TORONTO—Lumine Group said it has acquired Imagine Communications Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Dallas-based Imagine Communications is a global provider of video connectivity solutions, channel origination software and hardware, and AI-enabled advanced advertising solutions. Lumine Group, with a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, is a publicly traded Canadian company that specializes in acquiring and growing vertical market software companies specifically within the communications and media sector.

“Imagine Communications is an important addition to Lumine’s growing Media ecosystem,” said Tony Garcia, chief operating officer at Lumine Group. “The business will provide origination to our already extensive video processing capabilities, while complementing and expanding TV monetization with its Landmark Sales AI-enabled advertising product, among others.

“Consistent with Lumine’s decentralized operating approach, Imagine Communications will continue to operate as an independent business, and as a buy-and-hold forever owner, we are committed to giving them the stability to keep building on their depth of expertise in the industry,“ Garcia added. “We look forward to welcoming this global team and its customers to Lumine, to share our best practices and to learn from their decades of industry insight.”

Steve Reynolds, current Imagine CEO will continue to lead the division.

“We are excited to become part of the Lumine Group global media ecosystem,” Reynolds said. “Lumine Group’s acquisition approach and buy-and-hold philosophy provide us with a solid foundation on which we can continue to innovate, while providing certainty to our customers and employees. Operating as an autonomous business within Lumine Group, we have a clear path and excellent support to achieve our vision and serve our customers’ most critical needs.”

Imagine was born amid the ashes of the broadcast division of Harris Corp., created when the company spun off its transmission business, rebranded as GatesAir (acquired by Thomson Broadcast in 2022) and its software and networking division, which assumed the new name “Imagine Communications” in 2014.

This acquisition follows Lumine’s purchase of the video network business of U.K.-based Synamedia, a provider of video software technology to broadcasters and media production companies.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has appointed Greg Garmon as senior vice president, Americas video sales, a new position at the broadcast technology, playout solutions and ad tech provider.

Garmon, who most recently was president, media and entertainment at Conference Technologies (CTI), will be responsible for sales and business development efforts for the company’s playout and infrastructure portfolio across the region, with a focus on driving account growth.

“We are very pleased to welcome Greg to the Imagine team and confident that he will make an immediate impact on our business,” Glodina Lostanlen, chief revenue officer at Imagine, said. “Greg brings a rare combination of hands-on channel and SI experience and a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and driving operational and commercial performance. That combination is exactly what we need to accelerate our Americas business and deliver meaningful value for our customers.”

Garmon brings to Imagine more than 20 years of experience in the M&E and technology sectors, the company said, in posts spanning sales leadership, enterprise operations, P&L ownership and investor management.

Prior to CTI, Garmon held several executive leadership roles at Diversified, including chief operating officer and president, media and entertainment. He also founded IT consulting and managed services firm Alltek Holdings, which developed and marketed on-prem and cloud-based offerings, Imagine said.

“What drew me to Imagine was a strong alignment between the company’s strategic direction and the markets I have spent my career serving,” Garmon said. “Having worked on the systems integration side of the business, I understand firsthand what both partners and broadcasters need to succeed. There is tremendous opportunity to strengthen our partner ecosystem and expand into the markets they serve. I look forward to working with the Imagine team to make that happen across the Americas.”

For more information on Imagine, visit its website.

DENVER—Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A. (Torneos) has significantly upgraded its playout operations, implementing a fully redundant, multichannel environment centered on Imagine Communications’ Versio integrated playout platform and ADC automation.

The modernized infrastructure provides a flexible foundation that enables Torneos to preserve trusted, existing workflows and at the same time opens up a clear path for future improvements, the two companies reported.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Torneos has more than 40 years of experience producing sports content across Latin America, delivering more than 19,000 hours of programming annually for major networks. The company also operates the DSports network, which will provide live match coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with pre- and post-match programming, highlights, and match replays across its linear channels and the DGO streaming platform.

With 10 live on-air channels to manage, Torneos was looking to upgrade its core playout systems with resilient solutions that would allow them to maintain their familiar automation workflow and evolve toward IP-based production and UHD content delivery when the time was right — without requiring a costly, wholesale replacement of their existing SDI infrastructure.

After careful market evaluation and extensive testing, Torneos selected Imagine’s fully software-based Versio integrated playout platform as the new foundation of its broadcast operation.

“Our goal was to modernize our playout operations without disrupting the workflows our teams rely on, so we needed a partner we could trust and a solution that our teams could operate without missing a beat,” said Pablo Mascitelli, CTO of Torneos. “We’ve worked with Imagine for many years, and that relationship mattered as much as the technology. They understood our environment, preserved the workflows we rely on, and gave us a path forward that makes sense for our business."

At Torneos, dual-channel Versio systems support 12 main and 12 fully redundant backup channels, each integrating playout, branding, master control switching, loudness control, SCTE insertion, and audio processing with SDI I/O. An upgrade of the organization’s existing ADC automation layer introduced playlist redundancy, enabling operators to control live switching, file-based playout, and branding from a single unified interface — with graphics preview and rapid source switching across all 12 on-air control positions. This integrated approach gives operators a consistent user experience and streamlined workflow from creation to air.

To ensure continuous on-air delivery, three Selenio Network Processor (SNP) devices with automatic changeover (ACO) provide seamless failover using content-aware metrics. All servers connect to Imagine's IOX Express high-availability shared storage, allowing capacity and bandwidth scaling without taking the system off-air.

"Modernizing broadcast infrastructure doesn't have to mean starting from scratch,” said Sergio Yanez, LATAM sales director at Imagine Communications. “By building on what Torneos already had and knew, we were able to deliver a dramatically more capable environment — and a clear runway to UHD and ST 2110 — without the disruption that often comes with a platform change."

The Imagine playout solution at Torneos was implemented in association with local Imagine Communications partner and systems integrator Viditec.

Visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information.

LAS VEGAS—In a notable effort to improve the quality of audio in OTA broadcasts, Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have announced a project to bring Dolby Atmos to free-to-air television in Mexico over ATSC 1.0 transmissions.

The two companies said the distribution of immersive audio within the current ATSC 1.0 transmission standard marks a significant step forward in the evolution of live television and opens the door for other broadcasters to make similar improvements to audio quality of OTA broadcasts.

Those involved in the project said immersive audio has a particularly powerful appeal in live sports events, where sound is an essential part of the emotion. With Dolby Atmos, sound moves above and all around, placing viewers at the center of the action and making every game more thrilling and memorable, Dolby said.

“Our work with TV Azteca represents a decisive step in bringing immersive experiences to mass audiences in Mexico,” said Pankaj Kedia, vice president of Americas, commercial partnerships at Dolby Laboratories. “Imagine watching a game from your living room and hearing where every cheer in the stands comes from, the sound of the ball, and the voice of the commentator moving around you. That is what Dolby Atmos makes possible today in Mexico.”

Pedro Manuel Carmona Ortiz, CTO of TV Azteca added that “this project with Dolby Laboratories marks a technological milestone, as well as a turning point for the industry, which would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of our strategic partners in this journey.”

In addition to Dolby, those include Imagine Communications and Ateme, a global provider in video compression and distribution solutions.

“We are collaborating with Dolby to demonstrate that innovation in audio can transform free-to-air television,” added Pedro Carmona Ortiz. “Our goal is to bring people closer to the real emotion of every story, with a quality that was previously reserved for premium environments.”

The announcement was made in Las Vegas, during the 2026 NAB Show, where Dolby, Imagine and Ateme are exhibiting.

When Imagine Communications announced last fall that it was acquiring Pixel Power from Rohde & Schwarz, the company said its main goal was to “broaden Imagine’s live production ecosystem and playout offerings via integration of Pixel Power’s software-defined, deploy-anywhere platforms.” This week, Imagine President Steve Reynolds updated TV Tech on how the integration is progressing.

Of particular importance to Imagine is Pixel’s playout and multiviewer solutions, two parts of the production workflow chain Reynolds thinks are key to expanding the company’s presence in these markets.

“Imagine has been in the playout business pretty much since the playout and automation business started all the way back to when we were Harris, and it's always been a really important segment for us,” he said. “We like to be in those mission-critical operational systems, the things that our customers depend on day in and day out in order to run their business.

“Those are the kind of products that Imagine has really focused on as we made the transition from a hardware centric company—which is what Harris really was—towards the software centric company that we are today,” Reynolds added.

The Power of a Combined Solution
The acquisition of Pixel Power, Reynolds says, will not only help strengthen its current playout solutions portfolio—which include ADC, Versio and in more recent years, the Aviator orchestration platform—but also expand its geographic footprint, Reynolds said.

“Pixel Power—which is a company that we have competed with for years—has built a really great solution for the European public broadcaster space, where they had a lot of success,” Reynolds said. “With customers like TV2 in Norway, SVT in Sweden, the work that they've done with the German public broadcasters, the work that they've done with TV5MONDE in France, they had a really great customer base around those public broadcasters.”

The two main products Pixel had built its success on in this market, according to Reynolds, were the company’s Gallium automated multiplatform content management solution and StreamMaster platform for realtime graphics and control. Combining automation plus a media server “really formed a nice bundle for anybody that's in that kind of public broadcast space,” Reynolds said.

“Pixel had done a good job of winning market share with those [national broadcast] customers, so the reason we wanted to acquire Gallium and StreamMaster was really aimed at that market segment,” he added. “We saw the success that they had in that segment, and as we continue to move forward with investments in Gallium and StreamMaster, it's going to be focused, at least initially, in Europe, to continue to build on that customer base.”

Reynolds said the combination of the two created a powerful and sophisticated graphics solution for Pixel Power, which was beating Imagine when it came to bidding for business with European broadcasters.

“Imagine was bidding on a lot of those same projects, and Pixel Power was winning,” Reynolds said, “And one of the things that we consistently heard is that the graphics package that is in StreamMaster is a top-tier integrated graphics package that a lot of those national broadcasters were leveraging because it had the capabilities that they needed not only to be able to do the 2D graphics—which Imagine already had—but they had some more advanced capabilities to be able to handle some 3D and to be able to handle a lot of the kind of the more advanced and more sophisticated on-air look that that those broadcasters were looking for.

“They had a sophisticated graphics package that was integrated into a playout system that met all of the criteria—it supports all the formats, it supports all of the different resolutions, it supports all the ingest workloads that those guys need,” he added. “So it had it checked all the boxes on kind of the basic set of competitive features. But it also added in that higher power graphics.”

Scaling Up
The second product Imagine was keenly interested in was multiviewers, specifically Pixel’s Prismon platform, which is designed to scale up to support hundreds of channels. This large-scale type of monitoring platform was high on Imagine’s shopping list, according to Reynolds.

"Imagine has always been in the multiviewer business, but we had a different focus—we were more on the production multiviewer side of things,” Reynolds said. “[Imagine’s] SNP was intended to be a production multiviewer, very low latency, very high quality, but not large scale.”

Integrating Prismon into Imagine’s multiviewer product line gives Imagine the ability to build facility-scale, multiviewers, especially in production facilities, turnaround facilities including satellite and cable operators, or in large scale, playout operations where there's dozens or even hundreds of channels being played out of the same facility, Reynolds said.

“So we now have multiviewer offerings for large scale and for smaller scale, low latency, and that would be in OB vans, production galleries, or control rooms at a sporting venue, where the number of feeds that you're dealing with is 10, 20 or maybe 30.”

Reynolds said Prismon helps Imagine respond to more market demands for integrated solutions. “What we realized was we really need to have a product in our portfolio that lets us create that fully bundled solution, because increasingly, that's what the market wants to buy,” he said. “It's the same thing as with the playout solution, right? The market wants an integrated solution, they don't want to have to build, or have to be their own systems integrator. They want to buy something that is integrated. And so Prismon filled that gap for us.”

The timescales for building new media production facilities has been declining for years, according to Reynolds, another reason for increased interest in integrated solutions.

“The idea of having these multi-year facility builds… that's in the past,” Reynolds said. “And in many cases now, we're looking at time frames that are measured in months between the time somebody acquires rights and they want to be on air. And that's what's really driving the demand for these fully integrated solutions. Customers want to know that it's already been tested, it's already been integrated, and you can deploy it quickly, easily and within a set of budget constraints to get on air.”

The acquisition of Pixel Power was completed at the end of 2025 and Reynolds said not a lot will change in terms of what existing customers should expect, including keeping the product names.

“That's why we bought them, we like the products, we like the differentiation of those products, they fit well within our portfolio, and they give us something new to offer to the customers that want to buy that kind of solution,” Reynolds said.

NAB Show Plans
Imagine’s booth (N1328 in the North Hall of the LVCC) at the NAB Show, April 19-22 in Las Vegas, will reflect this expanded market focus, according to Reynolds. Among the highlights will be the company’s cloud-based XVR playout engine, which was introduced at the 2025 IBC Show.

Gallium StreamMaster will be demonstrated running on COTS and its expanded multiviewer portfolio will be highlighted, including advanced automation features such as intelligent monitoring, automated audio/video issue detection, and “penalty boxing,” which elevates problem signals for immediate operator attention.

"The other thing you're going to see is this kind of fully integrated solution of gateways—the ability to use the SNP as the gateway between the SDI and IP world, and to do format conversion with JPEG access and things like that, directly into ingest,” Reynolds said. “And we'll be using the new XVR engine, which is the Linux-based ingest engine with multiple playout systems. So you'll see StreamMaster, XVR, and Nexio all sitting side by side in a kind of a multiserver environment.”

Since the beginning of commercial television, advertising has been a key part of broadcasting. Over the years, the technology for inserting ads into programs has developed to the point where there is now a whole technological subsection dedicated to it. Ad tech encompasses not only scheduling and playing commercials but also directing them to their correct destinations on the wide variety of platforms and devices now in use, increasingly with a high degree of personalization.

The growth of the streaming sector and the corresponding increase in the adoption of connected televisions (CTVs) have added to the reach and complexity of ad tech. Among trends identified by Allan Nicholson, senior director of advertising solutions and strategy at Harmonic, is the move by some broadcasters to enable programmatic buy-in—also known as programmatic advertising, using automated, data-driven techniques for buying and selling ad slots—on linear broadcast platforms.

“Some of them are also the broadcasters that are making the transition to become more streaming-focused and they’re adopting streaming ad tech for personalization,“ he said. “The other trend we're seeing is broadcasters enabling service providers to start monetizing services using DAI [dynamic ad insertion]. The way to think of this is as a linear to programmatic [application] for monetization, as opposed to the programmatic to linear trend, which enables linear broadcast.”

More Engagement, Less ‘Ad Fatigue’
In the streaming market, and particularly for live sports, Nicholson said operators are personalizing new ad formats, such as L-shaped double boxes (a form of nonlinear addressable TV advertising), squeeze backs (where the program is minimized to give prominence to the ad) and overlays (nonlinear ad banners, tickers and scrolling text alongside the main program).

“And they're all opting to do this server-side,“ he said. “These new ad formats are really all about increasing ad loads while maintaining new engagement and avoiding ad fatigue.”

The coming together of linear and streamed (digital) platforms—at least in the minds of viewers—is also highlighted by Dan Walsh, senior vice president of product management at Imagine Communications.

“Broadcasters and streaming providers are under growing pressure to bridge the gap between linear and digital operations,“ he said. “Audiences don't distinguish between platforms; they simply expect access to content wherever and however they choose to watch. But many broadcasters are still managing these environments separately, which creates inefficiencies and limits their ability to fully monetize inventory.

“To address these issues, the industry is shifting toward a unified advertising approach, often referred to as ‘Total TV,’ which focuses less on delivery mechanisms and more on audience value,” Walsh added.

This, he explained, is being driven by automation across ad sales, trafficking and optimization: “That reduces costs, improves yield and frees teams from the manual processes that have long defined traditional ad sales.”

With streamers now delivering linear programming as well as their core services, David Dembowski, chief revenue officer at Operative, said everything is now about a viewing experience, including the ads.

“The reason why streamers chose to use a digital platform is primarily because of impression-based sales or, put another way, addressable offerings,” Dembrowski said. “We have a client that was adamant about break-based ad sales, but recently has gone to impression-based sales. There are a lot of reasons for this, but it is mostly because of targeting and measurement.”

‘Unprecedented Opportunities’
Through the introduction of impression-based sales on what Dembowski describes as “the big screen” approach, TV has become a “full funnel advertising platform.” This, he says, goes from a broad approach—high-profile, big automobile or movie launches—to something based more on buying behavior.

“And it shows what's so exciting about CTV,” he added. “Take the example of Amazon [Prime Video], which was an SVOD streamer, always on-demand, up until about three years ago. Then they signed the relationship with [NFL] “Thursday Night Football.” What they've been able to do is expand the TAM [total addressable marketplace] of advertisers that had never even considered buying the NFL on prior platforms. It's created an unprecedented opportunity for new advertisers to get exposure to an audience that was out of reach for years.“

Paul Davies, head of marketing at DAI technology specialist Yospace, said the company prefers the term “addressability” to personalization.

“The reason is that personalization makes you think of an ad targeted at an individual,” he explained. “What we see is that the true value of CTV/OTT advertising is in measurement. We are able to deliver real-time viewing metrics on a one-to-one addressable level, which means that advertisers going to broadcasters to use their CTV inventory are able to get similar types of metrics to those they’re able to get in other digital channels, such as social media.”

Impact of AI
As with other areas of broadcasting, artificial intelligence is top of mind. Davies said he is hearing “lots of discussion” about it, including the potential for Generative AI to create “truly personalized ad creatives” for each viewer.

“I would say there are legal and technical hurdles to that, which would mean perhaps broadcasters aren't jumping on them as opportunities straightaway,” he observed. “One of the reasons why TV advertising is so popular is because of the premium quality and delivery and the fact that it's considered brand-safe.’

Dan Walsh at Imagine said the use of AI in ad tech is “in its early stages” but is being used to identify and enhance factors that produce good results. “By combining optimization tools with AI capabilities, broadcasters can further refine audience targeting and campaign performance,” he said.

Operative's David Dembowski said AI gives “the chance to accelerate the knowledge, workflows and outcomes” being used. “The application of AI to on-board data has cut times by more than half,” he observed. “It's created efficiencies that are so critical in today's world.”

For instance, Harmonic’s Nicholson said his company uses its "homegrown AI technologies" to help advertisers target audiences based on contextual information contained in frames of video prior to ad breaks. “This means you don't have to use personal identity information and can avoid regulatory issues,” he said.

The relationship between TV and streaming advertising may still not be a totally warm one, but ad tech is at least making it possible for broadcasters to show audiences commercials they might actually want to see or are interested in. Or at least are not driven mad by.

ALLENTOWN, Pa.—Owned by Maranatha Broadcasting Co., WFMZ-TV is an independent station based in Allentown, Pa., that also operates Maranatha-owned MeTV affiliate WDPN-TV Philadelphia. We are a unique operation, airing more than 10 hours of local news daily, covering the northern tier of the Philadelphia DMA and 12 total subchannels across our stations.

As sponsorships have become more graphics-intensive, we realized that our old automation was showing its limitations. Managing playout and graphics across multiple facilities and monitored channels also became increasingly inefficient with our existing system. We needed a cohesive platform from a single vendor that could handle automation and graphics with ease.

Linked Deployments
Imagine Communications offered exactly that. We adopted the company’s ADC automation and Versio Graphics solutions, deploying the automation across three sites: our main studios in Allentown, a disaster recovery site, and a separate onsite disaster playout server at the MeTV transmitter site in Philadelphia.

With the Imagine solution, we gained a unified workflow that aligned perfectly with how we already created content. The built-in Adobe After Effects integration was especially valuable.

Once we chose Imagine and went online, the benefits were immediate. Our syndicated content comes from sources such as Extreme Reach and Pitch Blue. For years, we segmented shows manually, a slow process of recording and segmenting each program by hand.

That changed with Imagine’s Motion feature, which reads BXF metadata from syndicators to segment programs automatically. Even when issues arise, we can reingest and resegment within minutes. The improvement in efficiency and reliability has been tremendous.

Versio Graphics has also transformed how we engage with our viewers. We now use a wide range of on-screen graphics, L-bars, snipes and more in our newscast and sponsored snipes on various channels. Each month, we partner with a local client for an awareness campaign tied to that month’s theme.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, for example, we created educational snipes with rotating facts about Hispanic history and culture. The system randomized which fact appeared, keeping content fresh and engaging.

We realized another example of the system’s flexibility when our Reading, Pa., newsroom celebrated the 30th anniversary of its “Berks Edition” newscast. Using Versio Graphics, we created a dynamic on-screen bug that animated from our standard logo to reveal the anniversary emblem. With the dynamic branding feature, the automation recognized when the Berks Edition newscast was live and automatically switched to the special bug, no reprogramming required.

That same efficiency extends to our weather channel, which runs nearly 300 graphics, all based on a single Adobe After Effects template that lets us quickly swap in client logos and publish updates. The process saves hours of production time and keeps every graphic consistent with our design standards. Versio Graphics made it easy to maintain, even with the many updates we manage each week.

Earlier this year, the platform played an instrumental role in overhauling our weather channel, enabling us to replace a complex system of external machines and contact closures. The system’s new “play from folder” feature lets us integrate video playback directly into the graphics engine, turning what could have been a costly rebuild into a quick, affordable transition.

