Q3 - 2014

XTRA

Fast-turnaround production, anytime, anywhere: Connect, browse, select and edit live camera content on-the-fly, from anywhere in the world with XT3 and the C-Cast Xplore application. You can remotely access, control and play out production content from the XT3 server using EVS’ unique 10GB Ethernet connectors, while the instant low-res viewer enables you to view and access content faster than ever before.

Get more exciting content to air faster: XT3 allows you to work with growing files, enabling editors to work on clips during live recording, then send final edits for instant playback.

XT3 does away with the traditional codec conversion process, thanks to native support for all standard codecs. This creates a much faster production process, saving valuable time, effort and money.

Keep pace with camera formats: XT3 makes it easy to bring new camera formats into your workflow, requiring just a simple re-configuration to support Super Slow Motion, Supermotion 3X/6X, Hypermotion, 3D, HD and SD cameras.

An ultra-easy move to a 4K/UHD workflow: XT3 can easily scale up to handle

the much larger file sizes associated with 4K/UHD. A huge 20TB of storage space means the server can handle 381 hours of HD or 762 hours of SD recording, and two UHDTV-4K channels. The XT3 provides full native multi-codec support, all the way up to 4K, delivering quick, seamless and future-proof operations.

What’s more, XT3 slots seamlessly into your existing EVS infrastructure, minimizing disruption to your production team.

Isn’t it time you experienced the Power of More?

NESN KICKS OFF WITH C-CAST XPLORE FOR REMOTE PRODUCTION

EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF MORE WITH XT3

Live production for NESN (New England Sports Network) — which delivers sports programming to more than four million homes in the six-state New England region of the US — is now faster, more efficient and more compelling, thanks to the implementation of C-Cast Xplore from EVS.

Game Creek Video, a leading provider of mobile production solutions, implemented a live production workflow centered on the C-Cast Xplore remote production tool. Instant access to the OB van’s remote operations is used to enhance NESN’s pre-show, post-show and game coverage of Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruin games, as well as for its nightly news show NESN Sports Today.

“C-Cast Xplore has opened up entirely new coverage possibilities for NESN,” says the network’s Dan Brokowski. “Our production team’s ability to remotely tap directly into the server network, instantly access any camera

feed and transfer footage is a tremendous advantage, both for its efficiency and for delivering an enhanced viewing experience.”

Based on EVS’ C-Cast connected content platform, C-Cast Xplore’s web-browsing interface gives authorized users remote access to EVS XT3 live production servers for editing, re-packaging and archiving. Studio production teams can easily select sequences to create fast-turnaround highlights and discussion packages during games. In addition to reducing the number of onsite production personnel, C-Cast Xplore gives production teams unprecedented capability to work remotely and enhance content on the fly.

“For the kind of high-quality live production services we provide, C-Cast Xplore could be an industry game changer,” says Game Creek Video’s Jason Taubman. “This is one of our first applications of this tool and so far it’s exceeded our expectations.”

THE XT3 IS WHAT YOU NEED TO STAY AHEAD, AND STAY ON TOP.

CHANNELS

CREATIVITYFLEXIBILITY

CONNECTIVITYCONTENT ACCESS

LIVE CONTROL

SPEED

ORE

XPLORE THE UNEXPECTED

C-Cast Xplore is the key to access live production content from anywhere around the world.”

www.evs.com/XPLORE

2Q3 - 2014

NRK, the Norwegian public broadcaster, has completed an extensive overhaul of its recording studios with an investment in a range of EVS technology. The upgrade is enabling NRK to produce more high-quality content, streamline its operations and make operational cost savings. With its purchase, NRK can now benefit from more efficient production workflows, get content to air much faster and handle a range of file formats – all without any disruption to its production teams.

Alongside the investment in EVS kit, Studios 1 and 2 in Marienlyst, Oslo have been completely refurbished to help produce top in-house shows such as Nytt på nytt and Lindmo. Sitting at the heart of the workflow are four EVS XS servers (two in each studio) set up in a 5-in/1-out configuration with ProRes422 & AVC-Intra support - handling up to ten camera feeds in each studio – as well as an IPDirector production asset management suite to manage the content and control the ingest scheduling.

