As the industry makes a significant shift to the cloud for production applications, new tools are enabling media companies and content creators to leverage the flexibility of cloud workflows, and the collaborative possibilities they offer. For IBC 2022. Evertz will be highlighting solutions that push forward the transition to this exciting future for the broadcast industry.
As a global leader in media and entertainment technology, Evertz has developed a growing portfolio of new cloud solutions that support a significant shift away from CAPEX broadcast hardware to innovative virtualized solutions that align OPEX with flexible workflows in the cloud.
Providing customers with powerful, low bandwidth cloud on-ramp options is a key part of the equation. Content creators who want to use the cloud for production and streaming need an easy and convenient way to upload high quality video with ultra-low latency. In response to this need, Evertz offers its popular XPS Live Video Encoder/Decoder Series that can be deployed to the edge to feed live video, audio and data to Reflektor, Evertz’ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) media transcoding and distribution platform. Offering comprehensive processing and transcoding directly in the cloud, Reflektor can manage the expanding number of signal formats (MPEG-TS, NDI, ST 2110, HLS, MPEG DASH, etc.) that are produced or required by traditional broadcasters. Reflektor uses licensed microservices in the cloud to normalize signal types to best suit the needs of the end user or final application, making it an ideal cloud solution for UHD/4K field contribution, remote production, return feed monitoring, remote collaboration and cloud production.
“Reflektor’s versatility and ability to transcode, translate and replicate IP flows in and out of the cloud makes it a valuable tool for everyone who wants to transition to cloud workflows,” says Harjinder Sandhu, Director of Business Development, Compression at Evertz. “With Reflektor, it is easy to simultaneously distribute, stream and playout multi-signal content directly to broadcast centers, remote operators, CDNs and more, which opens many creative possibilities. Any signal type can be accommodated, as can all video, audio or data content required for any broadcast application, including monitoring, encoding/decoding, TS Muxing, duplication, etc. In combination with an XPS edge device, venues can use common transport protocols such as SRT, RIST and Zixi to send a low-bandwidth HEVC signal to Reflektor for immediate transcoding into a format best-suited for the endpoint. Reflektor can also accommodate bi-directional support for the XPS encoder/decoder, meaning this process can be replicated in reverse, ensuring video content is distributed instantaneously to and from the Cloud using reliable transport protocols.”
Evertz has also developed cloud-based multiviewing and monitoring solutions that can combine multiple broadcast signal formats into a unified multi-image layout for unrivaled density and performance. The cVIP Cloud-Based Multiviewer and the sVIP High Density IP Multiviewer are Evertz’ latest generation of multiviewer platforms for media companies, with both supporting comprehensive monitoring of the IP payloads including video, audio, closed captions, subtitles and more. cVIP allows customers to leverage on–prem or cloud hardware platforms, with the flexibility to run cVIP software on a wide range of Intel-based hardware options depending on the number of inputs and outputs required. cVIP allows monitoring of NDI, JPEG XS or AWS CDI signal channels and support for multiple unique mosaic outputs using NDI, JPEG XS or H.264/HEVC for an unmatched multi–image display. Meanwhile, sVIP combines the compute power of FPGA, CPU, and GPU processors to allow customers to leverage datacenter class servers provided by Evertz or the customer, without sacrificing density and performance. sVIP is ideally suited for on–premise datacenters or off–premise cloud services, allowing users to monitor both uncompressed (SMPTE ST 2022–6 or ST 2110) and compressed (MPEG–2, H.264, HEVC, JPEG 2000, or JPEG XS) IP streams.
The Evertz end-to-end cloud workflow on show at IBC also includes the DreamCatcherTM BRAVO Studio virtualized production suite platform, which provides broadcasters and content creators with all the components of a production control room directly in the cloud. Ideally suited to live event production, BRAVO Studio’s web-based interface allows remote users located anywhere in the world to access live video streams hosted by any cloud provider. Uses can perform live production functions, including live switching, live graphics, slow motion replay, clipping, and more. BRAVO Studio supports SRT and RIST to ensure live UHD/4K video and audio signals are reliably and securely sent and received directly from the cloud with minimal latency.
