Live event production solutions specialist CP Communications has announced it will serve as the official A/V rental and sales partner for Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) in the United States.

As part of the collaboration, CP Communications’ subsidiary Red House Streaming (RHS) has introduced MRMC robotic cameras into Studio C, its new, cinematic-focused production studio in St Petersburg, Fla. Studio C is now one of only two studios in Florida and among a select few in the entire country to house this state-of-the-art robotic camera technology.

The addition of MRMC’s robotic systems elevates the capabilities of RHS studios, offering cinematic camera motion, precision control and creative flexibility for productions ranging from broadcast news and corporate events to creative projects, concerts and original programming.

“With MRMC’s robotic camera systems, we’re not just adding new equipment, we’re transforming what’s possible for our clients,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “This technology allows us to bring cinematic storytelling, consistency and efficiency into our productions, all while maintaining the flexibility and cost-effectiveness that clients demand.”

MRMC’s robotic solutions are trusted by leading broadcasters, filmmakers, and content creators around the world for their unparalleled precision, reliability, and innovation.

More information is available on the CP Communications, Red House Streaming and MRMC websites.

ATLANTA—Move over Shohei Ohtani. Make way Aaron Judge. Tonight’s 2025 MLB All-Star Game will see a private 5G wireless network emerge as a television production all-star in its own right, contributing numerous wireless camera shots, supporting comms and camera control from in and around Truist Park.

“The amazing part about Atlanta is that it’s not just a ballpark, and it’s not just a ballpark with a big parking lot around it,” Brad Cheney, vice president of field operations and engineering at Fox Sports, said. “It’s a ballpark with an amazing entertainment district [The Battery Atlanta] tied to it. That screams connectivity needs for us.”

(Editor’s note: Fox stations and cable network Fox Deportes will air the 2025 MLB All-Star Game at 8 p.m. ET from Truist Park in Atlanta. Viewers can also stream the game with the Fox Sports app and on Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV.)

Crowded House
The Battery Atlanta, adjacent to the home of the Atlanta Braves, is a mixed use/entertainment complex with shops, bars and restaurants. Office buildings, apartments and a hotel round out its features—any one of which increases wireless network traffic and together, for an event like the All-Star Game, compounds the wireless network challenge.

“We learned back in 2021 during the World Series that The Battery was popular, and it’s continued to grow ever since from when it was relatively small and new,” he said.

To sidestep any 5G network congestion, Fox Sports is working with Major League Baseball sponsor and technology partner T-Mobile for private 5G wireless network coverage of the entertainment district and ballpark. CP Communications is managing the private 5G network and most conventional RF and wireless comms, he added, noting that the RF connectivity of a handful of specialty cameras being deployed will be managed by their respective vendors.

Fox Sports made big use of 5G for wireless camera contribution on Monday (July 14) during FS1’s “Live at the All-Star Game” show and will again rely on 5G connectivity to contribute shots for tonight’s game to “expand the zone of coverage” to include The Battery and Truist Park, Cheney said.

For the 140 wireless communications packs to be used to produce the game, there was no other practical choice. “There’s really no system large enough out there that’s not cellular-based that can do the amount of wireless audio packs we need for communications—not just for us, but also for Major League Baseball, for ESPN and all of the other rightsholders,” said Cheney.

Production Highpoints
Fox Sports will produce the All-Star Game in 1080p Full-HD HDR. Upscaled 4K HDR streams will be available for connected TVs and living room apps, such as Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV and Roku devices.

It will deploy 55 cameras, including six Super-Slow Mo cameras, a FlyCam traveling from The Battery Atlanta into the ballpark at home plate along the first base line, a helicopter camera and a drone camera from Beverly Hills Aerials.

A first for All-Star Game coverage, the broadcaster will outfit the entire umpire crew with body-worn cameras. Base umpires will wear MindFly chest cams, while the home plate umpire will wear a third-generation RF Wireless Mask Cam, the broadcaster said.

Managing the color and the look of the Ump Cams and drone camera isn’t simply a matter of tweaking CCU settings, especially given the need to integrate the camera shots seamlessly into the HDR production of the game.

“We’ve spent some time with colorists to make a profile for the drone that takes the SDR and makes the HDR correctly that matches the broadcast cameras as close as possible, obviously, knowing that the lensing is not the same and the sensors are not the same,” said Cheney. “We then use [AJA Video] ColorBoxes [and color controllers from Cyanview] to actually manage that color throughout the game.”

Fox Sports has a history with this color management strategy for specialty cameras, Cheney noted. During the UFL season, Fox Sports made extensive use of Mindfly cameras, and it has been regularly using the third-generation RF Wireless Mask Cam this season since it debuted during the 2024 MLB playoffs.

“It looks spectacular on its own, but when we get the maestros to tweak it up a bit, it’s going to look exactly like everything else there.”

The broadcaster must also address the effect of changing lighting conditions on color and the overall look of video as the evening game, which starts in daylight, transitions to stadium lighting as night falls. Fox Sports will rely on the ColorBoxes and Cyanview units to make necessary adjustments, according to Cheney.

Five COSM cameras are being deployed for presentation of the game at the COSM venues in Los Angeles and Dallas; however, it’s likely they will be used “once or twice throughout the broadcast to show off a special angle,” he said.

Fox Sports will deploy 40 field-effects mics and 10 player mics for real-time conversations between the announcers and players in the game. Joe Davis and John Smoltz will reunite in the booth for their fourth All-Star Game together. Reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will provide inside information and in-game reports from the field, the broadcaster said.

The ongoing work at Fox Sports leveraging artificial intelligence to uncover storylines from all audio sources that might otherwise get overlooked will not be integrated into game coverage. “That’s something we are working to deploy in Major League Baseball overall, but it’s not something for the All-Star Game,” said Cheney.

“Our audio focus for this show is really about the player audio and the two-ways that we’re able to do with all those players and continually making that kind of the focus of the game itself,” said Cheney.

NEW YORK—CP Communications and its Red House Streaming subsidiary marked their 11th year of covering the TCS New York City Marathon last month by adding new technology to fill in coverage gaps. For this year’s five-borough, 26.2-mile race on Nov. 3, these included a broader implementation of private LTE spectrum, streamlined REMI site systems and integration with Starlink that enabled IP-based aerial acquisition.

These content acquisition and networking innovations from RHS allowed CP technicians to expand the event’s streaming footprint to 48 outbound feeds originating from HD-21, CP’s flagship 53-foot expando production truck. Those feeds were sent to multiple broadcast and streaming platforms, including WABC-TV New York City, ESPN2, the New York City Marathon App, and event organizer New York Road Runners’ social-media platforms.

“Over the years, we have gradually taken control of production elements where we can make a difference,” CP Communications Technical Manager Frank Rafka said. “This year, we took full responsibility for the TSC New York City Marathon App consumer experience, producing and streaming nine live feeds. That’s a big change from last year where we handed off select camera feeds to a third party. We added two VMix systems to HD-21 and assigned a dedicated operator to each for live mixing and switching of all nine feeds. We also added a dedicated encoding channel to our on-board Haivision Makito X4 video systems for low-latency transmission, which ensured real-time delivery to the app.”

As in past years, the RHS team deployed REMI (remote integration model) production systems to three locations, slimming down the technologies to simplify setup and operation, the company said. Haivision Pro460 5G mobile video systems were among the encoding and decoding technologies used to contribute live feeds to HD-21 from the three REMI sites, leveraging both public mobile networks and special Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum. RHS also deployed Pro460 systems to seven on-course motos, including dual-stream Smartcars with Sony cameras and microphones to capture live POV feeds and commentary from on-course talent.