An integral part to the new operation is Xsquare, EVS’ gateway and workflow orchestration solution. This innovative system enables operators to pool resources from both studios and stream recorded material directly to the XSAN central storage system via Fibre Channel. It also allows NRK to monitor the streams from a single and easy-to-use interface. All of this functionality means the production and post-production processes are seamlessly and simply connected for maximum productivity.

As the new workflow enables fast and reliable multicam streaming to the central XSAN, the post-production team benefits from

instant access to content as soon as the recording starts. This means editors can start editing during the recording process, enabling its production teams to meet the extremely tight deadlines between recording and sending programmes to air.

“The EVS servers are always recording, which means we can be 100 per cent certain that we capture all the sequences and action that we need,” said Magne Sivertsen, technical manager at NRK. “We never have to worry about missing any unexpected events that occur on set – we know that the XS has everything covered.”

The whole system is highly scal-able, enabling NRK to easily repurpose its production set-up for multiple productions. Switching formats for different productions is also very straight-forward for the production team. All that’s required is a sim-ple re-boot to re-configure the XS servers, giving operators greater flexibility and eliminating the need for multiple hardware investments.

Ultimately, the new EVS workflow means NRK can significantly reduce production costs while at the same time increase production values. Because of the tighter integration between production and post, there is a direct and positive impact on the production cycle. This means that the editors can reduce the time spent on many manual, non-creative operations, and free up their time to focus on more creative tasks. And the production team benefits from a shorter production cycle as the editing is completed faster than before. Bottom line, meaning a better end product, a more efficient workflow, and the potential for significant cost savings.

Les Enfoirés, an ever-changing line-up of French musicians, artists and actors, was the brainchild of famous French comedian Coluche (aka Michel Colucci). First formed in 1986, the group comes together each year for an annual television show to raise money for the Restos du Cœur charity, which provides food and assistance to the homeless and needy.

This year’s performances were held at the Zénith con-cert hall in Strasbourg from 15 to 20 January. Over the five day event, three concerts were recorded, which translated into 180 hours of content. The performances were covered in the form of a two and a half hour TV show aired on French television channel TF1 on 14 March, plus a three and a half hour DVD released the follow-ing day. A massive 12 million viewers watched the TV show, which represented 52% of the TV viewing market.

Like last year, there were 17 cameras deployed. But what differentiated this year’s event coverage was the ability to use all the camera angles from all of the 17 camera feeds. This was due to the extra bandwidth of the EVS servers, which made it possible to record and trans-fer all the footage simultane-ously. For the production team, this meant they could create a more immersive viewing ex-perience for the television au-dience. And as a result, the team at AMP Visual TV – which provided all the technical facil-ities and production crew for the event – was able to provide more footage of each of the artists as they performed, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.

“We wanted to improve the quality of the programme, and capture the full intensity and energy of the performers that

were part of this year’s Les Enfoirés,” explained Pascal Duchêne, freelance director of the TV show and the DVD. “We also wanted to convey the emo-tion of the crowd to give viewers an experience as close to being there live as we could. Using all of the camera feeds from the recordings gave us a wealth of content and it was one way we could achieve our goal.”

The extended camera feeds meant the editors could create better and smoother transi-tions between shots, and rec-reate a truer representation of the dynamics of the show for TV viewers. However, with so much additional content coming in from multiple cam-era feeds, there was a worry that this would complicate and lengthen the editing process, and ultimately delay the de-livery of the final programme. To deliver all the benefits of the multi-angle content, without the additional costs associated with lengthy production cycles, the production team had to find a way to make the workflow quicker and more efficient.

