforms and formats. If they don’t, their competitors will.

In this environment, downtime is not an option, and reliable broadcast operations are a must. This article will explore the impact of broadcast outages and the resulting downtime and explain what to look for in a technology partner to prevent it. 

Key challenges facing media companies today

The broadcast industry faces a litany of challenges today that impact both business viability and production quality. Mounting consumer expectations and an increasingly complex broadcasting landscape continuously put pressure on broadcasters to be everywhere, all the time. 

Some factors at play include: 

Increased audience demand for instantaneous and continuous coverage

Consumer habits have shifted dramatically over the past three decades thanks to the rise in handheld mobile devices, streaming platforms, and near-universal access to WiFi or network connections. In this landscape, consumers expect instant access to live and on-demand content across multiple platforms. 

This expectation for real-time and packaged content amplifies the pressures on media companies to maintain flawless operations and uptime, while also producing high-quality and engaging content for a growing list of platforms and devices. 

Increasingly complex production demands 

Because of this evolving—and accelerating—consumer landscape, production workflows have also become more complex. Production techniques have had to evolve to keep pace with what consumers expect from certain platforms, meaning the technology that’s used to create that content also needs to evolve. 

To create more engaging and dynamic content, broadcasters may expand their production stack to include more dynamic camera shots and moves, AR graphics, and other interactive visual elements. Production workflows may also pivot from on-premises to cloud or hybrid environments. As this complexity ramps up, more possible points of failure emerge.

Steep competition and budget constraints

This increased demand comes against a backdrop of steeper competition and budget constraints in the broadcasting industry—particularly in news production. 

In this environment, organizations have to make the most out of the revenue they have. They must be intelligent to boost the quality of their content, the efficiency of their workflows, and their ability to disseminate across multiple channels in real-time and on-demand. This is on top of the need to work remotely in an increasingly dispersed talent environment. 

Downtime is not an option. It’s a high-pressure, high-paced world with significant consumer demands and an ever-deepening competitive market that includes content creators from outside of traditional broadcasting channels. 

The consequences of operational failure in broadcasting

The impact of technology downtime is felt in virtually every business, in every sector. Society has become deeply dependent on our technology infrastructure, making even the smallest outage a major inconvenience. 

Broadcasters, however, face even heavier pressures to remain operational at all times. When other platforms go down, broadcasters are expected to be the source of real-time information. If they’re down, too, the impact on the company’s reputation can be severe.

Here are four consequences of significant operational failures in broadcasting:

• Loss of audience trust and engagement. When downtime or technical failures occur, audiences lose confidence in the broadcaster’s ability to deliver consistent, high-quality content. In a crowded media landscape, viewers are quick to switch to competitors, leading to a loss in both immediate and future viewership. This can mean a reduction in live viewership and decreased loyalty over time, weakening the broadcaster’s position in the market.  
• Financial and contractual ramifications. Live broadcasts, especially high-profile events, are tied directly to advertising revenue. For instance, the cost of a 30-second ad during the NFL’s Sunday Night Football in the 2023/2024 season was around $882,000. A single broadcast failure during such a high-stakes event can lead to massive financial losses, and even expose the broadcaster to legal complications and strained relationships with current and future advertisers.  
• Missed opportunities for exclusive coverage. When broadcasters experience downtime during live events or breaking news, they miss out on delivering exclusive, real-time coverage. This can result in lost opportunities for major scoops or key moments that attract high viewership, especially for news organizations. Competitors with more reliable systems may capitalize on these moments, gaining a reputation and audience advantage, leaving the original broadcaster with diminished viewership and industry relevance. 
• Increased operational costs. Frequent technical issues lead to downtime and raise the overall cost of operations. Emergency repairs, replacement of faulty equipment, and constant troubleshooting demand additional financial resources, which exponentially raise the cost of downtime. Moreover, downtime increases the need for overtime work or hiring additional technical staff to manage crises, further inflating operational budgets.  

The above is a list of worst-case scenarios. Operational failure, however, can come in much smaller packages, like accidentally putting up the wrong camera shot or consistent lag time in a specific production workflow. These minor operational failures can add to significant time loss and headaches for engineering and production teams. While less dramatic, they’re still costly in the long run. 

Downtime is seriously costly on a variety of different fronts. Over time, these costs accumulate, making it harder for companies to maintain profitability while still investing in future technological innovations. Unfortunately, while the cost of downtime is severe, there is no shortage of factors that might cause it. 

Internal and external factors threatening media operations

Broadcasters face a variety of internal and external factors that increase complexity and introduce new points of potential failure. These factors—and potential failure points—must be identified and actively controlled to avoid costly downtime. 

Internal factors include: 

• Managing broadcast gear and IT systems in the cloud or on-premises. Balancing on-premises and cloud systems can lead to inefficiencies and disruptions if not managed properly. This is an example of how accelerating consumer demands can lead to a rapid, and potentially uncontrolled, adoption of complex broadcasting infrastructure that can introduce complexity and failure points.  
• Maintaining performance with leaner teams. At the same time as this growing technological complexity, broadcasters are facing budget constraints that often require them to shrink and decentralize their production teams. Smaller, remote teams face increased pressure to produce content faster, and on increasingly complex infrastructures. Without streamlined tools and proper training, companies risk broadcast delays, diminished performance and content quality, and errors that may lead to downtime. 
• Skills gaps when adopting new technologies. As media production increasingly relies on advanced technologies, a lack of skilled personnel can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. 

At the same time, companies face a variety of external factors, including: 

• Technological disruptions and cybersecurity threats. Events like the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage, which impacted thousands of businesses globally and caused mass downtime for dozens of broadcasters, demonstrate the severe risks of unplanned system failures. The incident caused a global ripple effect, with financial damages estimated to exceed $10 billion​. Without proper security and redundancy measures in place to mitigate against future events, media companies face similar risks of financial and reputational harm due to system outages or cyber-attacks. 
• Competitor pressure to innovate. Consumer demand and platform variety fuel innovations in content delivery, with major broadcasters leading the charge. Major, widely adopted innovations create a new standard in content consumption, which ramps up expectations for smaller broadcasters to follow suit. Failing to keep up with technological advancements can result in losing market share and relevance, making it harder to attract and retain audiences. 
• Supply chain and equipment shortages. Delays in sourcing critical equipment can stall production and lead to missed deadlines, especially in live events where timing is essential. This was made especially apparent during the pandemic when major supply chain issues crippled the global economy. In this environment, cloud and hybrid deployments became a necessity, forcing many companies—and broadcasters—to rapidly pivot their tech stacks.  

While companies can, and do, take steps to mitigate the challenges listed above, the reality is that growing complexity and diversified threats to infrastructure stability introduce a variety of potential failure points. The best way to prevent them is to partner with a trustworthy broadcast technology partner that understands the importance of uptime, and has built their products and services around the promise of reliability. 

What to look for in a trustworthy broadcast technology partner

To ensure reliability in critical broadcast operations, you need a partner with a proven track record of delivering consistent performance under pressure. 

Systems must be designed for uptime with rigorous failover strategies that keep broadcasts running smoothly even when issues arise. The ability to handle live, high-stakes events without failure is non-negotiable.

Your technology partner must provide reliable systems and adapt to the constantly changing broadcasting landscape. Innovation is key, but it must be balanced with stability. 

Partners who embrace cutting-edge advancements like cloud integration and IP workflows without sacrificing reliability are the ones who will help you future-proof your operations. The ability to evolve while maintaining performance is critical in an industry where staying ahead is essential for survival.

More information about the need for a reliable technology partner is available in this video.

To help you find that perfect broadcast technology partner, look for: 

• A history of reliable performance. Choose partners with a proven track record of consistent uptime, backed by case studies and testimonials from similar broadcasters. This provides confidence that they can handle demanding conditions without downtime. 
• Round-the-clock support. Ensure your partner offers 24/7 customer service with dedicated teams ready to troubleshoot. Quick response times prevent small issues from escalating into costly failures. 
• Industry-specific knowledge. A strong technology partner should understand the unique challenges of broadcasting and offer customized solutions tailored to your specific workflows, whether for live news or sports. 
• Robustness and redundancy. Broadcast systems must be built with robust and rugged systems to withstand demanding broadcast environments and resource usage. Integrated workflows and automation also help minimize human error. 
• Active security protection. Modern broadcast technology is vulnerable to a broad range of security threats that can compromise systems and data. Look for providers that prioritize hardware and network security as part of their offering, and actively push out updates to their products to ensure ongoing protection.  
• Training and support. A trustworthy partner prioritizes training to ensure teams are prepared to handle unexpected issues in real time, helping keep broadcasts seamless even in high-pressure situations. Training and support experts don’t just know the products, but also deeply understand the industry and the challenges that engineers and operators face. This allows them to support both technical issues, and offer guidance on how to solve wider workflow problems.  

Trust is built on reliability. In the world of broadcasting, you need partners who are as dependable as the systems they provide. Choosing a partner with proven reliability, comprehensive support, and the ability to adapt to your needs ensures that your broadcasts remain smooth, high-quality, and on the air, no matter the stakes.

The Ins & Outs of Today’s Signal Transport

As the Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry stands at the crossroads of technological transformation, the choices you make today will define your operational success in the future.

Whether you’re planning to build or upgrade new facilities, our comprehensive whitepaper, “The Ins & Outs of Today’s Signal Transport,” provides the essential insights you need to make the best decision for your organization today and tomorrow.

Learn how the right transport tech can lead to significant workflow improvements from industry experts who advised the world’s largest companies.

In today’s video streaming landscape, agility and cost efficiency are critical for success. As consumer expectations grow for live events, personalized content and immersive ad formats, service providers face increasing pressure to optimize every aspect of their operations.

At the same time, the convergence of traditional broadcast and streaming workflows is reshaping video infrastructure, driving the need for unified, flexible solutions. To remain competitive, service providers must go beyond delivering exceptional streaming experiences; they must also reduce complexity and costs.

Traditional “one-size-fits-all” streaming solutions are no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of service providers. A hybrid streaming model — integrating on-premises infrastructure and the cloud — gives service providers an operational advantage, providing the flexibility and resilience needed to meet current demands while ensuring operations are future-ready.

The Operational Pitfalls of One-Size-Fits-All Streaming

As demand for video streaming intensifies, on-premises infrastructures are struggling to accommodate the scale, agility and personalization required to deliver high-quality viewer experiences. To meet peak traffic for live events, operators often resort to overprovisioning infrastructure. Yet, in some cases, these extra resources fall short. When the infrastructure is under provisioned, video streaming quality can suffer during spikes in viewer demand, especially for major sports events.

While cloud-only approaches offer elasticity and scalability, they can also present challenges. Using the public cloud for all video workflows is cost prohibitive.

The reality is that a cloud- or on-premises-only architecture cannot meet the diverse demands of video streaming. Service providers need hybrid infrastructures that balance cost, performance and flexibility across cloud and on-premises environments. By blending the cloud with on-premises infrastructure, service providers can dynamically shift workloads to meet real-time demands, delivering a wide range of experiences from FAST and pop-up channels to premium live events. Ultimately, hybrid architectures enable service providers to support evolving viewer expectations without sacrificing operational agility or budget.

Harmonic’s VOS^®360 SaaS Solutions: Driving Hybrid Streaming Innovation

Harmonic is at the forefront of hybrid streaming innovation with its VOS360 Media SaaS and VOS Media Software.

A key use case for Harmonic’s hybrid streaming solution is the management of VOD and network PVR storage. Viewers tend to enjoy watching newly released or freshly recorded content, while older assets take up valuable storage space in service providers’ libraries. Harmonic’s hybrid streaming solution addresses this issue by enabling providers to store large-scale archival content economically on public cloud, while keeping high-demand, fresh content on-premises. This approach not only reduces the total cost of ownership but also ensures an optimized viewer experience by enabling instant access to the most relevant content, without sacrificing the accessibility of archival libraries (see Figure 1).

A crucial advantage of the hybrid streaming solution is its centralized management system that reduces the complexity of operating across both on-premises and cloud environments. Operators can manage, monitor and configure the entire workflow from a single user interface. Migrating content from on-premises to the cloud is fully automated, based on rules such as content freshness. It is also transparent to the content management system (CMS), ensuring seamless operations. This significantly reduces complexity, streamlines resource allocation and lowers costs for service providers.