Versio Graphics
Choosing Imagine for our operations was absolutely the right move. Versio Graphics and ADC automation have brought reliability, flexibility, and creativity to everything we do. Viewer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and Imagine’s support team has been outstanding. Whether troubleshooting or tracking down the source of issues, they’ve always been responsive and professional, even during late-night calls.

As an independent station preparing to celebrate our 50th anniversary during Thanksgiving week of 2026, we continue to chart our own path, guided by a forward-looking management team that’s always planning for growth. Our infrastructure gives us room to expand, and with Versio Graphics and ADC automation at the core, we’re well-positioned to keep innovating and delivering high-quality local content.

More information is available at https://imaginecommunications.com/.

DENVER and MUNICH—Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of the transaction were not made public.

The transaction “represents a strategic alignment for both companies, enabling Imagine to offer broadcast customers the most extensive portfolio of live production and playout solutions on the market while allowing Rohde and Schwarz to focus on its core operations in Test & Measurement, Technology Systems, and Networks & Cybersecurity,” Imagine said.

The acquisition is expected to close in 2025 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Imagine and Pixel Power have a shared vision for the IP- and cloud-based future of broadcast and digital streaming markets, Imagine said.

“This strategic acquisition enables Imagine to immediately broaden its live production ecosystem and playout offerings via integration of Pixel Power’s software-defined, deploy-anywhere platforms — bringing together complementary approaches, technologies, and engineering expertise that will provide customers with deeper integration possibilities and a broader set of tools to meet every need,” the company said.

The addition of Pixel Power’s PRISMON multiviewer, which delivers powerful master control and cloud capabilities, will complement the ultra-low-latency production capabilities of Imagine’s popular SNP Multiviewer and enable Imagine to offer the most comprehensive portfolio of IP and IP-hybrid multiviewer solutions available on the market.

With a development team based in Cambridge, England, Pixel Power has a rich history in graphics and playout workflows and advanced multiviewer and monitoring systems. Imagine will maintain the Cambridge facility, combine Pixel Power’s existing support with Imagine’s care and services team, and support all current global customers and the installed base for Pixel Power’s PRISMON, Gallium, and StreamMaster platforms, Imagine said.

“We are proud of the achievements of Pixel Power, and we are confident that Imagine is the right home for their continued growth and expansion," said Thorsten Sauer, CEO of Pixel Power and VP Media Solutions of Rohde & Schwarz. “This move allows us to focus more deeply on our core operations and customer base while ensuring that we pass the reins to a new owner who cares deeply about our customer base and will take the business to the next level.”

"We’re excited to welcome the talented Pixel Power team to the Imagine family," said John Mailhot, Senior Vice President, Product Management at Imagine Communications. "This acquisition enhances our ability to deliver innovative, business-driving solutions for our customers, and we’re proud to continue building on the strong foundation established under Rohde & Schwarz."

“This alignment not only opens up exciting new opportunities to scale our innovation but also ensures customers benefit from more tailored solutions, improved support, and a stronger foundation for evolving workflows,” added James Gilbert, Deputy CEO of Pixel Power. “Our team is energized by the possibilities ahead and ready to help in shaping the next chapter of broadcast technology.”

Monitoring audio and video content in today’s increasingly complex media environment requires more flexibility than ever. Fortunately, broadcasters’ adoption of IP and the cloud have brought that flexibility to a more reasonable integration level and price point.

As production environments evolve, the role of multiviewers continues to expand, according to Ketan Patel, product manager, multiviewer systems for Evertz. “Today’s multiviewers must handle a wide variety of signal types—compressed and uncompressed, IP and SDI—and operate seamlessly across both on-prem and cloud infrastructures,” he says.

With more operations adopting the SMPTE 2110 IP protocol, demand is increasing, Patel added. “Evertz has deployed over 600 SMPTE ST 2110 systems globally, many of which feature our high-density ev670-X30-HW-V2 modular platform and the ultra-high-density PREFEX multiviewer system.”

Michael Demb, vice president of product strategy for TAG, agreed that having flexibility across both cloud and on-prem is paramount in today’s multiviewer platforms.

“Multiviewers are evolving from passive displays into active operational hubs, central to how media teams manage software-defined workflows today,” he said. “As infrastructures decentralize and scale dynamically across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments, multiviewers like TAG’s are becoming the front line for real-time insight, signal integrity validation, and workflow control.”

Saving Money
Budgetary pressures are also driving broadcasters’ demands, and whether they’re deployed in a full-cloud scenario or hybrid on-prem, multiviewers are becoming more versatile, according to John Mailhot, senior vice president, product management, at Imagine Communications.

“Operational and cost efficiencies are top of mind in today’s dynamic production operations,” he said. “Whether signal processing is done in the cloud or on-prem, the multiviewer plays a critical role in enabling operations teams to make fast, informed, content-critical decisions.

“A robust multiviewer system allows operators to quickly identify and resolve issues in real time—ultimately enabling the team to manage more signals across more productions,” Mailhot added. “As a result, multiviewers will continue evolving from passive display systems to active enablers of efficient, scalable media operations.”

Erling Hedkvist, sales and business development for manifold, said his company’s platform can provide the best of both cloud and on-prem worlds.

“One of our big differentiators is that our customers get the flexibility of software and virtualization but with the performance of dedicated hardware that the live production industry demands,” he said. “This gives them subframe latency and uncompressed, high-quality processing but also a service-based architecture where they can spin services up and down on-demand and that is self-healing in case of an underlying hardware issue.”

Hedkvist touts the “secret sauce” of manifold’s cloud-based live production system: “The underlying design of manifold CLOUD is built around a shared memory architecture,” he said. “Media is first written into memory, allowing multiple services [such as multiviewers, format converters, color correctors and codecs] to access and process that data directly rather than relying on traditional signal paths. This architecture decouples processing from format and frame rate, as services work on pixel data in memory.”

Lower Latency
Monitoring live production often requires making split-second decisions, something that remains top of mind when dealing with latency. Suzana Brady, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for Cobalt Digital, said that even though the company’s UltraBlue SW-MV multiviewer is implemented in software on a PC platform, “it was designed with latency in mind.”

“For baseband inputs, the latency is around three frames to a screen, and less than that for a streaming output,” she said. “Scalability is provided by the PC platform, from lower-cost units for simple multiviewers to large platforms for units with lots of inputs and heads. There is a full-featured modern API to ease integration in complex workflows.”

The importance of integrating software-based multiviewing into live production platforms has been demonstrated through the flexibility offered by the cloud and IP, according to Evertz’ Patel.

“All [Evertz] platforms are designed to be part of a unified system, enabling operators to build highly dense, format-agnostic monitoring solutions across 3G, UHD, compressed and uncompressed feeds,” Patel said. “Whether it’s for native IP, hybrid or SDI workflows, users can scale according to their operational requirements without compromising quality or latency.”

When it comes to the variety of high-resolution formats, including HDR, vendors have adopted a format-agnostic approach and upped their processing power.

Chris Scheck, head of marketing content for Lawo, says the efficiency of the company’s HOME Multiviewer—available as a standalone solution and as part of Lawo’s HOME Apps ecosystem—is architected to consume less power, making monitoring more efficient.

“In combination with a .edge Hyper-Density SDI/IP Gateway and Processing unit, which can simultaneously receive and output SDI signals and generate smaller-resolution versions of video input signals, the HOME Multi­viewer can be used in a so-called intelligent workflow that uses no more than the absolutely required amount of network bandwidth for each PiP [picture in picture], based on its size, thus ensuring that the input bandwidth never exceeds the output bandwidth,” Sheck said, adding that such proxies are important when operating in a bandwidth-
restricted environment.

“UHD streams, for instance, comprise a lot more data than is needed for a small PiP; not having to downscale such PiP footage therefore means that fewer CPU cores are needed to process the information,” he said. “The allocation of the relevant proxy to each PiP/tile is handled automatically while the multiviewer head is being configured with the intuitive theWALL app.”

New Features
While multiviewing continues to evolve, vendors are continually adding new features that take advantage of the flexibility offered by IP and the cloud.

At IBC this month, Mediaproxy is introducing Instant Replay for live incident review along with the ability to monitor HTML content directly within mosaic outputs. Designed to streamline the process of incident investigation, Instant Replay allows broadcast operators and engineers to instantly review incidents that occur during live broadcasts.

“Being able to have high-quality instant replay within our ecosystem of monitoring tools will significantly reduce the time it takes to investigate and clear on-air incidents,” says Erik Otto, Mediaproxy CEO. “The addition of HTML data panels in both our interactive server-side multiviewers further underline our commitment to solving real-world problems for customers today.”

Lawo is taking its HOME Video Monitor app out of the facility and making it more accessible to operators, according to Scheck.

“With its HOME Video Monitor app, Lawo is about to launch a solution that allows users to monitor video feeds on their laptops and mobile devices, which is extremely useful for busy operators who quickly need to check something on their way to a different location,” he says. “While this may not be a replacement for a full-blown multiviewer, it may be practical for certain workflows.”

What About AI?
Vendors are taking the same cautious approach towards implementing artificial intelligence into their multiviewing platforms as their customers are.

TAG is actively exploring the potential of adding AI as part of its long-term innovation road map. “We’re engaged in early-stage development to evaluate how technologies like Multimodal AI and agentic AI could support operational efficiency, simplify workflows, and enhance the monitoring experience,” Demb said, adding that “any future capabilities will be designed to augment—not replace—human decision-making, and to serve the real-world needs of our customers.”

There are no immediate plans for manifold to integrate AI into its multi­viewer line, the company says. In fact, “we recently signed a significant contract with a major U.K. broadcaster that explicitly prohibits the inclusion of AI in the deliverables,” Hedkvist says. “[This is] a clear sign that there’s still hesitation among Tier-1 customers when it comes to unsupervised AI in live production workflows.”

Scheck concurs that the jury is still out when it comes to adopting AI.

“Lawo’s HOME Multiviewer comes equipped with a flexible logic system for alarm and tally functions to allow users to catch errors in a timely fashion and remain in control,” he says. “Whether AI could play a part in this is certainly worth investigating, even though a deterministic approach based on algorithms and real-world experience may be hard to beat for some time to come.”

Scheck adds that some operators are taking multiviewing to another level.

“One of our customers now operates OB trucks that are no longer equipped with multiviewer walls; the screens have been replaced by Apple Vision Pro headsets,” he says. “From what we have heard, getting used to them was rather straightforward, and operators in those trucks like the thrill of working with flexible cutting-edge tools and increasingly consider multiviewer walls as somewhat ‘old-school.’ ”

Nevertheless, all the bells and whistles being added to multiviewers don’t take away the essential role of the technology, according to Cobalt’s Brady.

“We don’t see the fundamental role of multiviewers changing in live broadcast, their purpose has remained consistent since the early days of television,” she says. “What is changing is the scale, quality, and accessibility of multiviewing in modern, software-defined infrastructures.”

DENVER—At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Imagine Communications will introduce the Imagine Monitoring Solution (IMS), a ground-up solution for the unique demands of monitoring video networks.

Imagine says IMS “is the only monitoring solution to deliver full visibility across the entire video chain — from ingest to playout — enabling broadcasters, content originators, and MSOs to detect issues earlier, resolve them faster, and avoid costly outages.”

While the demands on video networks soar, the tools many teams rely on for monitoring are designed for general-purpose IT infrastructure or closed ecosystems, the company said. They are not focused on the intricacies of video networks — especially those that have transitioned to IP networks or are operating content delivery networks. IMS offers video-aware monitoring features that analyze all operational aspects of the complete video network from a single intuitive user interface. This includes in-depth data analytics that provide intelligent network analysis to identify processing trends and predict potential issues before they occur.

“The video network-specific nature of IMS separates it from the generic IT monitoring tools available on the market today,” said Dan Walsh, senior vice president, product management, at Imagine Communications. “Our new offering gives our customers access to the latest in video network monitoring, with end-to-end observability of all devices running in the network — regardless of device manufacturer.”

IMS gives users a live view down to the individual components of the video signal path, enabling faster issue isolation and real-time troubleshooting to minimize issues that could adversely affect the resulting video content delivery. Customers get started quickly with curated, prebuilt device profiles and can create fully customized dashboards tailored to their operational workflows. The combination of profiles and customization enables precise, user-defined alerting with flexible severity levels, escalation paths, and notification schedules — reducing noise and helping teams focus on the most relevant issues.

IMS is made for cloud, on-premises, and hybrid video processing and delivery environments. As part of Imagine’s commitment to industry collaboration and interoperability, IMS supports open APIs and standard protocols and easily plugs into existing ecosystems. Customers can continue to leverage existing IT monitoring tools while migrating to and enabling complete video network visibility with IMS.

“With IMS, Imagine is enabling media companies to move from reactive troubleshooting to proactive performance management,” Walsh added. “Customers will benefit from operational savings, reduced training and maintenance overhead, and a deployment model with simple, competitive pricing options, including usage-based subscription pricing.”

Imagine Communications will be in Stand 1.B73.

DENVER—At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Imagine Communications will introduce the SNP-XS, a versatile addition to its Selenio Network Processor (SNP) that packs the power of Imagine’s SNP platform into a deploy-anywhere form factor. Delivering ultra-quiet operation and high-performance processing in a small 2RU footprint, SNP-XS is the ideal solution for edge deployments, facility expansions, remote routing endpoints, mobile production, and any space-constrained environment.

Imagine says it has shipped more than 5,000 SNP units since it was first introduced in 2017, powering over 150,000 video streams and 2 million audio streams worldwide. Built on the same field-proven architecture as the flagship SNP platform, SNP-XS supports SMPTE ST 2110 and ST 2022-6 IP standards while maintaining seamless interoperability with SDI-based workflows — making it a perfect bridge for customers transitioning to IP or optimizing an existing SDI facility.

“IP technology is no longer limited to tier 1 broadcasters and large-scale projects — it’s become the clear path forward for media operations of all sizes — making SNP-XS exactly the right tool at the right time,” said John Mailhot, senior vice president, product management, at Imagine Communications. “Whether it’s serving as a high-quality SDI processor or an ST 2110 gateway for smaller jobs, SNP-XS provides the same trusted capabilities of the proven SNP platform in a compact, ultra-flexible footprint ideal for any environment where space is at a premium.”

Despite its reduced size, SNP-XS offers flexible I/O configurations and runs all 16 current SNP applications right out of the box—including UHD and HDR conversion, multiviewers, master control, and JPEG XS. It shares the same software releases, APIs, control protocols, and feature licenses as the flagship SNP, ensuring full compatibility and consistent deployment across operations.

“Even in large facilities there are small jobs, such as in edit suites and standup studio environments where a handful of signals join and leave the network,” Mailhot added. “Flexible mounting and a super-low-noise design, coupled with analog audio breakout capabilities, make SNP-XS a perfect, compact 2110 endpoint for small rooms in big systems.”

Imagine will demo the new SNP-XS at its IBC2025 stand, 1.B73.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has announced that it is deepening its commitment to the North American sports and live events market with investments in its product portfolio and in its staff.

As part of that effort, it has promoted of Jimbo Haneklau to vice president of sales, sports and live events and the hired of Sophee Mink to the newly established position of business solution associate, sports and live events.

“Expanding our dedicated team and leadership in the sports and live space allows us to be more intentional in how we serve this growing market, and these two appointments are a key part of that strategy,” said Kyle Luther, vice president, Americas sales, at Imagine Communications. “Jimbo’s wealth of knowledge and deep relationships across the industry position him to be a critical force in enhancing value for Imagine’s sports customers, and his promotion reflects both his proven track record and the strategic importance of this vertical."

"At the same time, Sophee brings fresh energy and a strong customer-first mindset to her new role," Luther added. "Her rapid growth within the company is a testament to her talent and drive, which have earned her the respect of colleagues across the organization. Together, Jimbo and Sophee will play a pivotal role in delivering meaningful value to our customers and partners across the industry.”

In the new role, Haneklau is tasked with leading Imagine’s go-to-market sports strategy for the U.S., building a high-performing sales team, and spearheading partnerships with leagues, networks, and venues. Haneklau began his career in broadcast technology with Imagine in 2019 and has since become a sought-after thought leader, taking the stage at industry events to discuss next-generation tech deployments with innovative sports organizations including the University of Texas, the University of Minnesota, and the Miami Heat.

Since joining Imagine as an inside sales specialist in 2024, Mink — a former NCAA Division 1 volleyball player — has quickly proved herself, playing a key role in driving client engagement and sales growth across the sports and house of worship (HOW) verticals, the company said.

In addition, the company highlighted investments in its sports and live events product line with improvements in its Selenio Network Processor and Magellan Control System.

To date, more than 4,500 SNP units have been delivered globally, powering over 140,000 video streams and 2 million audio streams worldwide.

The company also highlighted improvements to its playout solutions, including the Versio integrated platform, that provide the fast-turnaround playback capabilities. These enable live sports to be re-aired within seconds, with minimal manual intervention. The fully customizable HTML5 control surfaces simplify operations, allowing for all the necessary tools to be made front and center, while lesser-used tools take a back seat, the company added.

Recent product introductions have also been designed to push the boundaries of innovation in sports technology, the company said.

Those include Magellan AudioFlex, which provides mono-channel granularity for audio routing, allowing operators to take any channel from any signal and map it anywhere for seamless audio control even in complex IP workflows. In addition to preserving the control workflows familiar to engineers, this capability enhances live production by enabling fast, last-minute gameday adjustments.

With the integration of JPEG XS compression into SNP—a feature proven on the world stage during the 2024 Paris Games—Imagine also reported that it now offers a reliable and efficient way to move live video streams from venues to production hubs and into the cloud. This model provides a high-quality, low-latency signal path that supports full end-to-end HDR from shooting to production to distribution for streaming.

More information is available at imaginecommunications.com/make-tv/sports.

DENVER—At the 2025 NAB Show, April 6-9, in Las Vegas, Imagine Communications is introducing OSI-X, the latest iteration of the company's widely deployed OSI Traffic and Billing system. Built on a modern technology stack with a fully browser-based UI and cloud-native architecture, OSI-X delivers a streamlined, intuitive user experience designed to meet the needs of North American broadcasters navigating Total TV convergence.

The advancements provided in the OSI-X platform have led Sinclair Broadcast Group to adopt OSI-X as their consolidated platform for traffic and billing across their entire over-the-air footprint.

"We are excited to announce Sinclair's decision to migrate all OTA television stations onto the OSI-X Traffic and Billing system," said Rob Weisbord, COO and president of Local Media at Sinclair. "This transition is driven by enhancements to security with single sign-on, browser-based access to OSI Traffic and Imagine Communications' full support of the TV Interface Practices standards set forth by the broadcaster consortium. These advancements will streamline our operations and further secure our broadcasting infrastructure."

OSI Traffic and Billing is one of the core platforms in Imagine's portfolio, and the company has made continual investment to address evolving business models — enabling the many media organizations that rely on the industry-proven platform to adapt to the changing way people watch TV and maximize profit across all inventory types. With increasingly complex ad operations and mounting pressure for broadcasters to do more with less, OSI-X provides a path forward. Whether deployed in a private data center or in the cloud, the platform offers a highly secure environment and supports a wide range of linear, streaming, and CTV workflows.

JW Linkenauger, SVP of AdTech at Sinclair Broadcast Group, commented, "Imagine Communications is a proven partner that continually invests in enhancement of their OSI-X television platform. Their strong support of TIP and ongoing technological advancements show their deep understanding of the complex ad delivery ecosystem."

The new OSI-X release builds on its proven predecessor with a redesigned user interface, SAML-compliant single sign-on, and support for cloud or on-prem deployment, giving broadcasters the flexibility to modernize in their own way and at their own pace. With OSI-X, users get the robust functionality they have come to rely on in a secure, scalable, and more accessible environment.

Integrating readily with third-party tools and standards-based platforms, OSI-X provides the core inventory management, traffic, reconciliation, and posting functions required to operate with TVB- and TIP-compliant order management systems, as well as numerous third-party CRM, ERP, and general ledger applications.

"OSI-X reflects Imagine's commitment to simplifying broadcasters' ad sales and management operations across linear and digital workflows," said Imagine Communications CEO Steve Reynolds. "As the industry continues to evolve, we're giving broadcasters the tools to operate more efficiently, reduce cost and complexity, and prepare for whatever comes next."

At the 2025 NAB Show, OSI-X will be demonstrated in the Imagine Communications suite at the Encore hotel (April 6-8, Schubert Room). Show attendees can also learn more about OSI-X at Imagine's West Hall location, Booth W2067.

DENVER—New Zealand’s state-owned, commercially funded broadcaster, TVNZ has implemented Imagine Communications’ SureFire video ad server as part of the ad management workflow that supports its three broadcast channels and digital platform, TVNZ+.

The deployment follows a successful production trial in 2024, which demonstrated the ability of the SureFire linear control feature to help TVNZ extend linear budgets into digital and increase ad break replacement rates, the companies reported.

TVNZ’s primary objective was to simplify and accelerate its path to “total TV” monetization by leveraging SureFire’s linear control capabilities. The solution allows the broadcaster to mirror portions of linear campaigns into digital, enabling a consistent viewer experience and unlocking incremental digital inventory — without needing to overhaul existing systems.

