One of the most significant meta trends underway in the industry is the move towards IP-based production. This is not a Big Bang style moment; we are now several years into the transition away from legacy SDI systems and we still have several years to go until the underlying architecture of the broadcast industry is wholly IP, even more so if we expand our focus out to a truly global perspective.
But the digital transition is coming for our industry as it has for so many others, and broadcasters everywhere are working out how best to navigate a future where so many media entities are moving towards IP at their own speeds.
Live production is the latest sector to be hit by the transitional wave. It perhaps lagged behind by several years following concerns about the robustness and security of the cloud-based technologies that go hand in hand with the move towards IP. These now though have been mostly addressed and with the hyperscale platforms actively targeting the broadcast market, progress is rapid.
There is a balance to be struck though. That rapid progress is also uneven and there is a need to acknowledge the importance of maximizing existing investments in legacy kit while still taking full advantage of the cutting-edge capabilities that IP brings. Which is why products such as the TriCaster Vizion have such an advantage in the current live production climate.
Mixing SDI with IP
TriCaster Vizion has been designed from the ground up to be a flexible solution for running sophisticated, multi-camera productions by broadcasters, as well as media publishers and stadiums. It offers 44 live inputs and the latest in simplified IP connectivity in the shape of support for the NDI protocol, as well as up to 16 configurable SDI inputs supplied by industry-leading Matrox devices. It is configurable for up to 8 independent HD or 2 UHD video mix outputs, with simultaneous delivery via IP and SDI.
This means it can sit perfectly happily at the center of a hybrid workflow that mixes and matches both formats; legacy SDI and the new wave of NDI-powered workflows.
NDI, of course, stands for Network Device Interface and is a widely adopted video connectivity standard based on proprietary IP networking specifications. It is increasingly used throughout the industry as it has many advantages when it comes to setting up IP workflows, not the least of which is interoperability and the ability to plug and play NDI-compatible kit into the network. It is also more cost-effective than setting up facilities purely on the SMPTE 2110 standard.
In many ways it personifies the advantages of working in IP: it is quick to set up, flexible to operate, cost-effective, and provides precisely the same high-quality audio and video that would be expected with legacy equipment. And it is the ability of equipment such as the TriCaster Vizion to meld NDI workflows with SDI ones reliably in a live production environment that can confer a huge advantage on the projects that choose to use it.
The advantages of hybrid workflows
It is important to realize that hybrid workflows are not a compromise while we wait for the full transition to IP. Rather they are a way of grafting many of the advantages of IP onto the existing live production framework without having to implement wholesale replacement of all the items in the chain.
Think of them as a shortcut to the future. They unlock the flexibility and scalability of the cloud, empowering companies to spin up extra computing power and production tools to meet capacity when needed for major events without having to commit to ongoing resources 24/7.
These tools cover an ever-increasing number of critical components, from graphics to slo-mo, and they are slowly reducing the need for on-prem infrastructure. As parts of a workflow age beyond their original SDI lifespans, these components can be ported over to the cloud to maintain broadcast-level SLAs.
Current scenarios where we are seeing hybrid workflows being increasingly deployed include:
Looking to the future
The flexibility of the hybrid approach provides broadcasters with a smoother route to implementing the next wave of potentially disruptive innovations that will be impacting the industry, from AI and automation, to 5G, to advances in virtual and augmented realities.
One thing we know is that nothing in broadcast stands still. By implementing a hybrid production model using critical components at its core such as the TriCaster Vizion, broadcasters can make sure they maintain maximum agility and remain well placed to navigate the transition away from SDI to the IP future.
In doing so they can ensure they thrive in an increasingly competitive environment where the ability to seamlessly blend on-prem and cloud-based resources, not to mention cost-effectively scale when required, is a pre-requisite for success.
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