Another unique benefit of the hybrid streaming solution is EyeQ™ content-aware encoding for live and file-based transcoding. This advanced encoding technology significantly reduces bandwidth requirements and minimizes cloud and CDN storage costs. With EyeQ content-aware encoding, service providers can save approximately $1,100 each day, assuming 300,000 viewers are watching video content two hours daily, making it a powerful tool for maintaining high video quality while optimizing resource usage in hybrid streaming environments.

In addition, the hybrid streaming solution enhances VOD asset transcoding, enabling service providers to balance transcoding tasks between on-premises and cloud resources. Service providers can handle routine workloads, such as adding 10 to 20 new movies to a streaming platform on a weekly basis, on-premises. For peak demands like onboarding a full content library from a major partner (e.g., Disney+), service providers can transcode thousands of assets in the cloud to avoid costly overprovisioning. This hybrid strategy ensures high scalability and cost efficiency.

Furthermore, Harmonic’s hybrid streaming solution improves disaster recovery and operational reliability. By leveraging the built-in redundancy, geographic distribution and failover capabilities of the cloud, service providers can protect their on-premises infrastructure and maintain service uptime during unexpected disruptions.

Future-Proof Streaming Starts with a Hybrid Foundation

Hybrid streaming empowers service providers to boost efficiency, reduce costs and scale their video streaming services across cloud and on-premises infrastructure. By partnering with Harmonic, service providers can lead the hybrid streaming transformation with innovative SaaS and software-based solutions that simplify operations via a centralized management system, enhance viewer experiences and deliver the flexibility needed to thrive in an evolving media landscape.

About Harmonic

Harmonic, the worldwide leader in video delivery, enables media companies and service providers to deliver next-generation streaming and broadcast services to consumers globally. Powering millions of simultaneous streams, thousands of live channels, and countless VOD requests, Harmonic's innovative cloud and software-based offerings simplify all stages of media processing and delivery for exceptional-quality video experiences. To ensure the highest service availability, Harmonic’s worldwide DevOps team provides 24/7 monitoring of the cloud platform. Whether powering live sports, ad-supported TV, TV everywhere or cloud broadcast delivery, Harmonic enables operators to meet the demand for scalable video services. More information is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

TMT Insights is inviting professionals in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry to join the growing conversation about the skills needed for long-term success, through a no-cost blogging opportunity. In partnership with the Global Media & Entertainment Talent Manifesto — a 2023 initiative addressing the industry’s technical talent gap — TMT recently launched a new type of content series, “A Day in the Life …” profiling professionals across all areas of M&E and offering readers an inside look at their roles, career journeys, and the evolving nature of their work.

The series’ first several entries featured TMT team members sharing their career stories, and now TMT is widening its scope. Published by TV Tech, “A Day in the Life …” gives professionals a platform for contributing their voice to the broader effort of defining a modern-day skills road map for the industry.

“This ongoing blog series shines a light on the people who keep our industry running behind the scenes, offering readers a glimpse into their daily work and career paths,” said Hannah Barnhardt, COO of TMT Insights.”By highlighting real-world experiences and evolving responsibilities, the series brings visibility to the upskilling, talent, and capabilities essential to supporting today’s rapidly changing media supply chain—from production to distribution.”

5 Reasons to Participate:

1. A No-Cost Opportunity to Promote and Elevate Talent. Participants have a platform to share their personal stories, career paths, and insights, helping to highlight the evolving roles and skills in the M&E industry.
2. Expand Your Company’s Visibility. Showcase your brand to a targeted audience that includes key decision-makers actively seeking innovative partnerships.
3. Influence the Future of M&E. Help shape a modern-day skills map that guides industry upskilling and workforce development as organizations transition to cloud-based environments.
4. Celebrate the Evolution of Our Industry. Demonstrate how your team is helping to shape the future of media and technology through innovation, resilience, and creativity.
5. Inspire the Next Generation. By sharing your story, you can motivate and inform newcomers and peers navigating the fast-changing digital media supply chain.

Ready to join the conversation?

The process is simple. Submit your request at https://tmtinsights.com/contact-us, we’ll reach out to fully prepare and schedule you for an interview. Any questions? Feel free to email us at info@tmtinsights.com.

With the 2025 NAB Show in the rearview mirror and a bit of time to put developments into perspective, here are three of my key takeaways from the gathering. One proviso, however. I go to the show with a pretty comprehensive schedule, so the observations I offer must be considered with that in mind.

Out of this world challenge: The Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference opening session offered a fun blend of the International Space Station, two astronauts onboard and one on stage, NASA+ (formerly NASA TV) management, and broadcast industry players.

There were two key takeaways from the session. First, despite some technical hiccups, UHD video transmission from the ISS to the Las Vegas Convention Center meeting room looked great and will serve viewers well if the Artemis 3 return of humans to the moon happens (now scheduled for mid-2027).

Second, unlike the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon when 650 million watched around the world on their TVs, billions of people will be watching on every platform imaginable, creating a serious challenge for unicast networks. Fortunately, key pieces of the puzzle to make that happen are falling into place.

Not where am I, but when am I: Say “GPS” to anyone on the street, and the first thing to come to mind probably is the app on their phone or the navigation system in their car that directs them to where they’re going. But that’s only part of the story, and as it turns out, from a national security perspective, the less important one.

GPS also delivers the highly precise time data needed to keep everything from electrical utilities to the financial industry in sync and delivering their critical services. But what if a calamity took out the satellites orbiting high above? That’s precisely what the Trump Administration is trying to address.

A month before the show, the FCC formerly asked stakeholders to propose a GPS backup. Then in Las Vegas, the broadcast industry presented its solution. Known as the Broadcast Positioning System, BPS was deployed in Las Vegas, delivering timing on par with GPS to the show floor from a TV tower on the outskirts of the city on Black Mountain.

The big thing BPS has going for it—besides the fact that it works—is the nationwide network of towers, antennas and transmitters needed to deliver it—that is the nearly 1,800 full power TV stations on air today in the United States—already exist.

Big Data Delivery Goes OTA: Big data in media is usually thought of in terms of data analytics, an AI-driven technique that is helping brands and agencies make better marketing choices and ad placements. But there’s another big data application emerging in the broadcast slice of the media space. It has nothing to do with analytics and everything to do with delivery.

At the NAB Show, E.W. Scripps, Gray Media, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair held a fireside chat, which I moderated, on their new ATSC 3.0-based datacasting joint venture: EdgeBeam Wireless.

Announced in January, EdgeBeam covered 76% of the U.S. at launch and has set its sights on nationwide coverage as ATSC 1.0 goes away over the next few years. Currently, those four broadcasters can devote about 9Mbps of their total available NextGen spectrum to over-the-air delivery of IP data, but with a 1.0 shutoff that will skyrocket to about 100Mbps.

Given the one-to-many nature of television transmission as well as a UHF TV signal’s coverage characteristics, EdgeBeam is taking aim at data customers, such as auto companies and those wishing to drive industrial IoT devices, to open up new revenue streams to broadcasters.

During the session at the NAB Show, top executives from each of the partners discussed the venture and their determination to make it a thriving business.

Of course, I am only one person and there were only so many hours in the day. Of the 55,000 other show registrants, there are likely 55,000 other perspectives on the trends that emerged during the show.

One worth hearing is that of Simon Hawkings, director of sales strategy at Ross Video. I recently had a chance to interview him about the trends he saw developing at the show—not specifically related to Ross, but rather developments that will affect the broader industry.

To watch that interview click here.

Ross Video has also shared links to some of its recent publications, including AI in sports production, its NAB Show introductions and a new white paper, “Navigating Modern Day Signal Processing."

Setting individual products aside, Simon Hawkings, director of sales strategy at Ross Video, said the cloud, artificial intelligence and viewer engagement are the three biggest trends to emerge from the 2025 NAB Show.

Speaking during an Executive Q&A with TVTech contributing editor Phil Kurz, Hawkings pointed out that the M&E Industry is in a transitional phase that will see technology vendors moving away from “selling metal to selling minutes” in the cloud and users embracing the cloud and cloud-based software to run production instances and enable other media workflows.

Contrasting the move to the cloud with previous technology transitions in the industry, Hawkings noted this one “is really different.”

“This is a more fundamental change in how we're going to do business as well as how the technology works,” he said, “and especially where Ross is coming from in the live production world.”

AI has witnessed rapid transformation in the media industry in the nine months since IBC2024, he noted.

The hype around AI has given way to real applications that improve media workflows. “People are using [AI] stuff in a practical way every day,” said Hawkings. Those include graphics, automation, transcription, auto tagging of metadata, fully assisted productions to make completed shows without an operator, facial and body tracking in cameras, highlight reel creation and clip generation, he said.

When it comes to viewer engagement, Hawkings noted the internet back channel from Smart TVs will give traditional broadcasters deploying ATSC 3.0 an effective way to identify users and serve ads and content better suited to their individual interests.

“All of a sudden now I [broadcasters] know who’s watching, and I know what they’re watching and when. [T]his is driving up ad revenue for some of these more traditional media companies, which is great,” he said.

The transitions evident at the NAB Show this year weren’t strictly limited to these technologies, however. Show organizers made a concerted effort to advance the effort they launched at last year’s show to appeal to the creator community.

“[NAB] created a forecast that said this [creator] market would be worth $500 billion… by 2030. [T]hat would be made up of 50 million professional creators. So, I think there’s a great level of interest in how the industry is going to shift and how we can take advantage of that growing market,” said Hawkings.

It really doesn’t matter whether it’s a brick-and-mortar studio, an Outside Broadcast (OB) truck or trailer, a virtualized production workflow running in the cloud or some combination of these.

When it comes to producing video, signal processing is central to the task. Simply stated, modern day signal processing encompasses the multitude of signal manipulations and modifications required to produce a show—everything from timing, synchronization, routing and distribution to production switching, character generation, audio mixing and even loudness monitoring.

Three fundamental approaches are available to meet these video production processing demands, including modular, integrated and virtualized. A fourth is a derivative of these in which two or more are combined. There are pros and cons to each.

For instance, modular processing offers extensive functionality through a broad selection of modules and extremely low latency performance—major pluses in its favor. Being hardware-based, processing modules are exposed to p obsolescence if there is a major shift in technology or what producers need. That can be particularly painful if an organization’s investment in modular processing isn’t fully amortized.

While the specifics may differ, integrated and virtualized signal processing also have their own sets of pluses and minuses. Needless to say, a hybrid of these approaches will reflect the advantages and disadvantages of its constituent parts.

Selecting the right option can be tough given the sheer number of factors that go into making an informed decision. Beyond having a clear understanding of the basic differences in processing and the strengths and weaknesses of each, a series of other factors must be considered.

For example, is the signal processing approach under consideration going to be deployed at a green field site, or will it augment an existing production workflow? Will the signal processing solution be installed in a studio where space, power and cooling requirements are relatively easy to accommodate, especially when compared to an OB unit? Does the media organization favor an OPEX or CAPEX spending model? How comfortable is the staff with the cloud?

The questions go on and on, and as each is answered a clearer picture emerges of the right direction to go.

Of course, there’s more to setting coarse than that. Each signal processing strategy must be evaluated in the context of what is happening in a rapidly evolving industry where one resolution gives way to the next, where standard dynamic range and high dynamic range must coexist to serve the widest possible audience and stereo and 5.1 surround are the warmup act for an immersive audio future.

Ross Video and TV Tech have produced a new white paper to help readers navigate the modern day signal processing landscape. In it, readers will find an examination of available signal processing alternatives with an eye towards assisting them in determining which best meets their needs today and positions their organizations for the long run.

While Ross is well-known throughout the video production industry for its wide array of signal processing technology, every effort has been made to examine the subject of modern signal processing in an objective manner. Readers not only will walk away with a clearer understanding of signal processing in modern video production workflows but also valuable guidance on selecting which approach is best for their individual circumstances.

