EMERYVILLE, Calif.—Systems integrator and service provider Advanced Systems Group has named Jody Boatwright as its chief strategy officer, a new role tasked with leading research and guiding the company’s future direction as the business evolves.

Formerly ASG’s vice president and general manager of managed services, Boatright’s new role will shift his focus from day-to-day operations to developing future-facing initiatives, the company said. He will work across ASG and industry leadership on economic issues affecting the company’s media and entertainment business, ASG said.

“I’ll be working along with [ASG President] Dave Van Hoy and all of the ASG leadership team to do strategic analysis, market predictions and planning where we want to be positioned in it,” Boatwright said. “We’ll be looking specifically at the technology and client services that our clients will need in the future, which are both undergoing a dynamic shift right now, as the broader market evolves with the economy.”

Prior to heading the managed services team, Boatright spent a decade in systems integration, often working with ASG as a strategic partner, the company said. He then spent 11 years with ASG on the services side of the business, including in service operations, production, creative services and in building and leading its managed services practice, the company said.

Under Boatwright’s leadership, ASG’s managed services business has grown eightfold, the company said, particularly among enterprise clients.

“One of the really great things about managed services is that we’ve been excellent at serving the enterprise client,” he said. “As ASG grows, a lot of our relationships will be of that nature.”

ASG described its new chief strategy officer role as a dedicated, forward-looking point of connection or, in Boatwright’s words, a “connector and translator” linking the company’s internal expertise with outside market realities.

“I’ll be connecting with our technology partners and industry leaders in a more forward-looking way, as opposed to a transactional way,” he said. “That opens different conversations about longer-term trajectory.”

Boatwright noted the many forces reshaping media and technology, including economic pressures, workflow changes driven by AI, evolving engagement models and increased competition in specialized niches. He said ASG’s diversity of customers, services and technologies means its strategy must account for all of these market forces.

“We’re a truly diverse business across different customer subsets,” Boatwright said. “It’s important for us to understand our opportunities in all of those different areas.”

Van Hoy said Boatwright has been instrumental in shaping how ASG serves its clients for more than a decade.

“He has a rare ability to connect strategy to real-world execution,” Van Hoy said. “He understands our customers, our technology, and our services at a very deep level. He grew our managed services business by understanding our customers and what they need to operate and flourish. In this new role, he’ll bring that same practical, customer-first mindset to a broader view of where the industry is headed and how ASG can best support our clients through that change.”

PLANO, Texas—Technology solutions provider Diversified has named Paul Lidsky as CEO, tasked with guiding the company’s next stage of growth, driving market expansion and enhancing service delivery across its global footprint.

Lidsky, who had been Diversified’s board chairman since 2023, has more than four decades of leadership experience in IT solutions and technology services, the company said.

“Paul is a highly respected leader with deep expertise in the technology services industry and a strong history of building great companies with a focus on the people and partnerships that drive success and serve their clients,” said Will Fleder, partner at Tailwind Capital, Diversified’s primary investor. “We are confident that his leadership and experience will further strengthen Diversified’s position as a global leader and accelerate its continued growth.”

Prior to Diversified, Lidsky had been CEO of tech consultancy Core BTS; president and CEO of Datalink; and CEO of Calabrio, leading companies delivering enterprise solutions across collaboration, cloud, data centers, networking, and security. He has also held executive posts at OneLink, Spanlink Communications and Norstan.

“Diversified’s strength has always come from doing the fundamentals exceptionally well, delivering quality, expertise, and consistency in support of our clients,” Lidsky said. “I’ve had the privilege of serving as chairman and working closely with this team and I see extraordinary opportunity ahead. As CEO, my focus is on building on that momentum by continuing to invest in our people, our partners, and the technologies that matter most to our clients. We continue to grow adding new clients every year, and Diversified is well positioned to continue that growth as the industry evolves.”

Announcement of Lidsky’s appointment follows news of Diversified’s expansion plans for EMEA, where it recently opened a new strategic hub in Germany to provide in-region engineering, project execution and client support, the company said.

AUSTIN, Texas—Systems integrator BeckTV has announced that it will be showcasing its facility design, engineering, and installation expertise and services, with a particular focus on its work for sports venues and TV stations at the 2024 NAB Show. 

During the show in Las Vegas between April 13-17, BeckTV engineers will be on hand in Booth C4035 to review the newest technology and trends, along with best practices in system design and integration.

