MONTREAL—Two long-time competitors in the TV production market have announced a collaboration that allows integration of two of its platforms.

Grass Valley and Ross Video—both among the largest providers of production switchers to the TV production market—have announced that Grass Valley’s Maverik X Production Switcher, powered by AMPP OS (Agile Media Processing Platform), can now be directly controlled via Ross Video’s OverDrive. This collaboration enhances flexibility for broadcasters, enabling seamless interoperability between two industry-leading production technologies for studio production, the companies said.

By working closely together, Grass Valley and Ross Video have expanded OverDrive’s capabilities to include the Maverik X Production Switcher, reinforcing both companies’ commitment to open and adaptable production workflows, the companies said. Ross Video continues to expand OverDrive’s compatibility with a wide range of third-party devices — enabling customers to utilize the production tools that work best for them.

“Media organizations today demand the freedom to build systems that match their unique workflows by integrating the best solutions from across the industry,” said Adam Marshall, Chief Product Officer at Grass Valley. “With OverDrive support now available for Maverik X, media organizations can modernize their technology infrastructure while maintaining the familiar OverDrive user experience—minimizing disruption for operators while leveraging AMPP’s advanced processing technology for greater agility and flexibility in hybrid deployments.”

“AMPP OS was designed from the ground up as an open platform, built to enable seamless integration with best-in-class solutions across the industry,” Marshall continued. “The growing adoption of the GV Technology Alliance is a testament to this commitment. We’re excited to see industry-leading automation tools like Ross Video’s OverDrive now providing direct control over AMPP OS-based solutions like Maverik X. This deep, bidirectional collaboration underscores our mission to deliver unmatched choice and flexibility for customers.”

Ross Video’s OverDrive powers thousands of hours of live production every day, trusted by leading broadcasters around the globe for its tight newsroom integration, intuitive UI, and powerful rundown-based control. Now compatible with over 220 third-party devices, OverDrive gives producers and TDs the confidence to execute fast-paced shows with precision and consistency, the company said.

“Automation is no longer just a nice-to-have — it’s essential to producing more with less, and doing it reliably under pressure,” said Jeff Moore, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Ross Video. “We’re pleased to see this integration with Maverik X, further expanding OverDrive’s reach within today’s dynamic, multi-vendor environments.”

This collaboration between Grass Valley and Ross Video marks a significant step toward broader interoperability, the companies said, adding that they are committed to further expanding OverDrive control across additional AMPP-powered solutions in the future.

WASHINGTON—TV Tech has released its latest ebook, a special guide to integrated production systems.

With remote production continuing to rise in popularity, the need for simplified, integrated production systems has increased. By employing IP and the cloud, integrated production tools are becoming more flexible and cost effective for things like live event coverage or a newscast.

This new ebook details how these systems are being used in the real world and how new advances in cloud management and services are impacting the future of television production.

To download the ebook, click here. 

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—As a former designer of facilities for creating high-end television productions, I never cease to be amazed by the technological transformation that has overtaken this area of the television ecosystem. Not that long ago, creating such a facility involved much time spent in identifying and purchasing a lot of specialized (and costly) individual pieces of equipment. And once it all arrived, spending more time in mounting and interconnecting the big production switcher, still store, clip store, digital effects unit, outboard keyers, c.g., and monitor wall, and then, likely some additional time in getting everything to play together.

Keeping in line with the now universal trend of “doing more with less,” the creation of good-looking video content has been greatly simplified, moving away from such elaborate and expensive undertakings to small form factor packages with much more affordable price tags, and which can be easily transported right to whatever it is that needs to be televised. And these “teleproduction-centersin-a-box” can be easily driven by a solo operator, rather than the team needed to run the control rooms of yore.

These integrated production systems have become increasingly popular in recent years, enabled by the microprocessor and PC.

“The first integrated production systems became available in the early 2000s, made largely possible by the increase in performance of computers,” said Graham Sharp, chief executive officer of Broadcast Pix in Chelmsford, Mass. “Post-production solutions [had] moved to software running on off-the-shelf computer hardware 10 years before, which was possible because they could operate in non-real time.”

It took a little longer for video processing time to reach a point acceptable for live production.

“As computer power has increased over the last 15 years following Moore’s law, so the performance of [the] IPS has also increased in terms of resolutions and functionality—remember, there was always a minimum [requirement] of producing a video output in real time,” he said.

Rush Beesley, president and founder of RUSHWORKS, a company that’s been providing IPS since 2001, agreed that these Lilliputian production packages owe their existence to today’s supercharged processor and memory chips.

