MUNICH—Rohde & Schwarz has announced that its high-performance intelligent storage network, along with media servers for content preparation, has been deployed on Swiss Broadcaster blue, a popular subscription service that offers movies and entertainment content, as well as a popular sports service. .
Reliability, redundancy, low form factor and ease of installation were key factors in choosing R&S VENICE and R&S SpycerNode for the project, the broadcaster said. Future security and scalability were also important considerations, allowing Blue to move from the current 1080 / 25i to 50p with 4k and HDR / Ultra HD with outputs already installed on Ultra HD.
When she began planning to upgrade her studio and use the platforms, Blue acknowledged that high availability and redundancy were crucial to meet the needs of sports viewers, as well as the need to change content quickly when it comes to breaks and other schedules. . .
Time constraints also required playlists and clips to be ready for immediate playback.
Finally, with limited rack space, it was necessary to design a small form factor system with a large surplus so that it was convenient to use without complex configuration procedures.
To meet its current and future needs, blue has installed an extensive pre-production and storage network with seven R&S VENICE S8s, as well as mirror memory on two R&S SpycerNode 5u84.
Each VENICE device is capable of receiving, transmitting or converting eight HD signals or two Ultra HD signals simultaneously, which is 56 simultaneous HD streams. This includes the ability to edit on the spot and play during the reception. The new configuration realizes all this in just 34 rack units, including switches and IP panels, which is much smaller than other systems.
“Blue has invested heavily in sports rights, and we need to ensure that our assets are carefully managed, archived and stored,” said Daniel Meyer, Blue’s project manager. “Rohde & Schwarz has long been a trusted company, and the VENICE / SpycerNode combined solution is flexible, safe and cost-effective. The company was also able to guarantee us an SLA for at least seven years. So we know that we have an effective platform on which to build our future growth. »
Two full-featured SpycerNode devices provide security through redundancy, ensuring there is no single point of failure in the content management system. R&S offers state-of-the-art resilience through erasure coding and decoupling, as well as hardware redundancy, the company said.
Monitoring is provided by VENICE View with dynamically assigned sources to ensure that operators are always aware of content flows. VENICE’s built-in tools allow operators to create subclips, crop material, and transfer files without losing rendering. In situations where editing is required, Adobe Premiere can begin editing when files are received or played VENICE, which speeds up workflows by allowing you to get started as soon as it starts downloading files.
“We are proud that Blue has recognized our commitment in our VENICE and SpycerNode designs to provide continuous and high-end critical storage,” said Jörg Fries, vice president of broadcasting, amplification and media solutions at Rohde & Schwarz. “This is exactly the type of program we are considering for this technology, which provides uninterrupted operational efficiency today with scalability in the future, not only in terms of number of channels, publishers and supported processes, but also by moving to higher resolutions. as the blue public demands. “
The system was implemented by Jordi AG, Rohde & Schwarz’s system integration partner in Switzerland. Together, the two companies developed, installed, tested and commissioned the system during the first months of 2021, adhering to social distance and other protective measures for all staff involved.