The CBRS spectrum proved especially useful for intercom communications, particularly at the starting and finish lines, where public mobile spectrum can quickly reach capacity. “We assigned a Green-GO digital intercom system to the CBRS spectrum, which provides a private LTE cellular network for mission-critical needs with networking and communications,” said Aaron Segarra, vice president of sales at CP Communications and Red House Streaming. “That ensured clear spectrum for intercom at the start and finish lines where you have large crowds of spectators sharing their own pictures and live video feeds.”

The Green-GO intercom network included 18 belt packs at the starting line and 12 at the finish line along with six iPhones at each site, with connectivity to a cloud server from Pente Networks to manage all technologies assigned to CBRS spectrum. The communications strategy included a city-wide Unity radio system for field technicians, moto drivers, bike spotters and press vehicles, and an RTS ADAM matrix with RVON connectivity between HD-21 and the three REMI sites.

CP Communications also partnered for the first time with Helicopters Inc. to provide a camera-equipped helo for aerial race coverage. CP and RHS technicians designed a platform in collaboration with Heli Inc. to mount a Starlink satellite antenna and use that service for connectivity and Haivision for encoding.

“That was a huge accomplishment in our quest for uninterrupted connectivity,” Rafka said. “We recently started using Starlink to embellish existing cellular coverage for sporting events as there are always spots with coverage caps, and others where we can’t establish a reliable internet drop or run a cable across the street. For the marathon, we equipped Starlink connectivity to a helicopter for the first time. We still had a traditional RF microwave link on the helicopter for backup, but we used Haivision encoders as our primary encoding links. For the first time, we provided uninterrupted coverage of the entire race from all locations via IP with sateliite-based Starlink connectivity.”

The marathon—now in its 54th year—is produced by FILM 45 on behalf of the New York Road Runners.

MONTREAL—Live production experts CP Communications leveraged Haivision’s mobile video transmitters for delivery of high-quality, low-latency coverage via 4G and 5G cellular networks of the TCS New York City Marathon in November 2023.

CP Communications mounted Haivision Pro460 mobile video transmitters in smart cars to follow the leaders of the men’s, women’s and wheelchair races. It also deployed Haivision Pro360 transmitters on electric bikes for live broadcast of the main race, the company said.

Haivision StreamHub receivers were located in their production trucks for distribution to rightsholders, including one StreamHub instance running in the cloud that served as a quality control point for all live camera feeds broadcast to viewers on the official marathon app. 

CP Communications deployed Haivision Makito X4 video encoders and Makito X4 video decoders at the start and finish lines to send return and program feeds via SRT to the production truck for monitoring. Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority relied on these video feeds for security surveillance during the race, it said.

In total, CP Communications created four on-site venues and three remote production sites with Haivision video contribution solutions to cover all 26.2 miles of the race. 

“The flexibility of Haivision mobile transmitters allows us to maintain extremely high picture quality, even when data rates drop for example, and what’s more, the solutions work seamlessly together right out of the gate,” said Frank Rafka, technical manager at CP Communications.

More information is available on the company’s website.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications and its Red House Streaming subsidiary have extended their strategic partnership with Haivision to offer North American customers access to the company’s live video contribution technology.

The Haivision portfolio of contribution products is now available for rent through CP Communications. They include the Haivision Pro, Air and rack mobile transmitters and Makito encoders and decoders, the company said.

Rental packages that include the Haivision equipment, cloud access and global connectivity services are available. They are backed by 24/7 support, it said.

Earlier in 2023, CP Communications and Red House Streaming (RHS) made a major purchase of Haivision Makito real-time video networking encoders and decoders, giving its customers access to the latest premium Secure, Reliable Transport-enabled (SRT-enabled) encoders and decoders, it said. 

The Makito purchase was a strategic move to diversify the CP Communications and RHS offerings to meet specific customer requirements based on each event and application, the company said.

“CP Communications specializes in providing high-quality, cost-effective live event production solutions to entertainment, corporate, and sports producers,” said Aaron Segarra, vice president of sales at CP Communications. “Across our diverse range of clients and in an even wider range of environments, it’s clear that Haivision solutions perform under pressure. Our clients have come to rely on and often specifically request Haivision solutions for their secure, reliable and low latency video transport over unpredictable networks.”

More information is available on the CP Communications and RHS websites.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—HRP-Live, a video production company working primarily on fitness projects, contracted with CP Communications to handle all RF acquisition for the 2023 NOBULL Cross Fit Games at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisc.

This year’s event, which wrapped up in August, was the second consecutive Cross Fit Games CP Communications handled for HRP-Live.

CP Communications brought its HD-21 53-foot expand truck to Madison and provided frequency coordination services for six RF cameras, four robotic PTZ cameras and audio systems, including mics, IFBs and intercom. 

Multiple online platforms, including ESPN+, Facebook, YouTube as well as the CrossFit website, streamed the four-day event. ESPN and ESPN2 broadcast select hours live on the final three days of the games. Weightlifting, gymnastics, cycling and endurance running were among the events.

CP Communications and HRP-Live worked closely to cover the various competitions inside the Alliant Energy Center indoor coliseum and adjacent North Park stadium, a temporary outdoor venue built for the games. All content was handed off to NEP mobile production units.

“Last year’s competition included off-site activities at distant venues, which required bonded cellular networking to ensure reliable coverage with robust networking back to the mobile village,” said Mike “Rothy” Roth, HRP-Live co-founder. 

“While the CP team did an exceptional job deploying a hybrid solution, this year’s more focused coverage area allowed us to really dial it in with nearly 100 percent RF coverage. That also allowed us to one-stop shop almost all our gear with CP, which included PTZ cameras with robotic remote control for the first time, and just one bonded cellular system to exclusively cover athletes in the warmup area,” he said.

CP Communications built four RF reporter kits with video and audio gear used to cover the larger events, such as cross-country 5K runs around the Quann Park perimeter and through the adjacent Willow Island. The biggest upgrade to this year’s setup was the intercom system, said Roth.

“CP this year recommended a Riedel Bolero wireless system, which expanded our capacity, improved portability and strengthened RF audio signals carried over the system,” said Roth. 

“We were managing a crew of 215 across three production groups and two control rooms, and the Bolero system was easy-to-use for all, even a few of our crew who are not TV production people. They all learned how to use Bolero within 10 minutes, and it doesn’t require lugging around a belt and a radio.” 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has announced that it provided REMI production and streaming services for the Ohlmeyer Kusserow Group (OKG), a production company that specializes in sports broadcasts, during OKG’s production of two LPGA events in September for ESPN.

Approximately 50 hours of programming from the two tournaments was produced by OKG for ESPN, which was streamed live on ESPN+. 

CP supported OKG for its coverage of the Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati in early September, followed by the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark., later that month, the companies reported. 

During the events, OKG was tasked with coverage of ”follow groups" as opposed to creating the network feed. 

“Covering groups of players that aren’t the leaders has become a model for expanded coverage of events,” explained Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications. “It’s a way to bring more visibility to the LPGA and their players in a cost-effective manner.”

A combination of six Sony PXW-X400 and PXW-X500 ENG cameras, equipped with compact AVIWEST encoders, were used to provide coverage of two groups of three golfers at a time. A drone was also used for overhead shots of the courses, and a DSLR on a gimbal rig brought the shallow depth of field “film look” to the production. For the beauty cam and birdie mic, CP utilized its proprietary CamSTREAM technology, which is an all-in-one PTZ streaming solution, the companies said. 

Red House Streaming provided the studios, control room, and streaming services for the productions from its facility in St. Petersburg, FL. The eight live streams were ingested via the RHS-36 truck on site, streamed to Red House Streaming for a line cut of the production, and then streamed to LPGA.com and ESPN+, as well as IMG for international distribution. 