“The dramatic rise in CPU capability, accompanied by the inverse drop in cost for RAM and storage media, have provided the power, speed and reliability for these systems to flourish,” he said.

DEMOCRATIZING VIDEO PRODUCTION

Just as in many other areas, computer technology and IP connectivity have now made it possible for small groups or even individuals to do what once took large buildings, highly skilled teams and large amounts of money to accomplish. The IPS certainly shines brightly here, with these compact, very powerful and feature-laden, video production units allowing production of content virtually indistinguishable from that rolled out by large crews in mega-million-dollar facilities.

It’s also brought affordable broadcast-quality production to markets beyond broadcast as well.

“There is an increasing number of people in educational, corporate, government and religious organizations driven by the constant use of video on social media and mobile devices that want to add video to their storytelling capabilities,” said Matt Allard, product marketing manager of the Vizrt Group, which last year acquired NewTek, another IPS provider. “There are integrated production systems also being used in middle schools. These organizations normally do not have the budget or expertise to implement multiple production components.”

Damon Hawkins, product manager at Grass Valley, whose STRATUS platform places a number of sophisticated production tools in a single application, also observed that such technology is making high-quality video production capability more universal.

“Once reserved for broadcasters and media organizations, professionally produced and packaged content is now leveraged by an ever-more diverse range of organizations as they use compelling storytelling and stunning images to engage their target audience,” he said. “We are seeing an increasing demand from sporting venues, educational institutions, and houses of worship looking for solutions that provide an easy to produce and deliver video content to their consumers.”

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

IPS capabilities have come a long way since the first such units started shipping. (Allard reflected on the great-granddaddy of them, NewTek’s 1990 “Video Toaster,” which later evolved into the company’s “TriCaster.”) He noted that systems now can have as many inputs as large traditional production switchers, allow management of up to eight cameras, and integrate into an IP-based environment through NDI (Network Device Interface) software.

Allard observed that today’s IPS offerings range from “bare-bones” video/audio switching with simple transitions and static graphics, to “extremely comprehensive systems that include IP integration, format flexibility to UHD, multisource video/audio mixing, live streaming output, social media integration, Skype video calling, recording, clip players, replay, chromakeying, virtual sets, automation and custom control.”

Such a plethora of options could overwhelm a first-time purchaser. RUSHWORK’s Beesley suggested that those new to this arena should make a careful assessment of goals and expectations before they step into the IPS pool.

“A prospective adopter should predefine exactly what they want to accomplish with the system,” he said. “No more and no less. Factors include price, configuration and ease-of-use. Then shop according to those criteria.”

Broadcast Pix’s Sharp added that “as a first-time buyer, I would look for a system that is scalable and future-proof, but easy to use and deploy. A well-architected system should be capable of automating complex tasks easily and logically in the setup phase, enabling the user to produce the show with simple, single button pushes.”

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

Today’s integrated production systems greatly outpace what was expected (or even possible) when they first appeared, and developers are hard at work to make them even more flexible, easy-to-use and reflective of evolving technologies and consumer trends.

“IPS will follow the trends in the industry in terms of acquisition and distribution formats,” said Broadcast Pix’s Sharp. “Smartphones are, and will continue to become, more prevalent acquisition devices and sources of content, particularly with 5G networking almost upon us. With a correctly architected IPS, these advances should present no problems, as the software is scalable, and the introduction of a new file or streaming format should just require some change in file parameters or perhaps a new codec.”

Sharp said that his company is heavily focused on application and ease of use in its products, with a MIDI control interface set to be unveiled at the 2020 NAB Show.

“It enables us to use any MIDI controller to control our IPS software, and we believe will open the market to many younger operators who are used to the various MIDI controllers available.”

NewTek is also keeping pace with the changing video production landscape, recently taking the wraps off a new TriCaster Mini IPS that features all-NDI IP connectivity. There’s also a new camera app that enables an iOS-based device to become an NDI source via Wi-Fi networking.

RUSHWORK’s Beesley says that his company is also taking advantage of NDI technology in its products, with the development of NDI PTZ camera control, as well as integration of a new RUSHPROMPTER for use in remote production. Both will be shown at the NAB Show.

“We’ll also reveal our revolutionary new object tracking capability based on the latest ‘deep learning’ neural network algorithms for identifying and locking onto objects and following them with our PTZ cameras and dolly,” said. Beesley.

Any way you look at it, with its flexibility and resources and capabilities that seem to increase daily, IPS technology seems destined to play an increasingly major role in producing the vast and varied volume of quality content that consumers are demanding.