Whether it’s modular, integrated or virtualized—or even some combination of those options— modern signal processing will play a central role in video production for the long haul. Our new white paper, “Navigating Modern Day Signal Processing,” will give readers the background they need to proceed with confidence in charting their organization’s way forward.

Click here to download the white paper.

In today’s fast-paced sports broadcasting environment, the role of the studio is becoming increasingly central to the overall production. Whether it’s pre-game analysis, mid-game breakdowns, or post-game commentary, sports broadcast studios are expected to deliver content that engages viewers visually as much as it does editorially. A key part of achieving this engagement is the ability to capture dynamic, creative shots that enhance the storytelling within the studio.

Yet, for many studios, managing complex camera movements and maintaining high-quality visuals across broadcasts can be a challenge. Traditional camera setups often rely on manual operation, which can result in inconsistent shot quality, operational inefficiencies, and higher production costs. With the growing need for real-time responsiveness and flexibility in studio environments, more advanced solutions are required to streamline camera operations and ensure smooth, polished visuals.

CHALLENGES IN CAMERA OPERATIONS FOR SPORTS BROADCAST STUDIOS

Inconsistent camera movements and shot quality

One of the biggest challenges in sports studios is ensuring smooth and consistent camera movements. Whether it’s a transition from one host to another, a sweeping shot across a panel of analysts, or a close-up to emphasize a key point, these movements need to be flawless. In traditional setups, these shots are controlled manually, leading to inconsistencies in timing, framing, and execution. As a result, the overall quality of the broadcast can suffer, diminishing the professionalism and impact of the in-studio segment.

Smooth, well-timed camera movements are essential for maintaining viewer engagement. For example, during a heated discussion among commentators, a poorly executed camera transition can disrupt the flow of conversation and diminish the viewer’s experience. Achieving consistent, seamless transitions is crucial to delivering a visually compelling experience that keeps the audience focused on the content, not the production.

Operator-intensive production requirements

Managing multiple camera angles in a live studio environment requires a highly skilled and coordinated team. In traditional setups, each camera must be controlled by an individual operator responsible for executing precise movements. This level of manual control can be time-consuming and labor-intensive and requires experienced operators who can react quickly to real-time developments in the broadcast.

The complexity of certain camera movements—like smoothly tracking talent as they move across the set—can present challenges, particularly in automated setups. While manual operation often provides the nuance needed to make such movements appear natural, automated systems can struggle to replicate the same fluidity without manual intervention. Maintaining a large crew of skilled operators to achieve high-quality, consistent results can drive up production costs, making it harder for studios to stay within budget while delivering polished broadcasts.

Limited flexibility for real-time adjustments

A sports broadcast studio is an inherently dynamic environment. Hosts move around the set to interact with graphics, video walls, or other studio elements. In some cases, they might shift locations unexpectedly or stand up to make a point more emphatically. While manual camera operators excel at making reactive adjustments with precision, relying on a dedicated operator for each camera can be inefficient and costly. Scaling this approach across multiple cameras significantly increases production complexity and budget, making it difficult to maintain efficiency in fast-paced broadcasts.

Traditional automated cameras result in inconsistent or delayed camera responses, which impacts the flow of a broadcast and may lead viewers to miss key moments or become distracted by awkward framing. Flexibility in camera movements and framing is especially critical in sports studio settings where timing and smooth transitions are vital to maintaining professionalism and viewer engagement.

The role of automation in solving studio camera challenges

As the demands on sports studios increase, many broadcasters are looking to automation to streamline their camera operations. Robotic camera solutions, like the ones used in top studios, help bridge the gap between manual operation and full automation. They bring advanced features that make capturing shots more precise and easier to control. Automated systems have the ability to execute precise, pre-programmed camera movements with greater consistency and reliability than manual setups. These systems provide a level of precision and control that can enhance a broadcast’s overall visual quality while reducing operational complexity.

Consistency and precision in camera movements

Robotic cameras are becoming a cornerstone of leading studio setups, often complementing manual systems. Manual tools like jibs and Steadicams have long been prized for their ability to execute dynamic, creative shots—the “candy” of broadcast visuals—but they also rely heavily on highly skilled operators. Achieving consistent quality across broadcasts can be challenging, as outcomes depend on operator expertise and technique.

Advanced robotic systems, such as Ross Video’s Artimo, are now bridging the gap between precision and creativity, offering smooth, fluid camera movements that rival those of manual setups. These systems can replicate complex moves traditionally reserved for manual tools, such as sweeping transitions or dynamic talent tracking, while ensuring consistency across broadcasts. With the added advantage of automation, these systems reduce operational complexity and provide reliable performance in live, fast-paced environments, helping broadcasters maintain a professional polish without sacrificing creativity.

Reducing the operator burden

Automating camera operations significantly reduces the number of operators required to manage a live studio production. Instead of needing a dedicated operator for each camera, an automated system can control multiple cameras simultaneously from a single console. This not only improves operational efficiency but also minimizes the risk of human error during live broadcasts.

With automation, operators can build pre-programmed sequences of shots that automatically recall new camera positions and framing throughout the show. For example, during a pre-game discussion, a sequence might include wide shots of the entire panel, close-ups of individual hosts, and dynamic transitions between angles—all executed with little to no manual intervention. This allows production teams to focus on other elements of the broadcast, such as coordinating graphics, managing audio, or interacting with live data feeds.

Real-time adaptability through AI-driven tracking

The latest generation of robotic camera systems leverages AI-driven tracking technology to further enhance automation. AI-based systems, like those deployed in leading broadcast studios, can automatically track on-camera talent, ensuring the camera stays framed on the subject even as they move across the set. For instance, a major German broadcaster, Sky Deutschland, incorporated these solutions during a recent studio overhaul, significantly improving their live sports coverage’s precision and dynamic capabilities​.

This eliminates the need for manual tracking and ensures that talent is always framed perfectly, even in fast-paced, dynamic environments. AI-driven tracking can be a game-changer in sports studios, where talent often moves around to interact with graphics, screens, or other visual elements. By following the talent in real time, these systems ensure that the camera keeps up with the action, delivering smooth, professional-grade shots that enhance the viewer experience.

For example, AI-driven technology like Vision[Ai]ry can autonomously adjust to follow talent’s movements, in a way that looks natural to the viewer. Systems like this offer a hands-off approach that reduces the need for manual adjustments, allowing directors to focus on other production areas.

Enhancing creative flexibility

In a studio environment, creative flexibility is essential. Automated camera systems can be programmed with customizable presets that allow directors to easily switch between different camera angles and movements. For example, a preset might be used to capture a wide-angle shot of the entire set at the start of a segment, then transition to close-ups of individual hosts as the discussion intensifies.

These presets can be triggered automatically or at the director’s discretion, allowing for seamless transitions between shots without the need for manual control. This level of creative flexibility enables directors to experiment with different shot compositions and movements, ultimately improving the visual storytelling of the broadcast.

Cost efficiency and scalability

By optimizing camera operations and enhancing workflow efficiency, automated camera systems improve cost efficiency for sports studios. These systems are scalable, making them suitable for studios of all sizes—from small local stations to large national networks. As the demands of live broadcasts continue to increase, the scalability of automation ensures that studios can grow and adapt their camera operations without incurring major costs or requiring extensive reconfigurations.

The future of camera automation in sports studios

As sports broadcast studios become more complex, the need for efficient, flexible, and high-quality camera operations has never been greater. Traditional camera setups, with their reliance on manual control, are becoming increasingly inadequate for the demands of modern broadcasts. Automated camera systems offer a solution that improves the consistency and quality of studio shots and reduces the operational burden on production teams.

By embracing automation, sports studios can enhance their creative flexibility, capture more dynamic visuals, and deliver a more polished and professional broadcast experience. Whether through advanced AI-driven tracking or pre-programmed camera movements, the future of in-studio camera operations lies in automation.

For studios looking to stay ahead of the curve, investing in a robotic camera system similar to Ross Video’s Artimo is an important step toward improving operational efficiency and elevating production quality. These systems offer the precision, adaptability, and scalability that modern sports broadcasts demand, ensuring that every segment is delivered with the highest level of professionalism and visual appeal.

A definitive guide to the modern sports viewer

Sports broadcasting is undergoing a seismic shift, with global audiences consuming live events in new and diverse ways. From multi-screen viewing to the rise of social media engagement, modern sports fans are more connected—and selective—than ever before.

According to our recent research, conducted in partnership with Kantar, sports audiences are adapting to new technologies and media formats at an unprecedented rate. These behavior shifts present challenges and opportunities for broadcasters and rights holders.

In this latest instalment of “A Day in the Life,” we look at the evolution of skills needed in the changing M&E industry through a lens of project collaboration. TMT Insights’ Chris McCarthy outlines the approach, tools, resources, and open mindset required to successfully complete multi-partner projects and address complex media supply chain challenges.

While every customer engagement has different goals, Chris emphasizes that success typically comes down to the same formula: developing a collaborative approach focused on simplifying the solution as much as possible, with minimal manual touchpoints and maximum automation.

Please briefly explain your role.

Chris McCarthy, Vice President, Media Solutions, TMT Insights. I oversee our Solutions Engagement and MediaOps teams, working closely with customers to provide workflow design and guidance on best practices, as well as hands-on assistance with onboarding and accelerating new supply chain builds.

How do you approach each project from the outset, in terms of matching a customer’s overall goals with the right technology and workflow engineering plan?

Our initial goal with every project is to simplify the ultimate solution as much as possible, working with the customer hand-in-hand to design a plan that gets to the end goal quickly and efficiently—with the least amount of manual touch points and as much automation as possible.

We recognize that every organization is at a different point in their transformation journey—whether that means moving their operations to the cloud, leveraging existing solutions with new technology integrations, or gaining better visibility into their content workflows to shorten delivery timeframes. It’s critical to listen and communicate with each customer so we can understand what to prioritize instead of focusing on everything all at once, which slows transformation.

How do you choose and assemble your teams for a new project? Is it based on experience, work styles, skills, or is it all of the above?

When a project includes several integrations with multiple vendors, we first look to our team members who have experience with the specific tools and workflow requirements in question. Then we combine those direct matches with the people whose profiles are a good fit. For example, maybe a new project offers an opportunity to develop specific skills that will help their career development. We’re also fortunate that TMT has fostered an environment where each team member is encouraged to continually sharpen and expand their cloud and supply chain knowledge base, keeping them adaptable, relevant, and ready for any new project that comes our way.

Can you recall a project that called for unique services on the part of TMT, for example a new type of Polaris deployment or software customization, ultimately requiring a combination of skills?

That happens often. On one recent project, we had to integrate Polaris not just with other vendors’ tools, but also with the customer’s home-grown title management system. This created a single point of entry for all deliverables into that client’s ecosystem, enabling deliverables to be tracked and associated with a title version, and allowed us to automate the content acquisition process from upload through ingest, and asset registration.

Do these types of unique experiences help prepare you and your teams for the next project, in a sense giving you a head start by not always having to start from a blank page each time?

Yes, and that type of head start is a huge benefit for us and for the customer. Our teams learn how to continually incorporate what they’ve done on one project, internalize that information and then apply the lessons learned to the next. Once we’ve done the work of integrating Polaris with a third party, we can take many of those same steps in a similar use case without having to start from square one since we've already figured out many of the pitfalls we might encounter and how to avoid them. All that definitely expedites the next deployment.

Are there often key takeaways or lessons learned from each project that you can apply to the next collaborative process, in terms of resource deployment, working with teams and partners, etc.?

Every project reinforces the importance of real partnerships and open communication, moving past the transactional aspect of a relationship to begin building a true community where everyone shares knowledge and resources.

The TMT, customer teams, and partners we are integrating with are constantly in contact throughout the duration of a project, through weekly status updates and notifications of any blockers—doing whatever is necessary to keep everyone apprised and get the project over the line. Developing and maintaining strong relationships with everyone really helps because you can all speak the same language and there's an understanding of the end goal and of how each element needs to come together.

Are large-scale, multi-partner projects easier to manage and successfully complete now than maybe 5 years ago, due to the advancement of people’s skills and the acceleration of new technology development?

