MANAGEMENT
September 2016
29
Lawo leads the race for RTL
Lynx Technik’s PVD 1800 standalone SDI frame
synchroniser now offers conversion functionality.
Lynx Technik’s
PVD 1800 enhanced
with conversion
functionality
Lynx Technik’s yellobrik PVD 1800 standalone
SDI frame synchroniser is now equipped with
conversion functionality, which allows for
the support of both the Level A and Level B
dual-link 3G standard.
According to Lynx Technik, this feature
— currently not offered by manufacturer
— will allow users to covert from Level A to
Level B signals.
For instance, users may want to connect a
camera that only outputs a 3G Level B signal
with a switcher that only accepts 3G Level
A signals, or vice versa. The enhanced PVD
1800 thus helps to reduce the frustration for
technicians who find the equipment they
are installing to be incompatible because of
the different levels of the 3G standard each
may support on its own, added Lynx Technik.
Designed for professional applications
in broadcast, post-production and pro A/V
markets, the PVD 1800 synchronises and
processes different video sources, and features multi-format support for SDI formats
up to 3Gbps. An optional fibre-optic I/O can
also be configured to automatically switch
between the electrical and optical inputs if
a signal loss is detected.
The PVD 1800 deploys “flywheel synchronisation” in video processing, and is able to
accommodate a wide variety of low-quality
asynchronous SDI sources. All embedded
audio — which is free from disturbances even
when dropping and adding frame — is extracted and delayed automatically to match
the video processing delay.
The PVD 1800 also provides up to 30
frames of programmable output delay, with
users able to adjust frames, lines and pixels.
It is fully compatible with Lynx Technik’s
yelloGUI software application, allowing the
module to be configured and controlled
using a PC or Mac.
Taking on TV production for the German
leg of the Formula One (F1) World Championship race for the 25th year, German
broadcaster RTL brought remote production
to the 2016 season, which took place from
July 29-31 in Hockenheim.
Instead of setting up a mobile facility
at each track, RTL shifted the production
control to the broadcast centre operated by
Cologne Broadcast Centre (CBC) in Cologne.
Additionally, AVC/H.264 video compression
was used for signal transport to exploit the
available bandwidth for transmission.
Although the idea of remote production
is not new, the infrastructure requirements
have only recently been established for
implementing further elements of remote
production, explained Fritz Behringer, CBC’s
production engineer. He added: “By using
directional lines, the locations can now be
redundantly and economically connected
to the CBC.”
Linking the race venue to the CBC
facility was an MPLS (multi-protocol label
switching) network, which composed of a
Lawo Nova17 router, a DSP (digital signal
processor) engine, and an IFB (interrupted
feedback system) mixer, all of which were
remotely controlled from Cologne, along
with a Riedel intercom system.
File gathering and network control ran
in parallel using the same MPLS transfer.
Production of the live races and coverage
was managed using a touchscreen remote
control on the IFB mixer, as well as a Lawo
mc² audio mixing console in the CBC production control room.
Behringer highlighted that the main task
was to find connectivity that could bring all
relevant live signals and electronic newsgathering (ENG) footage to Cologne. He
continued: “The second big issue was the
handling of signal delay, originating from
distances and codec latencies.”
Essential to the remote production was
the low-latency IFB mixer set-up, which comprised a Nova17 router and was operated
with two Lawo VisTool panels. In case of a
failure of the MPLS network, VisTool provides
fader access for a simple emergency mix.
A similar set-up first went successfully
online at the first race of the 2016 Formula
One season at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit, and has since travelled with the race to
the Middle East, China, Russia, Europe and
North America.
Remote production has
been introduced for the
2016 F1 season, including
at the recent German
Grand Prix, with support
from the likes of Lawo.
Felix Krückels, Lawo’s director of business development, concluded: “The F1
implementation is a very strong demonstration of how all Lawo products are able
to exchange signals via IP using common
control and offering the customer an integrated solution.
“All talkback and TB mixes were as good
as those from a conventional production with
OB van or container control room.”
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576 Port KVM Matrix
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Cat X | Fiber | 3G-SDI support
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■ MLB Networks upgrades live remote
production capabilities
The Major League Baseball (MLB) Network
is using EVS’ Xplore Web-browsing interface
and XSquare file exchange solution to give
production teams located at its New Jersey
production facility the capability to securely
access and enhance live content from an
event revenue, without needing to access
content through the cloud.
With Xplore, production teams can view
live streams, create media packages and
archive without impacting production truck
workflows and resources on-site.
The solution is enabled by EVS