“With a smaller budget and a smaller crew working together for the first time, we put together shows that match up with anything airing on PGA Tour Live,” said Chris Ohlmeyer, executive producer and managing partner, OKG. “The golf workflow we are creating will hopefully make it financially sustainable for the LPGA to have their players showcased on ESPN+ like only the PGA Tour has had up to this point.”

The production used CP’s FastReturn secure video management platform to provide return video to camera operators in the field. Plus, with CP’s Unity intercom system, the on-site crew had its own dedicated channel, while a proprietary talent mic system allowed the on-site talent to hear their microphone feeds and give the production a traditional talkback to the producer workflow. “The Unity gives us the advantage of solid yet flexible communication, which makes REMI production easier,” said Frank Rafka, senior RF tech manager for CP Communications. 

As with many golf setups, a lack of cell service was the biggest challenge on the two courses, the companies said. 

Even courses with good coverage can suffer from site saturation during the event due to fan activity. As part of its preparation, CP brought its proprietary bonded cellular survey kit to the courses to maximize the shooting opportunities during the LPGA events. The company is also developing a proprietary portable VPN solution for boosting bonded cellular capabilities, which will launch at the 2022 New York City Marathon in November.

“This production model is challenging on a number of levels, but CP has proved it’s possible to deliver broadcast-quality, multi-camera productions without the traditional broadband expense,” Heitmann added. “We look forward to delivering more production solutions for OKG and the LPGA.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Production company HRP Live relied on CP Communications for RF, bonded cellular, intercom and streaming services for its coverage in February of the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisc. 

“What differentiates us from most production companies is our standing in the fitness space,” said Mike “Rothy” Roth, a co-founder of the HRP Live and director of all of the individual competitions for the broadcast. “We’ve essentially invented how you cover the sport, and that’s been really helpful to us.”

Roth and co-founder Charlie Dube, worked for years on the CrossFit broadcast team. When the event’s management decided it wanted to change direction and hire an outside company to produce broadcasts of its events, the two created HRP Live. Since then, HRP Live has successfully produced several CrossFit broadcasts.

For the five-day event in February, HRP Live managed six NEP mobile units and a crew of about 250 people, including 17 announcers. HRP Live was responsible for live streams of the games and a two-hour live broadcast on CBS. 

“All of our RF came from CP Communications,” Roth said. “The field of play is not just one or two fields of play – every inch of the Alliant Energy Center is in play, so we needed somebody who could be flexible. They also provided a bunch of bonded cellular work as well, because we had events that were downtown.”

Most of the CrossFit Games happened at the Alliant Energy Center’s indoor coliseum and outdoor North Park Stadium. Off-site activities included an event at the University of Wisconsin pool and another that required coverage from the stadium to the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, more than three miles away. Thirty-two cameras, including two drones with cameras, were used for coverage of that event, CP Communications said. 

“We went from the stadium at North Park, which is where the athletes started and where we have standard RF,” Roth said. “Then they left the campus, and we switched to bonded cellular. It was a testament to a lot of people – CP chief among them – to make that work in real time when a bunch of people decide to go live on Instagram at the same time and your bandwidth gets cut in half.” 

CP Communications assigned a crew of 12 to 15 people to the event. They handled all off-site communications and field reporter RF using a Unity intercom system, the company said.

“When you’re talking to people miles away, things can go bad. None of this works if you can’t talk to your people out there,” Roth said. “And to be able to talk to everybody in real time, which the Unity system allowed us to do, was spectacular.”

Originally, the CrossFit Games coverage was limited to two streams, but a deal late in the process added more streams for international audiences, and CP’s subsidiary, Red House Streaming, provided the encoding and distribution.

“We ran a lot of that through CP and RHS, where they were the last step out the door,” said Roth. “I think CP and Red House Streaming will be more heavily involved in our transmission and distribution down the road, because I think there’s going to be more and more of it – and they’re well set up for handling multiple streams to multiple places.”

More information is on the Red House and CP Communications websites.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Live event solution and services provider CP Communications has opened a new office in Los Angeles, a move that brings the company back to L.A. after a 10-year hiatus. 

“The business models have changed, and we have changed with them,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications and Red House Streaming. “We are focused on high-end 4K production gear, RF camera packages, multi-camera PTZ production systems, and more for broadcast and AV customers.”

The LA office is led by Ian McKelvy, general manager, CP Communications, who joined the company in late 2019. “L.A. is such a huge market, and a strategic market,” said McKelvy. “And to better serve that market, you need to have boots on the ground. We really want to showcase our solutions, from more traditional broadcast productions to the bonded cellular live streaming solutions we offer through our Red House Streaming subsidiary. This is an exciting opportunity for CP Communications.” 

McKelvy expects a presence in Southern California will provide the company the opportunity to collaborate with design groups in the area and attract corporate clients. The new office will also help drive REMI production and live streaming business back to the Red House Streaming (RHS) studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“Coming out of the last couple of years, people don’t necessarily want to fly to a studio,” McKelvy explained. “They are starting to realize just how much you can do with streaming. There’s so much opportunity for our streaming business, and we offer many different solutions for the corporate video market. By stocking our hardware locally and providing local technical support and expertise here, we can better support our customers and their projects.”

While L.A. is a main focal point, the new CP Communications office also provides better access to other clients in the region. “With an office on the West Coast, we can get gear quicker and more efficiently to markets like Las Vegas and San Diego,” McKelvy said. “We also have some great clients in the Northwest, including Portland and Washington State, so we will be able to better service them as well.”

The new CP Communications office is located at 15907 Blythe Street in Van Nuys, Calif.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications and its subsidiary Red House Streaming have announced that they’ve gradually evolved their St. Petersburg, Florida headquarters into a specialized broadcast and IP production center and that they've rebranded it as Red House Streaming Production Center.

As part of that effort, the company has now deployed a varied network infrastructure of 1Gb and 10Gb pipes that interface with its two homegrown RHS studios and new RHS-36 truck, allowing the company to seamlessly manage live content coming from and going to any location globally – without leaving the property, and without leaving the IP domain if desired. 

These advances, along with the ability for clients to bring their own production trucks to interface directly with the IP network infrastructure, have inspired CP and RHS to formally rebrand the facility as Red House Streaming Production Center. 

The facility has already hosted several REMI productions, including the Bermuda Track and Field Championships and two ACC Golf Championship events.

“We differ from conventional production centers because we offer a true all-IP production ecosystem,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications and Red House Streaming. “We offer multiple levels of professional production using traditional studio or control room workflows. Regardless of which production service is used, we acquire in IP, we produce in IP, and we distribute in IP. We can keep it all in IP with our vMix workflows, or also decode content for a traditional SDI workflow onboard RHS-36. We can then encode it back to IP for distribution.”

Heitmann added that the Red House Streaming Production Center uses Internet Protocol compression standards in ways that allow clients to capture, edit, process and deliver programming in their preferred formats. 

“We work in compressed environments, instead of moving uncompressed content around the facility on network cable,” said Heitmann. “Working in compressed environments is what gives our clients the freedom to manage content to and from anywhere globally over IP in a variety of formats, including RTMP, RTSP, SRT and NDI.”

The first 2022 REMI production project from Red House Streaming Production Center was the Bermuda Track and Field Championships for Carr-Hughes Productions (CHP) that aired on NBC Sports. 

This project utilized CHP’s High Rock mobile truck. Red House Streaming engineered a layer 2 network that transported eight video signals with 32 channels of audio, RVON communications, control data for cameras, return video and scoring data to and from Bermuda. 

“Basically, we extended the truck and production center networks to Bermuda,” said Heitmann. “The NBC announcers were in RHS Studio A and the international commentator was in RHS Studio B, and it was as if they were onsite.”