Cloud-based media supply chains and workflow automation tools have been available for years now, but the technologies are more mature, intuitive, and comprehensive. Our technology partners are developing powerful APIs in line with their software applications. TMT has also played a large role in this transformation through its development of tools like Polaris and ongoing efforts to instil a stronger understanding by all M&E organizations of how every component of a supply chain workflow stitches together.

Our industry has moved away from a reliance on standalone products that were retrofitted to work together as best as possible, and on to more nimble software solutions designed for seamless interoperability.

This shift reflects more than just a change in how technologies are developed. It illustrates the ongoing need to maintain an open mindset and think of your professional skill sets as constant works in progress.

TMT Insights is a professional services and software development company delivering leading capabilities in the digital supply chain, including media content management, cloud technology, and SaaS/D2C experiences to global media companies. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills within the media & entertainment, digital & cloud technology space, our team offers industry leading services such as strategy and CXO advisory, product ideation & innovation, cloud transformation, process re-engineering and development to our partners. As early adopters of new technologies, we embrace the power of collaboration and work with our partners to combine our guidance with action to further drive efficiency, value, and scale to their communities. www.tmtinsights.com

Note: If you’re an M&E professional that is interested in participating, please submit your request for consideration at https://tmtinsights.com/contact-us.

In today’s fast-paced broadcast landscape, OB vans are under more pressure than ever before. From the rise of UHD and HDR to the growing need to accommodate last-minute customer requests, OB crews are constantly navigating a minefield of challenges that push their systems to the limit. Whether it’s covering major live events or supporting regional productions, the ability to adapt quickly has become critical for success.

One of the biggest challenges for OB vans is keeping up with technological demands. As UHD and HDR become industry standards, the strain on existing systems grows, often forcing broadcasters to stretch their setups further.

Adding more cameras, integrating external feeds, and adjusting operator positions all contribute to this growing complexity. Broadcasters are expected to do more with less, leaving little room for error.

Common flexibility and scalability challenges in outside broadcasting

1. Technological demands and pushing systems to their limits:

As the industry continues to shift towards UHD and HDR, broadcasters need systems that can handle these increased demands. Traditional OB setups, often struggle to meet these rising expectations. Pushing hardware to its limits raises the risk of failure and increases the chance of unmet customer expectations.

2. Flexibility to add gear and adjust on the fly:

Another major issue is the need to keep OB vans flexible. Broadcasters frequently need to add new gear, integrate external feeds, or add operator positions—often at the last minute—based on customer demands. Engineers on-site want to say “yes” to every client request, but rigid systems make it difficult to accommodate these changes without significant reconfiguration.

3. The unpredictability of field production:

In the field, unknowns are inevitable, and the last thing an OB crew wants to do is spend precious time troubleshooting technical issues. Every second counts during a live production, and having to deal with sudden equipment failures, mismatched transport methods, or connectivity issues can derail an otherwise successful broadcast. Without a flexible, software-defined infrastructure in place, OB vans are more likely to face downtime and interruptions.

The need for flexible and scalable solutions

Given these challenges, modern OB vans need to be equipped with technology that offers flexibility and scalability without requiring extensive reconfiguration. CINELIVE, a North American mobile production company, faced this exact challenge while building a 4K HDR-ready mobile production truck. By leveraging Ross Video’s Ultrix platform, they were able to streamline their workflows across three verticals—corporate AV, traditional networks, and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD)—allowing them to adapt quickly to diverse production needs without compromising on quality.

“There was no doubt that it’s not just the box for this time, but it’s the box for the next several years. This thing’s going to be on the road for a long time, and I don’t want to be switching out hardware two years from now—and I’m not going to be,” says Zach Pittman, President of CINELIVE​.

Software-defined solutions provide OB vans with the adaptability needed to handle the demands of diverse live events. This technology allows for the seamless incorporation of additional production devices, advanced processing functions, and various production formats without consuming excessive space or requiring complex I/O reconfiguration. By integrating switchers with software-defined production engines (SDPE) like the Ultrix Acuity, broadcasters can load different software profiles based on the production—whether it’s a sports broadcast, a live concert, or a corporate event—offering the flexibility to meet varying production needs, such as using one large production switcher, multiple mid-level production switchers, or a combination of both.

The ability to reconfigure systems on the fly offers another key advantage. With traditional setups, integrating new devices or adjusting workflows between productions can be cumbersome. However, software-defined solutions streamline the process, making it easier to respond to last-minute changes or unforeseen challenges during live broadcasts. This flexibility minimizes downtime and enhances overall production quality.

For instance, software-defined systems enable OB vans to easily switch between HD and UHD formats or between SDR and HDR, depending on the event’s needs. These systems also allow for the addition of replay systems, cameras, and other production devices with minimal disruption to the workflow. By simplifying the integration process, OB crews can manage more complex productions efficiently, reducing the need for additional hardware and ensuring they can handle a wide variety of live events.

The role of hyperconverged systems

To achieve true flexibility and scalability, OB vans should adopt hyperconverged systems that consolidate multiple functions—such as routing, signal processing, multiviewing, and production switching—into a single platform. This reduces the need for multiple discrete devices, simplifying the overall setup.

For example, traditional setups often require separate hardware for each function, leading to more equipment, higher power consumption, and greater cooling requirements. Hyperconverged systems integrate multiple functions into a single device, eliminating the need for separate hardware. This streamlines engineering and frees up valuable space for additional operator positions.

Another advantage of hyperconverged systems is that they enable OB vans to adjust to changes in production requirements more easily. Whether it’s scaling up for a larger event or incorporating new production devices, hyperconverged systems provide the flexibility to adapt without the need for extensive reconfiguration. This makes OB vans more versatile and capable of handling a broader range of live events, from small-scale productions to large international broadcasts.

The Ultrix platform: A game-changer for OB vans

One such hyperconverged solution is Ross Video’s Ultrix platform. Designed with flexibility and scalability in mind, Ultrix integrates routing, multiviewing, signal processing, and production switching into a single, software-defined platform. Ultrix Acuity, which combines the proven Ultrix router with Acuity switcher blades, offers even greater flexibility, allowing OB vans to mix and match signals across SDI, IP, NDI and Fiber, depending on the event’s requirements. This flexibility is powered by the SDPE blade, enabling OB vans to handle complex productions without sacrificing quality or operational efficiency.​

This software-defined architecture enables OB vans to handle a diverse range of live events, whether it’s an HD or UHD production. Ultrix eliminates the need for bulky external processing equipment and reduces the number of devices required to manage complex productions. This not only improves the operational efficiency of the OB van but also cuts down on power consumption and cooling requirements, making it a more sustainable option for broadcasters.

The platform’s flexibility also allows OB crews to reconfigure workflows quickly, ensuring they can respond to the unique challenges of each event. Whether adding additional production devices or switching between production formats, Ultrix makes it easy for OB vans to scale their operations without the need for costly upgrades or additional hardware. By solving a range of engineering challenges, Ultrix is the ultimate problem solver for OB vans, providing the adaptability and efficiency broadcasters need to succeed in a fast-paced environment.

Optimizing your OB van setup

When optimizing an OB van for modern live events, it’s essential to prioritize equipment that offers multifunctional capabilities, energy efficiency, and simplified integration.

Innovative Production Services, based in Australia, optimized their OB truck by incorporating a hyperconverged solution, allowing them to transition seamlessly between large-scale events and smaller productions. By reducing the amount of hardware required, they minimized the operational footprint and increased the versatility of their truck to handle a wide variety of productions efficiently​.

Hyperconverged systems, not only reduce the number of discrete devices required but also simplify the integration process by requiring less cabling. This design optimization saves time in the planning and building phases and gets your OB van on the road sooner, reducing both integration costs and deployment time.

In addition to streamlined integration, hyperconverged systems provide flexible I/O configurations, supporting a wide range of transport protocols—including SDI, Fiber, ST 2110, NDI, HDMI, MADI, and DANTE—all within a single platform.

Vatican Media, which handles some of the most widely viewed global religious events, adopted Ultrix to manage diverse signal formats, allowing them to integrate SDI, IP, and other formats seamlessly within their production workflows. By using Ultrix’s software-defined architecture, Vatican Media minimized the need for additional hardware, simplifying their setup for high-profile, complex productions.

This flexibility allows OB vans to handle a wide variety of production needs with minimal reconfiguration, enabling broadcasters to quickly adapt to changing event requirements. By consolidating processing and routing functionalities into a unified platform, hyperconverged solutions eliminate the need for excess equipment, reducing the operational footprint while still meeting the demands of complex live events. These systems simplify the design, integration, and operational phases, allowing broadcasters to focus on delivering high-quality production services with less hassle.

Adapting OB vans for the future of live production

The landscape of outside broadcasting is continuously evolving, and OB vans must be equipped to handle the demands of today’s fast-paced production environments. By adopting flexible and scalable solutions, broadcasters can future-proof their operations, ensuring they can deliver high-quality productions across a wide range of live events. While traditional setups often limit flexibility, software-defined systems offer a more adaptable and efficient way to manage modern broadcasting challenges.

Breaking New Ground in Outside Broadcasting

Outside broadcasting and live sports coverage are changing rapidly and now require innovative approaches to content delivery.

QTV has reimagined how sports are covered by combining cutting-edge technology, remote production workflows, and a passion for delivering exceptional viewing experiences.

Watch this panel discussion from the Broadcast Sport Summit for an in-depth look at QTV’s story and how Ross Video became a trusted technology partner.

It wasn’t all that long ago that most TV newsrooms relied on a person in the feed room to manage recording all of the incoming raw footage, news packages and other content transmitted to stations so reporters and editors could create stories and producers could build newscasts.

Someone in that room knew which satellite or microwave feed would be arriving at what time via which router output so that news content could be recorded on a designated tape machine. Tapes then were shuffled to the journalists and producers who needed them to write and edit stories. Eventually, those stories made air on the 6 or 11 o’clock news, and the cycle began once again.

But those halcyon days of TV news are long gone. Today’s newsroom is far more than a “television newsroom.” In many instances, it’s the hub of a 24/7 news operation that creates and distributes newscasts and stories 10 or more hours a day on air across multiple channels and around the clock via websites and social media.

With this transformation has come increasing complexity in managing incoming feeds. Not only has the number of feeds skyrocketed, but also the variety of signal formats used. While SDI feeds abound, many additional formats, codecs and signal types are in play as well, making transcoding to a house format essential.

At the same time, newsrooms have transformed old workflows to meet the challenge of 24/7 news operations, looking to achieve greater efficiencies and enhance productivity. Many have replaced the “feed room dude” of old with a workflow that enables anybody with permission in the newsroom to grab a feed, begin working with it and share that feed with multiple people.

Recognizing these evolving workflow requirements, Ross Video designed its Media I/O specifically to support modern newsrooms. The solution enables newsrooms to unify all of their ingest and playout channels in the same control interface.

Those in the newsroom can access feeds via Media I/O’s web UI from their laptops and workstations. In essence, Media I/O brings the feed room directly into the newsroom and places it on the desks of journalists who can ingest footage, play it out in real-time in any format and incorporate desired clips into their stories.

Reporters and others in the newsroom can control ingest and playout from their preferred web browser and access ingested assets, eliminating unnecessary, repetitive recordings of the same content by different people.

Media I/O supports most broadcast file formats, such as ProRes, XDCAM, DNxHD, AVC-Intra, XAVC, DVCPRO HD, HEVC and H.264, including growing files, as well as software-driven IP workflows like SMPTE ST 2110, NDI and SRT. Media IP works natively with baseband and network sources, such as SDI, HLS, MPEG DASH and RTSP.

The system also offers a visual schedular with a calendar-based timeline to enable users to manage and visualize upcoming recordings. Media I/O can be deployed on premises, cloud hosted as a virtualized system or as a hybrid to meet the individual preferences of media organizations.

These are only a few of the many features that make the Ross Video Media I/O a key enabler for modern newsroom workflows. Many others are in the works. For example, expect to see at the 2025 NAB Show a new feature for Media I/O’s web UI that allows users to open an asset in a web browser and view it as a proxy video, not simply as a thumbnail as in previous versions.

Media I/O enables newsrooms to allow anyone they want to be their own feed dudes, giving them access to and control over the signal sources they need to create news content more efficiently. With Media I/O, the feed dude is dead. Long live the feed dudes!