This approach allowed TVNZ to address a key challenge: underfilled ad breaks on TVNZ+ that previously resulted in lost revenue. If an acceptable threshold of demand was not met within a given break, the entire break was not dynamically served, resulting in a loss of revenue. The trial showed that by using SureFire to extend already sold linear spots to digital, TVNZ could offer advertisers a new premium product, resulting in better utilization of ad inventory and improved fill rates, Imagine explained.

TVNZ’s pricing and inventory manager, John Fiddian, said, “Our audiences are watching the same content cross-platform. With viewers on broadcast channels and streaming on TVNZ+, it’s important that the way we serve advertising marries up with this audience fragmentation. Adding SureFire has helped our advertisers to seamlessly reach cross-platform audiences within a single campaign. It’s an efficient solution that fits our move towards a ‘Total TV’.”

SureFire enables direct sales with combined linear ad buys and is fully compatible with existing programmatic supply-side platforms. Offering open APIs that facilitate integration with existing ad tech stacks ― regardless of the sales, order management, and traffic solutions that a TV operator may prefer ― SureFire enables broadcasters to sell ads more effectively across their entire footprint by adding linear control to complement their programmatic capabilities, Imagine said.

Using SureFire linear control capabilities, TVNZ can book elements of their ad-served inventory just like linear; deliver commitments to specific ad break placements across linear and streaming; and combine linear control spots with addressable, targeted ads in broadcast-quality ad breaks.

“I think a common industry misconception is that if you incorporate a new ad server into your workflow, you're taking some of the profits from another ad server — and it doesn't necessarily have to be that way,” said Graham Heap, vice president of product strategy, ad tech, at Imagine Communications. “SureFire enables broadcasters to combine direct sales with programmatic automation to eliminate unfilled breaks and achieve higher CPMs. What the trial at TVNZ showed was that SureFire did not cut into the programmatic pie — it created more pie for everyone.”

This innovative approach allows TVNZ to maximize its ad sales by combining traditional linear monetization with programmatic flexibility, marking a pioneering step forward in the digital advertising space.

Imagine Communications will be discussing "Total TV" monetization strategies at the 2025 NAB Show (April 6-9, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth W2067). To book a hands-on demo of SureFire or for further details about Imagine’s presence at this year’s event, visit imaginecommunications.com/event/nab-2025.

DENVER—Imagine Communications will showcase the latest advances in its Selenio Network Processor (SNP) and Magellan Control System, including the Magellan AudioFlex control system feature that provides mono-channel granularity for audio routing, during the NAB Show, April 5-9, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The new Magellan Control System capability allows operators to take any channel from any signal and map it anywhere for seamless audio control, even in complex IP workflows. AudioFlex preserves the control workflows familiar to engineers and enhances live production by enabling fast, last-minute gameday adjustments, the company said.

The company also will highlight its latest SNP additions, including its recently launched SNP-XL, which extends the platform’s capabilities, such as IP gateway, UHD and HDR conversion, multiviewers and master control, with increased SDI flexibility and a new double-density gateway personality, it said.

Imagine’s integration of JPEG XS compression technology into SNP, which was proven on the world stage at the 2024 Paris Games, offers a straightforward solution for moving live streams from a venue to the production center and up to the cloud and provides a high-quality, low-latency signal path that supports full HDR from end to end, it said.

To date, Imagine Communications has shipped more than 4,500 SNP units, supporting more than 140,000 video streams and 2 million audio streams around the world, it said.

Its Magellan Control System offers IP and SDI routing control, orchestration and real-time monitoring and analytics. It is compatible with SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, VSF TR-08 JPEG XS and MPEG-2 TS signals and integrates readily with other systems. The system provides an intuitive work surface and advanced control environment that make the IP technology underneath feel and act like a traditional SDI router, it said.

“The growing momentum of our live production solutions has been driven not only by major deployments for high-profile organizations and events like the Paris Games, but also by broad adoption across facilities worldwide,” said John Mailhot, senior vice president of product management at Imagine Communications.

“More than 30 channel partners have successfully built systems based on SNP and Magellan Control System, in part because they are so easy to deploy and operate," he continued. "This tried-and-tested combination has made IP transformation practical for any size operation, enabling more efficient live production across the industry — even for projects incorporating HDR and UHD.”

See Imagine Communications at 2025 NAB Show booth W2607.

More information is available on the company’s website.

As the media and entertainment (M&E) industry continues to sound the death knell for traditional TV, I’ll make a bold prediction for 2025: Linear will experience a resurgence—of sorts.

I’m not suggesting that the pendulum swing toward streaming viewership will suddenly reverse course, but over the past year, a surprising trend surfaced as media companies—even digital natives—rediscovered linear as a way to drive return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO).

One high-profile U.S. example was Amazon Prime Video’s live streaming of NFL “Thursday Night Football,” which it paired with linear ad sales. While Amazon certainly has the capability to sell the streaming inventory as DAI or addressable impressions, it opted to sell the entire audience. Why? Simple economics. Amazon gets a higher ad price for the massive “TNF” audience than is possible by selling this inventory on an impression basis. This strategy demonstrates the enduring value of linear TV in reaching broad audiences and driving monetization.

With emerging ad tech innovations, it’s possible for big brands to purchase ads that guarantee category exclusivity during a commercial break in the digital environment—something that was previously limited to linear TV. Enabling digital to be sold like linear, with broadcast-quality rules and brand protection, strengthens media companies’ ability to sell inventory in a direct but automated way, which is the key to maximizing streaming revenue. The future of advertising lies in integrating the best of each platform, optimizing the user experience while maximizing returns for advertisers.

In 2025, the market’s focus on the revenue-driving advantages of linear will continue to develop, especially when the goal is to reach large audiences simultaneously. Integrating digital streaming with linear ads is a win-win for broadcasters who can tap into a hybrid model that enables them to engage diverse viewers while leveraging well-established revenue streams. Successful media companies have realised that “linear vs. digital” is the wrong answer. “Linear plus digital” is the path to profitability.

Is the Smart Money Still On-Prem?
For over a decade, cloud solutions have been heralded as the future of broadcasting. On the surface, the choice between on-prem and cloud seems a simple one: on-prem systems require significant investments in physical infrastructure and time, while cloud solutions offer rapid deployment without the maintenance headaches. But the choice isn’t so clear-cut.

With no Olympics or elections driving advertising revenue in 2025, reducing costs will be a top priority across the media industry. One of the ways broadcasters will navigate the challenge is to do the maths to determine whether it’s more cost-effective to run their operations on-prem or in the cloud.

For example, if you’re deploying a disaster recovery solution or operating FAST channels that are never going to touch an antenna, it’s probably cheaper to do it in the cloud. But if you’re running 24/7/365 workflows or have significant investments in studios, IT teams, HVAC systems, and backup generators, on-prem solutions may make better economic sense.

A hybrid strategy may turn out to be the optimal approach, with high-value channels and time-consuming resources run on-prem and the cloud used wherever it makes economic sense, including as a testbed for new ideas and to quickly launch new services. The balance between on-prem and the cloud will change based on percentage of usage, the kind of workflows and solutions needed over time, and the fluctuating cost of the cloud.

A one-and-done calculation won’t cut it in a rapidly changing industry. So as we head into 2025 and beyond, broadcasters may need to regularly revisit the TCO maths to determine whether on-prem, cloud or a hybrid of both will best meet their unique needs and budgets.

Where Cloud Makes Sense (and an On-Ramp to Get There)
While keeping things on-prem makes operational and economic sense for many broadcast workflows, one area where the balance has skewed in favor of the cloud is remote production. The Paris Summer Olympics stood out in what was a banner year for sports, which helped accelerate the move toward remote and cloud-based production thanks to SMPTE ST 2110 and the native IP protocols used for contribution to cloud.

One example is the synthesis between 2110 and JPEG XS—basically native IP speaking to native IP via VSF TR-07 and TR-08 technical recommendations—which was proven on the world stage at the Paris Olympics. We’ve also seen extensive use of H.264 via SRT in cases where the cost vs. bandwidth trade-off favors higher compression. These advancements not only exceeded expectations, but also established valuable proof points and case studies, which will help drive broader industry adoption.

In 2025, sports broadcasting will continue to be a battleground between established broadcasters and digital newcomers. It’s no secret that rights holders and broadcasters are actively seeking ways to move more live sports content into CTV and live streaming environments—after all, it’s the most valuable content in both traditional TV and modern streaming. For production environments already leveraging ST 2110, the fastest, easiest, most affordable way to make that move is to use JPEG XS as the on-ramp.

This article initially appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVB Europe.

Imagine Communications has announced that its current CEO, Tom Cotney, will retire effective March 31, 2025, and current company president Steve Reynolds has been promoted to CEO effective immediately. The two executives will work closely to continue the company’s strong momentum and growth while also ensuring a seamless leadership transition, Imagine said.

Although stepping down from his position as CEO, Cotney will remain a key part of Imagine’s future trajectory as non-executive chairman of the board. In this role, he will support critical customer commitments, advise the leadership team and serve as a performance coach across all levels of the organization.

“I am excited to take on this new role as it allows me to end my career the way I started—basically as a salesman—doing work that is important to me and Imagine, rather than the grind of daily operations,” Cotney said. “Leading a company with such a storied legacy in the industry has been a privilege.”

Eddie Johnson, executive vice president of Imagine Communications and senior managing director of Gores Group, said: “Tom’s leadership has been transformative for Imagine. Under his visionary leadership, Imagine has successfully evolved from a hardware-focused organization into a premier software company, achieving steady performance and laying the foundation for continued growth.

“Moving forward, the company will be in excellent hands as Steve takes the reins. He brings extensive industry and company experience to this role and is highly respected both internally and across the global market. Under Steve’s leadership, we will remain focused on putting our customers first, delivering quality products on time and on budget, and continuing the successful path that Tom has put us on.”

Reynolds’ career spans 25 years of technology leadership in media technology, including previous executive positions at Comcast, OpenTV, ACTV and Intellocity USA. Reynolds holds more than 40 digital video-related patents and has been a business and technology leader across many facets of the video and advertising landscape, Imagine said. He has participated in numerous standards-making bodies in the cable and digital video industries and is a member of SMPTE and SCTE, and also serves as chairman of Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS).

“The formula that Tom guided us toward over the past six years has been working, and we intend to continue moving toward those same objectives,” Reynolds said. “What we’ve accomplished together has put Imagine in a strong position—debt-free, cash-flow positive and operating at an exceptional level of productivity and effectiveness. Our message to the industry is that this leadership change is not going to change the way we work, the level of service we provide, or our commitment to upholding the high standards that define Imagine.

THAMES DITTON, England—Imagine Communications has announced that Creative Technology, a global leader in technical solutions for live events and system integration, has implemented Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) across key business locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Northern Europe and the Middle East.

The deployment is designed to provide Creative’s production teams with a smooth segue from SDI to SMPTE ST 2110 IP. As part of that effort, Creative Technology is deploying consistent IP gateway functionality via the SNP platform and recently introduced SNP-XL, which the company put to the test at major international sports projects this year, including global pro golf tournaments and the Paris Games.

Imagine’s widely deployed SNP seamlessly integrates with Creative Technology’s vision mixing platform of choice, Panasonic KAIROS, providing a high-density SDI on- and off-ramp for the native-IP live video production platform. As the company’s requirements evolve, the versatile SNP can be virtually and instantaneously reconfigured with different functionality by simply loading the appropriate software.

“The SNP is a tried-and-tested solution that provides a powerful, stable platform ready to use right out of the box, but its flexibility is the real game-changer for live events production,” said Sam Hatcher, IP solutions engineer, Creative Technology. “Today, we primarily use SNP as an IP gateway. As we move closer to full ST 2110 production, the platform’s unique licensing system and broad range of 'apps' will allow us to reuse the SNP as a multiviewer, a JPEG XS converter or one of the many other functions available, without having to reinvest in a new hardware platform.”

Hatcher added the “new SNP-XL is also significantly quieter than other gateway products we've used in the past, which is a key consideration for live events when deploying this sort of device — often within earshot of production crew or audience members.”

Enabling easy integration into flypacks, the compact form factor of the SNP provides exceptional density—up to 64 bidirectional SDI/2110 flows in only 2RU in the case of the SNP-XL. Creative Technology uses the SNP for applications of every size, scaling up the platform as needed for various live events by simply adding another box for every 32x32 conversions required, the companies reported.   

“Had we not included SNP in our system design, it is likely that we would have needed additional racks, more space for setup, and more trucks to transport the equipment,” said Hatcher. “As a vendor that operates worldwide, deploying a consistent platform has enabled resource sharing that not only reduces the amount of shipping required, but also allows us to easily scale up by cross-renting across regions wherever event services are needed.”

The SNP platform’s use of 100G QSFP connectors enables it to work well directly connected to KAIROS, hard-patched 1:1 with the mixer’s inputs and outputs. This allows technicians with less IP engineering experience to benefit from a software-defined IP switcher without the added complexity of network switches, control platforms or a grandmaster clock — all of which are handled natively by the SNP.

“We are proud of the strong partnership we enjoy with Creative Technology and of the part that SNP plays in the successful production of high-profile live events around the world,” said Mathias Eckert, senior vice president & general manager EMEA and APAC at Imagine Communications. “With its uniquely flexible architecture and innovative development roadmap, the SNP continues to go from strength to strength — enabling media companies across the industry to invest in our platform with confidence.”

Media companies attending IBC2024 (13-16 September, RAI Amsterdam) can visit the Imagine stand (1.B73) for a hands-on demonstration of SNP and all the latest advances in the company’s industry-proven portfolio, which enables media companies to choose a path and pace to IP that aligns with their specific business requirements.

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions, please visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com  

DENVER―Imagine Communications has appointed international media industry executive Don Durand to the position of senior vice president of global sales for its ad tech business. In his new role, Durand will lead the worldwide sales strategy and customer engagement initiatives for Imagine’s market-leading ad tech portfolio.

Durand brings to Imagine more than 20 years of experience in domestic and international media software and expertise in both global sales leadership and product management. Prior to joining Imagine, Durand held executive-level positions with multiple companies in the ad tech space including Pilat Media (now Operative) and WideOrbit, where he was most recently senior vice president of international sales and product.

"Don’s broad experience in global ad tech sales and product management make him a significant addition to both the Imagine team and the customers we support around the world," said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech at Imagine Communications. "As the industry continues to face multi-dimensional change, media companies are having to make tough decisions about the future. Don’s deep roots in ad tech and strong industry relationships will enable him to advocate for our global customers and ensure that we deliver on our commitment to help them work smarter and more profitably.”

During his two-decade career in ad tech, Durand successfully launched multiple products and services tailored for both the U.S. and EMEA/APAC markets and repeatedly demonstrated his ability to drive growth in sales through the establishment of international sales divisions, Imagine said. Career highlights include managing a $180 million opportunity pipeline across international markets and scaling two major product lines from under $2 million to nearly $30 million in annual revenue.

"Imagine is recognized across the industry—not only for its legacy of driving media tech innovation, but also for its exceptional dedication to supporting its global customer base,” said Durand. “I am truly excited to join a company that is paving the way to the converged linear/digital future of broadcast advertising, and I look forward to leading this highly skilled, global team to further strengthen the company’s market-leading position.”

LINCOLN, Neb.—Starting out with a single over-the-air channel in 1954, Nebraska Public Media has been providing news, education, entertainment and sports programming for the last 70 years.

We now support five live-to-air TV channels, two radio channels and online resources. In addition to producing live community and news programs, we broadcast programming from PBS and NPR on TV, radio, online, social media and mobile apps. We transitioned into streaming when we began broadcasting live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Nebraska Legislature.

The Emergency Alert System is also a huge portion of what we do, and as the State Emergency Communications Committee Chair for Nebraska, I help with a lot of EAS activities. In addition, we serve as the backup for the PBS Diverse Disaster Maintenance System, which means we cover the entire country with PBS signals when serious weather hits the East Coast. 

It’s a lot to manage, and I have spent the last 29 years helping the station connect its local communities to the world and each other. 

Automating Master Control
As network operations manager, it’s my job to keep everything on air, and I’ve been working with Imagine Communications products since 2000 to ensure our master control infrastructure meets our changing needs. 

We use Imagine’s Versio integrated playout engines for channel origination, four Nexio+ AMP servers for record and quality control, Nexio Motion for media asset management, and ADC automation for content control and delivery. The Versio offline Creation Station enables us to quickly create a snipe or a crawl for sports or for EAS alerts. In addition, we use Selenio encoders for transcoding, which enables us to operate 12 live streaming channels and create VOD files for PBS Passport delivery.

Imagine ties everything together, and everything is interoperable. The Nexio Motion software moves files around our facility, including to Avid editing stations and to the web, making our file-based workflow perform efficiently.  In total, we have 91 workflows built in the Motion system to shuffle files around in our facility.

All of our signals go to air through the Versio platform, with each of our five channels split between two ADC Air Clients, which let us monitor and control multiple playout and ingest channels from a single UI. Our operators are very comfortable with this setup, as we have been using ADC for years, and the Versio is mostly hands off. 

Automating our workflow helps simplify all our on-air operations, and the fact that our operators don’t have to touch it illustrates the reliability of the Air Client and how well it works. The playlist is everything, and the Versio platforms just run and run. 

Managing Growth
As time goes on, our services keep developing, and Imagine products enable us to grow alongside them.For example, our tie-in with the Nebraska Legislature requires a big commitment to record facilities, and we recently upgraded our Nexio servers to provide the capacity for 16 HD record channels. Next year we’ll add English and Spanish captioning to the Legislature—for each floor debate as well as all its hearing rooms—which we are obliged to copy for the public archives.

Finally, like most of our broadcast peers, we are starting to plan for the inevitable transition to IP, and we know that Imagine gateway products enable a hybrid environment and gradual migration to ST 2110. 

Al Krause is network operations manager at Nebraska Public Media. He can be reached at akrause@nebraskapublicmedia.org.

More information is available at https://imaginecommunications.com.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has unveiled new features and improvements to xG Linear, its ad management platform for MVPDs in North America. 

The new xG PlacerPlus features are designed to help the many media organizations that rely on xG Linear to reduce ad placement times by up to 90 percent and utilize inventory more effectively to drive profitability. The enhanced placer is available immediately as part of xG Linear version 2.6, the company reported. 

xG Linear is an enterprise-level ad management solution that empowers MPVD operations with proven ad placement tools, copy management, schedule optimization, and real-time visibility​. Deployable as an on-premises or cloud-hosted platform, xG Linear easily integrates leading ad tech partners through open APIs and scales seamlessly to 10,000 headends to match the volume and complexity of any growing sales operation, Imagine explained. 

The new xG PlacerPlus feature not only reduces ad placement time, but also helps operators determine how to make the most money with that placement. For example, if a new high-value order comes in, the enhanced placer can automatically bump lower-cost ads into other spots, ensuring that high-value ads are placed into higher value inventory, the company said. 

"Media companies around the world have long relied on Imagine ad tech products to monetize their businesses, and they trust us to continually invest in innovation that will help them move their businesses forward,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager, ad tech, at Imagine Communications. “The latest advances in our well-established xG Linear platform underscore Imagine’s commitment to continuously make improvements that will help our customers work smarter and maximize revenue today — and successfully navigate a converged linear/digital future to achieve sustainable, profitable growth."

Imagine reported that  some of the key features and benefits of xG PlacerPlus include:

• Increase Revenue. The new xG PlacerPlus enables media companies to increase revenue by more effectively utilizing inventory and improving distribution of ad units. Advanced features include automated vertical and horizontal spot movement, improved orbit placement logic, and the option to use cost-per-second in place of rate when ranking ad units.
• Improve Workflow Efficiency. With xG PlacerPlus, MVPDs can boost workflow efficiency with automation that dramatically reduces the need to make manual schedule viewer changes. Operations teams can save multiple hours per week, streamlining their day. Color-coded ad unit icons in the schedule viewer further enhance efficiency, assisting operations teams in quickly identifying applicable ad unit inventory. 
• Prepare for Convergence. Ad Unit Classification capabilities enable user-defined tracking of nonlinear ad units at the order line level, enabling media organizations to seamlessly transition to converged workflows, effectively track impression-based ad units and efficiently manage ad campaigns across all TV channels, including linear, CTV, and FAST.​

For more information about Imagine Communications’ ad tech portfolio, visit https://imaginecommunications.com/monetize-tv/

The broadcast industry’s accelerating transition to cloud-based production of sports, news and other live programming is proving far more disruptive to the evolution of video services than seemed likely not so long ago.

The impact came into dramatic focus at the NAB Show, where the paradigm shift was revealed as the inevitable result of industry-wide adoption of SMPTE 2110 in support of the SDI-IP transition. “The whole explosion around cloud production wouldn’t have happened without 2110,” noted Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications.

Widespread adoption has driven costs down to where “2110 has become cheaper than SDI on a per port basis,” leading to experiences with on-premises IP-based news, sports and other live productions that have made workflows “a lot better,” he said. As a result, producers are now comfortable with exploiting the cost savings and collaborative flexibility that comes with moving production to the cloud.

Remote Production
NAB Show exhibit halls teamed with cloud production-related solutions aimed at enabling a streamlined, cost-saving approach to launching linear TV channels combining any mix of live and file-based content for any distribution model, whether it be free-to-air broadcast, pay TV, SVOD, AVOD, or FAST. Now, as Reynolds put it, “FAST is just TV.”