CP’s RHS-36 mobile unit was later brought in for the ACC Women’s Golf Championship, which took place in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. CP and RHS acquired eight bonded cellular signals from the Reserve Golf Club and natively placed them into the traditional control room workflow onboard RHS-36 back at Red House Streaming Production Center. 

The content was managed and processed on board RHS-36 in a traditional SDI video workflow, which includes a Ross Video Carbonite switcher, Ross Xpression graphics, Evertz Dreamcatcher replay systems and Yamaha audio mixing, before being distributed over IP to the web. A similar project for the Men’s ACC Golf Championship event live from Panama City, Florida followed one week later.

“The ACC Women’s and Men’s Golf Tournaments were the proving ground, as there were six hours of live transmission with eight cameras including an RHS CamSTREAM, a drone and six traditional cameras - all coming into RHS-36 over bonded cellular,” said Heitmann. 

While RHS-36 offers a more traditional control room environment, RHS Studios A and B offer true studio workflow environments for clients that truly want to keep it all in IP. “We are using our vMix studio switching workflows in the two RHS studios, which keep everything in native IP,” he said.

Heitmann added that the company’s new FastReturn system brings another important differentiating layer to the company’s REMI production arsenal. 

FastReturn can ingest any H.264 baseline profile RTMP stream, supporting HD resolution and 128kbit stereo audio with bit rates up to 10 MBps with less than 400ms of latency, and then place live-acquired content from the cloud directly into Red House Streaming Production Center’s IP network. CP and RHS technicians architected the IP network infrastructure for optimized redundancy and failover, and added an enterprise broadband pipe to support future 4K, 8K and similar high-bandwidth productions. 

“We have 1Gb backup pipes for transmission, engineering and other production arms that assure uninterrupted service, and we have a full NOC for monitoring and quality assurance as well as to manage remote talent,” said Heitmann. “It’s all about providing the most flexible and reliable solutions for today’s varied REMI productions, and we can handle it all from Red House Streaming Production Center.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications subsidiary Red House Streaming designed and deployed a wide-area Layer 2 network across multiple event locations for the SXSW Conference and Festival, March 11-20, in Austin, Texas, the company said today.

This year’s SXSW, the first to feature a hybrid of in-person and remote participants, relied on the network to support the crew onsite responsible for delivering sessions, panels and music and comedy performances to audiences around the world.

With festival locations around the city, the SXSW relied on CP Communications and Red House Streaming to support events at 10 venues, including the Austin Convention Center where many of the largest sessions and Radio Day Stage music events were held and Brush Square Park, an outdoor venue where the International Day Stage music showcases took place.

Red House Streaming connected SXSW’s master control center, located in the Austin Marriott Downtown, with the 10 remote venues and a roaming camera crew that covered other venues around Austin. RHS’ family of IP and bonded cellular technologies were used to manage all Dante audio signals and intercom communications over the network, CP Communications said.

The expansive wide-area network and supporting technology infrastructure required a three-man crew from CP Communications and Red House Streaming. Besides building out and crewing the master control center, RHS technicians supported the remote camera crews on location, provided field support and maintenance services for all connected remote venues and managed a large communications infrastructure across all sites. The master control center also doubled as a network operations center for live signal monitoring and troubleshooting, it said.

“The technology infrastructure put into place for this year’s events proved exceptionally reliable,” said Marshall Dungan, technical director and senior producer for SXSW Conference and Festivals. “Their video and audio equipment worked very well between master control and our many remote sites, which is not an easy endeavor given the complexity of the network. The reliability of the bonded cellular video encoding equipment proved invaluable when we had to switch from the primary feed.”

More information is available on the Red House Streaming and CP Communications websites. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— CP Communications, a provider of solutions and services for live event productions, has launched two new products for live production, the Virtual Media Center and the FastReturn secure video management platform. 

Both solutions are built around WebRTC – the cloud-based technology used by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other popular videoconferencing platforms – and have been successfully used in the field during high-profile events over the past few years, including the Fall 2021 editions of the TCS New York City Marathon and Bank of America Chicago Marathon, CP Communications reported. 

“People have been struggling with the latency of live video in remote production workflows,” explained Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “Announcers can’t be way behind the action with play-by-play or analysis. With FastReturn, we use the power of the cloud to deliver streaming return video with ultra-low latency, so you can view your live production from anywhere on any device in real time.”

FastReturn’s base package includes five streams and supports up to 100 users, but can be scaled to accommodate additional sources and larger crews, the company said. 

Users access FastReturn content via a web browser on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, as well as through Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire Stick digital media players. Content is accessed through a secure client portal (optional custom user pages and templates are also available).

The platform can ingest any H.264 baseline profile RTMP stream, supporting HD resolution and 128kbit stereo audio with bit rates up to 10 MBps with less than 400ms of latency. FastReturn can also spin up edge servers around the world that are geographically closer to the production to provide even lower latency and better reliability, the company said. 

Available as an ad hoc service, the Virtual Media Center is a browser-based multi-viewer for monitoring, not retransmission, of live video signals. 

Designed for use by remote journalists, it features a variety of multi-viewer templates, from simple 2-box and 4-box displays to more extensive layouts based on the number of signals being shared. Through a browser-based interface, media personnel can select which video feeds to monitor. All templates deliver video feeds with secure, two-step authentication and less than 400ms of latency, the company said. 

Beyond event coverage, the Virtual Media Center can also help with multi-camera remote production. 

“For members of the media who are not able to travel to an event, or for video production crew members who can’t be on site, the Virtual Media Center provides an effective and efficient way to monitor the live action from multiple cameras,” Heitmann explained.

FastReturn is available as a monthly service or can be licensed for specific events. CP can also provide RHS CamSTREAM units and RTMP encoders for rental.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications today announced several personnel moves, including the promotion of Lowell Beckner to vice president of Red House Streaming and general manager of CP Communications St. Petersburg (CPSP).

The company has also promoted Jason Proskurin to technical director for RHS and sales administrator of CP Communications. 

Joining the company are Beth Weber as senior producer for RHS and Tabitha Coleman as controller for CP.

Aaron Segarra has been named vice president of sales and marketing, overseeing all marketing and sales efforts for CP and the RHS brand. He will work from CP’s New York office.

“As an organization, we are continually pushing forward the boundaries of broadcast and live event production. We successfully launched our subsidiary, Red House Streaming, during the pandemic, and we are now positioned as the go-to for production in the Tampa Bay market,” said CP CEO Kurt Heitmann. “That success is made possible by our hard-working and dedicated staff. These promotions and new hires reflect that effort and the company’s continued growth.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—While the FCC repack of the TV band saw about 1,200 full-power television stations affected and a reduction of spectrum available for wireless mic and other RF communications production uses, CP Communications has been able to overcome challenging conditions, such as those associated with the MLB All-Star Game. 

Making frequency coordination of the game particularly challenging was the fact that so many events and networks were involved. This stands in contrast to ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals in Milwaukee and Phoenix where there were far fewer coordination issues to overcome, the company said.

“Every time you add a network, you add more RF,” said Loren Sherman, RF coordinator and field technician. “That made the All-Star Game a little more difficult to coordinate.”

When responsible for RF coordination of wireless video and audio transmission, CP assigns various RF users to specific frequencies within available spectrum for the duration of an event. The purpose is to avoid interference with established spectrum users in the area, such as broadcast stations, as well as other temporary spectrum users that cover the event, the company said.

“I think what makes us unique, unlike most frequency coordinators, is that we also operate the gear,” Sherman explained. “We’re not just passing out a number and giving it to people. We understand how the gear operates, so we provide frequencies where the gear can work harmoniously with other pieces of gear. We’re one of the few that do both and we do both well.”