See Ross Video and the Media I/O at the 2025 NAB Show in booth SL206.

Click here to learn more about the Ross Video Media I/O.

The third edition in TMT Insights’ “A Day in the Life” series highlighting the skills needed for success in Media & Entertainment (M&E) focuses on Michael “Gilly” Gilbert, Lead Backend Engineer at TMT Insights. Gilly shares his insights on how being a “lifelong tinkerer” started him on his career path, the importance of first principles, and the career advice he’d give to his younger self.

Describe your current role and how you got started in software development.

I’ve been an engineer for more than 13 years now, starting at Bloomberg News in 2011. In 2023, I took a formal step into media supply chain when I moved on to TMT Insights. At TMT, I began developing backend systems and the integrations required to support content distribution and media processing tasks, including launching edit and compliance workflows, all orchestrated by our operational management platform, Polaris.

Now, two years later, it’s hard to define my “average week.” On any given project my role can include building infrastructure to integrating third-party services to creating delivery pipelines. A good way to describe it is “equal parts working with clients and understanding their needs and then helping coach and lead our Polaris development teams as we continue to enhance features and functionality within the platform.”

Have you always had your sights set on software engineering?

No, I started school as a business major, mainly because everyone was doing that. I stuck with it for a year and absolutely hated it. I never went back to college for a degree right after that. Fast forward to now, I’m about to graduate with a B.S. in Computer Science from CSUF this May. On top of that, I’m starting my M.S. in Software Engineering at CSUF this September.

As a lifelong tinkerer, I’ve always liked tearing things apart and rebuilding them. My curiosity, passion, and hands-on experience have taken me a long way. I’d look at the clock and try to understand what made it tick. The technology I grew up with in the 90s allowed me to explore controlling and manipulating virtual environments and systems. Backend engineering came naturally to me and seemed like a logical career path to pursue. I stumbled upon programming and realized I can make a computer do what I want simply because I told it to. Some people like going on hikes. I like sitting in front of my computer and building projects for fun.

Have the skills required to excel in your current position changed or expanded since you first started in this role?

In this field, especially early in your career, you don't really always understand what you're building. You're often just doing what you're told. Coding is coding at some point. It’s writing instructions on a computer. Now that doesn't make sense to everyone and there are different languages involved, but the ideas flow the same between any language.

You absolutely have to stay coachable. It's hard to go through an ego death, but you have to put ego aside to be a great engineer. That's what separates good engineers from great engineers: the willingness to work hard and continually learn. If I train in a sport and perform poorly compared to others, I have to put in more time and work harder to increase my skill level because my competitors are also getting incrementally better.

There are several coding frameworks used in software engineering, from Django and Python to Java or C#? In your role, is being fluent in each important as you collaborate with customers and partners?

I first started building programs with Bash scripting, which was great for easily running system-level operations at scale, and then C programming, which made running operations and extracting information easier, but it was hard to speak about with people who weren’t in that space.

Python, a more “English-like” language, was easier to learn and even easier to explain. Building APIs became interesting to me as a way to access information from a website, rather than performing system-level functions. From there, I discovered Django. Now, I no longer had to write rudimentary logic for web-related tasks and could focus on more complex functions. Django gave me everything I needed to quickly create APIs and webpages which freed me up to focus more on managing, storing, and manipulating data.

I’m always surprised at how many systems people use; sometimes a minimum of four or five at one time. In addition to frameworks and languages, there are tools for rights management, title management, and workflow orchestration such as SDVI Rally which facilitates the deployment of additional tools and technical infrastructure including those used by edit workstations such as the procurement and launch of Adobe Premiere.

Each of these requires constant training and learning.

Your day-to-day project work requires collaboration across multiple parties - clients, vendors, even internal teams. How can you make sure everyone stays on the same page?

There is a real, tangible benefit that comes from clarifying requirements and disseminating that information back to your team, for example, through a ticketing system for everyone to reference. Another challenge may be determining how to reproduce the same outcome many times for many scenarios with one tool, or deciding which course is more effective: bulk versus manifest driven deliveries. Then there’s the matter of working across client platforms using things built by the client for us and managing the missing pieces. That requires close collaboration not only between internal stakeholders and engineers but also with the external stakeholders, the client.

If you're hiring for a new employee now in coding and engineering, what do you want to see in a candidate: coding skills or their personality, mindset, and creativity? All of the above?

If I'm looking for someone to do Python or Dango, it’s easy to determine within a few minutes if they know the language or not. I look for coachability, curiosity, and raw skills. If someone is asking the right questions – or even the wrong ones – they’ve at least started the conversation. That's a huge selling point for me. I don't have to spend all my time teaching you the language, but instead teaching and helping you understand the problems that our company is trying to solve. It's more about walking in the door with an attitude of “I want to be better,” and being willing to embrace all the things necessary to make that happen.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice when navigating the early years of your career, what piece of advice would you share?

Whether it's coding or any other problem in your life, look at it for what it is. Allowing yourself to be wrong helps remove the need for blame and allows you to better understand what you are doing within the parameters of a structure. I’ve lost countless hours thinking the system or program was wrong just because it didn’t do what I wanted it to do. I'm more likely to get struck by lightning three times than find the issue was a problem in the system and not how I was using the system.

Shifting blame is easy. However, moving back to first principles helped me realize that when something isn’t working properly, it’s more than likely that I’m in the wrong rather than the established system.

It's super important to stick to first principles. Be coachable and check your ego at the door. Explore, invent new things but don’t try to reinvent the wheel unless absolutely necessary.

TMT Insights is a professional services and software development company delivering leading capabilities in the digital supply chain, including media content management, cloud technology, and SaaS/D2C experiences to global media companies. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills within the media & entertainment, digital & cloud technology space, our team offers industry leading services such as strategy and CXO advisory, product ideation & innovation, cloud transformation, process re-engineering and development to our partners. As early adopters of new technologies, we embrace the power of collaboration and work with our partners to combine our guidance with action to further drive efficiency, value, and scale to their communities. www.tmtinsights.com

Note: If you’re an M&E professional that is interested in participating, please submit your request for consideration at https://tmtinsights.com/contact-us.

In the dynamic world of broadcast media, it is crucial to utilize efficient workflows to maintain quality while managing multiple formats, adapting to new industry standards, and staying compliant with regulations. Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud-based workflows have opened new doors for increased automation based on intelligence-driven content analysis.

With these challenges and opportunities in mind, Actus Digital announces Actus X, the tenth generation of its Intelligent Monitoring Platform that builds on the company’s expertise delivering real-time QA monitoring, advanced compliance logging, and AI-media insight systems to broadcasters, networks, MVPDs, and government agencies.

For those adding ATSC 3.0 now or in the future, Actus is the preferred monitoring solution. For over 20-years, Actus has always integrated support for the latest popular standards into their platform, so whether a broadcaster has ATSC 3.0 from day one or they want a system that will adapt to add or transition channels in the future… the same investment works for 1.0, 3.0, OTT/FAST Channels, 2110, literally any broadcast technology their organization may evolve to.

Advancing Quality Assurance and Compliance
Actus X offers a comprehensive approach to broadcast monitoring with a browser-based interface that allows users to set thresholds and categorize alerts into Problems, Errors, Quality of Experience (QoE), and Quality of Service (QoS), with dynamically adjusting notification workflows for more precise control and improved Quality Assurance.

Real-time monitoring with prioritized alerting ensures that broadcasters can quickly detect and respond to signal degradation, transmission errors, or compliance violations, minimizing disruptions and maintaining the highest on-air quality.

Actus MV Contains Ground-breaking Must-See-To-Appreciate Multiviewer Technology
Multiviewers have been fundamental in master control rooms for decades but are often hindered by rigid layouts and limited multiviewer-heads due to heavy processing requirements. Actus MV eliminates traditional multiviewer constraints with unlimited, easily-customized layouts and no-charge multiviewer heads. This is made possible by an engineering approach that minimizes resource requirements for multiviewer generation… and delivers access and control of the same or unique multiviewer configuration and views to each individual user.

Interactive multiviewer-wall capabilities allow clicking to hear any tile, rewinding from live within Penalty boxes, and stepping through round-robin probepoints/channel carousels. Advanced data-visualization shows SCTE trigger details, Nielsen SIDs, download bitrates for OTT streams, TS Analysis, Loudness data, and more. Actus MV flexibility supports all popular baseband/TV/OTT formats and enables smooth operation across any number of locations with unlimited access to any number of custom layouts.

AI-Driven Insights for Smarter Decision-Making
The role of Artificial Intelligence has expanded to play an important role in media monitoring. Actus X integrates AI-powered analysis to extract meaningful insights from content.

News teams can leverage the same investment made for engineering to analyze news coverage in real-time to monitor breaking stories and identify new advertisers, while government agencies can monitor live news and direct-camera footage to identify security threats and political narratives.

What Actus X Means for the Future of Broadcast Monitoring
Everyone is being asked to do more with less so broadcasters must invest in tools that simplify complexity and enhance efficiency, moving toward greater automation, cloud-based solutions, and AI-powered workflows.

Actus X is a value leader, providing affordable standalone appliances that piece together seamlessly and expand capabilities that extend value throughout an organization by utilizing any combination of this six-product platform.

It allows users to invest in one or several of the components they need today, with scalability to add additional features they may need in the future, including from: 1) Quality monitoring and compliance logging with QA Compliance Logger, 2) a flexible interactive Multiviewer in Actus MV, 3) OTT monitoring and analysis in OTT StreamWatch, 4) Clipping and content repurposing (with automation if desired) on Actus Clip Factory Pro, 5) Centralized post-STB monitoring with Actus RVM (Remote Video Monitoring), and 6) effective AI-powered content analysis with Actus AI Media Insight.

With the unveiling of Actus X at NAB 2025, Actus raises the bar and sets a new standard for intelligent broadcast monitoring.

About Actus Digital
Since 2005, Actus Digital intelligent monitoring systems have been trusted by broadcasters and those monitoring media. Beyond its renowned QA Compliance Logger, Actus offers: Actus MV (interactive multiviewer), Actus AI Media Insight (AI-powered content analysis), Clip Factory Pro (content repurposing for social/OTT/VOD), OTT StreamWatch (OTT monitoring), and Actus RVM (remote post-STB monitoring).

With over 2,000 installations worldwide, its browser-based platform serves broadcasters, regulators, and government agencies. Actus Digital provides turnkey on-premises, software/VM-based, and SaaS solutions, for traditional linear television broadcast as well as OTT/FAST/IPTV channels.

The platform monitors, analyzes, and records content 24/7 from any combination of any input types, including traditional inputs as well as the newest protocols, such as ATSC 3.0, SMPTE 2110/2022-6, and all popular streaming protocols. Actus has an open API and its systems are integrated with top technology partners worldwide, further extending Actus effectiveness and value.

Actus Digital ensures best-in-class service and prioritizes customer satisfaction with 24/7 support from offices in the US, Europe, UAE, and Asia.

If you google “multiviewing,” a mere 847,000 search results pop up. TAG Video Systems is right up there, on the first page. Which is great. However, although TAG is known for its exceptional ultra-low latency multiviewer adaptable to every media workflow, multiviewing is only one small component of the TAG Realtime Media platform—a comprehensive toolset that manages and elevates media performance across operations at any scale, setting TAG in a class of its own. TAG’s unique differentiators enable broadcasters and media companies to unlock significant operational efficiency and flexibility, so we’ve picked a few, outlined below. If you’d like a more detailed description of all tools, features, functionalities, resources and integrations that TAG offers, just click on tagvs.com.

Content Matching

Content Matching is TAG’s unique and award-winning process that ensures content is delivered in real time to its intended destination without errors or discrepancies. Content Matching identifies potential issues and confirms signal integrity, leading to increased broadcaster confidence and a high-quality viewer experience.

Content Matching creates a unique fingerprint for video streams to match them across the entire media distribution path. It accurately identifies and correlates audio and video uniqueness regardless of the resolution, bitrate, or framerate, thus enabling a match between two or more points in the workflow. This technology notifies users when the first content inconsistency occurs allowing them to get to the root cause of problems faster and troubleshoot more efficiently. Workflow complexity is dramatically reduced, allowing operators to work more efficiently by reducing “eyes-on-glass” while ensuring consistent delivery of quality content.

