NAB Reflections: EVS Transformation Prepares for IP Future, Evolving Needs

Moving beyond replay, the company focuses on IP and digital

EVS has historically been at the center of the instant-replay world, but, with the industry’s continuing transition to IP connectivity, digital production tools, and digital delivery options, the company is looking to evolve and keep pace with those changes for both its clients and their viewers.

The EVS DYVI production switcher encapsulates the company’s IP strategy.

“The viewing experience will evolve, and one of our goals is to transform the way live storytelling is done for new viewing audiences,” says Nicolas Bourdon, SVP, marketing, EVS. “We have the Connected Live ecosystem, [which] is like the left side of the brain with a technology and workflow architecture and IP environments that can enable the production. And then there are the creative tools, which are like the right side of the brain and give the ability to create better content more quickly, with things like augmented replays, graphics integration, and more channel capacity.”

Helping in those efforts is integration with Avid’s Media Central via IPLink, allowing Avid users to browse, search, and work with EVS media. And EVS also now has native support for Panasonic’s AVC-Intra 100 codec without any transcoding. Another big part of the transformation is the DYVI IP-based switcher, whose software-defined processing modules allow more-expansive creative capabilities and simplification of operations for the technical director and staff.

“Look for the XT4K server to have support of SMPTE 2110 by the end of the year,” says Bourdon. The DYVI switcher will have 2110 support by early 2018.

What was on display at NAB 2017 is only the beginning (and continued evolution for EVS). Later this year, look for the introduction of a multicamera production system that allows a single touchscreen to be used to cut a six-camera show complete with effects, graphics, and more.

“Our research and development team is reorganized, and the move to IP allows us to move deeper into hardware virtualization,” says James Stellpflug, VP, product marketing, EVS. “We will be leveraging IP at the core of our products and have an open API to make sure our customers can choose best-of-breed solutions. Our methodology is to be scalable and flexible.”