Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) March 2018 Volume 35, Issue 2 | Page 19

March 2018 MANAGEMENT 19

Lawo supports NBC Olympics ’ production of Winter Olympics

NBC Olympics , a division of the NBC Sports Group , has selected Lawo ’ s Virtual Studio Manager ( VSM ) broadcast control and monitoring solutions , as well as IP Commentary systems , for production of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games , which took place from February 9-25 in PyeongChang , South Korea .
The VSM system used at NBC Olympics ’ production facility at the International Broadcast Center ( IBC ) in South Korea provided NBC with more flexibility and operation enhancements during its production of the Winter Games . VSM was the overall control system for NBC Olympics ’ core routing and tally management , connecting to multiple third-party devices on an IP backbone .
NBC significantly increased the number of graphical user interface ( GUI ) -based VSM panels , which were accessed from various monitors and tablets provided throughout

IHSE continues to address needs for broadcast KVM

Keyboard , video and mouse ( KVM ) solutions provider IHSE has added new extenders to its Draco ultra series . The new Draco ultra KVM extenders are capable of handling HDMI 1.3 and 2.0 , SDI DisplayPort and DVI-I signals , and can convert SDI sources for display on standard computer monitors . “ Digital audio signals can also be de-embedded and output as analogue audio to other devices , such as external speakers or headphones ,” Terence Teng , managing director , IHSE APAC , told APB .
He continued : “ There are many applications within the broadcast environment in which these types of signals need to be transmitted — in monitoring signals through a broadcast facility , in previewing content as well as connecting to and operating broadcast and post-production devices , including Avid Pro Tools , EVS servers and
IHSE has added new extenders to its Draco ultra series , which are capable of handling HDMI 1.3 and 2.0 , SDI DisplayPort and DVI-I signals .
NBC Olympics ’ various production facilities . VSM also provided remote Tally information between the IBC in South Korea and NBC Sports Group ’ s headquarters in Stamford , CT , USA .
NBC Olympics also deployed an enhanced Lawo audio-over-IP Commentary System along with several Lawo V __ pro8 video processors to manage their coverage from Stamford . Lawo worked with NBC to develop an enhanced version of the Lawo Commentary Unit ( LCU ) to meet NBC ’ s production goals .
The V __ pro8s received video feeds from South Korea , de-embedded the audio and then inserted into Ravenna and MADI streams that ultimately fed the Lawo LCU commentary system . New for this year ’ s production was NBC ’ s use of the Commentary System at the IBC and remotely at the Ski Jump and
Vizrt systems .”
He added that signals can be switched through a Draco tera KVM switch , allowing any user to access any source from any convenient location in the facility . Particularly , the cross-conversion feature that allows conversion between digital formats ( HDMI , DisplayPort , DVI ) and SDI can be “ very useful ” in providing access to these types of signals on different monitors — ones that are not specific to the source of format . For example , an SDI source can be viewed on a standard computer monitor .
IHSE ’ s Draco ultra range is also based on the Lightweight Image Coding ( Lici ) video codec , which IHSE developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits ( IIS ). Teng explained : “ Quite simply , the Lici video codec is an extremely highquality encoder / decoder that allows highbandwidth signals to be compressed without introducing visible artifacts , which is a crucial pre-requisite in the broadcast environment .
“ It was the first codec on the market to extend video at 4K 60Hz full-colour 4:4:4 resolution , and was driven by the demand for visually loseless image data transfer over existing infrastructure cabling , or over limited bandwidth links , without latency .”
On the back of a successful 2017 , IHSE expects to see a growing requirement for KVM in Asia . Last year , some of IHSE ’ s major KVM installations into major broadcast organisations included Mediacorp , Zhejiang Radio and TV , as well as Chukyo TV . IHSE also provided the KVM systems for NEP ’ s new fleet of 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) outside broadcast trucks .
“ The trend towards all-IP workflow models is growing and new facilities that will be constructed will require KVM technology to enable operators to manage and manipulate those workflows ,” Teng concluded .
Curling venues , forming a fully cohesive commentary workflow .
Additionally , several Games venues in South Korea were connected to the NBC Olympics compound within the IBC through Lawo ’ s V __ remote4 units , which provided connectivity and processing for network audio and video signals delivered via IP connections from the remote sites .
Timothy Canary , vice-president of engineering , NBC Sports Group , said : “ Lawo has worked closely with NBC Olympics to add new features and additional operational
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Lawo ’ s VSM solution was the overall control system for NBC Olympics ’ core routing and tally management during the recent Winter Olympics in
PyeongChang , South Korea .
flexibly to the system , for our HD and 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) high dynamic range ( HDR ) programming .
“ The seamless integration of Lawo ’ s audio and video hardware was easily integrated into our existing systems , and provides NBC Sports with a complete end-to-end solution .”

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