Content Matching can be applied to the most requested applications including frame-accurate latency measurement, SCTE ad insertion, AV alignment and audio channel drift validation.

Integration of Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM)

TAG’s platform is designed to deliver an unparalleled viewer experience by combining advanced Quality of Experience (QoE) and Quality of Service (QoS) tools. Based on Content Matching Technology, TAG now supports straightforward, reference-based QoE measures like Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), an industry-leading algorithm that mimics human visual perception to assess video quality in real time. SSIM is seamlessly integrated with TAG’s Content Matching technology allowing for precise comparisons between reference (e.g., source at acquisition) and other points along the workflow (e.g., before/after encoders/packagers). This standardized evaluation simplifies quality assurance across workflows, ensuring a consistent and high-quality viewer experience.

However, TAG’s commitment to quality goes beyond SSIM. The platform also includes comprehensive QoS features that monitor video and audio parameters, signal loss, jitter, latency, and compression artifacts. Together, these tools provide operators with a comprehensive view of stream quality, ensuring both visual and technical fidelity throughout the entire media workflow.

TAG Bridge

TAG Bridge solves two major problems. It helps reduce the bandwidth needed to deliver uncompressed video from the receiving device to a remote location for multiview generations, and it eliminates the need to process the same source multiple times.

This technology is designed to handle various transport methods, such as 2110 uncompressed video or compressed MPEG TS streams, and many others.

TAG’s Bridge removes the complexity of routing the same stream across multiple locations ensuring efficient resource use with minimal bandwidth and compute requirements. This proprietary technology enables an operator to receive a source once - including video, audio and metadata, analyze it for quality, compliance and errors, pre-scale it to the destination tile size and display it directly on any TAG system, anywhere, regardless of input source, size or format. Compute resources are drastically reduced, and a minimum amount of network bandwidth is consumed, freeing up capacity for the customer.

Managing HDR in Live Broadcasting

High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology is redefining the visual standards of television, offering unprecedented brightness, contrast, and color that dramatically enhance the viewing experience. Across Production, Playout or Distribution, multiple HDR formats are here to stay and co-exist for a while. All have different color volume characteristics, many formats include metadata, and SDR will be present in many places. All these need to be managed correctly end-to-end to ensure that the viewer’s TV makes the right choices in displaying them, and that they arrive with appropriate quality and accuracy. They may traverse many codecs and transports; they may incorporate multiple HDR formats in their composition and provide HDR and SDR versions for some time to come. Monitoring this complexity requires adaptive, flexible, and data-driven tools that provide a comprehensive view of all elements in real time, which can accommodate any combination of source characteristics and provide probing/monitoring /alarming, visualization and rich content data from network to essence in one solution.

TAG Video Systems empowers broadcasters with the tools they need to navigate the HDR transition without dependency on expensive, dedicated hardware. By enabling the integration of multiple HDR formats into a single HDR multiviewer mosaic, these solutions offer an accurate visualization of all sources regardless of type, full monitoring of all metadata and behavior. This allows broadcasters to ensure the highest quality standards while also exploring new opportunities for content monetization through enhanced viewer experiences.

Zero Friction® Licensing

TAG ‘s Zer0 Friction® is an agile licensing model that fits both CAPEX and OPEX budgets, unlocking a world of possibilities with every TAG functionality at your fingertips, in every application and workflow. Zer0 Friction allows dynamic sharing across functions, workflows, and locations maximizing efficiency and adaptability in real time. This level of flexibility ensures that customers can adapt quickly to changing requirements, using the same TAG license to visualize a production in one location today and monitor an OTT data point in a different location tomorrow.

Empowering Customers
TAG is known for its multiviewers, but that’s just a part of the TAG story. The TAG Realtime Media Platform empowers customers to adapt to the rapid changes in content delivery workflows while ensuring consistent quality and operational efficiency. TAG provides the tools to scale operations efficiently and adapt to new challenges. This article gives a summary of some of those tools, unique to TAG—but for more details visit tagvs.com.

While most broadcasters and video professionals recognize Ross Video for its leadership in developing many of the key technologies used in the production of television as well as non-broadcast video, many may be surprised to learn that the company is also an industry leader in sustainable manufacturing.

Five years ago, Ross Video began a project to expand its factory in Iroquois, a small town in southeastern Ontario, Canada, near the banks of the St. Lawrence River, from the existing 65,000-square-foot manufacturing floor to 120,000 square feet.

One of the primary goals in designing the expansion was to advance the company’s environmental initiatives with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions. As Ross Video’s chief manufacturing officer, I am pleased to report that the factory will reach that goal within the next few months.

Achieving this ambitious feat started more than a decade ago when Ross Video put in place measures to comply with the RoHS Directive restricting hazardous substances, such as metals like lead, mercury and cadmium and other substances.

While not specific to carbon neutrality, RoHS Directive compliance launched Ross Video on the road to sustainability. By 2008, the company was firmly on the way to establishing a culture of environmental consciousness. Ross established mandates to source locally, especially for larger, bulky goods, when possible.

The shorter the distance bulky items must move, the less the fuel used—and therefore the lower the carbon emission required to deliver those items to the factory. One of the bulkiest items required by the factory is packaging. When cardboard is shipped, it’s inevitable that a lot of air is shipped as well. 

Working with these local sources, Ross co-designed the packaging to ensure it is fully up to industry standards with regards to shake and drop testing. Plus, the proximity of the sources to the factory translates into less carbon emitted in shipping.

The same is true of shipping machined metal—there’s a lot of air—and most importantly a lot of weight. The closer the source, the shorter the distance and, most importantly, the less fuel required, meaning a much smaller carbon footprint.

The company also took steps to eliminate generating wastewater and environmentally harmful air emissions from the factory. Ross also looked for ways to make more efficient use of power.

At about the same time in 2018, key European customers like BBC, Sky, ITV, IMG and others told Ross that future purchases would be contingent on two company executives attending a carbon literacy day in London. As one of those executives, I was pleased to learn that the instructor presenting the course thought Ross was in pretty good shape—perhaps the most advanced among the hardware vendors in the industry. However, there was still more to do. 

Shortly after the literacy day, Ross began planning for its factory expansion. It was clear for quite some time that the real gains to be made in carbon footprint reduction centered on capital equipment investment.

To make the most of the opportunity to reduce carbon that the expansion presented, Ross hired Red Squirrel Environmental, a Kingson, Ontario, Canada, non-profit to conduct a Level 2 ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) audit to help the company identify where the factory was using power, find the source of emission and offer guidance with the goal of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint with the expanded factory. That information factored heavily into the factory design and put Ross on the path to its emissions goal, which will be achieved no later than Q1 2025.

A couple of other factors have played a big role in achieving this goal. First, the new factory expansion includes rooftop solar power generation. Interestingly, a 2012 expansion of the facility was scheduled for solar, but shortly after its completion local building codes aimed at improving seismic protection prevented the company from adding the weight of solar panels to the roof. However, the latest expansion cleared the way for solar power, which now plays an important role in reaching the net-zero carbon goal.

Second, Ross Video CEO and majority shareholder David Ross as well as his family are quite supportive of efforts to make the company’s manufacturing and entire operation more environmentally friendly.

In fact, Ross Video’s commitment to environmental protection and sustainability extends well beyond the company’s factory. The same emphasis on sustainability is factoring into product design—most notably the Ross Video Ultrix Hyperconverged production platform. 

By combining many production functions previously only accessible from discrete production devices, Ultrix delivers substantial power, weight and cabling efficiencies—benefits that are particularly important in OB trucks when it comes to reducing carbon footprint.

Notably, Ross Production Services is walking the sustainability walk with its implementation of Ultrix in OB trucks and flypacks. The facilities provider has been building its production units based on Ultrix since its introduction.

As a result, it has been able to design and build a 16-camera 4K hyperconverged unit leveraging Ultrix in a 40-foot box truck chassis with the same production punch available in a traditional 53-foot production trailer.

As Ross Video moves forward, the company remains committed to implementing other measures to advance its sustainability goals even further. That’s good news to European broadcasters—and one day to broadcasters worldwide—as they continue to look for ways to advance their own sustainability efforts.

Some of the biggest news stories of all time — the Chilean Miner Rescue, the O.J. Simpson Trial, and the Miracle on the Hudson — started with high-quality reporting from local news.

Today, local news broadcasters face unprecedented challenges. According to Pew Research, Americans increasingly turn to social media platforms or other online sources. Younger US adults are now reported to trust social media information as much as information from national news outlets.

While local channels have seen a large audience decline, they still attract the biggest audience compared to cable and network stations — and that presents a huge opportunity for local broadcasters. In fact, despite that viewership decline, local TV stations have seen an increase in revenue from both advertising and retransmission fees in recent years, particularly during election years.

Using Technology to Make More with Less

Even simple weather forecasting graphics involve ingesting and processing multiple data sources. If local news created graphics from scratch every broadcast and updated them manually, they could never keep up with national organizations.

Automated data ingestion and templated graphics expedite and simplify this process, allowing local news producers to use the highest-quality graphics without overburdening their creative teams, saving a lot of time and resources from repetitive manual creative work.

Local news network Graham Media Group uses ‘super-templates’ to create and distribute high-fidelity, on-brand graphics for their network of stations from a single creative hub.

Watch this video to see how Graham Media use XPression to do more in less time.

Ensuring Brand Consistency & Integrity Across Platforms

Brand consistency conveys professionalism and credibility. Automated templates like lower-third graphics, over-the-shoulder graphics, transitions, etc., give local news the ability to quickly incorporate consistent graphics, even when covering novel topics.

Automation also makes it easier for newsrooms to distribute content to multiple platforms. 86% of Americans “sometimes” or “often” get news from a smartphone, computer, or tablet, so news stations must leverage creative technology to configure their news broadcast graphics to fit different aspect ratios, screens, orientations, and contexts.

Leveling the Playing Field with Smart Content Creation

There is a huge opportunity for local TV news stations in this election cycle. High-quality stories told with a true local voice, real on-the-ground reporting, and clever use of high-fidelity graphics can give local news stations an edge over larger broadcasters in an age when people are ever more discerning in the sources they choose.

Ross Video’s technology like XPression and Streamline Pro help local broadcasters around the world take full advantage of modern graphics and compete with national broadcasters. To learn more about how Ross Video solutions can make your newsroom more efficient and effective, reach out to one of our team here.

Keeping Pace in the Election Race

2024 is a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe. For advanced insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics, download our guide.

Achieving sustainability targets is becoming a major consideration for Outside Broadcast facilities providers in Europe and will likely weigh heavily in the thinking of OB companies around the world as government regulators adopt measures to reduce carbon emissions.

For OB companies, compliance is a heavy lift. On one hand, they must satisfy all of the production requirements of their clients—something that’s heavily dependent upon what technology is on board. On the other hand, OB facilities providers face penalties or even worse for not complying with sustainability targets when it comes to vehicle weight.

Until recently, there hasn’t been a suitable alternative to business-as-usual remote production. Large, expando tractor trailers, essentially TV production studios on wheels, have required lots of technology, signal routing and remote power. 

However, that’s all changed thanks to the Ross Video Ultrix hyperconverged production platform. Ultrix combines production switching, audio mixing, multi-viewers, video and audio routing, color correction, signal processing, audio embedding and de-embedding and frame synchronization in a single platform, thus the term “hyperconverged.”

This means weight is dramatically lower; less rack space is needed; fewer cables are necessary, and required on-site power is far less. 

By way of comparison, consider an Ultrix FR12 Hyperconverged production platform and a traditional OB trailer decked out with the same production capabilities. The Ultrix FR12 delivers and same production punch in 14 rack units vs.as what would take a row or even multiple rows of full racks in a traditional system.

Power savings are huge, too. An OB vehicle would require significant amounts of power to do what the Ultrix FR12 can do with only 2,400W. There are big savings in terms of cables as well: thousands of interconnect cables for a traditional unit vs. a few hundred cables for the Ultrix FR12.