Enter EVS. The new EVS-based workflow meant the production team was able to get the pro-gramme to air in record time, saving an incredible two work-ing days in the production of the TV show. In particular, the XS servers allowed the pro-duction team to ingest all 17 camera feeds and the direc-tor’s cut, which was produced using a Sony MVS8000A vision mixer, simultaneously. All the camera feeds were encoded into a high-quality native DNx-HD® 185 Mbps 10-bit format and the 180 hours of recorded material transferred to a cen-tral storage via fiber ready for post. This was facilitated using EVS’ IPDirector production as-set management suite, which was also used to manage the content and control the ingest.

The team in charge of post, Atelier Clandestin, benefited greatly from new time-saving features in IPDirector. The ability to retrieve and transfer the edit decision list (EDL) - along with the director’s cut, all 17 camera feeds and the associated metadata - to post-production in native DNxHD® 185 Mbps 10-bit format eliminated the need to transcode files and reassemble or rename clips prior to post. As the transfer was in native Avid format (AAF), it meant the editing team could start editing immediately.

“The robustness and reliability of the EVS servers were cru-cial in a project of this com-plexity, with multiple shows, multiple camera angles and an extremely tight production cycle,” said Duchêne. “The ex-tended bandwidth and number of flexible ingest channels of the servers as well as the loop recording capability meant we could be confident that we would capture all the footage we needed, without missing a single shot.”

Editor Jean-Pierre Baiesi from Atelier Clandestin added: “Thanks to the innovative fea-tures in the IPDirector, I could edit the transitions between shots very quickly, replacing any shot in the timeline of the director’s cut with any other camera angle. The integra-tion between production and post-production allowed me to work much more effective-ly this year. It cut down what is normally a very time-con-suming 10 day process. In the end, it took me just eight days, saving us two working days for the TV show and the associated costs that come with it despite having more original footage to work with!” The result? A qual-ity end product, produced much more efficiently and quickly, saving both time and money.

NRK SERVES UP STUDIO UPGRADE WITH EVS

EVS HELPS LES ENFOIRÉS GET A NEW LOOK

©Laurent Zabulon

3Q3 - 2014

EVS OPENS UP CANNES FILM FESTIVAL WORKFLOW

EVS OpenCube technology was at the heart of a mobile post production facility at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for the second year, handling ingest, transcoding and mastering of entries at the prestigious event.

EVS OpenCube servers were de-ployed by digital services provider Éclair Group, which was contract-ed by the Festival de Cannes and the CST (Commission Supérieure Technique de l’image et du son) to handle all technical issues re-lated to festival entries at its mo-bile post-production facility.

Dealing with the film entries presented a range of challenges, from time pressures to ingesting films submitted in multiple formats and on a range of different media. Éclair Group had to output many of the entries through its

post production workflow, to be checked, transcoded, mastered and wrapped before final delivery as a digital cinema package (DCP) ready to be viewed at the festival’s cinemas.

“We’ve been using EVS OpenCube servers in our Paris facility for some time now,” explains Frantz Delbecque, R&D and new technologies manager for the Éclair Group. “The integration of the server in our mobile post-production facility worked out well for us. Having the OpenCube server definitely helps us to address the many formatting challenges in what is a very pressurised and challenging timeframe.”

Using OpenCube servers, Éclair Group was able to generate MXF-compliant files of all the films,

making the distribution process easier. It also meant that the post production team could easily and quickly carry additional tasks, such as resynchronising the audio or remastering the subtitles where necessary.

“These days films are produced in such a wide range of formats, making it a very complicated process to manage the high number of film screenings you see at an event like the Cannes film Festival – especially when it’s in such a short time. We are very proud that our technology contributes so crucially to the success of one of the most highly regarded film festivals in the world,” adds Benoit Février, Senior vice president at EVS Media.

Live sports broadcasting of every kind is evolving fast. The stakes are high. And there’s no room for error, which can creep in with amateur slow motion replay systems. With the low-cost XTnano from EVS, you can invest in the same innovation, premium performance and reliability that pros experience, and still stay within your budget. 

