RTVE Deploys TVU Networks Cloud Technology

TVU Networks
(Image credit: TVU Networks)

ALMAGRO, Spain—Spanish national public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) in July used cloud-based 4K and 5G live production technology from TVU Networks to cover the Almagro Classical Theater Festival, the company said today.

RTVE deployed the TVU One mobile IP transmitter, TVU Producer cloud-based live video production system and TVU Anywhere, the company’s mobile contribution app for smartphones and media tablets, for an HD production of the evening performance of Ficción Sonora (Sound Fiction) performed by colleagues from Radio Nacional de Espana at the Corral de Comedias in Almagro, TVU Networks said.

The production, part of the 45th International Classical Theater Festival, required the RTVE production team to switch eight separate HD video inputs in the cloud with TVU Producer as well as add a stereo audio mix, the company said.

The RTVE team also produced a 30-minute, magazine-style program in 4K focused on the atmosphere of the annual festival with interviews from different locations around Almagro, including the Corral, it said.

For the magazine-show production, RTVE used TVU Producer in a 4K cloud workflow with shots from a PTZ camera in the town hall and three smartphones in other locations within in the city. The production team also used TVU Partyline for real-time collaboration. The cloud-based tool enabled IFB communications among the technical crew as well as communications between the show presenter and contributing journalists, it said.

The broadcaster’s RTVEplay OTT service distributed the afternoon show as did RTVE Castilla La Mancha’s Twitter account. Canal 24 Horas, the broadcaster’s free-to-air channel, broadcast the live production of The Ficción Sonora.

“It is important to know the operational possibilities that 4K cloud production will offer in order to define future use cases,” said Pere Vila, RTVE director of technology strategy and digital innovation. "Through our first-hand experience, we witness the possibilities it brings to live entertainment and sports events.”

Calling the broadcaster “a leading player in Europe for advancing new technology," TVU Networks general manager and vice president for EMA and Latin America Rafael Castillo said RTVE took an approach that points to the future of production. 

“The configuration used in Almagro will be one that’s easy to reproduce and will prove beneficial to RTVE in the future," Castillo said. 

The company has posted a behind-the-scenes video of the production online.

Phil Kurz

Phil Kurz is a contributing editor to TV Tech. He has written about TV and video technology for more than 30 years and served as editor of three leading industry magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.