In announcing its NAB Show plans, the company said it offers complete space planning, design, engineering, purchasing, and integration services for nearly any budget — all available in a one-stop shop. The company also has extensive in-house metal, composite, and wood fabrication capabilities to create truly customized solutions.

"With the increasing adoption of SMPTE ST 2110 and AES67 and the push for ever-higher resolutions, broadcasting and sports facilities are looking to modernize their infrastructures or build brand-new ones to take advantage of the latest technological advancements," said Matt Weiss, vice president of business development at BeckTV. "I'm happy to say that BeckTV has been behind many of those projects. They are perfect illustrations of our skill and expertise, which will be on full display at NAB. Any broadcast or sports production engineer who's planning to upgrade will really like what they see."

Over the years, BeckTV has implemented innovative technology for nearly every type of installation, including broadcast and network television stations, cable and satellite facilities, network operations centers, sports and mobile trucks, professional and university stadium venues, and houses of worship, the integrator said.

The company's projects run the gamut in terms of size and technology — from sports stadiums and large network builds to the smallest call letter stations, and from classic baseband video systems to sophisticated SMPTE ST 2110 deployments.

In the recent past, BeckTV has been responsible for infrastructure upgrades and/or new builds for prominent sports venues and several broadcast stations. Sports projects include M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens; Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers; the UFC Apex; Citi Field, home of the Mets; Lower.com Field, home of the Columbus Crew; and Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Among its many accomplishments, BeckTV has designed and built the most advanced 4K HDR 2110 deployments in sports and is responsible for the only installed 8K replay systems in NFL venues. 

The company has also worked with major station groups, including Hearst, Tegna, Gray Television, and Griffin Media, completing projects for stations from complete greenfield builds to major system upgrades.

Besides its work with on-site broadcast facilities, BeckTV is also known for its work on outside broadcast (OB) trucks, such as a recently completed flagship OB truck for Ross Production Services. 

As part of its OB work, BeckTV said it can manage an OB truck project and conceptualize and finalize design and documentation of all major broadcast systems, including every individual wire to be installed in the truck. BeckTV can prewire and label all cables at its facility for delivery to the project site. Then, after receiving an empty truck, a BeckTV installation crew can completely integrate all equipment, running the wires, racking the gear, doing all the power and cabling, and performing comprehensive testing to ensure the final system operates as planned. Finally, a BeckTV project engineer and a technician can be on hand to provide event support during the truck's first show, the company said. 

More information about BeckTV is available at www.becktv.com. 

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—In an era when the pace of technical change seems to be hyper charged, systems integrators (SI) are a valuable resource for broadcasters and others who need to implement challenging video projects. A good SI keeps up with the equipment that is available, and can create a system design that meets today’s needs while allowing a fair degree of future proofing.

An SI team serves as a bridge between end users and vendors, and trade shows like the NAB Show are awash in meetings.

So what are the hot topics this year? 

EARLY DAYS FOR LIVE IP PRODUCTION
Less than a decade ago, SIs were helping broadcasters bring file-based production in to their facilities—today, that part of the long march to a fully IP facility is largely done. But the industry still has many SDI islands.

At the NAB Show, more than a few competing camps have agreed on the best way to transition the live production world from SDI to IP, and end users and the SIs that support them are trying to figure out the best way forward.

Austin, Texas-based Beck TV has served a variety of clients over its more than 30 years in the industry, including call letter stations, 24-hour news facilities, cable origination facilities, production facilities for cable channels, sports venues and more.

Fred Beck

According Fred Beck, president of Beck TV, his company has two proposals out right now where clients have requested both an IP solution and a more traditional architecture.

“They want our opinions on each approach,” he said. “They’re looking at how much IP would cost them and where it stands, and what I told them was: ‘It’s still very early, we don’t have standards yet.’

“We’re seeing a lot of gateways that take HD-SDI and put some wrappers on it, then stick it in to a switcher,” he added. “We still need standards but it’s doable… if you’re building a television facility and you’re looking at 20-30 years overall for your facility and maybe 10 years for your infrastructure, you have to look at IP.”

Michael "Spike" Jones

Michael ‘Spike’ Jones, vice president, sales and marketing for Communications Engineering, Inc., (CEI) in Newington, Va., said that for their customers, one link of the chain that has pretty much completed its IP transition is master control. “Over the last year we have moved to almost exclusively producing IP-based MC systems,” he said.

As far as the live production transition goes, Jones said the technology is nascent, and urged a cautious approach.