XTnano is the HD/SD slow motion replay server designed specifically for live sports productions requiring cost-efficient workflows.  With its unique loop recording architecture, XTnano features a four or six channel configuration with the codec you need. And it’s optimized for multiple applications, including the ingest of A/V files, live feed recording, live slow motion and super motion, fast clipping and playlist playout control, and third-party media sharing that’s faster than real-time.  

With XTnano, you achieve a grand slam of live slow motion replay and highlights editing functions – all with unmatched speed-to-air and reliability that you just won’t find with any other solution. 

NEW FEATURES AT A GREAT PRICE WITH XTNANO:

The flexible XTnano slow motion replay server now offers a range of new features. XTnano is the perfect toolbox for any high-speed operation that needs maximum reliability and support for a range of formats.

XTnano has been designed with multiple applications in mind and can handle ingest of audio and video files, live feed recording, live slow motion and super motion, as well as clipping and playlist playout control. XTnano also features EVS’ unique loop recording technology, ensuring that content is constantly available.

EVS XTract gateway application works in conjunction with XTnano for faster-than-real-time media transfer to removable drives and post-production. Meanwhile GigE networking capabilities enable A/V files to be simultaneously played and transferred to other EVS servers as well as all standard non-linear editing and archive systems.

The new XTnano also offers flexible configuration, allowing you to handle SD, HD and 3D and native support for DVCPRO HD and DVCPRO 50 codecs. An optional Super Motion mode means XTnano can be used with both double and triple frame rate Super Motion cameras.

EVS XTNANO – MORE POWER FOR LESS

TV PERU GOES TAPELESSAs the state network of Peru, TV Peru needed a highly reli-able production workflow that would easily transition from old to new, without disrupting ser-vices or production staff, for its wide-ranging news, entertain-ment and cultural programming.

With the help of regional distrib-utor DIVICAM, EVS implemented a new file-based workflow based on the XS production server designed specifically for studio applications. The four-channel XS server facilitates TV Peru’s migration to HD by playing out in high definition and down convert-ing second channels to standard definition until its migration to HD is complete.

“The speed and reliability of our new tapeless workflow from EVS makes a tremendous difference in our day-to-day operations and programming quality,” says Cesar Otero, technical director, TV Peru. “The connection between different areas of our workflow, and administrator and quali-ty control management access make for a fluid, easy system.”

Recording multiple audio and vid-eo feeds and providing complete control and playback operations, the  XS server can be managed by a range of EVS hardware and software controllers adapted to all types of production workflows, as well as third-party tools such as automation systems, linear

or hybrid editors, switchers and controllers. XS can also emulate tape machines, eliminating the need for playback equipment and editing recorders.

EVS’ Benjamin Mariage, vice president sales, Latin America puts it into perspective: “An efficient and reliable tapeless workflow frees up more time for creativity, enabling TV Peru to focus on delivering a better end product. The XS server simplifies the transition to tapeless production and enables TV Peru to complete its HD migration in its own timeframe.”

The new workflow also includes XTAccess, EVS’ gateway software

that facilitates media interchange with third-party tools and cre-ates low-resolution versions of all clips, which are stored on a near-line system and available for browsing through an IP con-

nection. The six-channel XTnano HD/SD slow-motion replay serv-er was selected for TV Peru’s OB van to enhance its coverage of live sports and cultural events.

4Q3 - 2014

SINGING PRAISES FOR THE VOICE’S HD WORKFLOW

Shine Australia, one of the world’s most successful creators of media and entertainment brands, responsible for top-rated programming including The Voice, MasterChef, The Biggest Loser and Australia’s Next Top Model (to name just a few), turned to EVS for a powerful new HD workflow. Working alongside Global Television for outside broadcast, Shine Australia created its first-ever HD production, which they plan to replicate for other live programming.

For Shine Australia’s technical services manager Nick Parker, HD studio production was a long-time desire that, until now, never made practical sense. Live programming like The Voice in HD requires nearly three times the data rate, storage and bandwidth of standard definition production. As he explains, “Traditionally a studio show requires lots of disk space due to limited codec choices and workflow limitations. We’ve always wanted to do long-form studio shows in HD; however, the numbers have never worked in our favour. We were only ever able to do them as one-off shows such as a series finale.”