CP technicians coordinate RF frequencies with specialized software while working closely with venue and local SBE coordinators. The biggest challenge it faces is finding enough spectrum, especially since the repack. To accommodate all media clients during high-profile events, CP relies on receiving special temporary authority (STA) from the FCC to use parts of the spectrum that are not normally available.

“If we’re going to use STAs, then we need time,” Sherman said. “We might start planning for something like the Super Bowl a month or two in advance, depending on how many two-way radios we need to coordinate everything.”

While RF coordination is similar for indoor and outdoor events, Sherman said he can usually get more frequency options in an indoor venue. 

“The venue will often provide protection from digital television stations,” he said. “Maybe they’ll attenuate that signal enough that it becomes a usable piece of spectrum inside that building. But outside, it is what it is.”

Different outdoor locations yield different results. Denver was “fairly difficult” to coordinate based on the number of DTV signals in the region, Sherman said. In contrast, Milwaukee has fewer DTV stations and limited interference with signals from nearby cities. 

More information is available on the company’s website. 

DENVER—CP Communications provided RF coordination and an extensive lineup of equipment to ESPN, Fox and MLB earlier this month for coverage of the 2021 All-Star Game from Coors Field in Denver, the company announced today.

To coordinate RF usage effectively CP Communications began planning its strategy early, securing 1,108 frequencies, covering RF video system, audio, return video, paint control, intercoms and two-way radio applications, it said.

The company worked from its flagship HD21 production truck, providing services for the Home Run Derby July 12 on ESPN, the Red Carpet All-Star at McGregor Square July 13 on MLB Network, the All-Star Game July 13 on Fox and the three-day MLB Draft at Bellco Theatre in Denver July 11-13 on ESPN and MLB Network, it said.

The 23 members of the CP Communications in Denver also assisted with the three networks’ on-site studio shows as well as assisting other clients, including ESPN Radio, Sirius XM Radio and the MLB Commissioner’s Office.

“Over four days, we coordinated between three networks in multiple venues producing event coverage plus regularly scheduled network programming,” said Michael Mason, president of CP Communications. “Coordination was an essential part of our game plan. The All-Star Game is one of the most high-profile events in professional sports, and we delivered high-quality support for all of our clients.”

The company provided support for 16 RF handheld cameras, including two FlyCam systems, two Megaladon Sony cameras, a Sony HDC-P50 on a MoVI camera rig, a SteadiCam and batting cage POVs. 

It also coordinated 60 wireless mics used throughout the event by reports and other talent, umpires, coaches and players. Some were planted in the ground to capture game audio and effects.

“The TV transmitters installed on mountains around Coors Field can create challenges for wireless productions,” Mason added. “Before the action, we performed accurate site surveys and current spectrum scans so we could deliver reliable wireless video and audio signals for all clients.”

More information is available on the company’s website. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications provided its expertise and some tech solutions to Greenlight Television during its worldwide live stream of the Trans Am Series, a U.S.-based muscle car racing championship. CP Communications brought IP and bonded cellular gear to the production to help reduce costs, limit infrastructure and help keep the crew small and safe.

In 2019, Greenlight Television was asked to develop a quality live stream of the Trans Am Series without the costs of using an OB truck. With the added challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenlight partnered with CP to prepare this streamlined, remote production.

The small crew on-site for the Trans Am Series used 12 MVP Agile Airlink encoders for six in-car systems, four fixed camera positions, a roaming pit and podium camera and a drone. All of the content was delivered to Greenlight’s remote production studio on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, with CP providing real-time production support from its distributed network operations center. The live feed cut was sent to commentators at the track and then streamed to the Isle of Man. Voice and graphics were added to the final live stream, with a latency of 1.6 seconds.

“The traditional production approach for this kind of event would require a mobile production truck, an RF unit and a seemingly endless amount of fiber, technicians and production equipment onsite,” said Kurt Heitmann, CP Communications CEO. “Working with partners like Greenlight who embrace the REMI model substantially reduces costs. The new generation of live event television is here and it delivers cost-effective acquisition with remote management, and the ability to make the entire content chain far more efficient.”

Greenlight live-streamed the race, driver interviews and other content direct to consumers over multiple platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, using Vimeo’s Livestream Studio 6 platform.

A Unity intercom system was used by Greenlight to communicate with on-location crew and engineers at CP’s Canadian operations center, where the Airlink servers were controlled using MVP’s LinkMatrix management portal.

“From Nova Scotia we consistently optimized all Airlink encoding and multiplexing settings based on local conditions, assisted with stream routing and provided continuity checks as Airlinks came online for each race,” said Allen Harris, lead IP and Bonded Cellular Technologist for CP Communications. “The NOC reduced the workload in Greenlight’s control room, removing any concerns about backhauling signals so that they could concentrate on producing great content.”

Greenlight’s on-site production team for the Trans Am Series was able to be reduced to 10, according to Lauren Roberts, director, Greenlight Television.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has announced its acquisition of the assets of SportsCam, a developer of wireless and robotic camera products for live sports production. SportsCam’s tech will now fall under CP Communications’ Red House Streaming brand.

SportsCam developed wearable wireless cameras that could be embedded into clothing. These cloud-connected cameras would be used to capture close-up sports action from varied points of view for coverage of hockey, boxing and college football. The technology has also been used by remote newsgathering teams and can be used for other content acquisition needs, per CP Communications.

Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications, says that there are synergies between his company’s products and those of SportsCam, like Mobile Viewpoint’s IP streaming and bonded cellular technology, that can be used for sports or other live events. Heitmann believes that the technology can also be useful for other areas, including law enforcement, public safety and more that require robotic cameras to document events.

“Our Red House Streaming brand was established to bring the cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency of IP, cloud services and bonded networking to more customers and markets,” said Heitmann. “The SportsCam acquisition amplifies this strategy.”

SportsCam founder Chris Stramacchia will remain with CP Communications, working closely with the company’s engineering and R&D teams.

For more information, visit www.cpcomms.com.  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has cut the ribbon on the Red House Streaming Studios, a pair of 600-square-foot professional studios and network operations center (NOC) that will serve as the company’s base for in-house production business. Red House Streaming is a CP Communications brand that focuses on IP, cloud and bonded cellular technology.

RHS Studios are located at CP Communications’ headquarters in St. Petersburg. The studio will be the central production hub for CP broadcast and AV clients, while the NOC will consist of RHS technicians and enable remote management of production and content delivery.

The RHS Studios can also be booked for clients to self-produce projects. As much as 5,000 square feet of additional open space is available for larger shoots, CP Communications says. The space is also expected to be used for two-way customer demos for products.

Clients will have access to Red House Streaming, CP Communication and third-party products for use in the studios. The space can also create a virtual set with a green screen, according to Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “This is a full-service, turnkey streaming and recording studio,” Heitmann said.

For more information, visit www.cpcomms.com.  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has appointed Lowell Beckner as general manager. He will focus on growing CP Communications’ in-house production business for broadcast and AV projects at the company’s headquarters, anchored by its soon-to-launch Red House Streaming Studios. He will report to CEO Kurt Heitmann.

Beckner joins CP Communications with more than two decades of engineering, sales, and management in the broadcast industry. His experience in broadcast engineering and military communications provides him with extensive knowledge of RF and IP technologies and systems, the latter of which is a core part of the Red House Streaming Studios workflow and infrastructure. He will also oversee all general St. Petersburg functions, and serve as the primary interface for CP Communications’ executives across sales, engineering, IT and operations.

 In a statement announcing the appointment Beckner said, “The opportunity to lead the company’s new in-house production initiatives and general business operations is an exciting opportunity for an engineer that values technical innovation, and understands the importance of strategic direction to ensure growth and success. I’m looking forward to working with the entire CP Communications team up through the executive level, and establishing a roadmap for future expansion.”