“Some places like news production are aggressively leveraging IP transport, and that’s growing like a weed,” said Jones. “In studio production it’s not coming quite as fast, but in every single design it’s a consideration right from the beginning. It’s less about making a decision now; it’s when and how will IP serve the customer better down the road… that’s the expertise that system integrators are counted on to deliver.”

John Wesley Nash

John Wesley Nash, executive vice president and chief operating officer of CEI, said that to an extent, it’s not a question of whether to go IP in live production, but when, and how to prepare today.

“(For) all of our projects of any significant nature over the last 18-24 months, the whole question of examining where IP fits in currently and in the future has been a major consideration,” Nash said. “We are very IP-centric from the standpoint of proving that it belongs in a project today or doesn’t, or to what degree we integrate it today to make it easy to integrate in the future.” He added that a key consideration was the lifecycle of the project.

One part of the IP transition that has made significant advances since last year’s NAB Show is audio over IP. Nash said that the AES67 AoIP standard has developed a lot over the last year and is now becoming commonplace.

“Last year manufacturers were just starting to integrate Dante and RAVENNA in to products in many cases, and now [these are] in almost every project,” he said. “IP audio standards have come together and there’s more and more plug-and-play between manufacturers.”

Joseph Policastro, director of project management & planning for Broadcast Integration Services in Union City, N.J., said that while IP will continue to dominate new work in much of the broadcast chain, it’s just starting to make an impact on router and production switcher installations.

“We’re in the infancy stage,” said Policastro. “Everyone is concerned about picking the right equipment to not put themselves in a bad position when it all shakes out in two or three years.”

One product area that Policastro sees as becoming more and more common over the next year or two are virtual sets and augmented reality systems. “These will become standard for more clients,” he said “In a few years, having a VR or AR system might be like having a CG system today.”

Policastro also expects to see more digital cinema-related topics at the show. “4K cameras are being used in the field for commercials, but they can also drop frame rates and be used in studios,” he said. “There seems to be this cross-pollination of directors and producers who are asking ‘why can’t I use this camera in my regular production.’”

BIS is currently designing a hybrid television studio for a midwest PR agency that will use digital cinema cameras along with traditional video switchers to do 4K and UHD production in a standard facility.

Policastro added that BIS is getting steady feedback from clients that want equipment and facilities that are 4K-ready.

Policastro thinks that the term “cloud” is often misunderstood. “The word ‘cloud’ is thrown around as something that allows more than it does in many cases,” he said. “It is not a finished full thought, [but] we are just in the beginning of making it a driving force.”

VIDEO EVERYWHERE
One positive trend that goes beyond any specific technology area is the simple expansion of video in to just about everything. CEI, for example, started off as a broadcast-specific SI, but the company’s services have grown to include a number of high-end AV projects for customers such as financial institutions and medical institutes.

“Video, audio and media/IT technologies are showing up in so many businesses,” said CEI’s Nash. “The expertise that we sell is now broadly useful across a wide range of businesses and industries.”

BIS’ Policastro echoed these thoughts, saying that the same traits that drive an SI’s business in the broadcast world are now helping with new clients in the educational and corporate field.

“When a corporate client says ‘we’d like a TV studio’ and ‘we’d like to be able to get the video to these three branches… and distribute graphics,’ we see these as common [broadcast] network problems where procedures, standards and asset management matter.”

This cross pollination is driving business, according to Policastro. “Only a couple of years ago ‘college work’ for an SI meant AV systems for the auditorium and other managed pockets of work,” said Policastro. “A couple of years ago a college would not have been streaming, but places like that are now having many of the same challenges broadcasters have had for years.”

BIS recently installed a TV studio for a company that makes forms for insurance purposes. “They needed a studio because they needed to do web seminars,” he said. “They needed to educate their clients on what they were doing, they needed a media presence.”

Noting the growing importance of “non-broadcast” work, Beck noted that his firm has certainly started to see more facilities that need to deal with delivery over the internet, mobile or OTT. One big recent project was a facility for Time Inc. in Manhattan. “It’s four studios, three control rooms, and it’s all about creating content for the web,” he said.

Mark Siegel

Advanced Broadcast Solutions of SeaTac, Wash., recently installed a new video production facility for the Digital Media Program at Bates Technical College, a public college based in Tacoma, Wash. Mark Siegel, president of ABS, said that Bates wanted to make the most out of the upgrade opportunity.

“The new workspaces accommodate a full class of students,” he said. “We also installed fluorescent and LED lights in the studio to support their ‘green’ initiative, and included high-quality components in the control room so students and outside clients can achieve professional results.”