An unavoidable testament to the significance of the cloud-to-live broadcast production was the expanded show floor presence of AWS. The superscalar has been benefiting from broadcast industry demand for cloud support for many years, including in the live production arena, but the pace and scale of developments now are unprecedented, said Chris Blandy, director of strategic business development for M&E, games, and sports at AWS.

“There are now more than 4,000 linear channels originated over AWS around the world,” Blandy noted. Much of this activity revolves around collaborations in linear channel development involving combinations of live and file-based content. These AWS customers’ workflows “are bringing in editors, graphic artists, colorists wherever they happen to be while relying on us to maintain tight security in their operating environments,” he said.

AWS demonstrated live news production from the show floor as a way to call attention to what’s happening in the rapidly evolving broadcast news arena. “We’ve seen a lot of innovation in this space, and now we’re seeing it mature into stable production workflows,” Blandy said.

Indeed, as Imagine’s Reynolds noted, cloud production is a big boon to TV stations looking to leverage their unique opportunities to build audiences by streaming local news and other live content. “Station owners can take advantage of remote production using their subchannels to deliver local live content,” Reynolds said. “It gives them new capabilities to differentiate their programming.”

Hybrid Transition for Sports
In the sports world, the shift to cloud production has been slower than in other M&E segments, but now producers are increasingly implementing hybrid transitions that are pushing ever more processes to the cloud while retaining a significant on-prem production presence, noted Deon LeCointe, director of networked solutions at Sony Electronics. With a focus on SE’s Networked Live product portfolio, LeConte has a bird’s eye view of how the company’s preparations for this phase in live sports production is paying off.

SE’s Networked Live solutions come into play with transitions to cloud production anchored by the Nevion VideoIPath media orchestration platform, which Sony acquired in 2020 and has since enhanced to work with SE’s broadcast control solutions. The result, LeCointe said, is a highly scalable, ultra low-latency platform that uniquely combines broadcast operations, orchestration, and monitoring capabilities in hybrid workflows across SDI and IP LAN, WAN. cloud, and 5G networks.

At the NAB Show, SE demonstrated seamless hybrid production through a control panel managing the firm’s software-based M2L-X switcher for cloud operations and the modular MLS-X1 switching appliance for premises-based operations. “We think this is the best approach for sports operations that are pushing the envelope toward the cloud,” LeCointe said.

The National Hockey League made news at the NAB Show as the first big pro league to take the plunge into full cloud production mode. This is enabling the league to deliver personalized experiences to connected devices in and beyond game arenas along with traditional TV broadcasts while substantially reducing costs, said Grant Nodine, senior vice president of technology for the NHL. “With the ability to spin up and rent resources as needed, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be putting big production trucks in venue,” Nodine said.

The transformation in user experiences across all locations is enabled by a partnership with Verizon as provider of 5G connectivity to in-venue audiences and between the game arenas and the AWS cloud, where productions for in-venue audiences are returned for viewing in sync with live action and productions for external distribution are sent out over the usual channels. “We’re using the cloud as the router of the future,” Nodine said.

FAST Goes Live
The implications of cloud production as the center of gravity for streamlining the supply of linear content across all business models and distribution outlets were top of mind across the playout ecosystem in Las Vegas. “FAST and broadcast used to be separate,” said Dan Marshall, executive vice president for worldwide sales at Amagi. “Now we’re seeing the integration of live content into FAST channels.”

Amagi, like many suppliers, is reconstituting itself to take advantage of the transformation. Traditionally positioned as a provider of playout services, Amagi for some time has been responding to the FAST phenomenon by helping customers with insertions of ads, graphics, QR codes and other elements in live production, according to Marshall. Now the company has gone all the way into support for live production with acquisition of the Polish cloud production supplier Tellyo.

Amagi, in response to the emergence of high-value live programming in the FAST channel mix, has teamed with digital rights management platform supplier Intertrust to enable implementation of license-mandated security in its playout workflows. 

With the success of FAST, which now accounts for 25% of TV ad views in the U.S., according to Comcast’s Freewheel unit, Marshall and others said it’s just a matter of time before major sports become part of the FAST lineup, and, sure enough, just before press time, Roku announced that, in a new deal with Major League Baseball, it was becoming the first FAST channel producer to be carrying games from a major pro sports league.

Disrupting Norms
The move of live production to the cloud has realigned the interplay between production and playout in new workflow configurations that rely on ultralow latency connectivity for synchronized execution of tasks wherever they occur. The disruption to past norms is pushing some vendors in new directions and playing right into where others have been from the start. 

As a leading player in the latter category, LTN benefitted at the NAB Show from its ability to tout a multi-pronged set of turnkey FAST, addressable advertising, production, and playout solutions, all of which are closely linked to the global B2B LTN Network serving as a multicast playout alternative to satellite distribution. 

“We’ve been hearing about the shift to IP and cloud production for well over a decade, and even two years ago we were saying it’s no longer a matter of if, but when,” said LTN CTO Brad Wall. “Now it’s here with a focus on what tools and workflows are out there ready to use with low latency and high reliability.”

The company offers LTN ARC as a fully managed production/versioning system, which Wall said sports producers are leveraging to “manage and customize premier sports at global scale.” He cited a tier one producer delivering soccer games in multiple versions matched to licensing and language requirements as an example of how sports producers are overcoming the market-specific production limitations of the past. 

Whether they use ARC or the self-managed LTN Lift playout technology, producers can leverage the new IP production paradigm whether on premises or in the cloud to “empower these types of workflows with all kinds of new branding and marketing opportunities,” he said.

Another company capitalizing on a solution set built from the ground up for this moment is Mediagenix, which offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enabling broadcast networks and streamers to manage monetization and scheduling of live and stored content across broadcast and OTT footprints. “True transformation is finally happening,” said Mediagenix Chief Product and Marketing Officer Ivan Verbesselt. 

“FAST is an example of the business growing up,” he added. “We shouldn’t be building platforms to accommodate business models. We should build business models first using platforms that enable business agility.”

Toward that end Mediagenix has developed tools that allow media companies to manage the complete content life cycle with seamless organization-wide collaboration, Verbesselt said. Platform intelligence, often with AI assistance, enables highly efficient approaches to formulating and budgeting value management strategies, leveraging audience data in the use of metadata, orchestrating dubbing, subtitling, and graphics, scheduling placement in FAST and other channels based on AI predictive ratings, and much else, he explained. 

One of the more arresting innovations supporting cloud production comes from Matrox Video, a company best known as a leading decades-old supplier of line cards, encoders, extenders, switches, and other production hardware to OEMs. But in Las Vegas, its focus was on tools that add efficiencies to SDI-to-IP points of conversion and that support connectivity enabling synchronized collaboration across cloud production workflows.

Matrox describes its ORIGIN ultralow latency framework as a “groundbreaking approach” to linking workstations. According to Francesco Scartozzi, vice president of sales and business development for the Matrox Broadcast and Media Group, ORIGIN tailors high-end IT operations to broadcast TV requirements so that each set of tasks in the production process is executed with frame-accurate synchronization across all relevant points of collaboration on the workflow, whether hardware related to the task at hand is positioned on premises on in the cloud.

“ORIGIN is built on a media-aware content transfer fabric,” Scartozzi explained. It treats production applications as completely independent stateless media services sharing a common storage infrastructure with reliance on a mode of low-latency transport that he described without elaboration as “our secret sauce.”

By all appearances, there’s nothing left standing in the way of the transition to live programming production in the cloud other than the remaining life spans of premises-based equipment. 

And once those who haven’t yet moved to the cloud start feeling the impact of service innovations introduced by those who have, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a good bit of cost/benefit analysis justifying reductions in those life spans. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications will demonstrate how it can assist media organizations achieve sustainable, scalable and profitable growth with solutions and strategies focused on delivery, connectivity, playout, monetization and ad tech at the 2024 NAB Show, April 13-17, in Las Vegas.

“Growth was the key focus of the M&E industry for the past few years ― growth in subscribers, viewership, library size, hours of live sports, etc. — and much of that growth came at a cost that is just not sustainable,” says Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications.

“We’re now seeing customers looking to pivot to more rational, scalable business models for both CTV and linear, which remains the core revenue source for most media businesses. At this year’s NAB Show, Imagine is leading the way in support of this industry shift, demonstrating innovative solutions that move beyond pure technical enablement of linear and CTV operations to a more business-savvy view of how can we do this more profitably?”

The company will feature:

• Imagine Make TV: Solutions to power the efficient delivery of premium video content for linear and connected TV to enable media companies to maximize profits on all screens.
• Connectivity: A hands on demo of the Selenio Network Processor (SNP) in IP and SDI workflows for those looking to modernize their technology stack with SMPTE ST 2110, HDR or JPEG XS; the new SNP-XL, which extends the processor’s existing capabilities supporting UHD and HDR conversion, multiviewers, master control and JPEG XS to support for increased SDI flexibility and a new double-density gateway; and the Magellan Control System. 
• Playout: New capabilities for the Aviator platform that enables automation and orchestration of multisite operation—both geographic and on-prem—using a common UI; and live demos of the Versio integrated playout solution and live signal connectivity enabled by Magellan Connect.
• Imagine Monetize TV: Solutions to enable media companies to work smarter and make more money as well as accelerate the transition to revenue-driving new business models, such as FAST channels and programmatic and direct-sold advertising.
• Ad Tech: The introduction of CrossFlight, a new, cloud-based ad sales platform, which integrates Imagine’s OSI traffic and billing solution, that can enable North American broadcasters to streamline complex sales processes, drive revenue growth and prepare for a converged, audience-first future; demonstration of the GamePlan dynamic ad placement engine; and demos of the SureFire video ad server.

See Imagine Communications in 2024bNAB booth W2467.

More information is available on the company’s website.

At Pac-12 Networks, the collegiate sports-focused digital cable and satellite TV network run by the Pac-12 Conference, we are proud to bring about 850 live sports events from over 100 venues each season to our viewers. For over 20 years, our broad spectrum of broadcast activities — from remote and studio productions to broadcast ingest, transmission, and game officiating — had been based out of our San Francisco facility. 

However, as our lease was approaching its end in June 2023, we made the decision to relocate to the Bishop Ranch campus in San Ramon, California. This move was more than just a change of scenery; it represented a significant upgrade to our broadcasting capabilities. In collaboration with Advanced System Group (ASG), we developed a cutting-edge facility equipped with SMPTE ST 2110 technology, built on a centralized spine and leaf network architecture. 

Need it Yesterday
The shift to San Ramon was not without its challenges. One major issue was the extremely stringent deadline. It was imperative that we were fully functional in time for the kickoff of the Pac-12 2023 football season. So, we had a window of just 16 months for researching, choosing, and acquiring the necessary equipment for our facility, a task made all the more difficult by COVID-induced product shortages.

 Additionally, signal conversion would prove to be a critical aspect of our system. With numerous simultaneous updates underway, a full upgrade to 1080p HDR was not yet achievable, leaving us with a 720p SDR transmission path. However, we would be receiving 1080p HDR signals from various satellite and fiber sources, necessitating efficient conversion. 

After thorough market research and a fact-finding trip to the 2022 NAB Show, we chose Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) for signal conversion at our San Ramon site. The SNP was selected not only for its ability to handle our extremely demanding workflows, but also its potential to greatly streamline our operations. To validate our choice, we conducted a proof of concept in January 2023, ensuring everything would function as intended.

Simplifying Operations
Our San Ramon facility boasts an impressive array of 34 SNP units, each handling a diverse range of functions. The processors are serving as IP gateways and facilitating both SDI-to-IP encapsulation and IP-to-SDI de-encapsulation. Additionally, they are responsible for frame synchronization and up/down/cross conversion. The SNPs also come with multiviewer processing capabilities and will allow us to utilize JPEG XS for interfacility connections in the future.

A key benefit of incorporating the SNPs into our facility is the significant simplification of our operations. Traditionally, different devices have been required for IP conversion, up/down/cross conversion, and HDR conversion. However, the SNP combines all these functions into a single path. 

This integration means that regardless of the signal coming from a broadcasting truck or satellite, it can be directly processed through the SNP before being transmitted to our channel. This consolidation into one path not only minimizes the likelihood of errors, but also greatly eases the workload for our operators, who now only need to familiarize themselves with a single destination — the SNP.

The building of our new facility commenced in November 2022 and reached completion by September 2023, just in time for the college football season. Despite encountering some initial hiccups, the facility is now operating seamlessly, surpassing the ease of operation of our previous setup. Having successfully navigated our first football season with this new system, its stability, reliability, and flawless performance have been clearly demonstrated. 

As we now shift our focus to the basketball season, we are confident in our system's capability to handle the demands, thanks in large part to the efficiency of the SNP.

TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2024 NAB Show?

STEVE REYNOLDS: The 2024 NAB Show is going to feature a number of technologies and solutions that focus on the rapidly evolving CTV segment, which includes streaming, FAST and AVOD. The focus of those trends is going to shift this year from technical enablement toward a more business-savvy view of “how can we do this profitably?” We’ve all seen the broad industry move toward ad-supported models for CTV, so that will be a key topic this year.

NAB Show will also continue to highlight the technologies that empower migration to cloud, such as virtualized production and playout, as well as the inevitable transition to SMPTE ST 2110. We’re starting to see how those technologies are being folded into the mainstream of the TV business, because they enable more cost-effective, more scalable, and more flexible solutions to the challenges of multisite and multimodal operations. 

TVT: What will be your most important product news?

REYNOLDS: In January of 2024, Imagine announced the acquisition of the REV broadcast sales and order management platform from Marketron. This product is a significant addition to our portfolio of cross-platform advertising solutions. Rereleased within the Imagine portfolio as CrossFlight, the cloud-based platform will enable proposals, sales and order execution across all video inventory types, including linear, digital and CTV. CrossFlight is going to allow buyers to create cross-platform campaigns to combine reach and impressions across all these forms of inventory and empower sellers to represent that converged inventory to fulfil those campaigns.

Imagine will also be highlighting the latest advancements in our Aviator platform. Aviator is our comprehensive solution for multisite and multimodal origination, enabling broadcasters and publishers to create unified environments that serve linear, digital and CTV streaming. At NAB Show, we will feature advanced capabilities for multisite orchestration and automation, which are aimed at creating the most flexible, scalable and cost-effective playout systems in the industry.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

REYNOLDS: CrossFlight represents the first OMS (Order Management System) in the industry that will be truly audience-aware across all inventory types. At Imagine, we have long advocated that the OMS must represent the entire audience as a single view of inventory—rather than having siloed audiences across delivery platforms (linear, addressable, on-demand, FAST, etc). CrossFlight will empower exactly that view—giving sellers the ability to aggregate the audience to enable cross-platform revenue and optimization, while giving buyers the ability to optimize reach, frequency and pacing in a set of campaigns that adhere to the well-established set of broadcast-quality rules.

Aviator is the leading orchestration and automation platform for media companies that are moving towards hybrid operations. Rather than taking the approach of building separate and distinct operational platforms for linear, streaming, FAST or other CTV models, Imagine has created a truly unified solution with a converged automation layer, a consistent user interface, and the ability to plug in media supply chain components and playout engines from other vendors. We believe this open approach to integration and orchestration provides our customers with the lowest total cost of ownership, as well as the most flexible path to implementation.

TVT: What is it about NAB Show that brings you back every year?

REYNOLDS: NAB Show is the highlight of the year for Imagine, every year. It’s a unique opportunity to talk to our customers, to learn from other experts at the conference sessions, and to showcase our innovations. The organizers of the conference and the exhibits do an amazing job, given the sheer scope and scale of the show. We’re always delighted with the opportunities they provide for Imagine to share the lessons we have learned, the advancements we have made, and the exciting new products and solutions we are bringing to the market.

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is a highly respected organization that works to establish technical frameworks for the creation and distribution of films and television programs. Although it is not the only group involved in broadcast standards, some of its good works involve such critical signal distribution standards as the Serial Digital Interface (SDI), ST 2022 and ST 2110.

SDI, first defined in 1989, remains a popular and reliable method of transporting high-quality video signals from point-to-point within a facility or field production. (The current version of SDI is “SMPTE ST 2083.”) However, since 1989, our world has become increasingly data-oriented and it soon became obvious that transporting broadcast-quality video signals over IP networks was both necessary and advantageous. SMPTE’s first standard to marry SDI video with IT was the ST 2022 standard.

“When the need for uncompressed IP networks in live TV production arose, companies turned to the SMPTE ST 2022 family of standards, the online media-over-IP standard available at SMPTE, to build infrastructure,” said Thomas Bause Mason, SMPTE director of standards development. 

“SMPTE ST 2022 was designed for content contribution, and was not well-suited for live TV production. A better standard needed to be created that reflected the needs of live TV production.”

That standard is ST 2110. First published in 2017, it is catching on quickly. 

“When it comes to large-scale infrastructure, almost all new facilities built [that have] IP networks for production are using SMPTE ST 2110,” Mason said. “SMPTE ST 2110 was also greatly adopted by equipment manufacturers, and SMPTE ST 2110 products are widely available.”

Core Parts Are Done
The core parts of the SMPTE ST 2110 standards family are done and were published starting in 2017, Mason said. Since then, all documents in the family except for one (ST 2110-30) went through revisions to clarify their provisions and to fix minor issues, while considering compatibility with existing implementations. These revisions were published in 2023. (SMPTE recently announced that SMPTE Standards will now be available at smpte.org to members at no additional cost.)

Perhaps the biggest benefit of using ST 2110 is that it uses standard IP networks. This has many advantages, including a large body of IP specialists that can build and maintain such networks. Another big advantage is that high-speed networks suitable for live television use commercial-off-the-shelf products that are relatively common and inexpensive. 

SDI, as well as it works, is for television only. SMPTE ST 2110 uses what the rest of the world uses.

Manufacturers are wasting no time building products compatible with the ST 2110 standard.

“Imagine has introduced SMPTE ST 2110 technology into almost every product family in our line,” said John Mailhot, CTO for infrastructure at Imagine Communications. “We see ST 2110 as the basis of design for almost every large media project in our pipeline, and even small/medium facilities are seriously considering the redundancy and scalability advantages of an ST 2110 approach.”

Mailhot said that Imagine’s Selenio Network Processor uses SMPTE ST 2110 to carry up to eight uncompressed UHD signals in each direction over 100G network interfaces, alongside their related audio and ANC components. This consolidation reduces the amount of cable (fiber) and the associated construction and project management time significantly.

“The ability to pick-and-choose from a marketplace of QSFP [quad small form factor pluggable] optical power options ensures that 100G [and 400G] IP connections can reach even the farthest corners of large facilities or even campuses,” he said. “In university settings, we are able to run 100G network connections between sports facilities on opposite corners of large campuses, building consolidated production environments that would have been much more expensive and difficult using traditional SDI approaches.”

Launching Products
Blackmagic Design launched two products last year using the SMPTE ST 2110 standard: the 2110 IP Converter and the DeckLink IP. The 2110 IP Converter 3x3G is a rackmount converter that converts 3G-SDI devices to 2110 IP broadcast systems, and the DeckLink IP is a family of three PCIe cards that capture and playback 10-bit uncompressed, broadcast-quality video directly into ST 2110 IP-based broadcast systems.

“Blackmagic Design views ST 2110 as an important tool for the industry,” said Dave Hoffman, business development manager for Blackmagic Design. “From a simplicity and flexibility standpoint, ST 2110 creates a universal language we can all speak and work in.”

Hoffman pointed out the features that make the company’s 2110 IP converter the right fit for many applications.

“Unlike using an array of miniconverters, the Blackmagic 2110 IP Converter 3x3G is rack-mountable and includes a front panel with an LCD, so users can walk up and change settings at any time,” he said. “The front-panel LCD also has the benefit of allowing live video monitoring of all input and output channels. Plus, the LCD includes network diagnostic tools to assist in troubleshooting issues in complex 2110 IP broadcast systems.”

Matrox Video offers both point-of-use ST 2110 converters as well as ST 2110 network adapters for OEM applications.

“ST 2110 is important for broadcasters, venue and stadium operators, and other media companies seeking to move to IT-based production workflows,” said Francesco Scartozzi, vice president of sales and business development for Matrox Video. “As an open SMPTE standard, like SDI, customers can choose best-of-breed products from their preferred vendor and maintain compatibility. ST 2110 production workflows use general-purpose networking equipment, which means users can easily upgrade an ST 2110 network from 10GigE to 25GigE, and even (in the future) to 100GigE without changing the whole infrastructure.”

Scartozzi said that another advantage ST 2110 offers is its ability to process video, audio and auxiliary data streams separately, depending on the capacity of the network. For example, with the right network connection, one Matrox ST 2110 NIC can support up to four 25 Gbps links and can process up to 32 channels of HD with full redundancy enabled.

“Matrox Video is an expert in ST 2110 and supported the standard before its SMPTE ratification,” he said. “We provide components to OEMs, who then build end-user products for media production, and are being used in ST 2110 productions worldwide today. The knowledge and expertise we gained during the development of ST 2110 OEM network cards has been poured into Matrox ConvertIP, which converts 3G/12G SDI to/from ST 2110. This lets broadcasters work with baseband signals inside their IP video network, and display ST 2110 on SDI/HDMI monitors.”

Manufacturer Agnostic
Chris Scheck, head of marketing content at Lawo, pointed out that an advantage of ST 2110 is that it is manufacturer-agnostic. That means customers can pick the best gear for their operations and production workflow, and avoid being locked into any particular manufacturer’s equipment universe. 