 “Lowell brings a uniquely diverse and rich background to CP Communications that will drive organization across all key business operations—an integral responsibility of the general manager position,” said Heitmann. “Lowell will provide day-to-day guidance and decisions that harmonize our teams and initiatives as we work toward the launch and future success of Red House Streaming Studios, and grow our business into interesting new directions.”

 Beckner’s broadcast career began in the military with tours at the Joint Special Operations Command and the White House Communications Agency while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He spent the next 20 years as a broadcast engineer with TV stations in the southeast and with broadcast media network groups, taking on roles with Media General, Cox Media Group and E.W. Scripps. He shifted his focus toward IP networking in 2017 at Integrated Microwave Technologies and then Vislink. His hands-on experience across the broadcast ecosystem includes engineering creative solutions for newsroom, playout, transmission and IP/bonded cellular systems.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has launched the second generation of its Red House Streaming all-in-one live production systems, the CamSTREAM2 for ProAV productions and CamSTREAM2B for professional broadcasters.

Both the CamSTREAM2 and CamSTREAM2B support content acquisition, on-board recording and live streaming in integrated, turn-key packages. Both systems can also serve cloud streaming and user-hosted playout workflows.

The new systems are designed to simplify and accelerate configuration for content creators, ceding production and control operations to CP Communications technicians, according to the company.

The all-in-one packages integrate a Sony SRG-360SHE PTZ camera, a Mobile Viewpoint Agile Airlink encoder, a return video monitor and connections for audio. The CamSTREAM models can be attached to the top of a tripod or be set on a table top. Remote control and management from CP Communications’ network operations centers is supported by Mobile Viewpoint’s LinkMatrix system.

Additional components include wired or wireless microphones, IFB systems and HDMI outputs for return video and autocue.

CP Communications says that the CamSTREAM systems will allow content providers to shoot and stream broadcast-quality content to Facebook, YouTube, a CDN and/or studio-based playout servers.

For more information, visit www.cpcomms.com.  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has integrated some of its live event technologies to a streaming media studio and control room for sports events management company The Ironman Group to assist with live OTT delivery of its multisport and marathon events over its website and Facebook Watch.

With its technology, CP Communications says that The Ironman Group can now produce any of its 235 race events worldwide remotely over IP. In addition, the studio and control room design uses Dante to configure, manage and route broadcast-quality audio over IP. An NDI video networking platform also extends the HD-SDI workflow.

The Ironman Group control room now consists of an external 20x20 expansion router, expanding the switchers video inputs from four to 20; a Dante license added to a NewTek TriCaster Mini; a Yamaha TF-1 digital audio mixer with Dante sound card; a Dante-enabled Unity intercom system, wireless mics and in-ear monitors; a Wowza Clearcaster for streaming to online portals; and Mobile Viewpoint 2K4 playout servers and Terralink bonded cellular encoders.

Meanwhile, the studio design added a news desk production set; a greenscreen stage for immersive virtual sets and backdrops; a NewTek TalkShow; two Sony PXW-100 (1080i) cameras with added zoom and focus control, fluid head tripods, Dante communications and NDI-based teleprompters; and a DMX lighting control system.

For more information, visit www.cpcomms.com.  

As the U.S. distributor for Mobile Viewpoint, CP Communications will be the one showcasing the company’s IQ Sports Producer family of automated live sports production systems this spring.

IQ Sports Producer is designed for single-operator use and remote productions to deliver live and on-demand sports. The system can support up to three 180-degree panoramic 4x4 cameras. The output, meanwhile can be AI-based to follow the action, including automated zooming and game tracking technology.

The IQSP system also supports three additional virtual streams defined within the system to follow designated action. Users can drag and drop varied fields of view into the image and add overlays including scoreboard content, sideline and goal views, instant replay content and automatic summaries and highlights. Operators can select and analyze other streams from the field of play during and after the event.

Mobile Viewpoint others two models for IQSP—IQSP Pro and IQSP Plus. Each are built around a 2RU Mobile Viewpoint server with IQSP software, 10 bonded 4G IP connections and AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 compression.

IQSP Pro features an IQ-xCam four-lens panoramic camera system that can shoot 4K at 60 fps and has an F2.2 aperture with 5mm focal length. The camera has AI technology to automatically follow the action, as well as wrapping and de-stitching technology. Mobile Viewpoint’s Clipper application is also included, which integrates with a LinkMatrix dashboard for editing and sharing highlights.

IQSP Plus is designed to be a more streamlined version for live sports streaming to the web. It’s panoramic camera uses four CMOS sensors and four 4mm fixed lenses to capture content in 4K at 30 fps. It also includes four IR LEDs and options for the Clipper app, scoreboard, subtitles, commentary and game summary capabilities.

For more information, visit www.cpcomms.com.  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has begun shipping the new ENG Cam STREAM streaming acquisition system and will make the public debut of the new package at the 2020 NAB Show, April 19-22 in Las Vegas, the company announced today.

The fourth system in the company’s Red House Streaming portfolio, ENG Cam Stream enables broadcast-quality production and bonded cellular streaming, providing connectivity to most locations, the company said.

“ENG Cam STREAM integrates everything that news teams and content creators need into a lightweight, turnkey solution at an attractive package price,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “The system makes it much easier and more affordable to cover news wherever it happens, which is especially important in a year that includes our presidential election and the Summer Games in Tokyo.”

The new product supports one or two channels of live 1080p HD video, bonded cellular networking and IP streaming in a plug-and-play package. ENG Cam STREAM is quick and easy to set up, the company said.

With the turnkey offering, camera operators can quickly capture and stream live shots via 4G/3G, Wi-Fi or Ethernet to studio servers, social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and other URLs, CP Communications said.

ENG Cam STREAM ships in a single flight case. It includes Sony PXW-X400 XDCAM camcorder with up to eight embedded audio channels, a Canon 18x zoom lens and tripod. The package also includes an Elvid on-camera field monitor, Sennheiser ME67 shotgun microphone, Sennheiser MD46 ENG handheld microphone, and camera-mounted LED light kit.

The camera integrates a Mobile Viewpoint (MVP) Agile AirLink (H.265/H.264) encoder to harness the bonded cellular bandwidth of eight separate modems. Encoding components fit into a lightweight backpack.

More information is available on the CP Communications website.

More information on the NAB Show is available at nabshow.com.

NEW YORK—For three years, live event production services provider CP Communications has been transitioning from traditional microwave technology to IP and bonded cellular network contribution to cover the New York City Marathon—but 2019 was different.

This year’s race, Nov. 3 through the boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, was the first time CP Communications relied entirely on IP and bonded cellular networking to provide live coverage of the Men’s and Women’s races of the TCS New York City Marathon, CP Communications said.

CP Communications credits growing bandwidth and network availability as an impetus for completing the switchover to the more cost-efficient IP and network alternative to traditional RF live shots.

In its 25th year of marathon coverage, CP Communications used many of the same platforms and technologies as it has for previous marathons while revising aspects of its technical infrastructure and production workflows. The company leveraged the expansive fiber network throughout New York City to reduce its reliance on traditional video transmission circuits, the company said.

CP Communications deployed four cars and three motorcycles equipped with stabilized mounts and lenses as well as a POV camera for talent installed on two of the cars.

Mobile Viewpoint Agile Airlink encoders captured and streamed the live action via bonded cellular with bandwidth-efficient H.265/HEVC video encoding back to the CP Communications HD-21 production truck, located at the finish line.

CP Communications also relied on the encoders at two rooftop locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at three REMI (Remote Integration Model) production locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, it said.

On board HD-21, CP Communications personnel monitored bitrates and dataflow from all Agile Airlink devices, as well as signals leaving the truck through its 24x24 routing infrastructure.

The Agile Airlinks at the REMI sites were used for live interviews with racers, race organizer New York Road Runners (NYRR) spokespeople and others throughout the day.