That all changed when EVS introduced new XDCAM capability to its XT3 production server. “XDCAM was a format we understood and had already

embraced with our ENG camera workflows,” continues Nick. “Working with EVS and Global we were able to set up a parallel test for the finale of Australia’s Next Top Model, where we ran one XT3 in XDCAM and the others in DNxHD®.” With positive real-world test results and no significant issues, Nick and his team had the confidence to move ahead with the new workflow for 2014. In addition to native support for wide-ranging codecs, EVS’ XT3 production server provides built-in proxies, 4K configuration and live multi-angle review.

Other critical EVS tools, such as IPDirector production asset management, work in tandem with the XT3 for a streamlined, high-speed live production workflow that includes easy ingest control, metadata management, on-the-fly editing and playout scheduling - all from a single interface. Production personnel  can instantly share content, edits and metadata. EVS XFile provides comprehensive file transfer and archiving capabilities while Xsquare software easily handles all media transfers, media transcoding and orchestration of all load-balancing tasks.

Most importantly, the new workflow enables post-production to work on the content as live content—including

celebrity red carpet walks—is being ingested, allowing the fast turnaround of a high-end opening package. By the time the package is complete, it has already received a colour grade and audio mix - all within an hour of shooting time.

“EVS IS LIKE THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF OUTSIDE BROADCAST. USING EVS FOR OUR FILE DELIVERY INTO POST MEANS WE’RE WORKING WITH ROCK-SOLID SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE, WHILE KEEPING OUR COSTS DOWN BY NOT HAVING TO ADD ADDITIONAL HARDWARE TO THE TRUCK.” Nick Parker, Technical Services Manager Shine Australia

For all of its myriad benefits, the real value of the EVS workflow may lie with its ability to provide improved quality—and thus an enhanced viewer experience—without stretching the budget or production resources. As Nick adds, “I can confidently say we won’t be doing another studio show in standard definition. EVS has given us the ability to produce The Voice in HD with the same amount of disk space as SD.”

Amazing Chinese is one of China’s top-rated reality shows. For this often wacky and wildly popular live program, Beijing-based producer Star China turned to EVS for a new production workflow. Prior to implementing the EVS system, Star China had little professional production infrastructure and relied on leased servers and piecemeal solutions for each of its programs. Equipment for the live production—shot at both Tai Cang Theatre in Jiang Su province and the People’s Great Hall in Beijing—varied by type and manufacturer.

Star Media’s primary goals were to replace a VTR with a tapeless workflow that would save costs, provide higher quality production and simplify their workflow. A new, end-to-end digital system from EVS is focused around multiple XT3 and XS advanced live production servers. Offering DNxHD support and powerful 10GigE connectivity, the servers support 12 to 15 hours of live multi-camera recording for each episode with wide-ranging capabilities.

EVS’ enhanced XT3 production server gives Star Media the combination of speed, power and flexibility so critical in a live studio environment. By integrating today’s top IT and broadcast technologies,

the XT3 gives Star Media unparalleled motion control and adaptability for programs like Amazing Chinese that feature multiple shoots and locations. Operators have complete media control, from ingest to playout, including live editing, slow-motion replays, multi-channel playback and transfer to third-party systems such as craft editors, automation, archiving or storage.

The XT3 is also the first in-gest, playout and production broadcast server to native-ly support such a wide range of codecs without requiring hardware changes, allow-ing Star Media production teams to easily select de-sired compression schemes for use throughout the entire edit process.

Each server is supported by the EVS XFly portable storage platform with an external removable disk, providing the required 200 hours of content storage for each of the 16 season episodes.

EVS’ XFly Streamer automati-cally identifies live streams and wraps them into Avid MXF files via the XTAccess media inter-change software. With the new system, operators have the ability to quickly and efficiently record, store and edit to correct issues as required.

XT3 TRANSFORMS PRODUCTION OF CHINA’S MOST POPULAR REALITY SHOW