A recent addition to Lawo’s IP-native product portfolio is .edge, its hyper-density SDI/IP conversion and routing platform with up to 192 SDI connectors on 2RU.

“We recently introduced HOME Apps for server-based multiviewer generation, up/down/cross conversion, stream transcoding and graphics insertion,” Scheck said. “A lot more HOME Apps are on the roadmap, some of which will be introduced over the coming months.”

Scheck said that both these product lines feature JPEG XS compression and decompression for lossless, yet bandwidth-saving stream transport. On top of that, Lawo’s HOME Apps support NDI, SRT, H.26x, and will support more formats/protocols as soon as they become relevant.

PAC-12’s New 2110 Facility
ST 2110 is making strides in the real world of big-time sports production as well. The Pac-12 Network, a major collegiate sports producer on the west coast, recently fired up a 42,000 square-foot broadcast and production facility that it will use for production of more than 850 live events each year.

The Pac-12 Network system, designed and installed by Advanced Systems Group, uses a hub-and-spoke design where content acquired at the sports venues is backhauled to control rooms in San Francisco. This model reduces onsite staff and minimizes reliance on costly mobile trucks. 

Pac-12 also exploited the universities’ existing Internet 2 IP backbone for A/V transport and centralized production, creating the largest private IP network in the U.S. dedicated to sports. Pac-12 selected the Imagine Magellan control system for IP routing, control and monitoring, and Arista high-speed Ethernet switches. Imagine’s Magellan formed the ST 2110 orchestration backbone of the facility, while Arista’s switching and routing is the core transport component. 

There were many other vendors involved in the Pac-12 build, including Calrec Artemis audio consoles, Grass Valley K-Frame video switchers, Ross XPression graphics, Evertz Dreamcatcher replay systems, just to name a few. The audio in the Pac-12 Netword system is AES67, a standard for audio-over-IP that’s part of the ST 2110 protocol. Interoperability between the two is paramount, and requires careful network orchestration so that the two transports are handled separately and all I/O’s align properly.

“Implementing audio redundancy within an IP infrastructure is not a trivial undertaking,” said Dave Van Hoy, president of Advanced Systems Group. “We got caught in a couple of places where those became very interesting challenges. Everything worked out, with many thanks to the impressive cooperation of the Calrec, ASG and Imagine teams. It was definitely a learning lesson.” 

Identifying What's 2110-Compliant
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) is a non-profit organization founded by leading manufacturers to promote the adoption of standards as the industry transitions toward an IP future. AIMS has catalogued nearly 300 products related to SMPTE ST 2110 from 45 manufacturers (available at ).

“Originally a specialized solution for high-end or spatially constrained projects, SMPTE ST 2110 has evolved into the primary choice for designers building reliable, scalable IP-based systems,” said Andrew Starks, marketing working group chair for AIMS. “There is a tremendous innovation happening within the SMPTE ST 2110 community.”

Does this mean that the industry is rolling toward a future that is all IP and does not use SDI?

“SDI’s affordability, industry-wide familiarity, and proven reliability ensure its continued relevance,” Starks said. “Presently, most SMPTE ST 2110 systems incorporate some level of SDI integration, acknowledging its practicality and the need to support legacy equipment.

“This reality underscores the importance of interoperability between SDI and SMPTE ST 2110,” Starks added. “Such interoperability influenced key aspects of ST 2110’s design, notably in the handling of ancillary data (ST 2110-40). As SMPTE ST 2110 equipment becomes more affordable, and as the industry gains more tools and expertise in managing IP media networks, we anticipate a shift towards predominantly IP-based systems.”

The economy, familiarity and ever-growing capacity of IP networks make them a natural medium for carrying television signals. As SMPTE ST 2110 takes hold and more products are exposed to more people, expect to see ST 2110 forming the backbone of an increasing number of facilities.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Marketron REV broadcast sales and order management platform. By integrating the powerful sales growth engine into its core ad tech portfolio, Imagine says it “now offers a comprehensive monetization solution that enables North American broadcasters to transform daily sales operations, maximize revenue and prepare for a future of converged orders and expanded audience measurement.”

The product will be re-released as CrossFlight after some key enhancements for broadcast TV and is expected to be available by the 2024 NAB Show, Imagine said.

CrossFlight is a cloud-based broadcast sales platform that automates management of ad sales, proposals, pricing and audience forecasting. The platform integrates with Imagine’s OSI traffic and billing solution, providing what Imagine says is “a modern, unified monetization solution that enables salespeople to deliver more revenue more effectively,” by allowing broadcasters to sell an audience across linear and streaming from a single, converged system.

“We are excited to integrate Marketron’s innovative technology into our ad tech portfolio, which will enable us to deliver the exact right solution at the right time for the North American broadcast market,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of Ad Tech at Imagine Communications. “Our OSI customers will realize immediate benefits from this extension to our core solutions, allowing them to reduce the workload on their sales teams and run their businesses much more efficiently ― while at the same time preparing to successfully navigate a converged linear/digital future.”

Among CrossFlight’s sales tools are built-in pipeline management capabilities that allow salespeople to easily manage prospects and customer accounts. Avail requests and proposals can be converted with one step, and orders are executed in TV traffic systems using a modern, web-based user interface (UI). Dynamic pricing capabilities enable inventory to be sold at the best possible price point. Sales performance is easily monitored via an interactive dashboard that provides visibility into pipeline, committed orders, top sellers, and how stations are performing against targets.

Marketron, which was previously focused on radio ad sales, launched REV in 2021 to combine radio and TV ad management and sales into one platform. 

“With Marketron REV, our team built an unrivalled platform for sales efficiency, and we are confident that Imagine is the ideal partner to take the platform to the next level of success, while we focus on bringing innovation to the radio industry,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, CEO at Marketron.  “Imagine’s deep customer relationships in broadcast TV will enable them to move quickly on development to further meet the industry’s requirements for audience-based and converged linear and CTV sales solutions.”

Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications, explains how decisions about technical infrastructure and topology must align with operating cost requirements, and why he expects SMPTE ST 2110 to continue to establish itself as the global standard for live production in the coming months.

What industry trends have particularly stood out for you in 2023, and why?
One of the most significant trends of 2023 has been the transformation that has taken place in connected television (CTV). While the success of streaming services was initially centred on subscription video on demand (SVoD), there’s been a notable shift towards an ad-supported model for monetising content. And consumers are onboard — there’s been a huge uptick in the number of viewers engaging with ad-supported content and a shift in consumer preference towards the same.

Part of this can be attributed to the state of the economy in 2023; money is tight these days, so people are understandably drawn to free services. But it also reflects a degree of subscription fatigue, a hot topic among industry analysts. Today’s consumers are seeking a broader array of content, and the emergence of free ad-supported television (FAST) and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVoD) platforms has given them access to more extensive libraries, original content, and live broadcasts, such as sporting events. 

As consumers are increasingly embracing these services, content owners are beginning to view CTV as an integral component of their business operations. In the early stages of CTV, a variety of silos were established for streaming, FAST channels, and direct-to-consumer offerings. This fragmentation occurred because media companies had small groups tasked with quickly launching these services with lightweight solutions that weren’t necessarily suited to a more mature business model. Integration with other aspects of their operations was challenging, but this was less of a concern when the primary objective was to get streams live and attract viewers quickly. 

These silos started to dissolve in 2023 as media companies began to consider how to incorporate CTV into their core business. This involves unifying their operations, reducing operational costs across multiple platforms, and reaggregating advertising inventory across the full range of services. Essentially, the CTV industry is maturing, transitioning from its initial gold rush phase to a more sustainable, long-term approach focused on maximizing scale and profitability from CTV services.

What impact are you seeing those trends having on the media and entertainment industry?
The impact of CTV has been quite significant in a lot of ways. Creating and distributing content now requires a versatile approach capable of spanning multiple platforms—from linear, to streaming, to on-demand and direct-to-consumer. There is a growing realization that there is no one-size-fits-all operational model. Instead, a mix of models is needed, as has always been the case in our industry. 

For example, pay-TV and free-to-air broadcast coexisted for decades, with each serving a valuable role and enjoying profitability among diverse consumer groups. This pattern is likely to continue in the future. We will begin to see the emergence of hybrid monetization models, combining the strengths of linear television—such as broad audience reach and sponsorship opportunities—with the precision and addressability offered by newer, more targeted platforms. For media companies, the key to future success lies in this hybrid approach.

How do you see those trends developing further in 2024?
Over the past few months, there has been considerable debate regarding the role of the cloud in optimizing costs, and I expect that conversation to continue throughout 2024. 

Many media companies have come to recognise that running certain operations in the cloud may not always be the most cost-effective solution ― particularly for continuous, round-the-clock activities. In situations where companies already have a facility, studio, or broadcast centre in operation, running origination from these premises can make financial sense, as they’re already investing in personnel, power, cooling, and rack space. In addition, costs related to data ingress and egress, computing resources, and storage all add up. 

However, there are situations when the cloud is unquestionably the better choice, like in occasional-use scenarios or to test a new service offering. Here, it makes more sense to leverage the cloud’s scalability and variable cost model than to invest heavily in on-premises infrastructure that will largely remain idle. Furthermore, it’s essential to consider content distribution across the cloud. If a company’s audience primarily accesses content through connected TVs or devices like iPads, the content needs to reside in the cloud anyway. 

So, decisions about technical infrastructure and topology must align with operating cost requirements, while also factoring in the location of the consumer and their content consumption preferences. The industry is evolving and becoming more adept at assessing and deciding when to adopt each approach. 

Do you expect to see any new trends within the industry in 2024, and what will they be?
The key trend that I believe we’ll see in 2024 is a focus on profitability and efficiency across the media industry. As I’ve touched on already, growth was the key focus for the past several years―growth in subscribers, growth in viewership, growth in library size or hours of live sports. 

A lot of that growth came at a cost that is just not sustainable. So now, we are seeing the pivot back towards more rational and scalable business models. It’s well understood that the TV economy is powered by two sources: sell the content or sell the audience watching that content. The early CTV services focused on subscription; they are now seeing that audience monetization through advertising is just as important to raise average revenue per user (ARPU) to levels required to justify the high content spend.  

That’s going to lead into what I feel will be one of the key questions our industry faces in 2024, which is how we blend the advertising models of TV and digital to create a new, optimized ad model for CTV. In many ways, CTV inventory is better than linear TV because it has the capabilities to be addressable and measurable. 

But if you treat CTV inventory like digital inventory, you erode its value by taking away the premium aspects of TV such as brand safety, mass simultaneous reach, or fixed placements for sponsorship. CTV is clearly over-indexed towards digital at the moment, which is why you see the imbalance between supply and demand driving CPMs down. In 2024, we need to find the formula that moves CTV back towards premium rates and fixing the viewer experience to make CTV advertising more valuable.

In conjunction with this, I also expect to see an increase in regulations in 2024, particularly concerning CTV services. In 2023, Ofcom in the UK announced its intention to apply the same content and advertising regulations to CTV that have long been applied to traditional broadcast TV. This is likely to become a global trend in 2024, with other jurisdictions following suit. 

And the same applies to privacy regulations. The GDPR has established a baseline for European countries, and the CCPA in California is a notable example of similar developments in the US. These consumer privacy regulations will affect how we personalize content and target advertising and present a challenge in leveraging technology within their constraints. Ultimately, we will find solutions to these challenges, but they introduce a new set of obstacles that we must navigate to continue advancing in our industry.

Looking at a purely technical trend, I think we’ll see a more pragmatic view of artificial intelligence (AI). While this technology may have been somewhat overhyped in its early stages, it’s a valuable tool that will continue to weave its way into our industry. Generative AI, for instance, can be brought back into the industry in the same way that earlier technologies like machine learning and pattern recognition have been. 

For example, Imagine’s Care Group is looking at how they can respond more efficiently to customer questions on our software and systems. They are doing this by building a knowledge base leveraging our extensive ticket system data and then training AI on it. So, the advancements in AI are tangible, but it’s crucial to approach them realistically and practically, understanding that they are tools to solve problems rather than magic wands.

In 2024, we’ll also see SMPTE ST 2110 continue to establish itself as the global standard for live production ― a progression that underscores the growing significance of IP technology within our industry. Organizations like the VSF, through their ground-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground initiatives, have played a pivotal role in this shift. 

And while ST 2110 has previously been reserved for major events, we’re seeing that change as the technology matures and becomes more suitable for more everyday use and routine events. The standard’s growing popularity stems from its cost-effectiveness and flexibility, particularly when coupled with software control and network orchestration. In addition, the ratification of JPEG XS has been a pivotal moment in enabling live, low-latency, high-quality contribution to the cloud, further accelerating the adoption of IP technology.

Finally, in 2024 I expect to see an increased focus on green initiatives in terms of power consumption and e-waste. This was a hot topic at IBC2023 and one that needs to continue being discussed.  While ST 2110 and IP-based production is inherently more environmentally friendly compared to older SDI solutions, regulatory changes in the EU and other regions may mandate that carbon footprints become a standard consideration when making technology decisions. 

And when it comes to reducing e-waste, COTS equipment offers a longer lifespan and greater versatility than older modular equipment. As infrastructure transitions to ST 2110, COTS equipment can be repurposed — rather than rendered obsolete — an approach that not only reduces e-waste, but also represents a proactive decision to invest in sustainable technology solutions.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

To better help content creators handle the uptick in new linear TV and streaming channels, an expanding fleet of technologies that fall under the broadcast management systems umbrella are on the rise. There are new technologies designed to address converged TV advertising; ways to ensure consistent ad placement across different delivery methods, and new ways to transform monetization strategies for streaming TV.

And since the goals of today’s business management systems are as varied as the content itself, the technologies are varied too, allowing content creators to sell programmatic advertising on multiple platforms as well as manage HR issues and streamline the automation of order workflows.

More Data Please
“Today’s media seller is faced with more challenges than ever before—more solutions to offer, more competition and more budget pressure,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, senior vice president of product for Marketron. “To compete against these challenges, sellers need to deliver a comprehensive marketing program to advertisers through a converged order.”

Converged orders like the one Chaudhari mentions bring OTA, O&O and digital inventory into a single, organized buy. Sales platforms that support converged orders, like Marketron REV, give access to real-time inventory, ratings and sales activity. 

And as the industry well knows, one of the most compelling features of broadcast management systems is the harnessing of sales activity. Stations can use the technology to convert requests and proposals into orders. Once an order is authorized it can be executed into a radio or TV traffic system—even a third-party platform—via a web-based user interface.

“[The technology] maximizes linear revenue and O&O inventory through yield management and dynamic pricing while integrating with traffic, CRM, billing and reporting platforms,” Chaudhari said. “These integrations give broadcasters the flexibility to access data and insights across platforms and across their businesses.”

Harken back to a time more than a decade ago when the broadcast industry as a whole began to realize that those platforms—plural—were here to stay. As change rushed in in the form of an influx of streaming and niche programming channels, many broadcasters in the industry made what seemed—at the time—to be a wise step: creating a separate silo for digital sales.

“The challenge was that many broadcasters knew they had to get into digital. But instead of modifying their linear traffic and billing systems in order to handle digital, what they did was they ended up buying an ad server and creating a siloed tech stack for their digital,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of Ad Tech at Imagine Communications. “And it turns out that’s not a very scalable or very cost-efficient way to run your business.” 

Many of those same players are now in the midst of trying to consolidate those rudimentary digital platforms with traditional traffic and billing modality to be able to sell an audience across all platforms in a single way, Malcolm said. Agencies and brands don’t care if it’s linear TV or addressable, they just want to buy the audience across all the platforms, he said.

As a result, a number of broadcast management systems are offering new ways to manage the resultant digital permutations and combinations. “[These systems are] ultra-mission critical. Every day [a station] can’t place an ad is money down the drain,” Malcolm said.

Imagine’s OSI traffic & billing platform, allows broadcasters and media companies to sell and decide where ads should be placed, manage the optimization of what ad to place in what location, to record impressions and to handle billing. Imagine has separate platforms that achieve this depending on region; in the U.S. market, OSI is based around the unique way local stations sell advertising. 

“If you think of it from a contract-to-cache standpoint, we have everything from management systems all the way to billing the agency and ad serving,” Malcolm said.

Although not disclosing specific details, Imagine plans to introduce several new products to the market within the next six months that will “ultimately enable customers to make more money in this cross platform world we find ourselves in,” Malcolm said.

Cloud Effect
Other broadcast management systems are targeted on a platform- vs. an audience-based sales approach. Operative’s cloud-based AOS converged advertising system manages advertising workflows across platforms and inventories. 

“The first step is to drive interoperability, the second is to allow companies to sell interoperationally,” said Ben Tatta, chief commercial officer at Operative. “The industry has gone from a platform sales approach to audience sales approach, so media needs to be sold in a more integrated basis.”

This shift became materially clear during the pandemic, he said. “People were home, they were consuming more content and there was a shift toward digital consumption,” Tatta said. And that carried all the way out to advertising, he said. 

AOS is now accessible through Google Cloud to allow  customers to more easily integrate AOS into their advertising workflow. According to Operative, retail, digital and linear media operations can use AOS as a “connective tissue” via the cloud to converge advertising workflows. 

Other technologies are evolving in other ways. The Xytech Systems Media Operations Platform has been slimmed down into a new mobile native interface that can be used to remotely manage resources and assets. WideOrbit recently announced the latest version of its WO Traffic media ad traffic operations platform that includes spot-level order validation and streamlined material approval options. 

Forging Ahead
As these technologies continue to evolve, the industry is looking ahead and attempting to make assumptions about what the market will look like in 5-10 years. 

“[Some] just think the future is [only] digital, but we are starting to see cracks in that [view],” Malcolm said. “One thing people love about television is the ability to some degree control where your spot is going to be placed.” Ten years from now, when we as a nation are watching the Super Bowl, for every TV set that can receive an addressable ad unique to a viewer, there will be brands that want their ad to be shown at a specific time and at a specific break. 

“The future of the media industry is connecting advertisers with the right audience on the right platform in a way that optimizes margin and delivers results,” added Chaudhari from Marketron. 

And as that transition continues in both TV and radio, it will be integrated tools and customized support from broadcast management systems that will best support the transition.

The media and entertainment industry is on the brink of a skills shortage due to a generational transition. A mass retirement of veteran broadcasting engineers is underway. Not only is there a shortage of younger talent coming in to replace them, but those who do join the sector don't possess the same skill set as their predecessors — a result of the industry's rapid shift towards digitization. 

As broadcast technology companies like Imagine Communications increasingly focus on cloud-based services and software-centric platforms, our talent requirements have become more diverse. While the demand for traditional broadcasting skills hasn’t vanished — after all, we operate in a hybrid sector — we now also require new competencies, which are often found outside our traditional talent pools.

Skilling up
The recruitment of cloud architects and software developers, often from the IT sector, has become essential. But recruits coming from outside the industry face a steep learning curve, as the world of 24/7 broadcasting is quite different from their previous experience. 

For example, while latency of a few microseconds might be expected with IT infrastructures, it is considered unacceptable in a broadcast setting. In addition, with advertising and subscription revenues attached to programming, the demands on video quality are much higher. Ideally, the disconnect would be addressed at the university level, where this new brand of talent could become accustomed to the broadcast environment before they begin their careers. However, to help those currently entering the industry get their sea legs, training is the best alternative.

Fortunately, the media and entertainment industry doesn’t suffer from a lack of training resources. Organizations like the IABM and AIMS offer a number of opportunities for sharing and receiving knowledge. And many of today’s training courses have transformed from a purely engineering focus to accommodate the growing demands of various streaming platforms, broadcast areas, and a multitude of applications. 

The real issue is a lack of awareness as to what’s available. As a result, broadcast technology providers are underutilizing the very resources they need to help bring new talent up to speed on core skills. Conversely, there are some newer skills — all of which have become highly important to the media and entertainment industry — that aren’t receiving the attention they require, including cybersecurity, IP, and cloud architectures. 

Another approach to expanding the skill set of new talent is to have them learn on the job. However, as broadcasters continue to reduce the staff they rely on for systems operation — leaving fewer employees and little time to work with new recruits — this once-common practice has become increasingly scarce for technology providers. 

Meeting Expectations
Of course, the need to train and educate new talent hinges entirely on successfully recruiting that talent in the first place, which can no longer be taken for granted in today’s highly competitive landscape ― especially when it comes to a younger generation with different expectations. And towards the top of the list of expectations is the ability to work remotely, which is no longer considered a luxury in a post-Covid world. To compete, it is imperative that broadcast technology companies offer recruits this flexibility.

Furthermore, to attract younger talent, the industry as a whole needs to reinvent its image to create excitement around all aspects of media and entertainment. It’s not hard to imagine the thrill of being an engineer in an OB truck, on-site and actively taking part in a live event like the Super Bowl. It’s more challenging to bring that same level of excitement to less glamorous areas of the industry, like over-the-top (OTT) TV, monetization, digital advertising, and others. 

But the work we all do together is, in fact, exciting. Everyone in the industry plays a role in keeping people around the world entertained and informed, day in and day out; we just need to find a better way to market that message to recruits. We also need to do a better job of promoting diversity and inclusion, which will not only provide access to untapped potential but will bring in fresh perspectives and voices to help our industry evolve.