All of this adds up to a huge weight difference. In a traditional OB trailer, thousands of pounds of technology, racks and cables would be required to deliver the same production capabilities as an Ultrix FR12 setup weighing just 128 pounds. 

Smaller, lighter production trucks made possible by Ultrix burn less fuel than their heavier counterparts and therefore have a smaller carbon footprint. They are also becoming increasingly important in Europe as countries place weight restrictions on commercial vehicles traversing city centers—precisely where many broadcast sporting and entertainment events occur.  

While weight savings, reduced fuel usage and lower on-site power requirement are significant in the context of sustainability for OB facilities providers, they are equally as important when it comes to production flypacks.

The weight savings of Ultrix alone are significant because lighter flypacks cost less to ship. Beyond these savings, Ultrix-centric flypacks mean setup, maintenance and teardown are far easier and less time-consuming simply because there are fewer discrete tech components in the system. And regardless of whether it’s an OB truck or a flypack, ease of deployment and use translates directly into easier management and ultimately higher profitability.

Keeping It Simple
The desire to boost profits where possible has driven a movement among OB facilities companies towards simplification. The simpler things are, the less effort ultimately required to bill for OB facilities and flypacks.

The effect of the Ultrix Hyperconverged production platform on simplification is far-reaching. Before a new production truck or trailer is even built, the availability of a hyperconverged production platform simplifies design, reducing equipment room space and cooling load as well as drastically cutting the number of cable runs otherwise required.

From an operational perspective, Ultrix simplifies operations and engineering as well as personnel training. Not only do fewer discrete pieces of technology make Ultrix simpler to use and maintain than a traditional production setup, but having one system do so much in software means system training is simpler.

With many OB facilities providers reporting problems with higher-than-normal turnover, easier training makes managing frequent personnel departures simpler to handle by reducing the time and effort necessary to bring new hires up to speed.

Having common control over so many functions, Ultrix also simplifies configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting and potentially reduces the number of personnel needed to staff any given production.

The Ross Video Ultrix Hyperconverged production platform is enabling today’s OB facilities providers and others to succeed in a changing landscape of environmental impact concerns, staffing and personnel demands and operational realities.

Consolidating what previously were multiple discrete production technologies into the compact, lightweight and power-efficient platform that is Ultrix makes achieving sustainability requirements possible—something that’s a must-have in Europe and soon will likely be required around the world.

But simply baking so many diverse production capabilities into a single system isn’t enough. In the high-stakes game of television production of sporting and entertainment events, delivering superior video and audio quality is table stakes. Here too, Ultrix excels.

For all of these reasons, many OB facilities providers in Europe and elsewhere where sustainability is a top priority are specifying Ultrix for their new OB vehicles and in the process are positioning themselves for future success.

2024 is a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe.

To enable news departments to deliver reliable, engaging and data-driven election results to viewers quickly, we have put together a comprehensive guide on the changes in viewing habits and audience expectations over the last few years, and how leading newsrooms are using graphics and technology to meet them.

What to Expect

Ross Video’s Election Graphics Guide is a comprehensive resource designed to help newsroom directors enhance their election coverage with better graphics and more efficient workflows.

In this guide, we discuss how the news media landscape has evolved and explore the technology newscasters are relying on to provide more engaging, more accurate real-time data to keep their viewers informed.

Specifically, the guide covers essential topics such as data integration, real-time updates, and effective templated design strategies, making it an invaluable tool for anyone involved in producing election-related content.

Who Should Read This Guide?

• News Producers & Newscast Directors
• Broadcast Professionals
• Graphic Designers
  

For expert insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics and production workflows, download your free guide.

Contrary to what many believe, virtual studio solutions are not new technology. They have just been neglected. 

CBS tried them at the dizzy heights of the dot-com bubble back in 1999, as did many others. But the combination of expense, complexity, and subpar graphics meant they crashed and burned very quickly. 

As one, the industry quietly turned away and pretended it had never happened.  

But in recent years, we have quietly been helping traditional news broadcasters around the world, from the BBC to NBC experiment with new forms of video production and keep up in the creative arms race that modern media has become.  

Many have found that virtual studio technology offers a significant strategic advantage for modern newsrooms — and can be for yours too. 

Media Consumption Habits Are Driving Change  

Media consumption habits have shifted in the last decade, making the industry more competitive than ever before.  

As audiences are bombarded by the volume and variety of news outlets and media forms available, news broadcasters are rapidly expanding and experimenting with creative elements to keep viewers engaged.

A lower technological barrier to entry and shift of advertising capital towards new advertising platforms (such as social media) has resulted in lower news viewership and budgets — and smaller creative and technical teams for many broadcasters.  

Newsroom directors and their teams must do more with less to produce engaging, accurate content to capture audiences — and are increasingly turning to virtual studio to do that.  

Overcoming the Physical Limits of Traditional Studios 

While the traditional news industry has been reluctant to implement (or even talk about) virtual studio, they have become commonplace in sports broadcasting.  

Their adaptability and ease of redesign make virtual studio a powerful tool for news broadcasters — especially those operating under constrained budgets. That flexibility allows newsroom directors to do more with graphics and creative elements, inject more dynamism and visual intrigue into their broadcasts, and turn the studio into a storytelling tool. It also facilitates much faster set up and tear down times, rapid transitions between segments and shows with a fraction of the budget, time, and resources required by physical sets. 

Virtual Studio in Action – Revolutionizing Broadcast Efficiency 

The advantages of a virtual broadcast studio are threefold: easy set-up, more creative, and reduced broadcasting resources. 

For instance, NBC LX built a virtual set into their new studios, allowing them a lot of flexibility and allowing them to use immersive graphics to grab attention and draw people into the story.  

(See how NBC LX uses their virtual set to tell better stories in this video)

Virtual studios can also make live video production more efficient. They allow for faster transitions between sets and environments, meaning producers can quickly repurpose studio spaces for different programs without having to spend the time and resources building multiple hard studios and sets.

Virtual sets and studio elements are programmed using automated workflows, templates and pre-recorded transitions, meaning they can be used and repurposed for multiple different stories with minor editing. These highly automated workflows are particularly useful for smaller production teams, empowering reporters and creatives to deliver more high-quality content with a fraction of the work involved. 

Elevate Your Newsroom with Ross Video Solutions 

Success in the modern newsroom means doing more with less: more content with less budget, more engagement with less staff, and more “bells and whistles” in less time.  

Modern news broadcasters use Ross Video products like XPression, Voyager, and Lucid to automate and streamline immersive virtual studios. Workflow automation tools, like Overdrive and Streamline Pro, stitch these tools together, accelerating the production process and ensuring brand consistency and quality.  

That frees reporters and creatives to deliver more content, creating and embellishing their own stories — sometimes live on air — without adding to their news directors’ long list of worries.  

To learn more about how Ross Video can help your newsrooms stay competitive in the rapidly changing media landscape, reach out to one of our newsroom production experts here.

Keeping Pace in the Election Race

2024 is a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe. For advanced insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics, download our guide. 

The Louisville, Ky., Gray Television station executed an intelligent plan to promote NextGen TV, showing viewers how enhancements like Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos immersive audio boost viewing pleasure, all centered on the Kentucky Derby.

On-air promos, online education and a NextGen TV giveaway done together with a local retailer proved a success, spiking local 3.0 viewership and laying the foundation for continued NextGen Broadcast gains.

This case study examines:

• How WAVE-TV leveraged its Kentucky Derby lead up and coverage to promote the benefits of NextGen TV.
• How Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos fit the plan.
• Why partnering with a local electronics retailer proved invaluable.

Download the case study here. 

It’s hard to imagine that color and television have been inseparable since most major networks and stations transitioned from black-and-white some 60 years ago.

However, the nature of that long-standing relationship has been far from static. To the contrary, color is evolving right alongside picture quality. The latest development is the wider color gamut (WCG), available for television produced with High Dynamic Range (HDR).

Capable of displaying far more colors than those available in Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), HDR brings a more lifelike experience to viewers—at least those with HDR-enabled TVs. While most high-end and mid-range TVs support HDR, millions of viewers still have no way to watch it on their older sets.

Producing live and episodic television for an audience of mixed SDR and HDR viewers requires  a highly efficient approach to color management because you’re often working with a range of sources and equipment, each with their own color science, which can make it tough ensure a consistent color and look as content moves between production gear. And, this matters for audiences, as Tim Walker, senior product manager at AJA Video, says, “if it looks wrong to the viewer at home sometimes people can get frustrated and change the channel.”

TVTech contributing editor Phil Kurz recently interviewed Walker about all things color management, including working in today’s mixed environment, maintaining control over color at every stage of the production chain, the role and types of color Look Up Tables (LUTs), and tips for streamlining  color management workflows for live and episodic production.

As Tim noted in the interview, color monitoring and analysis also takes on added importance in today’s mixed SDR/HDR production environment. Having the right image analysis tools, such as a quality waveform monitor and vectorscope, is a good place to start to ensure proper camera setup and that all cameras match in a multi-camera shoot, he says.

Monitoring at each point in the production through to delivery is important to maintaining color integrity, adds Walker.

These are among the many concepts and recommendations Walker covers during this highly informative chat. Click here to watch.

AJA Video Systems

Since 1993, AJA Video Systems has been a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge technology for the broadcast, cinema, proAV, and post production markets. The company develops a range of powerful, flexible video interface and conversion technologies, digital video recording solutions, and color management, streaming, and remote production tools. All AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com. 

Traditional news media is under increasing scrutiny, critique, and often attack from administrations on both sides of the aisle and an ever-more distrusting and distracted populace.  

Even small mistakes are highly visible, but news directors don’t have the luxury of slowing down. Not unlike riding a motorbike across a tightrope, broadcast news production requires speed, efficiency, and accuracy — and now more creativity than ever. 

Ross Video works with some of the top news producers around the world to produce engaging, immersive, highly efficient news productions.  

These are the top three strategies we use to help top-tier media studios like NBC and Fox balance creativity, speed, accuracy, and efficiency in their newsrooms. 

Strategy 1: Empower Reporters to Wear Many Hats 

As the media landscape evolves, the role of reporters is evolving as well. 

The desire for more regional, on the ground content from audiences and the growing number of distribution platforms is putting increasing strain on reporters and newsroom teams. Reporters must wear a variety of new hats, which often requires them to spend hours fighting unintuitive and inefficient workflow and creative software. That’s time they could be finding great stories or simply recovering from fieldwork.  

Many reporters now shoot their own interviews and add graphics to their stories from the field. This creates a new challenge for newsrooms: finding video production, media asset management and broadcast graphics software that’s easy to use, so reporters can spend their time reporting, not learning how to use new tools and wrangling with graphics software. 

The right production tools can make high-quality, dynamic visuals and storytelling accessible to even the smallest local newsrooms.  

Strategy 2: Enable Consistency and Creativity 

Consistent branding conveys credibility and professionalism, which can help increase retention and boost ratings. Templates and automated workflows go a long way to ensuring consistency.  

For example: are the titles of over-the-shoulder graphics always in the same font? Are lower-third graphics consistent with your brand’s visual identity? Templates help live video producers avoid idiosyncrasies that can distract viewers. 

Workflow automation tools and graphics templates boost creativity by freeing up creative professionals’ time. By using deeply integrated tools (like XPression, Streamline Pro, and Inception), news broadcasters can develop polished, reuseable graphics that allow reporters to make last-second updates with the confidence that they are ready-for-air and error-free. 

Local news network Graham Media Group uses ‘super-templates’ to create and distribute high-fidelity, on-brand graphics for their network of stations from a single creative hub. 

This video shows how Graham Media uses XPression to enable more creativity and better storytelling with fewer resources.

Strategy 3: Virtually Expand Studios 

In a traditional newsroom studio, most on-camera elements are also present in real life, on a physical set. Virtual studios use chroma keying to blend real-life elements (such as reporters and news desks) with interactive and digital multimedia visuals, and augmented reality elements. 

This strategy is already popular in sports broadcasting and weather reporting, where meteorologists frequently present the weather in front of a greenscreen, with visual elements like graphical representations of weather, maps, and real-time data being added digitally. However, this technology isn’t limited to the weather — it can enhance election coverage, sports stories, and other segments with sophisticated graphics that would be impossible to replicate on a real-life set. 