OTTAWA—When the first NewTek TriCaster integrated video production system was introduced in 2005, its all-in-one functionality was limited to conventional SDI video signals, and whatever capability were “built into the box.”

In 2019, these walls have fallen down. Integrated production systems have embraced IP connectivity, and flexibility enhanced by network connections to exterior devices—whether physical or virtual. This can include remotely controlled PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras colocated with the integrated production switcher, or connected by IP anywhere in the world.

WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

The vastly expanded capabilities of today’s integrated production systems are in sync with customer expectations, which have also grown exponentially since 2005. As a result, the “necessities” of current integrated production systems “include switching with a reasonable number of transition and effects options, clips and graphics search and playback, the ability to build playlists, record a primary mix along with multiple ISO input recording, Chroma-key support, lower thirds and logo keying, and streaming,” said Rush Beesley president of RUSHWORKS, a Dallas-based provider of live production gear.

At the same time, the expanding use of IP-delivered video by businesses, schools, churches, and other non-broadcast users means that “people coming to us these days are asking more about streaming than actual video production,” said Russell Whittaker, worldwide director of channel sales for Broadcast Pix in Boston. “That’s a bit of a seachange for us.”

Because these customers increasingly come from IT rather than TV backgrounds, they tend not to understand the benefit of SDI-based switching. “They live in a world of RJ-45 connectors,” said Whittaker. “For them, it must be good if it’s an IT technology.” This is why integrated production system manufacturers have moved so substantially to IP in their products, even though they retain SDI connections for broadcast users.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

The emphasis on IP connectivity, and the network-based possibilities it supports, is driving design in the development of integrated production systems.

“The biggest thing is flexibility,” said Will Waters, vice president of Customer Success for NewTek in Dallas. “You need to be able to have your production capability evolve in a way that is not locked into the original physical design of your switching equipment. Flexibility is the main thing we keep hearing about from customers.”

To support flexibility, Broadcast Pix, NewTek, and RUSHWORKS all support NewTek’s Network Device Interface (NDI) technology to allow their integrated systems to connect with NDI-enabled cameras, servers, and other video production equipment. By working in IP rather than baseband, “we’re moving forward into the world of virtualization, allowing us to access resources across the network through the integrated production system,” said Waters. “The limits are falling away.”

Beesley agrees. “I think the introduction of NDI has been very impactful, providing much more flexibility and freedom to introduce multiple sources with virtually no quality loss, and a significant reduction in expense and complexity,” he said. “NDI-capable cameras are certainly appropriate for integration into systems.”

The move into IP has also allowed integrated production systems to accept far more video sources than before; including those originating as data rather than signals. “The distinction between signals that had a BNC connection or a three-letter file extension is gone,” said Whittaker. “There is a lot more acceptance that a file is just as valid as a video signal.”

VENDOR ADVANCES

A number of new features have helped spur the market for integrated production systems in recent years.

For Broadcast Pix, the biggest development is data connectivity to the graphic creation systems within its BPSwitch line, according to Whittaker. “We’ve had that before, but we’ve extended the types of video signals,” he said. “Then there’s 3D motion graphics, which we launched in 2017 but started to deliver in force last year.” BPSwitch can now be run using a tablet or smartphone.

NewTek has developed a range of NDI-based tools for its TriCaster integrated production systems. They include NewTek Connect Pro (bridging conventional and IP-based workflows,), NewTek IsoCorder Pro (encoding video from up to 16 NDI sources in QuickTime format with 8-channel audio mixing), and NewTek Telestrator (adding live dynamic graphics to any NDI video source/still image).

Waters adds, “if you have a Windows PC and you can open up our application and connect to our integrated system, we can bring the user interface of our live production device anywhere that network can reach. Meanwhile, our NewTek Premium Access subscription service allows users to render real-time animation into live programming using Adobe After Effects and Photoshop— without using a conventional graphics pipeline.”

RUSHWORKS has added the ability to incorporate NDI and URL inputs and outputs into its products, and tweaked its PTZ cameras to provide a level of granularity and motion that removes the “robotic” look characteristic of the slow moves and zooms on most PTZ cameras, according to Beesley. RUSHWORKS’ VDESK integrated production system is the company’s flagship product in this area, with its portable version being branded as REMO.

COMING UP IN 2019

What can we expect from developers of integrated production system manufacturers in the year ahead?

At Broadcast Pix, “remote control is a big priority,” said Whittaker. “It appeals to people who have production facilities spread out between different locations. We also expect to increase the range of the number of IP inputs that our integrated systems can accept.”