Recruiting and Retaining
One thing to keep in mind with recruitment is that it’s a long process, which can certainly affect the capacity and capabilities of short-staffed broadcast technology companies in the interim. And even if a candidate accepts a position one day, they may change their mind the next, leaving the hiring company in the lurch. To avoid these interim periods, or the need to start from scratch if a preferred candidate falls through, it’s critical to build a talent pipeline that can be called on when needed. And the best time to build this pipeline is well before it’s needed.

Once talent is successfully recruited, the next challenge is retaining it, which requires a multi-faceted approach. Broadcast technology companies must adapt their communication tools to foster a more collaborative environment more suitable for remote work. They also need to rethink how they measure employee performance, with an eye on moving away from traditional evaluations to more scientific metrics that reflect the specific roles and tasks of their diverse workforce. 

Moreover, context and meaning have become vital aspects of the work environment for the younger generation. They aren’t content with focusing solely on their immediate tasks; they want to understand how their work is contributing to the larger picture, both within the company and externally. They are looking for a sense of purpose and connection to their work, and technology vendors must accommodate this need.

Yet, even taking these steps, staff turnover will remain a concern. At Imagine Communications, we’ve observed that employees that depart after a few years tend to be our more recent hires. There is a generational shift at play here, with the younger workforce often looking for new opportunities after a couple of years, unlike the long-term commitment we’ve often seen from broadcast engineers. As we move forward, it’s unlikely that we will see new recruits staying with the company for decades, which used to be common practice.

Preserving the Arts
There isn’t an exact timeline for when companies in the media and entertainment industry will begin to see serious day-to-day operational problems in terms of personnel. But it is clear that we must embrace new strategies for talent development, recruitment, and retention to avert a significant skills crisis. 

Automation and technological advances will certainly help by reducing the need for personnel, including on-site for live events, which has become a pressing issue since the exodus of freelancers during the pandemic. However, as an industry, we need to balance these advancements with the maintenance of core broadcasting skills and ensure that they don’t become lost arts. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications has partnered with Google Ad Manager to empower broadcasters and TV operators with the ability to offer seamless cross-platform campaigns while ensuring consistent ad placement across all delivery platforms, including linear, over the air or internet-streamed CTV.

Imagine Communications will offer IBC2023 attendees a firsthand glimpse of the fruits of the partnership, Sept. 15-18, at RAI Amsterdam.

The partnership also introduces programmatic capabilities that complement direct ad sales to optimize yield and enhance ad sales efficiency, Imagine said.

The synergy of the two companies will help bridge the gap between traditional linear TV direct sales and the programmatic sales world of streaming CTV, it said.

Imagine’s SureFire video ad server brings ad routing to Google Ad Manager, which allows media companies to tap into Ad Manager’s streaming demand management capabilities to enable direct and programmatic ads across all deal types, including direct sold/programmatic, private marketplace deals and RTB, it said.

This integration makes it possible for broadcasters and TV operators to fill unsold inventory and dynamically allocate portions of the ad inventory to maximize fill while maintaining a quality viewing experience, it said.

SureFire offers APIs and integration points to enable implementation regardless of the sales, order management and traffic solutions preferred by TV operators, it said.

"Imagine Communications is expanding cross-platform ad management solutions to help broadcasters and media companies unify TV ad sales and deliver all the attributes advertisers love about traditional Linear TV onto CTV platforms,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech at Imagine Communications. "Our partnership with Google Ad Manager underscores this commitment, as we revolutionize not only direct sold placement, but add programmatic capabilities to meet the evolving media landscape."

See Imagine Communications at IBC2023 Stand 2.A15.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

NEW YORK—Amagi and Imagine Communications have partnered on a Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) monetization solution for direct inventory sales and will make the debut of the new offering during IBC2023, Sept. 15-18, at RAI Amsterdam.

The solution integrates Amagi’s THUNDERSTORM dynamic ad insertion platform with Imagine Communications SureFire video ad server. It offers FAST providers a means to enhance ad revenue with direct sales placements alongside programmatic while at the same time providing advanced, broadcast-quality ad serving, the companies said.

Amagi THUNDERSTORM offers content monetization at scale through automated ad detection and dynamic ad insertion. Imagine Communications' SureFire, a broadcast-quality ad server, introduces an intuitive user interface that complements Amagi THUNDERSTORM'S dynamic-ad-insertion (DAI)-as-a-service for linear, live and VOD channels and platforms. The combined solution enables FAST providers to manage and serve direct sales booking seamlessly for dynamic use in FAST services, they said.

"Incorporating SureFire's new user interface for easy direct ad sales operations complements Amagi's suite, enriching FAST customers' revenue by offering direct sales, as well as programmatic monetization capabilities," said Tom Cotney, CEO of Imagine Communications.

At IBC2023, Amagi will demonstrate how combining its THUNDERSTORM and ADS PLUS provides content publishers and streaming platforms with a comprehensive toolset to implement advertising strategies with support for new ad formats and better, more granular contextual metadata, they said.

By combining these capabilities with SureFire's simplified workflows for targeted ad campaigns and user-friendly tracking dashboards, Amagi's FAST customers can establish their direct sales operation with ease, inviting advertisers and sponsorship partners to upload their ads seamlessly. With these ads placed on channels using broadcast-quality standards, connectivity to programmatic demand sources remains unaltered, they said.

“Our partnership with Imagine Communications underscores our commitment to empowering customers with solutions that amplify their monetization strategies. The introduction of direct sales tools within the FAST landscape is poised to usher in a new era of revenue optimization," said Amagi CEO Baskar Subramanian.

See Amagi at IBC2023 Stand 5.A81 and Imagine Communications at Stand 2.A15.

More information is available on the Amagi and Imagine Communications websites.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has appointed seasoned media industry executive Frank Deo to the position of chief technology officer of its ad tech business. In this role, Deo will product development, operations and long-term technology strategy for Imagine’s ad tech portfolio.

Deo brings to Imagine a decades-long career leading product and engineering teams in the media industry, along with extensive experience in addressable advertising, telecommunications, OTT streaming and data analytics systems. Prior to joining Imagine, Deo held executive-level positions at multiple ad tech companies, including 605, Comcast, Cadent and ACTV, where he conceptualized, designed and implemented state-of-the-art Advanced TV advertising solutions.

"Frank's visionary approach to technology and exceptional leadership skills make him an invaluable addition to our team," said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech at Imagine Communications. "As the media and advertising landscapes continue to rapidly evolve, we are confident that Frank's expertise will drive the development of cutting-edge ad tech solutions that set new industry standards and help our customers pursue emerging opportunities for growth and success.”

Deo has established a reputation across the industry as an accomplished, innovative leader and mentor with a proven track record of building high-performing teams, reducing time to market of new features, and redefining roadmaps to align with companies’ strategic objectives, the company said in announcing the appointment. His career highlights include 31 U.S. and international patents and a Technical Emmy Award, demonstrating his innovative spirit and commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology.

"I am excited to join Imagine and contribute to the evolution of the company’s acclaimed ad tech solutions," said Frank Deo. "Imagine has a deep legacy of driving innovation in media and entertainment technology, and I look forward to leading this highly skilled, global team in creating groundbreaking solutions that redefine the way advertising is delivered and experienced."

For more information visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com.  

DUBAI—Imagine Communications is providing next-generation production and playout facilities for Rudaw Media Network, as part of the broadcaster’s transition to an all-new, state-of-the-art headquarters complex. 

The new infrastructure will be built using SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity, providing 4K UHD capabilities for production and playout in a highly agile and scalable architecture that will offer Rudaw operational and cost efficiencies across the network. The new installation will go live in early 2024.

Headquartered in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Rudaw Media Network is a broadcaster dedicated to providing independent information in English, Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish. 

The network’s transformation roadmap entails migrating its operations to a new, eight-story complex that will house multiple studios and TV channels supported by IP infrastructure and 4K UHD playout and master control facilities. 

Working with systems integrator Wave Media Solutions, Imagine is providing the complete IP playout automation and master control infrastructure, including multiviewers, UHD conversion processing, network orchestration and routing control, the companies said. 

“When we launched our channels 10 years ago, we were the first network in Kurdistan and Iraq to broadcast in HD,” says Hejar Berenji, CTO at Rudaw Media Network. “Today, our move to a greenfield site is the perfect opportunity to maintain that pioneering spirit by migrating to IP and 4K UHD. That is just part of our goal to create a channel and content that is engaging and relevant to our audiences by insisting on the highest professional standards.

“Imagine’s state-of-the-art broadcast technology will, I believe, make a substantial contribution toward our organization’s mission to impart information and facilitate communication, by empowering journalists and producers to seamlessly translate their visions onto the screen,” Berenji continued. “Through the inauguration of this world-class, new facility, we are underscoring our ongoing technological leadership and affirming our commitment to maintaining a leading position within the industry.”

The new infrastructure at Rudaw Media Network will use a Cisco fabric for SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity. To ensure seamless integration of SDI and IP equipment, Rudaw will use Imagine’s award-winning Selenio Network Processor (SNP) as a convenient and compact gateway ― providing 128 configurable SDI/IP ports in just 4RU. This function is only one of many critical applications the uniquely configurable SNP will support within the new facility.

SNP is a highly versatile media processing platform with functionality that can be changed virtually and instantaneously by simply loading the appropriate software. At Rudaw, multiple SNPs will be deployed throughout the new facility, providing all core functionality from audio/video processing and synchronization to up/down/cross-conversion ― even supporting as many as 40 UHD multiviewer layouts with 180 inputs. With SNP easily field-upgraded as new functionality is developed or business requirements change, Rudaw will look to incorporate the new Master Control Lite (MCL) personality into the next phase of the build, which adds branding, graphics, master control and even dual downstream keying ― all in ST 2110, all in software and all in perfect UHD.

Rudaw’s channel origination workflow will be built on Imagine’s industry-proven Versio integrated playout platform and widely deployed ADC™ automation, supporting three UHD output channels and a preview channel ― all fully redundant. Featuring ST 2110 UHD I/Os, advanced graphics and master control capabilities, the Versio playout devices will provide both channel delivery and ingest into a 252TB Imagine IOX high-availability NAS storage solution, forming a seamless, end-to-end content management ecosystem.

Imagine’s powerful, operator-centric Magellan Control System will simplify management and operation of the entire workflow, from production and ingest through master control and playout. Essentially the “brain” of the system, Magellan Control provides a single point of management, automation and monitoring across the entire infrastructure ― including the Cisco switches, Vizrt graphics, Tektronix test equipment and other third-party broadcast equipment ― making the whole operation seamless and intuitive. Redundancy across the network ensures that every aspect of the new installation is highly reliable.

“Imagine’s relationship with Rudaw Media Network dates back more than a decade and has continued to strengthen through multiple upgrades and advancements,” said Anas Hantash, head of Middle East, South Asia and North Africa at Imagine Communications. “We are proud that Rudaw trusts Imagine ― both as an innovative technology provider and a transformation partner ―and we look forward to taking the next step in their exciting journey.”

Zaid Wattar of Wave Media Solutions added, “We are delighted to partner with Rudaw on this end-to-end IP project and will work closely with the company’s engineering team and Imagine’s support team to ensure a smooth transition to IP connectivity and 4K UHD.”

Due to its significant advancement in picture quality, HD video was instrumental in helping broadcasters captivate and retain audiences during the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. Fast forward to today, and High Dynamic Range (HDR) is playing a similar role, offering superior visual quality even to a casual viewer’s eye. 

But despite the introduction of HDR-capable televisions as early as 2016, the mass adoption of live HDR broadcasting has been slow to materialize. One significant factor in the hold-up was the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid lockdowns, the focus for broadcasters shifted toward adapting workflows to fully remote setups, effectively putting HDR on the backburner. 

However, with the return of in-person operations, the industry has once again set its sights on delivering more impressive programming with HDR technology. And despite facing multiple hurdles, the progress toward this goal has been substantial.

Shedding Some Light
HDR broadcasting tries to deliver a very large range of brightness to the viewer. In the real world, we encounter an enormous spectrum of brightness, extending from the darkest shadow in a corner to the overwhelming brilliance of the sun. In traditional “Standard” Dynamic Range (SDR) — utilized by the industry for the past seven decades — the output range of cameras was quite restricted, with the variance between darkness and light capped at approximately nine f-stops, which was also about the limit for the best CRT (and early flat-panel) TVs. 

Modern CCD sensors, LEDs, and other active display technologies offer a far more expansive range, which the HDR system is designed to support. However, this leap in brightness range introduced a significant problem — transporting the increased signal range through the existing television production and distribution infrastructure, particularly the ubiquitous 10-bit signal processing pipelines.

As with many problems in the broadcast industry, two technologies were developed to tackle the same issue: the hybrid log-gamma (HLG) and perceptual quantization (PQ) formats. These formats are both documented in ITU-R BT.2100 but were created by two groups that approached the issue from different perspectives. 

The HLG group concentrated on the scene light, focusing on the image’s brightness and its transformation into the representation on the wire. The team behind PQ took a reverse approach. They began with a reference display and examined what the human visual system could comprehend in terms of detail at varying brightness levels. 

Both formats are widely utilized, with HLG typically being employed during shooting and production and PQ more commonly used during distribution. Distribution systems such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision are based on the PQ standard. 

Final Hurdles
Another challenge on the road to widespread live HDR productions has been the absence of standardized workflows that ensure consistent results ― particularly for shooting an event that must deliver both HDR and SDR versions to the client ― enabling a production workflow that can be replicated with ease across different shows and live events. To better grasp the issue, it’s useful to again reflect on the switch to HD. 

When the industry first began the migration from SD, two separate trucks were used: one for each format. In a similar vein, the initial test HDR productions required separate trucks, crews, and cameras. In both cases, it quickly became apparent that for economic reasons, broadcasters needed to consolidate their operations into a one-truck setup that would produce both HDR and SDR versions. 

If executed well, the SDR version would also offer better image quality than it previously did. This approach is known as a single-master workflow, and every broadcaster recognizes it as their ultimate goal. 

Over the past few years, one of the more significant advancements in HDR has been the publication of a single-master workflow by NBCUniversal, which they utilize for high-profile events. The set of documents for this workflow is freely available to the industry.

A final hurdle in live HDR production involves delivering content seamlessly to viewers. While a majority of TVs sold in the past few years are both UHD and HDR-compatible, terrestrial television delivery of HDR (ATSC-3 and DVB-T2) is still in the trials phase.  

For cable and satellite operators, HDR content can be delivered to consumers’ homes, but it requires specialized set-top boxes and enough consumer interest to offer them as a service. 

Over-the-top (OTT) delivery services like Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ are in the best position to deliver HDR content. This is due to their ability to separately deliver HDR and SDR signals via the internet, without incurring significant additional costs. 

Conversely, satellite and cable operators would need to allocate separate transponder bandwidth for those two signals. In addition, OTT services can offer VOD-based HDR content for consumers to select from.

Ready for Showtime
With the advances that have taken place since the pandemic, the 2024 Paris Summer Games have the potential to be a watershed moment for live HDR productions. As broadcasters strive to deliver more modern and interesting content, the upcoming games represent a crucial opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of this technology. 

UHD and HDR signals for certain events will be available from the host, and each rights-holder is considering how to integrate HDR and UHD into its operations. UHD and HDR features are readily available in current-generation video processing equipment. In addition, most cameras sold in the last two or three years come equipped with an HDR feature, which can be easily activated by purchasing a license. 

Everything is in place for the Paris games to mark a pivotal point in HDR’s journey, potentially sparking the consumer’s demand for more HDR content delivery in the future.

TORONTO—Imagine Communications has announced that it is launching a critical component for cloud/ground hybrid workflows with the introduction of Magellan Connect, a cloud-routing extension of its Magellan Control System. 

In what the company is billing as a first-of-its-kind offering, Magellan Connect creates an end-to-end routing environment that enables simple “single-take routing” to connect signals ― regardless of whether they originate or terminate on-premises or in the cloud. 

Imagine will demonstrate Magellan Connect as part of its market-leading on-prem and cloud management capabilities at IBC2023 between Sept. 15-18, RAI Amsterdam, stand 2.A15. 

“Imagine recognizes that the mix of ground and cloud is subject to individual economic and operational considerations,” said John Mailhot, CTO of Infrastructure, Imagine Communications. “With the launch of Magellan Connect, we’re helping our customers leverage the benefits of a mix of on-prem and cloud, maintain a consistent operational approach and transition at a pace that works with their business.”

In launching the product, Imagine explained that as television operations teams evaluate cloud-based approaches for augmenting their traditional on-prem solutions ― whether for disaster recovery or for operational capability expansion ― live-signal connectivity has become a paramount concern. 

Magellan Connect addresses these needs head-on, providing the same kinds of critical signal-management capability, through the same kinds of operational tools and interfaces, regardless of whether the channel is running on the ground or in the cloud, the company said. 

Already well-established for facility routing, Imagine’s Magellan Control System is equally compatible with SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, VSF TR-08 JPEG XS, and MPEG-2 TS signals. Magellan Connect extends these capabilities to the cloud, incorporating intelligent path-sharing and switching functions so that operationally, the cloud and ground act the same and have access to the same sources and destinations.  

In addition, Magellan Connect provides unique capabilities to the critical infrastructure of cloud-based channel origination systems, giving master control operators access to the same scope of source signals no matter where the channel is running, the company said. 

Following the traditional routing paradigm, Magellan Connect gives users a simple source-destination “take” operating method to get the right signal to the right place ― ground or cloud or hybrid ― leveraging established encoding and secure delivery techniques for signal transport along the ground/cloud signal path. 

At IBC2023, Imagine will demonstrate Magellan Connect as part of its overall integrated playout environment demonstration, routing live input signals to the inputs of cloud-hosted channel engines.  

“While the optimal mix of ground and cloud services may be different for any given customer, it is clear that operational flexibility is the main benefit of any cloud solution.," Mailhot added. "Magellan Connect provides this flexibility for signal management ― connecting sources and destinations in a consistent, familiar operational paradigm across ground, cloud, and mixed scenarios.”

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions, visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications says its SureFire video ad server is now available in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Solutions Library. A broadcast-quality ad decisioning solution for OTT, SureFire leverages an advanced set of broadcast rules and audience data across CTV, FAST, AVOD, and addressable linear platforms, enabling media companies to sell and fulfill campaigns across their entire audience and deliver a consistent, quality experience for both viewers and advertisers.

The AWS Solutions Library enables customers to easily browse curated solutions built by AWS and AWS Partners for a broad range of industry and technology use cases. Whether organizations prefer off-the-shelf deployments or customizable architectures, the AWS Solutions Library enables fast discovery of AWS-vetted solutions and guidance that help rapidly address relevant business challenges.

“Media companies across the industry see the cloud as essential to their future success, and they are looking for tech partners who they trust have the experience and expertise to help them through this major transition,” says Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech, Imagine Communications. “AWS is the cloud provider of choice for many of our customers, and our collaboration helps provide an added level of confidence as they migrate to next-gen technology.

“Our SureFire video ad server leverages extensive experience in managing and optimizing video advertising inventory to bring premium video advertising capabilities to OTT and CTV publishers, distributors, and ad sales businesses.Launching SureFire in the AWS Solutions Library is another way that we’re bringing value to customers who are in search of vetted solutions and architectural guidance to rapidly solve business challenges.”

SureFire operates as a managed cloud service on AWS for flexibility and scale. Auto-scaling enables SureFire to support millions of concurrent viewers, with sub-100ms response times and six 9s reliability even under heavy load. It uses the advertising industry-standard VAST and VMAP protocols to communicate broadcast-quality dynamic ad insertion instructions with AWS Elemental MediaTailor.

Earlier this year, SureFire successfully completed the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR), which was part of the technical compliance step required for launch in the AWS Solutions Library. The AWS FTR is an added layer of clear understanding around technical and security evaluation, which in turn allows the products to be sold and supported in AWS Marketplace, a digital catalog with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on AWS.

A modern studio facility cannot function without a multiviewer, a device and product function that has come into its own in the past 20 years. Attempting to display today’s plethora of control room signals on individual monitors the old-fashioned way is unthinkable—only a properly configured multiviewer system can handle the task.

Multiviewers and large-screen displays are so economical and flexible that multiviewer technology is now often built into switchers. This makes assembling a simple control room faster than it was in the individual displays.

The twist today is that more signal types than ever are flowing through control rooms, and these disparate signals need to be displayed via the multiviewer system. Live video from cellphones? TikTok feeds? Drone shots? UHD? HDR? Every type of signal using every type of encoding and compression needs to be displayed.

“The requirements to handle these mixed signals are systemic—facilities need to be able to ingest, produce, transform, playout, and monitor signals that might originate in any of these formats,” said John Mailhot, CTO and director of infrastructure product management for Imagine Communications. “We approach this mix of signal types from a system design perspective, using intelligence in the broadcast control system to dynamically allocate transformation paths that conform the selected source to the requirements of the destination. This approach provides the most flexible workflow, as well as the best economics.” 

Every Imaginable Signal
In other words, making every multiviewer input capable of handling every imaginable type of signal gets unwieldy and expensive. There is a better way.

In anticipation of this growing trend towards mixed-format environments, Lawo’s HOME Multiviewer natively supports SMPTE ST2110, NDI, SRT, JPEG XS, H.265 and H.264, according to John Carter, senior product manager for media infrastructure at Lawo.