News stations like Servus TV/Red Bull Media have achieved incredible results using virtual studios powered by Ross Video’s technology, including XPression, Voyager and Lucid.  

Learn more about how virtual studios can be a strategic advantage for modern newsrooms in this article.

Balancing an Adaptive, Creative, Competitive Newsroom 

One thing is constant in news production: change. 

There is no playbook for succeeding in news because success is not static; the bar for quality is always rising. To rise above the competition, your station must be able to adapt to and embrace change. Consumer behavior and audience patterns are short-lived, so appealing to viewers has less to do with a one-time change and more to do with having the agility to change constantly. 

Ross Video’s newsroom solutions are designed to work together seamlessly (together or as part of a multi-vendor stack) to help stations create the accurate, compelling news broadcasts audiences expect, without crushing their teams. 

You do more than just deliver news. The ‘fourth estate’ is responsible for educating and engaging a population that is swamped with misinformation and propaganda, from often very questionable resources with far less integrity or concern for accuracy.   

The only way to keep up with that media tidal wave, newsrooms must invest in technology that allows them to be flexible, efficient, and creative, without crushing their teams.  

To learn more about how Ross Video solutions help news broadcasters big and small find the right technology to bring their stories to life, reach out to one of our production experts here.

Keeping Pace in the Election Race

2024 is a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe. For advanced insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics, download our guide.  

How’s this for irony? If there is one thing that’s constant in television technology, it’s that nothing remains static.

So, today’s mixed signal transport environment should be nothing new for seasoned video professionals. Whether it’s transport or any other aspect of television technology, things constantly change. That could be film to video, analog to digital, SD to HD, standard dynamic range to high dynamic range—the list goes on and on.

Those responsible for technology and those who control the purse strings in the Media & Entertainment Industry have learned to live with and thrive in this environment of change.

When it comes to signal transport—inside a facility, from the field to a facility, between facilities on a campus or even across facilities separated by many miles—the latest changes have spawned an abundance of options.

While established solutions for these applications, ranging from Serial Digital Interface (SDI) to point-to-point microwave and satellite transmission, are still relevant, the emergence of Internet Protocol (IP) transport is leaving its mark.

Today, protocols like SMPTE ST 2110, Network Device Interface (NDI) and Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) offer additional ways to move signals around facilities and enhance workflows. Frequently those responsible for SDI-based facilities are looking at ways to add these transport options to enhance workflows and derive other benefits.

From the field, contribution leveraging IP protocols like Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST), Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) and others makes it possible to move IP packets to facilities over wireless and wireline networks. These same protocols also offer an efficient way to transport content between buildings on a campus, to remote studios and even to the cloud.

Add to these IP protocols continued development of SDI to address, for instance, the greater bandwidth demands of higher resolution video formats (i.e. 4K and 8K Ultra HD) as well as HDR and the sheer number of protocols and formats engineers and managers must consider can seem overwhelming.

To assist media professionals, Ross Video has published a new white paper, “The Ins & Outs of Today’s Signal Transport.” 

It presents in an understandable way the strengths and limitations of many of the most popular signal transport options available today. Readers will find an informative discussion of the fundamentals of these options, different use cases, the pros and cons of each and a look into where signal transport is headed. 

Written with a full understanding that many M&E businesses will be working in a hybrid signal transport environment for the foreseeable future, the white paper brings an objective perspective to an examination of how different signal transport options can be added to existing infrastructure to enhance today’s media workflows while positioning organizations for the future.

The white paper also includes handy charts that give readers an at-a-glance understanding of the key characteristics of different transport options.

Click here now to download the white paper.

Pebble is well known among broadcasters for offering playout and channel management for Tier 1 channels.

At the 2024 NAB Show, however, the company took a major step forward to address the needs of the broader market with the introduction of Pebble PRIMA, a software platform equally adept at running on-prem or in the cloud. As shown at the NAB Show, PRIMA performs several key functions, including a workflow solution focused on handling file-based media, management of baseband and SMPTE ST 2110 streams and, of course, playout.

However, that’s just the beginning. Pebble aims to make PRIMA a full-featured media workflow platform by adding new capabilities over time that solve the challenge of how to both put channels on air and stream them in an affordable way without sacrificing the look and appeal viewers have become accustomed to seeing on their favorite channels.

Under development for four years, PRIMA will become “the basis of all our future technology introductions,” says Neil Maycock, chief commercial officer at Pebble.

That’s not to say the company will not continue investing in its existing products while Pebble focuses R&D resources on PRIMA, he says.

On-Prem and in the Cloud

PRIMA was designed to run on premise as well as in the cloud, which offers a special appeal for a large swath of users ranging from top broadcasters looking to launch Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) channels and temporary channels to meet short duration needs, such as hurricane coverage, to those outside the broadcast paradigm wishing to stream directly to viewers.

One of the downsides of relying on the cloud is that costs can mount quickly. With that in mind, Pebble designed PRIMA to make sure that it was affordable to run both on-prem and in the public cloud. For instance, PRIMA software is designed to run on Linux, not Windows. That fact alone can reduce the expense of running in the cloud by half, says Maycock.

Pebble made other critical tech choices while developing PRIMA that further drive down the expense of running in the cloud, he adds.

Security represents another major concern for media organizations whether they choose on-prem workflows or those in the cloud. Recognizing security to be key, Pebble took a variety of steps beginning in the software design of PRIMA all the way through to the external interface—where APIs reside—to maintain security.

“[P]ublic cloud security has to be leading edge,” says Maycock, “and that’s what we believe we have with PRIMA.”

Maycock recently sat down with TVTech contributing editor Phil Kurz for a one-on-one interview about PRIMA. The video is available online by clicking here.

ABOUT PEBBLE

Experts in delivering leading playout and management solutions for the broadcast and media technology industry.

Join John Hickey, senior director of R&D and KVM at Black Box, for a fascinating discussion of the latest trends in keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) technology. 

Learn why IP-based KVM tech is replacing legacy matrix devices. Find out the three key benefits IP brings to KVM in media applications and how the technology will continue evolving along an IP trajectory to bring even more IP sources into the personal space of users and enable operators to optimize their own workspaces.

Interviewed at the 2024 NAB Show, Hickey also talks about the company’s latest product introductions, including Emerald DESKVUE, a new concept in KVM over IP that enables users to create personalized workspaces where they can view and interact with up to a total of 16 systems, including those that are physical, virtual, and cloud-based as well as a combination of the three.

Hickey also talks about AV WALL, the latest DESKVUE feature set upgrade that adds video wall capabilities and integrates various IP video sources, including AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265.

Recorded at the company’s NAB Show booth, the video also gives viewers a good look at the latest Black Box innovations. 

Black Box 

Black Box is a trusted IT manufacturer delivering cutting-edge technology solutions & products and world-class consulting services to businesses around the globe. The breadth of our global reach, continuous innovation, and depth of our expertise accelerates customer success by bringing people, ideas, and technology together to solve real-world business problems. Since being founded in 1976, technology has changed, but our commitment remains steadfast.

There’s much more to the ongoing digital and cloud transitions in the Media & Entertainment Industry than simply technology. 

The adoption of workflows built around commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware running a wide variety of applications on-prem that touch nearly every aspect of their businesses as well as those leveraging the cloud and cloud-native hardware equivalents are yielding many new benefits for media companies.

TVTech Contributing Editor Phil Kurz interviews TMT Insights CEO Andy Shenkler to learn how his company is advising top management players in the M&E Industry on how best to realize the efficiencies and cost savings these transitions are creating.

In this Q&A, Shenkler discusses this fast-paced technological evolution, how it is changing the dynamic within media organizations when it comes to setting strategic direction with regards to technology and workflow and what to expect as these ongoing transitions accelerate.

TMT Insights

TMT Insights is a professional services and software development company delivering leading capabilities in the digital supply chain, including media content management, cloud technology, and SaaS/D2C experiences to global media companies. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills within the media & entertainment, digital & cloud technology space, our team offers industry leading services such as strategy and CXO advisory, product ideation & innovation, cloud transformation, process re-engineering and development to our partners. As early adopters of new technologies, we embrace the power of collaboration and work with our partners to combine our guidance with action to further drive efficiency, value, and scale to their communities. www.tmtinsights.com

In an era where change is the only constant in the media and entertainment landscape, standing still is equivalent to stepping back. Broadcasters and media companies don’t have the luxury of “wait and see;” they’ll be left in the dust. They must be agile and prepared for every geographical, technical, financial or operational transformation their viewers or the industry can throw at them. 

As the media industry evolves, the challenge lies in consistently delivering high-quality content. Solutions today need flexibility built in to purchase and operation models, enabling workflows to elevate and adapt content delivery systems efficiently. These software-based tools are key in adapting to industry shifts while ensuring outputs remain reliable and viewers get an unbeatable quality of experience.

Simplifying Complexity in IP Workflows  

The transition to IP-based workflows represents a significant leap forward but comes with a complexity that can be daunting. How can business models help reduce this complexity that is rooted in the technology itself? Media companies need comprehensive tools that span across their operations and can handle different requirements whether it is handling a wide variety of media formats and integrations or tackling different methods and objectives. Solutions today need to offer fluidity and allow media companies to achieve more with a single product while maintaining agility and the ability to adapt.

TAG’s Zero Friction approach makes all features and functionalities of the TAG realtime media platform available through a single, flexible license that provides the ability to monitor, visualize, record, process and perform deep analytics in real-time across various platforms and formats without the constraints of specific hardware, location or purpose. Everything required to deliver incredible quality without compromise is embodied within each license of this single platform. This approach breaks through traditional boundaries, allowing for licenses to be moved or shared along with a more fluid and adaptable workflow, and it reflects TAG's commitment to simplifying complexities inherent in IP workflows.

Adapting to Rapid Industry Changes 

In a domain driven by relentless innovation, 100% software hardware-agnostic solutions are required. Software provides an agile and scalable framework that enables media operations to keep pace with quick and constant change. Operationally, teams are always equipped with the latest tools and capabilities to effortlessly maintain quality based on the operation's needs at any point in time.

 Beyond regular upgrades enabled by software, better infrastructures are introduced as media companies choose software solutions that can easily switch to better hardware, newer cloud instances or flawless hybrid environments based on the evolving needs of the business. TAG’s Zero Friction approach enables users to enjoy new software developments and functionalities with no additional charges and seamlessly transition from on-prem to cloud and hybrid environments, all within the same platform, interface and license.

Business Enablement: Focusing on Core Business Goals  

Aligning the media workflow to business objectives is a challenging task, as technical and resource constraints create a path full of compromises. Vendors need to provide not only frictionless, comprehensive solutions, but also smart ones that enable media operations to achieve more within their limitations. Being a resource-heavy industry, enabling lighter, optimized and more sustainable media workflows is no longer optional.

TAG’s Zero Friction business model allows operations to match cost to their actual consumption and achieve 100% efficiency. Being able to use the platform’s variety of functionalities within the same license, share licenses between teams and locations and purchase in Capex or Opex, enables significant resource savings without compromising quality at any scale. Additionally, being able to optimize workflows based on TAG-collected data and insight allows media operations to make informed decisions about current and future changes. 

Wrapping Up 

Adopting Zero Friction® is about leading the way in a changing media landscape. This approach isn't just about choosing a licensing option; it's about ensuring that you can consistently deliver quality content and stay ahead of the pace of evolving content delivery workflows. It's about giving you the tools to scale your operations efficiently and adapt to new challenges. With Zero Friction®, you're ready for what's happening now and what comes next, driving your progress toward tangible results and sustained success. 

Schedule a meeting with TAG at NAB. 

About TAG Video Systems

TAG Video Systems is the global leader in software-based integrated IP probing, monitoring, visualization and analytics solutions. TAG enables broadcasters, content creators, and service providers to streamline operations, cut through the complexity of IP media workflows, and keep infrastructures ahead of shifting technology and demand with Zero Friction® agility. The TAG platform empowers users with innovative toolsets to ensure video quality, improve overall efficiency across all media workflows, and provides invaluable business and operational insights.