Over at NewTek, “we’re heavily invested in the move to IT within our industry,” said Waters. “Without getting specific, we are looking to integrate into live production from control to advances in graphics and capturing live content for later re-use.”

Meanwhile, RUSHWORKS is completing a turnkey news production system designed to be operated by one person. “It’s an out-of-the-box solution that makes high-quality news production easily manageable and affordable for educational institutions, small TV stations, and the new world of internet TV Station entrepreneurs,” Beesley said.

Integrated production systems will push further into IP and enhanced flexibility in the years to come. In doing so, they will continue their march towards a level of sophistication and power that was once the sole preserve of traditional multiperson video production complexes.

HAMILTON, N.J.—Integrated production systems are aptly named because they integrate the functionality of a production control room full of equipment within a single system. They’re designed so that one operator can control the entire video production—including tasks like multicamera switching, graphics, text, audio mixing, robotic camera control, playout and media streaming—from a single user interface.

While users don’t need to worry about the complexities of third party systems integration, they’re generally limited to whatever tools have been built into the box.

Nevertheless, with their ease of use and affordability, they’ve been widely adopted by the worship, corporate, education and government sectors, as well as for broadcast applications where space, personnel, skill and budgets are limited.

NewTek Tricaster

INTEGRATED STORYTELLING
One way to quickly give integrated production systems the ability to interface with external, third party gear is Network Device Interface (NDI). This bidirectional networking technology, spearheaded by NewTek, allows NDI-enabled third party devices residing on the same IP network to be used seamlessly together for production.

“NDI removes roadblocks to interoperability, especially for integrated production systems,” said Will Waters, director of product marketing for NewTek, in San Antonio. To date, hundreds of vendors have made their new and existing products, such as graphics and replay systems, NDI-capable. Products like NewTek Connect Pro—and Autolink for Panasonic PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom)—tie current cameras to NDI.

“The core software in our TriCaster integrated production system puts all the essential tools for creative video storytelling in one cost-effective system,” Waters said, “But customers may still want to interface their TriCasters with third party video systems, laptops or other external devices to further expand their production capabilities. NDI gives them the flexibility to do that using the one-gigabit network they may already have in place.”

Waters added that with TriCaster, and their IP Series IP-native switcher, NewTek customers could even deploy camera crews to shoot a show remotely in the field, but switch the video over IP in realtime back at the studio. “Provided that the customer has sufficient, dedicated bandwidth between the studio and field locations, the TriCaster can be used for remote NDI-based productions,” Waters said. “This allows more content to be created while reducing production costs.”

MAXIMIZING WORKFLOW
With its Ignite integrated production system, and GV Stratus Digital Media Platform (DMP), Grass Valley enables broadcasters to distribute content efficiently across their TV, web and mobile platforms.

“We overlay additional capabilities onto their existing newsroom production workflow to automate the repurposing, delivery and monetization of newscasts and other broadcast content for web and mobile platforms,” said Chuck Garfield, senior product manager at Grass Valley, in Portland, Ore. “This purpose-built, third-generation automation strengthens the broadcaster’s web and mobile presence without having to add to the personnel, workload or infrastructure.

“When delivering broadcast content to the web or mobile, our solution encapsulates closed captioning data into the online stream, which is legally required, as well as preserving rich metadata and channel branding,” Garfield added.

Server-side dynamic ad insertion (SSDAI) also lets broadcasters better monetize their VOD initiatives by dynamically swapping out old ads with new ones. For live streaming, it automates content replacement in instances where video footage is embargoed because the broadcaster doesn’t have the rights to use it on the web or on mobile. With its restful API and service oriented architecture, Grass Valley can quickly write new code for this integrated production solution to keep pace with changes in the fast-changing web, mobile, and OTT space.

Broadcast Pix Commander

TAKE CONTROL
Broadcast Pix’s Commander features an intuitive, automated touchscreen interface that makes it easier to control a multicamera video production, especially for nontechnical users. It can also be used as an option with other Broadcast Pix integrated production systems, such as the Flint and Granite series, which scale up to six and 22 multidefinition SDI inputs respectively.

“Our switchers are designed to make it easy to produce a broadcast-quality, multicamera video production,” said Tony Mastantuono, product manager for Broadcast Pix in Chelmsford, Mass. Using the touchscreen, an operator can select and broadcast a source—such as a camera, input feed, title, graphic, or clip—as well as zoom cameras, take a two-shot and other production tasks.

Mastantuono added that this ability to customize the user interface and control the production from an intuitive touchscreen makes their integrated production systems particularly attractive to public, education and government (PEG) channels, the worship, education and corporate markets, as well as small broadcast studios.