Traditional microwave links at the rooftop locations were available as backups in the event of cellular network congestion at the start and finish lines, CP Communications said.

This year’s coverage also marked the first time CP Communications relied on Mobile Viewpoint 2K4 playout servers at each rooftop and REMI site, which made it possible to route any signal between the five locations.

The servers also enabled CP Communications to send IFB return to each vehicle and location. Mics were embedded locally at every site to ensure lip sync with video was maintained.

“Having return video to the cars over the entire course was an important step forward, and overall we had a valuable return system to move video, audio and other signals between all of our acquisition points,” said CP Communications Technical Manager Frank Rafka.

“This was one of the biggest changes to the infrastructure this year, as we could seamlessly monitor all locations and dynamically make changes as necessary—a major benefit of managing IP encoding in the cloud. The hotspots and cellular networks associated with Mobile Viewpoint technology made it very easy to achieve.”

A Dante network was deployed on board HD-21 to manage and deliver vehicle and REMI audio to broadcasters. RTS OMNEO intercoms linked HD-21 to the host broadcaster, which allowed seamless communications throughout the TV broadcast compound.

Separately, CP Communications used a Unity intercom system deployed over the cellular network, allowing NYRR personnel and spotters along the course to communicate with the broadcast compound.

All video and audio signals were delivered from HD-21 to an NEP broadcast truck at the finish line using a MultiDyne VF-9000 fiber transmission system. NEP produced world feed uplinks as well the domestic national broadcast for ESPN2.

A CP Communications team also wrote custom software to interpret data and GPS locations from 28 inbound signals to HD-21. When transposed over a Google map, the data provided information as the race proceeded into areas with challenging cellular coverage.

“These technologies and workflows, along with overall better network bandwidth and availability, made it possible to leverage a 100% modern network infrastructure to cover this year’s event,” said CP Communications CEO Kurt Heitmann.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. & HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—CP Communications is getting behind the wheel of a MultiDyne production van, as the company announced it has acquired a 22-foot vehicle to add to its garage. CP Communications is expected to use the van for smaller live productions, like high school and college sports.

MultiDyne will equip the van with the latest generation of its SilverBack V cameraback systems, VF-9000 fiber transmission platform and COMMS-300 fiber extenders to interface party-line intercom audio with analog line level signals. CP Communications will customize any remaining space based on the needs of the production with tools like Dante audio networking, Simplylive switches and AJT graphics and score bugs.

“The SilverBack systems provide us with the flexibility to convert ENG cameras to broadcast cameras,” said Kurt Heitmann, CEO of CP Communications. “We will add those systems to our four handhelds and two PTZ cameras to provide plenty of freedom and flexibility for live six-camera productions. The net result is that we can accomplish a quick plug-and-play setup of under two hours, while still having all the power of real-time fiber transport, live switching and instant replay among other professional systems.”

MultiDyne and CP Communications will demonstrate the details of this new partnership at the 2019 NAB Show New York, Oct. 16-17. The van will be displayed at MultiDyne’s booth, N937, while CP Communications will have its own setup at booth N910.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications, contracted by Carr-Hughes Production, wa the team behind the recent live production of the 13th CrossFit Games that took place at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Tasked with providing content acquisition, networking and delivery services across the multi-venue facility, CP Communications used a combination of IP streaming and a bonded cellular network to produce the sports event live.

Through an established base, CP Communications set up a fiber infrastructure from its CP-1 Digital Communications Trailer that enabled coverage of the entire event, including distributing live event production feeds.

The fiber infrastructure was based around four, 48-strand fiber trunks to a demarcation point, where 24-60 fiber strands were run to competition and spectator areas. The fiber network accommodated all audio, data and video acquisition, transport and distribution services. MultiDyne VF-9000 high-density video fiber transmission frames and MD-3000 fiber transceiver were used at all locations, while a Dante network supported audio and intercom.

To manage the event’s multiple cameras, CP used Mobile Viewpoint Airlinks to encode and deliver signals over a bonded cellular network. Six bonded cellular rigs were used throughout the event.

In addition, CP was tasked with monitoring the IP feed provided by the CrossFit organization that was sent to websites and social media services. All fiber, IP and bonded cellular feeds were monitored from the CP-1 trailer.

The 13th CrossFit Games took place from Aug. 1-4. 

TAMPA—James Monroe has been tapped for the role of director of sales, North America, for live event production services provider CP Communications. Monroe will be based in Chicago and report to Ken Dillard, the vice president of sales, North America.

In this newly created position, Monroe will focus on the sales and business development for CP Communications’ broadcast news, sports, live event and sports productions, as well as distribution systems utilizing cellular acquisition tools from Mobile Viewpoint. Specific responsibilities will include expanding visibility and market share for Red House Streaming and Mobile Viewpoint portfolios.

Monroe was an on-air meteorologist for nearly three decades at multiple stations and served as Special Projects Weather Forecaster for the U.S. Air Force. Over the last 15 years he has been working in the broadcast supplier space, holding sales and engineering roles with WSI Corporation and The Weather Company, and eventually senior-level sales roles at Vizrt and TVU Networks.

In the company announcement for his hire, Monroe states that he hopes to expand CP Communications’ presence into new markets where IP and bonded cellular technologies can provide critical connectivity and communications services.

LAS VEGAS—The first line of products to be unveiled as part of its Red House Streaming brand, CP Communications will launch its STREAM content acquisition packages during this year’s NAB Show. The three packages cover single-camera shoots to multi-camera productions.

Making up the STREAM trio are the CamSTREAM, MultiCam STREAM and Production STREAM. CamSTREAM is a single- or dual-camera acquisition system with streaming support over Ethernet, Wi-Fi and bonded cellular service.

MultiCam STREAM is a scalable multi-camera acquisition camera system for live-streamed and at-home productions, with the ability to support up to four cameras, 32 audio channels and data in its base configuration. All camera feeds are simultaneously ingested into the system and can be decoded and delivered as individual SDI feeds or a multiplexed single stream.

The Production STREAM is a multi-camera flypack acquisition system for on-site and remote productions with larger I/O signal requirements. The system integrates Simplylive video switching and Dante-enabled audio mixing. It also has the ability to support tally and four-wire intercom.

CP Communications will demonstrate the STREAM packages capabilities at its booth, C3307, during the NAB Show.

To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications is opening the doors to its new headquarters, a 31,000-square-foot facility in St. Petersburg outside of the Tampa Bay area.

As the new official headquarters for the broadcast and live event productions service provider, employees will relocate from the company’s Fishkill, N.Y., and Orlando, Fla., offices, though the Fishkill office will remain open and continue to house some staff, field shops, engineering and local production facilities.

The new headquarters will house CP’s business and technical operations, four 53-foot production trucks, a NOC and a 5,000-square-foot production studio. The facility is also helping the company’s transition to IP, cloud and bonded cellular technologies, including the development of the Red House Streaming line of products, a group of production systems designed for live-stream events.

Described by CEO Kurt Heitmann as the facility’s crown jewel, a 24/7 production studio is on location and equipped with the Red House Streaming STREAM product line of IP acquisition tools, as well as a complete IP-based production workflow.

NEW YORK—CP Communications, a provider of live event production technology and services, has appointed Jerry Gepner as Chief Operating Officer. Reporting to CEO Kurt Heitmann, Gepner will be tasked with driving strategic and business development efforts to expand the company's market beyond its core broadcast focus.

CP Communications has long been a provider of RF content acquisition for live production, having provided services and solutions for the World Series, Super Bowl and the U.S. Open, the annual open championship of golf, to name a few.