“Currently, each instance handles one of these formats,” he said. “For mixed sources and destinations involving ST2110, NDI and SRT streams, users have the option of inserting a HOME Stream Transcoder app before the Multiviewer to convert, say, SRT streams to ST2110 if this is the desirable format for a multiviewer head. This transcoding flexibility works in all directions and for all formats supported by the HOME Multiviewer app.”

Some multiviewer solutions leverage cloud computing to lower in-house energy and space demands.

“Evertz ev670-X30 hardware provides high-density signal monitoring for up to 64 3G ST2110 inputs with full audio, ancillary data and video monitoring. This uses less RU space, less power and less cooling,” said Ketan Patel, product manager for multiview systems at Evertz. 

“Evertz also provides a COTS-based sVIP product that allows compressed and uncompressed signal monitoring at high density, which can be deployed on an x86 platform with an accelerated PCI card. Evertz also offers cVIP, which is a cloud-based monitoring and visualization product that can be deployed in any public or private cloud, to allow signal monitoring of NDI, MPEG-2, H.264, H.265 and JPEG2000.”

What if There’s an Error?
A multiviewer system is, by necessity, filled with a variety of images, most of which are in some state of motion. With all that on-screen activity, it can be easy to miss if one of the signals disappears or gets scrambled in some fashion. 

Cobalt Digital has multiviewer options that help you keep track of dropouts, errors and loss-of-signal, said Ciro Noronha, CTO of Cobalt Digital. Noronha added that the company’s multiviewers can be configured with a range of options that include text overlays for arbitrary text, timecode, signal resolution, and even closed captioning. The systems can also add audio bars, a built-in router to simplify configuration, flexible inputs that can mix-and-match resolutions and frame rates, and tally insertion to indicate on-air signals or other status information.

“Cobalt’s baseband multiviewers are offered in the openGear form factor, so that they can be easily integrated with other devices in the same chassis, and benefit from the inherent openGear features such as hot-swappable cards, dual redundant hot-swappable power supplies, and the DashBoard control system,” Noronha said. “This flexibility is very important, since it allows the multiviewer to adapt to virtually any requirement.”

At the IBC Show next month, Cobalt will introduce its Ultra Blue multiviewer, with support for the more common compressed formats, with plans to add SMPTE ST 2110 inputs as well as other formats such as NDI in the future.

TAG Video Systems IP-based multiviewer line can be deployed with either a private or public cloud provider, such as AWS or Google Cloud. Through its RESTful API, the TAG Realtime Media Performance platform can be automated and integrated with third-party solutions and software-defined networking (SDN) controllers.

Only Pay for What You Need
With a cloud architecture, you can have nearly unlimited inputs. So how do you get only what you need? 

“You only pay for input licenses and have full access to all the product’s monitoring, probing, and display features,” said Robert Erickson, vice president for live production & sports at TAG Video Systems. “This means you can use any supported signal feed, resolution, compression, or transport format without worrying about paying for additional feature sets.”

Which raises the point: Should you consider a hardware-based multiviewer or software-based system? A lot depends on the complexity of your control room and the signals you deal with. A big-city broadcaster or a large sports arena will
have different needs than a cable distribution center.

Manufacturers have their own ideas.

“Modern multiviewers should firstly be software-based to provide running in any environment,” said Eric Otto, CEO of Mediaproxy. “They should also provide support for all common broadcast source formats, including access to remote sources (IP, TSoIP, NDI, HLS) as well as local sources (SDI, ST 2110).”

Scaling in Size
If you run a smaller system, you don’t have the needs of a big arena, and there are solutions that make sense for your needs.

“Our Smart Display Module multiviewers use a small board that slots directly into an SDM-capable display,” said Thomas Tang, president of Apantac. “These SDM boards turn a standard display into a monitor with an embedded multiviewer.”  

SDM is an Intel standard, and it can support SDI, 12G SDI, NDI and other video formats.

Apantac makes a range of multiviewers from small to large. At the top of the line is the T# system. “The T# is our flagship multiviewer line, which supports up to 128 inputs and 16 outputs, as well as supporting many different input formats that can be mixed and matched in the same frame,” Tang said. “These formats include 12G, 3G, HD, SD-SDI, CVBS, HDMI 1.4, HDMI 2.0, H.264, and most recently NDI. Customers can freely mix and match with the formats they need, and any inputs can go to any outputs.”

Multiviewers are clearly the better way of monitoring video in control rooms. The benefits of multiviewers were so obvious and powerful that some big old-line manufacturers of video monitors rapidly disappeared from the industry. Anyone remember Conrac?

There are multiviewer solutions out there for any size and need, so plan what you need carefully. Of course, the display you choose is an important part of the multiviewer system, so plan to get one that works properly with your system.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has appointed Kyle Luther to the position of vice president, Americas sales, the company said today.

Luther will be responsible for sales strategy for Imagine’s portfolio of playout and networking solutions, deepening engagement with customers and strengthening the company's position in the region, it said.

With more than 25 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, Luther has a deep understanding of the playout and video technology sector. 

"We are very pleased to welcome Kyle to the Imagine team and are confident that his customer-centric approach aligns perfectly with our commitment to delivering innovative and reliable solutions to our clients," said Brendon Mills, general manager, playout and networking, at Imagine Communications. “His ground-up understanding of our customers’ businesses and strong relationships with key decisionmakers across the industry will not only solidify our existing partnerships, but also open doors to new account opportunities.

Prior to joining Imagine, Luther held sales leadership positions with Ross Video, Grass Valley and TVU Networks. His career includes a proven history of leading sales teams to greater market impact and driving double-digit sales growth, the company said. 

"Kyle's proven leadership and deep experience in the M&E technology sector will be instrumental in steering our sales efforts to new heights,” said Mills.

Luther’s experience includes implementation of efficient, lean methodologies and processes; establishing a metrics-driven culture; and developing a highly successful go-to-market strategy for the sports vertical sector, the company said.

“I am truly excited to join this storied organization, leading a sales force that is recognized across the industry for its dedication to serving its customer base,” said Luther. “I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional team at Imagine and leveraging my expertise to drive growth and further strengthen the company’s market-leading position."

For more information is on the company’s website.

THAMES DITTON, England—Imagine Communications has announced that Italy’s largest pay TV operator, Sky Italia, has migrated its Rome operations center to SMPTE ST 2110 video infrastructure with NMOS integration and JPEG XS compression using Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) and Magellan Control System. 

Sky Italia, which is part of Sky Group Limited, will also leverage the flexible Imagine infrastructure to provide high-quality, low-latency connectivity from the Rome facility to its headquarters in Milan, the companies said. 

“Migrating to a modern, IP-based infrastructure as part of a planned facility refresh was a forward-looking but practical decision that has delivered multiple, immediate benefits,” explained Gabriele Ubertini, director of group origination & distribution platform, Sky. “The flexibility of the 2110 standard and NMOS protocol inherent in the Imagine platforms enabled the fast, easy deployment of a best-in-class, seamlessly integrated system that has improved our operational efficiencies and will enable us to easily scale as our business requirements evolve in the future.”

Sky Italia used a planned technology refresh as an opportunity to migrate to more flexible and scalable ST 2110 IP-based infrastructure. Working with local systems integrator Allyn Srl, Sky Italia deployed a turnkey, open-standard solution that supports uncompressed IP video and audio signal routing within the facility; JPEG XS compression for high-quality, low-latency inter-facility connectivity; and NMOS-based orchestration of all networked connected devices, the companies reported. 

At the core of the new system, Imagine’s SNP serves as an IP gateway, a signal converter and a JPEG XS encoder/decoder, enabling ultra-low-latency, production-quality signal transfer from Milan to Rome and vice versa. A Calrec audio router featuring native ST 2110 connectivity seamlessly integrates into the system to handle audio shuffling and mux/demux of the high number of audio tracks within the video streams. The routing infrastructure leverages an Arista spine-leaf architecture, with uplink to central cores, Imagine said. 

“The SNP’s support for JPEG XS standard is a real value-add that will enable us to lower the costs of video connectivity between our two facilities by using less bandwidth for signal transport,” explained Fabio Mattei, Sky technical project lead. 

Quality of service is guaranteed via the bandwidth management API supported by Imagine’s Magellan Control System, which provides orchestration of multiple streams and control of ST 2110 devices across the network through NMOS. Imagine is now using NMOS in nearly every project deployment to integrate ST 2110 endpoints from other leading vendors, enabling customers to build best-of-breed solutions leveraging the cameras, switchers, audio, and replay technologies that their creative teams prefer, the company explained. 

“The benefits of advancements such as NMOS and JPEG XS are motivating media companies to consider ST 2110 for new infrastructure projects and enabling them to deploy and manage multi-vendor IP media workflows with much greater confidence and ease,” said Mathias Eckert, senior vice president and general manager EMEA and APAC at Imagine Communications. “Imagine is committed to open, standards-based systems and working with partners around the industry to enable best-of-breed systems that benefit our customers like Sky.”

For more information on visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com. 

SDI is on its way out, right? I mean, anything that’s been around for three-plus decades in the television industry must be either in a museum or just waiting for the final switch to be turned off. Right?

In an industry that has had its technology turned on its head and disposed of at astonishingly fast intervals, somehow the Serial Digital Interface has been one of the few islands in a churning sea of change. First standardized in 1989 as SMPTE 259M, SDI was created to support uncompressed standard-definition television at data rates up to 360 Mbps. It was immediately accepted in high-end products and systems, and eventually found its way down to lower-cost products—as just one example, today you can get an SDI-to-HDMI adapter for less than $40.

Not Dead Yet
Over the years, SDI was modified surprisingly quickly to adapt to changing television standards. Today, the latest version is known as 24G-SDI (SMPTE ST 2083), which supports 4K video at 120 fps and 8K video at 30 fps, using a data rate of 24 Gbps.

Is that enough? As other connectivity options push their way into television systems—and as a new crop of technology specialists with their roots in the IT world become broadcast engineering managers—will SDI’s sunset come anytime soon?

“I remember being at IBC years ago and seeing signs with the slogan ‘SDI is Dead’ or something to that effect,” said Todd Riggs, director of product management at Ross Video. “While eye-catching and a bit of marketing fun, obviously that was an exaggerated statement that has proven to be inaccurate. I don’t believe we will see the end of SDI any time soon, as it is still the dominant transport for most customers worldwide and easiest to deploy.”

Ross Video is a major manufacturer for the broadcast industry, and Riggs has a window into the company’s product planning.

“Manufacturers are still spending a lot of money in R&D to develop new and very powerful products using [SDI] as the primary transport,” he said. “There are certain workflows and system designs that will become more and more IP- or cloud-based, as they lend themselves really well to those topologies. However, I think we are going to live in a hybrid SDI/IP world for a very long time.”

High Comfort Level
Other manufacturers see the same thing.

“SDI still plays an essential role in providing A/V connectivity for many broadcast facilities and mobile production trucks,” said Deon LeCointe, director of networked solutions at Sony Electronics. “Although the industry is already in the midst of implementing IP and cloud technologies for various applications, there’s still a high comfort level with using SDI for ad-hoc applications like flypacks, where the simplicity of SDI allows for faster deployments with minimal configuration.”

And there are additional factors that endear SDI to video facility operators.

“When it comes to professional workflows, SDI is fast, reliable, secure and never buffers,” said Bob Caniglia, director of sales operations for the Americas at Blackmagic Design. “This is especially important in television facilities and broadcast studios where live programming means professionals can leave nothing to chance.”

Yet, we all know that SDI is not the only connection standard in the broadcaster’s toolkit. 

The strongest competition probably comes from SMPTE ST 2110, which defines how professional media can be distributed over managed IP networks. The SMPTE ST 2110 standard specifies the carriage, synchronization, and description of compressed and uncompressed video streams over IP for real-time production, playout and other professional requirements.

Since SMPTE is the standardization body for both SDI and ST 2110, it makes sense that the two standards play well together. Yet as the use of ST 2110 grows, some in the industry see that there is nowhere for SDI to go but down. John Mailhot, CTO and director of infrastructure product management at Imagine Communications, has thought about how the end of SDI might happen.

“SDI will continue for as long as the supply chain produces the transceivers and crosspoint chips—ultimately that will be the limiting factor,” he said. “As SDI use declines over time, some of these chips may become harder to get.”

Mailhot sees ST 2110 as the technology of choice for larger facilities, especially if UHD or HDR is in the requirements.

“The ability to scale to very large, and to integrate best-of-breed offerings across the spectrum of vendors makes ST 2110 a winner,” he said. “[Where there is] a need to integrate some SDI equipment, our Selenio Network Processor has a high-density synchronizing gateway application that allows customers to integrate SDI and IP. This provides a path into IP at a pace that suits the customer’s overall system strategy.”

Yet, not everyone is positive that a future of ST 2110 and IP connectivity is coming quickly.

It Simply Works
“SDI is definitely NOT winding down,” said Joshua Vanarnhem, product manager for routers at Evertz. “We are seeing an increase in SDI router sales, and we are still actively developing SDI solutions and products to answer the needs of our industry. For example, our latest SDI router—the NEXX—leverages the latest technology and provides a full-featured routing platform to meet the demands and workflows of an enterprise-class routing system. Yet it still maintains the simplicity of SDI, where customers can just plug in their SDI input or output and are good to go.”

Vanarnhem pointed out the benefit of SDI that makes it still highly useful in a world where technology specialists so often sing the praises of network topologies: SDI is simple.

“Simple is a great word to explain SDI, as it just simply works,” he said. “Simply plug one wire for one signal; simply patch in a waveform monitor to troubleshoot, and simply be able to meet all the industry’s functional workflow needs. SDI can simply support SD, HD and all the way up to 12G for UHD. HDR? No problem.”

What we can make of this is that SDI is still here, it still works, and it works at the highest-quality signal levels used in professional facilities today. Manufacturers are not only still making SDI products, they are designing new SDI products to meet the growing and changing demands of modern television production and distribution. That a 34-year-old technology is slugging it out and still relevant is impressive—it speaks to the good work done by SMPTE and its technology groups.

So many things have disappeared since SDI was first standardized: SD broadcasting, CRT displays, cameras with tubes, robotic devices that used a grabber arm to pull a videotape from a rack and feed it into a player. And remember necessities like timebase correctors, proc amps and delay lines? They have all vanished into the cloud of modern video production and distribution… which is often described as “in the cloud.”

However, SDI is still with us, modified along the way to keep pace with our rapidly improving quality and production standards. It would be interesting to know if the product that was once marketed using the slogan “SDI is Dead” is still being made. Wouldn’t it be ironic if that product struggled and died, while SDI is still meeting the needs of broadcasters?

A new report from Imagine Communication reveals almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of advertising agencies what to be able to purchase ad slots on both linear and CTV as a bundle.

The report, titled Connected TV Ad Buying:  A Survey of Ad Agency Buyers, surveyed senior executives from advertising agencies across Europe and North America with the aim of providing data that will help media companies make informed decisions, optimise their CTV advertising efforts and drive more revenue.

It found that 86 per cent of respondents believed that linear-like ad placement control is crucial in CTV advertising to achieve better targeting and campaign results.

“As broadcasters continue to expand their offerings beyond linear programming, Imagine is committed to helping them make their cross-platform businesses more profitable,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech, Imagine Communications. “This report underscores that commitment — providing real-world, actionable data that can help broadcasters tailor their offerings to better meet the needs of advertisers and attract more ad budgets to their CTV platforms.”

“We conducted this survey among ad agencies to provide our broadcast customers with a better understanding of advertisers’ perceptions, preferences and challenges related to CTV advertising,” added Malcolm. “The report can also serve as a strategic planning tool, helping media companies assess the potential impact of CTV on their traditional broadcasting business and devise strategies to integrate CTV effectively.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications has announced that it has streamlined automated advertising transactions for local TV broadcasters via its latest advances in support of the TVB TIP (TV Interface Practices) Initiative.

Imagine has been an active vendor partner with TIP, the media industry group promoting open interfaces to streamline local broadcast TV ad transactions, since 2018. The company was an early adopter of TIP interfaces in its widely deployed OSI Traffic and Billing system and has continued to implement TIP API support in line with market readiness and paced by the availability of compatible third-party systems, the company explained.   

“Imagine is proactively aligned with the TIP mission, because we listen to our customers who tell us that the only way to rapidly move toward the audience-based, cross-platform future of TV is through open standards and easy-to-use models for integration,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech for Imagine Communications. “We take a modular approach to traffic systems and have made a significant investment in developing all the open APIs that customers and partners will need to integrate systems and modernize the ad tech stack.”

Imagine’s continuing enhancements to the OSI system will enable broadcasters to use TIP APIs to achieve the following benefits:

• Automated log times: The addition of automated log times via TIP API increases operational efficiency, accelerates tracking of advertising campaigns and drives monetization.
• Real-time inventory avails: Enhanced inventory avails, including real-time updates via TIP API, speed transactions and sales system visibility, accelerating time to market.
• Streamlined integration: Enhanced TIP API support makes it easy to access and integrate with third-party Order Management Systems (OMS), the company reported. 

Malcolm adds, “Our ongoing TIP implementations will enable customers to speed transactions, reduce admin tasks and errors, and maximize interoperability — easing the migration to new transaction models such as audience-based and cross-platform sales.”

OSI Traffic & Billing enables North American television, cable and radio channels, networks and groups to manage mission-critical operations efficiently, profitably and with unparalleled control. The modular solution provides easy-to-use, powerful tools for traffic, accounting, and yield management — and closes the loop with simple, powerful integrations with playout automation, dynamic ad insertion and other operational systems.

“The ecosystem of broadcasters, cable operators, agencies and our technology providers continue to synchronize increased automation of the local media ecosystem across television and video,” added James Southern, president of Frontrow Advisory and program leader of the TIP Initiative. “Imagine Communications’ accelerated adoption of TIP interfaces demonstrates their commitment to an open, standards-based approach for the efficient transaction of broadcast TV spot inventory.” 

Find more information about the benefits and access the open standard on the TVB.org website. 

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions, visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com

TORONTO—Imagine Communications will debut a new version of its SNP  Selenio Network Processor (SNP) at the 2023 NAB Show, April 16-19 in Las Vegas. 

SNP Master Control Lite (MCL) adds branding, live graphics, and full master control functionality to the latest release of SNP. Offering support for both HD and UHD signals, the SNP MCL can also be configured as an industry-first, ST 2110-compatible dual downstream keyer (DSK), the company said. As the SNP is an entirely software-defined application platform built on high-density hardware, the MCL personality can be licensed onto any SNP unit that has ever shipped, enabling current users to easily add this new functionality to their existing system, the company said. 

“The SNP’s unique architecture allows us to continually add innovative, practical functionality to meet the evolving needs of our customers — in this case, the need to bring the production values of their main channels into the UHD era,” says John Mailhot, CTO Networking and Infrastructure at Imagine Communications. “As UHD becomes a format of choice in many countries, SNP MCL enables broadcasters to create linear channels with proper branding, graphics in UHD and professional transitions under automation control, all in a streamlined, cost-effective package.”

The new SNP MCL personality provides high-value channel release functions within the framework of a powerful 1RU processing platform. Features include full-resolution 10-bit and HDR-capable graphics; four full-frame keyers; three external Key/Fill inputs; full frame sync on every input including Key/Fill; 16 channels of audio processing, including voice over and graphics audio; flexible interfaces, including 12G SDI, 2SI-SDI and ST 2110; and integration with automation systems via the well-known Imagine IconMaster switcher protocol, over IP network connections.

The SNP MCL is well suited to multiple applications, according to the company. Customers using an integrated playout system such as Imagine’s Versio platform to make a root broadcast or national feed can use SNP MCL in downstream keyer mode to make specialized versions of the channel for regional splits. For customers running sports channels where the bulk of their UHD content is a production made on a broadcast truck, SNP MCL can be used to upconvert interstitial and remaining content and intermix it with the UHD from the OB truck to make a finished channel that includes both elements. SNP MCL functionality can also be used as a cost-effective disaster recovery solution in parallel with a fully featured, automated integrated playout channel.

For control of the SNP MCL, a desktop pushbutton “hard panel” is available, featuring LCD displays for signal names and high-quality pushbuttons for all functions. The compact hard panel supports fast selection of up to 16 sources onto the program or preset buses, key on/off controls for each of the keyer layers, and transition controls. In addition, all source selections, graphics selections, keys and transitions can be controlled through the Imagine CCSP (Command, Control, and Status Protocol), which is supported on Imagine’s Magellan RCP series of panels, as well as by many third-party control and automation systems.

The SNP MCL selects and manages source inputs by controlling an upstream router through Imagine LRC protocol and the Magellan Control System.  Magellan supports integration of third-party SDI routers; it also fully supports ST 2110 IP networking and control of ST 2110 devices through NMOS. 

Mailhot adds, “Imagine specializes in master control processing. We’ve been doing large-scale master control for years—on the ground and in the cloud—so our customers can leverage this innovative, new technology with confidence.”

Imagine Communications will be in W2775 in the West Hall of the LVCC.  

THAMES DITTON, England—Imagine Communications has announced that it recently helped one of Europe’s largest media companies, the Antenna Group, quickly move 22 pay TV channels and two streaming services with more than 24 million subscribers in 12 territories to Imagine's Landmark Rights and Scheduling software as a managed service.  