“Everything on our multiviewers can be resized or rearranged, and custom layouts can be saved for future use,” Mastantuono said. “Our user interface can also be made to simulate a production control room, with multiple control points so different tasks, like switching, graphics and audio, can be managed by multiple operators.” Broadcast Pix also offers an open API that lets users modify their system’s control structure to add an even greater level of custom control.

FUTURE PROOF
The vMix live production and streaming system is 4K and IP capable. It’s also NDI-capable, which enables networking with third-party devices, including those that support 4K and IP-based production.

According to Eric Pratt, CTO of U.S. Broadcast, in Northfield, N.H.—the U.S. distributor of the Australian based company—this system interfaces with native 4K/UHD cameras and provides 4K/UHD internal processing of integrated features like graphics, virtual sets, clip playback, streaming, recording and mixing. “Even if 4K content will not be broadcast in UHD, producing it in 4K means it will have superior image quality, and generate revenue for years to come,” Pratt said. “Opting for 4K/IP today also future-proofs the purchase.”

In addition to the vMix software that users load onto their computers, there are two turnkey versions: the vMix Go four- or eight-input SDI portable switcher, and vMix U 1RU 4-input switcher. And, since U.S. Broadcast also distributes PTZ Optics camera products, they offer a vMix Go PTZ bundle with integrated PTZ control via Ethernet.

ADVANCED CAMERA CONTROL
RUSHWORKS now offers LOCKED ON, an advanced robotic camera tracking system for use with its VDESK integrated production system. LOCKED ON leverages RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and anchors that enable multiple pan/tilt/zoom robotic cameras—and RUSHWORKS’ PTX Universal PanTilt heads—to automatically follow one or more moving subjects within a production space.

“With its advanced algorithms and programming, this tracking system anticipates the way a director would call the shots and emulates how a good camera operator would follow the subject,” said Rush Beesley, president of RUSHWORKS, in Dallas.

During live production, the camera motion can follow rehearsed scenes or presets, or take shape on the fly. By locking onto signals from tiny RFID tags on a person or object, robotic PTZ cameras interpret positional data to track the subject’s movements, and even distinguish between different subjects while maintaining proper shot composition and focus.

“This solves one of our market’s biggest integrated production challenges by eliminating the need for one or more skilled camera operators, while enabling more dramatic, professional camera motion that elevates the production value of a show,” Beesley said. LOCKED ON will be demonstrated with VDESK at the 2017 NAB Show.

STUDIO TO GO
PortaCast integrated consoles from Mobile Studios include all the equipment producers need for remote production. According to President Rich Rubin in Deerfield Beach, Fla., “The consoles can be easily loaded and unloaded from a van using our telescoping aluminum PortaRamps, and set-up in minutes on location. This gives producers the option of producing their shows from inside or outside of the van.”

The PortaCast 50 is a suitcase-sized pelican case with a built-in Panasonic AW-HS50 five-input HD/SD switcher, 22-inch LED HD monitor, patch panel and optional PTZ camera controller, intercom, audio mixer and recording capabilities. Mobile Studios also designs customized travel cases for cameras, cables and accessories, which complement PortaCast flypacks.

PortaCast Classic Flypacks can include switchers from Panasonic, Ross, For-A, Sony and NewTek along with a 27-inch HD LCD monitor built into the flip-top lid. The PortaCast Deluxe, which is a production studio on wheels, features two 27-inch HD LED monitors installed in the hinged lid, a pullout drawer that serves as a switching control surface, a bench that doubles as storage for cables, and space for 22 rack units of components. PortaCast Deluxe has been used to produce complex live events for ESPN3 and Discovery Communications, in Miami, FL.

VIRTUALIZED SOLUTION
For Pixel Power, the essence of the company’s graphics systems—its software engine—can be embedded within third-party integrated production systems. This allows broadcasters to choose best-of-breed solutions that contain tools they need to preserve the distinctive channel branding they’ve already created using Pixel Power products.

In addition, the company’s roadmap includes the development of its own integrated production system, according to James Gilbert, CEO of the Grass Valley, Calif.-based company. “Broadcasters are already using our IP-based StreamMaster to perform complex master control playout tasks from the Amazon cloud, remote data centers and onpremise-based installations.”

With this virtualized software approach for master control, “they’re delivering live programming, without compromising production standards, such as live switching, channel branding, sophisticated 3D DVE, graphics and keying,” Gilbert said. “Based on that accomplishment, it’s not that big a leap to apply that underlying technology to a virtualized integrated production system for live applications.”