CP Communications is increasing its focus on IP, cloud solutions and bonded cellular technologies for content acquisition and streaming via its Red House Streaming solutions. Gepner will oversee the continued development of the Red House Streaming solutions offering, including the addition of new services and technologies that serve a broader array of platforms and customers.

“The broadcast and production industry’s acceleration towards an IP infrastructure has opened new business models and opportunities for content producers and distributors, as well as suppliers and service providers,” said Gepner. “CP Communications has provided content acquisition services for broadcasters at the premier level for three decades, and is well-positioned to spread its expertise into adjacent markets. My background in senior management, finance, technology, and services, including a strong awareness of marketplace dynamics, offers the tools we need to collaboratively grow the CP Communications business with our employees, customers and partners.”

Gepner brings over three decades of experience to his position, including several years as executive vice president Field Operations and Engineering for FOX Sports, and CEO of The Vitec Group’s Services Division. He most recently served as CEO of Tekserve and T2 Computing, which were acquired by Axispoint, Inc. in 2017.

Gepner is also co-founder of Sportvision, a Silicon Valley company that was acquired by SMT in 2016. Sportvision created innovations that include First & Ten, the virtual first down line used in American football, Racef/x, the GPS-based auto tracking and data systems for NASCAR, and the Emmy-winning K-Zone for baseball broadcasts. He is also a five-time Emmy Award winner for technical excellence in sports production.

“Jerry’s impressive track record demonstrates the rare ability to transform niche businesses, opening them to a broader marketplace, leveraging new technologies, business strategies, and organizational structures to build something new and exciting,” said Heitmann. “We’re pleased to welcome him to CP Communications in this important role as he helps to lead the company into its next era of growth and profitability.”

NEW YORK—CP Communications and its Red House Streaming business delivered end-to-end acquisition services for the TCS New York City Marathon Nov. 4, relying on a full complement of IP and bonded cellular technology for the first time to provide coverage from all five boroughs of the 26.2-mile race.

Four Smart cars, four motorcycles and other special motorized platforms, such as two POV wheelchairs, were equipped with cameras and Mobile Viewpoint bonded cellular systems, according to CP Communications. Their signals were routed to the company’s flagship HD-21 RF truck, where they were received, processed and passed on to NEP ESU broadcast trucks at the finish line. Those trucks provided the world feed uplink as well as local and national feeds.

In all, CP Communications carried bidirectional video and audio from 11 cameras and 240 intercom ports over its bonded cellular network, said Kurt Heitmann, company CEO. The Mobile Viewpoint solution provided the robust compression needed to optimize bandwidth and maintain video quality.

In preparing for the marathon, CP Communications took into consideration areas of the race course where cellular coverage would be challenging, particularly spots where large numbers of spectators could overwhelm cell circuits, he said. Those places included areas around the starting line and along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge heading into Brooklyn — spots that required special attention to maintain video and audio signals.

“The core of our operation comprised three main sites: at the starting line in Bay Ridge, near the Millennium Hotel in Manhattan and at the finish line. In addition we had three highly robust unilateral IP streaming sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan,” said Heitmann.

The company relied on nearly 600 unique IP addresses from Brooklyn through the Bronx. It also deployed a MIMO mesh network across the Verrazano Bridge to feed internet to the Smart cars as well as intercom and other services, said Heitmann.

“We added COFDM traditional microwave receivers to get the coverage we needed off of the bridge, due to the limited cellular coverage, and deployed COFDM near the finish line for the same reason. That safeguarded our operation for the first and last mile of the race, in the event that limited cellular coverage caused the signals to drop,” he said.

However, the strength of the network architecture allowed CP Communications “to stay purely IP through to the finish line” once the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was crossed, said Heitmann.

“This was a first for the New York City Marathon, and a big step up from our past coverage strategies,” said Heitmann.

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HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—Live event production specialist CP Communications has purchased and deployed several VF-9000 bulk fiber transport systems from MultiDyne Fiber Optic Solutions to reduce configuration difficulties and ensure reliable connections for remote productions.

The company has installed the systems in its HD-11 and HD-21 RF production trucks. With the bulk fiber transport solutions, CP Communications has eliminated problems it formerly encountered with scalability, performance and technical limitations, MultiDyne said.

[Read: 2018 NAB Show: MultiDyne Unveiling Scalable Field Fiber Transport System]

With the VF-9000, a variety of new technical services are available, including support for native 3Gbps signal transport on the trucks. The ability to transport 3Gbps is a requirement for the high-profile sports productions CP Communications routinely handles for Fox, NBC and The Golf Channel. The VF-9000 allows CP Communications to accept native 3Gbps camera feeds over RF into its fiber transmission infrastructure. It is also downward compatible for standard HD feeds.

A key operational difference from its previous system is the flexibility to hot-swap, add or reduce SFPs to meet specific production requirements. The VF-9000 automatically recognizes SFP module connections as inputs or outputs, by format and by application. The architecture allows CP Communications to have an imbalance of input and outputs based on the needs of each production, instead of being limited to a certain number of each.

In addition to video and Ethernet SFPs, the VF-9000 allows production teams to transport MADI audio as part of the video feeds. With its automatic recognition capabilities, the VF-9000 then transitions to the proper setup upon coming online, eliminating additional configuration steps, MultiDyne said.

The compact 1RU VF-9000 units deliver robust multiplexer features, combining up to 18 signals over one single-mode fiber for efficient, high-density signal transport. As deployed in the trucks, the VF-9000 seamlessly integrates within the complete RF infrastructure, which includes a high-density routing system, mesh technology and wireless cameras and microphones.

It also connects to signal monitoring systems on both trucks, allowing operators to keep an eye on the health and performance of each feed and connection.

NEW YORK—CP Communications, an Elmsford, N.Y. -based production services and digital media technology rental company, relied on a combination of microwave and bonded cellular technology to deliver live shots from the women’s wheelchair race during the Nov. 5 New York City Marathon.

A 5.8-ounce package from Inertia Unlimited including camera and microwave transmitter was affixed to the wheelchair of the New York City Marathon Women’s Wheelchair race contestant. Shots from the setup were microwaved to an accompanying scooter equipped with a receiver and AWIWEST bonded cellular transmitter for integration into race coverage. Photo: Jim Malone.

"The only way to get live pictures from the course during a marathon is to use wireless technology. From there, bonded cellular is a good option for ensuring video gets where it needs to go, even in a dynamic, uncontrollable environment with millions of people taxing the network," said Jim Malone, director of technology for CP Communications.

CP Communications’ strategy involved mounting a 5.8-ounce package from Inertia Unlimited that included a camera, battery and microwave transmitter, onto a wheelchair of one of the contestants. The camera was stationed over the athlete’s right shoulder to capture the perspective of a race participant.

Shots from the camera were transmitted via microwave to a scooter CP Communications outfitted with a microwave receiver and an Aviwest DMNG Pro180-RA bonded cellular system. The scooter accompanied the contestant throughout the race.

The Aviwest bonded system, which is distributed in the U.S. by master distributor VidOvation, streamed incoming video from the microwave receiver to the internet.

An Aviwest DMNG StreamHub studio receiver inside a production truck accepted the contribution from the scooter, while built-in Aviwest SafeStreams technology applied special stream-grooming techniques to improve link quality and reliability, according to a VidOvation press release. The retrieved streaming footage was then passed onto a video production switcher for integration into the production of the race.

While CP Communications relied on the Aviwest DMNG Pro180-RA as a backup to its microwave setup to cover the men’s and women’s marathon, the bonded cellular solution served as the exclusive source of video from the scooter during the women’s wheelchair race coverage. 

Overall, CP Communications relied on more than 50 technicians and nine vehicles at the marathon. Production teams tracked alongside selected runners and wheelchair participants to capture live video from the course to relay footage to viewers watching ABC, ESPN and other Disney properties, the release said.