The new system, which operates as Software as a Service (SaaS) within the dedicated Imagine cloud, has enabled Antenna to streamline workflows and operations and maximize return on investment by moving to an OpEx model.

Antenna had to make the move on a tight deadline after acquiring the networks and services from Sony, the companies said.  

In Hungary, headquarters of Antenna Entertainment, a previous version of the Landmark system was in use, and the decision was made to integrate the operations into a single, modernized platform. 

“Managing rights and scheduling across multiple linear and digital platforms, in multiple territories, is a complex business,” said Costas Colombus, CTO of Antenna Group. “We had to take on a very large library of new content from the acquisition, alongside our existing rights holdings, and get our operations up to speed immediately. Imagine gave us complete confidence in the database rapid migration, as well as the advantages of using Landmark as a SaaS that were commercially compelling.”

The commercial terms of the acquisition left a very short window for the operations to be transferred, and specialists from Imagine and local distributor Amy DV in Athens quickly began work to help Antenna meet their deadline. The entire implementation — including creation of SaaS instances, the migration of on-premises databases from both operations into the Imagine cloud, and training of the team — was achieved in less than 12 weeks. 

Mathias Eckert, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA and APAC at Imagine Communications, added that “Media enterprises today want to concentrate on their core business of making, managing and monetizing content. Operating the core technology as a SaaS makes it very fast to implement ― as the Antenna project shows ― with all the maintenance and support carried out for the business by our cloud facilities. Antenna never has to worry about software updates or the routine maintenance and replacement of servers. The result is a highly functional system which is precisely tailored to their needs, and with a significantly reduced total cost of ownership.”

​Landmark Rights & Scheduling enables rights management and scheduling for premium-quality live, streaming and on-demand channels and content. Its comprehensive scheduling engine provides the tools to create single or multichannel schedules — combining program content and advertisements into a single, frame-accurate playlist. This allows media companies to get the most from their programming assets with the optimal schedule to reach target audiences and maximize profits., Imagine said. 

“We carefully analyzed Antenna’s business processes before determining that Landmark was the right product for the evolution of their workflow,” said David Chalkidis, manager at Amy DV. “Migrating to a next-generation version of software that their operators were already familiar with enabled Antenna to streamline this significant transition and prepare for a converged linear and digital future.”

For more information visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com. 

DENVER—As part of an effort to provide media companies with practical migration paths to the cloud, Imagine Communications has announced it is working with Vizrt to integrate Viz Vectar Plus cloud live production solution with the Imagine Aviator Make TV cloud playout solution. 

Imagine will demonstrate this advanced, end-to-end cloud workflow at the 2023 NAB Show from April 16-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, booth W2775. 

By expanding the capabilities and workflow integrations of its Aviator platform, Imagine reported that it continues to broaden the appeal of cloud-based solutions and that the partnership between Imagine and Vizrt brings dynamic live production and playout in the cloud together in a well-orchestrated solution. 

Enabling live production workflows for sports, news, and live events to feed downstream live linear workflows, it combines the dynamic and fluid nature of live production with the content acquisition, playout, branding, master control switching, SCTE decoration and ad insertion at the heart of Aviator. 

“The demand for cloud-based production and playout continues to grow,” says Brendon Mills, general manager of Networking and Playout at Imagine. “By partnering with Vizrt, we’re making it easier than ever for our mutual customers to leverage the flexibility and agility of the cloud to quickly respond to evolving market demands.” 

“Vizrt’s live production in the cloud is based on tried-and-true products and Imagine has a proven track record in cloud-based solutions,” he continued. “Combining the low-latency live production power from Vizrt with the system orchestration and premium-quality cloud playout capabilities of Aviator makes the resulting solution a powerful and compelling way to solve the most pressing problems our industry faces in the continued migration to cloud.”

The Vizrt Live Production system runs in the cloud and is operated via web browser or via a physical control panel. The user can access incoming live streams uplinked from on-prem and remote locations for contribution. These streams, along with clip and graphics resources accessible to Viz Vectar Plus, are combined to deliver the final production output. This output is available to Aviator, along with all other accessible live streams in the cloud. The production feed can be switched to air by Aviator based on a schedule or as needed with its master control solution to break into live programming. Aviator will return to the playlist after the live production based on the schedule — or unscheduled if the live event ends sooner or later than expected, the companies explained. 

Each Aviator playout channel supports up to two live inputs per channel at any one time and controls cloud routing via Imagine’s Magellan Control System. It switches seamlessly between live streams, between live and clip-based content, and between two clips simply by selecting the appropriate source in the web browser user interface — no delays and no configuration required — delivering immediate on-air results. This includes support for DVEs for each input for both live and clip content. As a result, the combined Vizrt and Aviator approach offers the flexibility and immediacy of cloud production with the agility of cloud playout that can handle demanding multi-source workflows in a vast array of practical scenarios, the companies reported. 

“Cloud production isn't 'the future', it's happening now,” states Ulrich Voigt, global head of product management, Vizrt Group. “Whether a broadcaster wants the flexibility to create in the cloud, or hybrid, our partnership with Imagine and its Aviator platform enables new possibilities in live production and playout workflows in the cloud. It's guaranteed, tried and tested and the results are indistinguishable. The benefits of low-latency video workflows, including true scalability, remote collaboration, and cost and carbon savings, are pioneering a new era of live production. We are proud to work together with Imagine to see pure cloud production become reality.” 

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com.

OKLAHOMA CITY—After more than 60 years, Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV and parent company Griffin Media decided it was time to move to a new home with more capabilities. To manage the move to downtown Oklahoma City, they called on design-build systems integrator BeckTV.

“Working with BeckTV was a natural choice,” said Jack Mills, director of engineer for KWTV. “We’ve worked with them since the 1990s on multiple projects through the years. I appreciate working with them because of the quality of their work and expertise, from changing out a switcher to now having a new building."

Discussions about moving to a new building started almost three years ago, with KWTV engineering and design work by BeckTV starting in 2021. “There are a million things going on when building a new TV station, so the relationship needs to be efficient and productive,” said Brenden Cline, senior engineer and director of engineering for BeckTV. “We have meetings with Jack on design, technical requirements, space planning, and workflow. Giving us that information up front means we get that efficiency with Jack and with the manufacturers we’re dealing with. Seeing eye-to-eye on the technology and agreeing on how things should operate—that was exciting and the kind of projects that you want to do.”

What Do We Take?
Working with the architect and general contractor, BeckTV could verify the space fit and furniture design, pathways for cabling and AC, and low voltage requirements, while simultaneously building the equipment list and specifying equipment a year ahead of time. FX Design Group was responsible for set and lighting design, while Digital Video Group handled the monitor layout and set technology. Onsite integration work began in June 2022; after five months, one month was dedicated to rehearsals, commissioning, and shadowing master control leading up to the cutover day. 

Some of the decisions to be made were focused on what equipment to bring over from the existing facility, what would be purchased, and what might need to be borrowed during the transition. “We brought over our recent purchases, items that haven’t been depreciated yet,” said Mills. 

For example, KWTV has three Grass Valley LDX 90 Worldcams still on the books. Those were brought to the new facility’s news set, with Mills getting loaner cameras for the original building’s news set during the transition. Also moved were KWTV’s Dejero bonded cellular field systems, Vizrt system, master control servers, and 800 kW diesel generator.

While some equipment made the trip, KWTV did replace a lot of gear, Mills explained, because it was time to do so, anyway. 

New equipment included:

• Evertz routing with an integrated enterprise multiviewer and TDM audio router with integrated de-embedding
• Evertz master control switcher and airpath
• Clear-Com intercom with SIP for phone lines over IP 
• G&D KVM 
• Avid video production servers 
• Imagine Communications master control playout and automation systems 
• Three Ross XY camera robotics 
• Two Ross ACIDCams for the newsroom and greenscreen
• Two smaller Ross PTZ cameras for studio ceiling beauty shots 
• Image Video tally system 
• Sony XVS-7000 3 M/E production switcher and ELC automation systems 
• Calrec audio console
• Custom BeckTV consoles

The design of the news set, which is the same size as the set in the older facility, and the two-story open ceiling newsroom include a lot of LED screens. The newsroom features a large Daktronics LED screen that rotates art images and photos. The news studio has Philips LEDs on the anchor desk, LG LEDs behind the anchor desk, and Neoti LED panels for the wraparound weather desk. 

IP plays an important role by interconnecting the two facilities, which are 10 miles apart. “We kept a portion of the old building,” Mills explained. “We were able to keep those IP addresses, which was very helpful, with four dark fibers between the buildings, one for satellite, one for STL, and two for a 10-gig IP pipe.”

Strategic Communications
One of the keys to a successful live cutover is communications involving hours of strategic planning, coordination, installation, testing, training, and rehearsals. To ensure a smooth transition, BeckTV maintained a crew of two engineers and six technicians at the new site to install, commission, and support all new and repurposed systems. 

The project team, led by project engineer Abel Sassehagen, systems engineer Christian Ramirez, and lead technician Travis Peterson, with management assistance from TJ Beardsmore, met with Griffin Media and KWTV on a weekly basis to review and discuss the project schedule, focusing on BeckTV and KWTV deliverables and goals. “We were using so much gear from the old facility that we had to move,” Cline said. “We had to deal with loaners, new equipment with the scheduling of manufacturers’ commissioning, how and when to transition. But with great communication, everyone knew the status of the station.”

A simple homeowner moving task would become invaluable for the transition: tagging the status of the original equipment. “We had separate giant lists for master control and production control equipment," Cline explained, "with each piece and any dongles tagged as to when it would be removed from the rack and transported to the new building—specifically by week, day, hour, at cutover or after cutover.”

When the equipment arrived at the new building, the crew knew exactly where to start to stand up the gear. “Of course, getting integrated into the new system sometimes meant bypassing with barrels,” noted Cline. “Master control was first, with GPIs triggering all sort of secondary events so that it could mirror the original master control. Then we would focus on production control. Once stood up, production control gets fairly vetted with all the rehearsals.”

Cutover in 3, 2, 1...
During the transition period on Nov. 12-13, KOTV, KWTV's sister station in Tulsa, handled the Saturday night and Sunday morning newscasts. This gave Cline and his crew the opportunity to transport almost all of the rest of the gear, a big part of which was the weather system with its independent audio and storm trackers. Cutover was scheduled for the Sunday 10 p.m. newscast.

“We did it during the day and on-air, and it was really just switching a switch,” said Cline. “Since we were running in parallel and then switched to the new building, it was seamless to KWTV’s viewers—but we could also fall back if we needed to. That takes a lot of planning.” Additionally, KWTV’s new master control system is designed to be a master control hub to include KOTV in Tulsa.

“This was a fun project,” said Mills. “Of course, there were little fires, but all in all, a very enjoyable experience with BeckTV and all the other groups. It was interesting keeping everything running with all the contractors involved in the new building.”

Cline added that it’s “a little bit rare to work with people you worked with in the past and understand the process. Our product is delivering a good experience for the customer—typically the biggest project in their careers. We want them to feel comfortable and appreciate our people. But this one was special. I had a good time doing it.” 

This article originally appeared in TV Tech sister publication SCN.

SAN FRANCISCO—As networks broadcast and stream a growing number of channels, the technology that controls everything from ad sales to traffic and billing is evolving as well. New tools and strategies abound for helping content creators handle the growth of those channels. And as the name implies, today’s broadcast management systems have expanded and grown to offer content creators a better means of achieving that control. 

The goals? As varied as the content itself: Reducing operational complexity and costs. Selling advertising at a local and national level and on multiple platforms. Addressing HR issues. Automating order workflows. Identifying and executing audience-targeted orders at scale. 

Open Sourced
As the requests grow, broadcast management systems have responded—some by building  systems around a flexible, open source architecture; others by consolidating assets across a portfolio in an effort to respond more effectively to media buyers.

“The increase in channels has made it even more critical to ensure that organizations have a flexible and adaptable BMS,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, senior vice president of product for Marketron. “Given the increase in channels and the associated content, manual processes and siloed systems can no longer meet broadcaster’s needs. “ 

Earlier this year, two companies joined forces around the concept of standards-based platforms, open source architecture. For the Operative and Imagine Communications, that means ingesting orders from Imagine’s GamePlan ad decision and optimization engine from Operative’s cloud-native sales platform AOS, a partnership that enables a buyer to target audiences across different impressions—including geographic location or device type—as well as process orders across all types of different platforms using Imagine inventory management solutions.

”Our partnership with Operative enables our clients to streamline their operations across multiple media forms and to address the increasing desire to be able to sell on an audience basis,” said Tom Cotney, CEO of Imagine Communications.

Audience First
Those types of partnerships highlight the importance of taking an audience-first approach to selling advertising. Since audiences are more fragmented than ever, there is less guarantee that buying a specific TV show will deliver the specific audience. This is where NextGen TV steps in. The technology can deliver this by relying on consumer-driven demand to keep local TV competitive with growing OTT platforms. 

“And while this will level the playing field by allowing local TV to meet their advertisers’ changing needs… creating a common currency between linear and all digital assets will make it easier for broadcasters to sell their multiplatform ads,” Chaudhari said. “It’s important that modern BMS platforms recognize this and prepare broadcasters for this future.”

Over the past decade, broadcast management technology has steadily grown from standalone traffic and billing systems into integrated tools that manage content throughout its life cycle. That’s been a priority for companies like Myers, whose ProTrack software solution ProTrack centralizes content and allows users to acquire, schedule, monetize and distribute content from a single point of control.

Systems that were traditionally considered core traffic and billing are now expanding their systems with add-ons and built-in third-party technology integrations. ProTrack, which made its name in the traffic and billing space, now integrates with automation, accounts receivable and media asset management. 

Myers provides broadcast management systems to the vast majority of PBS member stations across the country, a unique challenge since public media companies must meet all the same responsibilities as a commercial network but with far fewer resources and revenue opportunities. Today, must-have features for networks like PBS now include automation log monitoring, schedule placement confirmation and report generation.

Unifying Operations
Other systems strive to meet multiple goals while simultaneously prepping to handle multichannel environments. Advanced planning, rights and scheduling, spot placement technology and ad sales and commercial scheduling are part of Imagine’s Ad Tech product suite. Technologies like the company’s LandmarkOSI traffic and billing system, Broadcast Master management suite for scheduling and finance or xG Linear scalable traffic for MVPD are designed to competently manage single or multichannel environments across multiple platforms. 

Unifying station operations on a shared technology infrastructure is another key priority for broadcasters with multiple stations in multiple markets. 

Large ownership groups are using WideOrbit’s WO Traffic system as a foundation to leverage new revenue streams by merging station operations on a single, collectively shared foundation. Like the infrastructure behind other traffic systems, WO Traffic integrates with other suites like analytics, sales, payments and airtimes while WideOrbit Placer works to determine proper spot placement for all advertisers as well as simplifies billing. 

That last piece was particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic. Content creators needed to simplify the process of obtaining receivables, such as when religious broadcaster Bonneville International used the WideOrbit WO Payments Suite to help make decisions about clients who were struggling financially because of the pandemic.

“Because we have all the industry information coming out of our WideOrbit system, [we looked at industries like] the entertainment or tourist industries [and could be] more flexible [about payments] because that’s an industry that [was] hit harder [by the pandemic],” said Ken Nate, CFO and executive vice president for Bonneville. “We think this creates an opportunity for improvement down the road for both us and our clients.”

Streamline Internal Processes
Managing resources was also the impetus behind a UK studio selecting a new media operations platform to manage everything from studio bookings to quote creation. A joint venture of Sky and NBCUniversal, Sky Studios Elstree is using the Xytech Media Operations Platform resource management software to help streamline the film and TV studio’s internal processes like cost management and resource scheduling. 

That was also behind Viasat Broadcasting’s decision to turn to Xytech to manage staff and bookings for the network. With about 400 employees and 64 Viasat channels, the European TV operator needed an integrated system to manage and report on all operational and financial activities. 

“Xytech software offers a multitude of features when it comes to handling the complex requirements of bookings,” said Matt Waldock, Xytech vice president and director of business development for EMEA. “Our Media Operations Platform allows for quick and efficient quote and order creation. As bookings are added or changed, the system updates the display in real time, putting automated financial transparency directly into clients’ hands,” he added.

With the continued expansion of alternate viewing platforms, local broadcast TV is changing the way viewers consume their content — which changes the way in which advertising has to be bought and sold. Broadcasters looking to maximize their current core business must also effectively manage revenue that is now coming from OTT and third-party digital advertising. 

As with other broadcast management systems, the Integration Suite from Marketron is designed to serve as a single ecosystem. Working with business platforms like Salesforce and NetSuite, the system can handle billing export features, digital advertising, social media verification and electronic sales orders. 

The system works side by side with the Marketron REV sales platform, which addresses proposal creation, linear TV order entry and real-time data reporting leading to more revenue on every order via intelligent dynamic pricing and direct traffic integration, Chaudhari said. “All of this technology is built on an open platform that can be integrated into broadcasters existing systems via APIs, helping broadcasters augment their capabilities without having to rip out their core infrastructure,” he said. 

To demonstrate its efforts to accommodate an expanding array of advertisers, Marketron last month added new capabilities to its Marketron NXT digital ad platform that enable all broadcast and media companies to deliver digital ad solutions to advertisers operating in restricted industries, including cannabis, CBD, gambling, alcohol, fireworks and politics, thereby driving revenue from previously limited verticals.

As the market changes, so too must modern broadcast management systems — from aggregating data to holistic business-level reporting to ensuring the right programming appears on the right channel. 

“This level of flexibility prepares broadcasters for continued success as advertiser and consumer demands evolve,” Chaudhari said. 

DENVER—Imagine Communications has announced that it has successfully completed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for its Aviator Make TV cloud playout solution. 

Make TV is part of Imagine Aviator, a cloud-native platform that enables broadcasters, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and digital-first providers to easily plan, make and monetize premium-quality, ad-supported linear and connected TV (CTV) content from a single, unified platform. 

Imagine noted that it has a detailed, highly qualified quality assurance program in-house to ensure its software provides very high availability and protection from cyberthreats and that the FTR is an added layer of technical and security evaluation. 

Completing the FTR also allows the products to be sold and supported in AWS Marketplace, a digital catalog with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on AWS.

“Imagine Aviator is a completely new concept, drawing on decades of Imagine experience,” said Rob Malcolm, chief product officer at Imagine Communications. “It was conceived from the ground up to be a cloud platform, and that is where its unique strengths lie. We have been a member of the AWS Partner Network (APN) since the very beginning of the cloud for media, and we develop according to the principles of the AWS Well-Architected Framework. Successfully completing the FTR is another key step towards widespread understanding and adoption of our ground-breaking, end-to-end Aviator platform.”

The FTR allows AWS Partners to identify and remediate risks in their products or solutions, the companies said. 

Led by an AWS Partner Solutions Architect, the FTR process provides specific guidelines and AWS best practices to reduce risks around security, documentation, reliability and operational excellence, as defined by the AWS Well-Architected Framework. The result is that Imagine can review projects against the requirements of the FTR, adhering to best practices and ensuring the best possible outcomes for the end user, Imagine reported. 

Aviator Make TV includes all the capabilities required to deliver premium-quality linear channels, with unified origination for broadcast and digital streams. The highly modular architecture allows functionality to be precisely tailored to the business requirements of the channel. This includes support for a full range of channel types ― from the most sophisticated live channels with real-time branding used in news or sports to more streamlined thematic channels or regional variants with HTML5-based graphic overlays to enable simpler operations, Imagine explained. 

More information about Aviator and the complete range of Imagine Communications’ products and solutions is available here.  

BANGKOK—Amarin TV 34HD has deployed a new high-definition playout system that leverages Imagine Communications ADC automation and Nexio+ AMP media server at its headquarters here, Imagine said today.

The setup allows the broadcaster to achieve efficiencies in its operations as well as greater reliability. It also integrates with the broadcaster’s existing server and distribution architecture, it said.

“We had a clear idea of what we needed to achieve with our new playout automation network—both for our operations today, as we develop our workflows, and as a building block towards a more file-based future,” said Amarin TV CTO Cheewapat Nathalang.

On air since 2013, Amarin TV was reaching the end of life of its original playout system. The broadcaster identified Imagine Communications as offering the automation and playout solution that best met its existing and future requirements, it said.

The broadcaster appreciated the fact that Imagine’s software-based solution could integrate seamlessly with the rest of its SDI infrastructure, the company said.

At the heart of the new deployment is Imagine’s ADC automation. The software-based solution tightly integrates with the Nexio+ AMP channel playout services and Nexio Motion asset management software Amarin TV selected. Nexio Motion provides a dynamic link between the Nexio on-air network and Amarin TV’s existing shared storage, the company said.

The new workflow reconciles all incoming SDI feeds ingested using the ADC Media Client before being handled as files and transferred to the intermediate and long-term storage as appropriate.

Close integration the Imagine solutions enables routine operations to be highly automated. Transfers between Imagine’s IOX SAN storage pools are done via watch folders. ADC can interrogate the system for missing material based on playlists and purge content based on business rules. As all content is handled as files within the playout and asset management system, transfers are swift and secure and can be prioritized for urgent demands, it said.

Local systems integrator SWS Group Company implemented the solution.

More information is available on the company’s website.