Dome Productions To Roll Out Fully 3G Units Equipped with EVS

Production-facilities provider Dome Productions has invested in a number of EVS solutions for its two new fully-3G mobile production trucks named Pacific and Atlantic. The Toronto-based company, which has been in business for over two decades and is a long-time user of EVS equipment, has purchased XT3 servers, XFly portable storage systems, IPDirector suites, and XF2 removable servers, among other tools.

Pacific will be used for the first time at the beginning of September 2012 to broadcast a Canadian Football League match for TSN, while Atlantic will be deployed in early October. Both trucks will be used for both sports production and entertainment shows.

“Our trucks have to be able to cope with any kind of show and EVS solutions give us the flexibility to adapt,” explained Mike Johnson, director of engineering at Dome Productions. “As we migrate to 3G production, we plan to provide complete 3G capabilities for Pacific and Atlantic, and EVS are a key part of that solution. From the first time we saw the EVS video server in 1991, we recognized the platform as a game changer. To date, we continue to benefit from the innovation, reliability and support that EVS delivers on an ongoing basis.”

Providing operators with the highest available level of bandwidth, EVS’ XT3 servers will play a key role in making the new trucks fully 3G by enabling higher speed file transfers. The 3G capabilities of the XT3 will make it simple for Dome Productions to connect stereo 3D cameras using a single link. Its unique loop recording technology and powerful networking capabilities give operators 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 also offers additional camera recording, superior live sports graphics and the advanced edit-while-recording feature during special sporting events.

“We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Dome Productions to ensure their broadcasting and production solutions remain at the cutting edge of technology,” said Frederic Garroy, EVS general manager, EVS Americas. “The XT3 combined with their highly skilled staff will enable them to handle any workflow that their clients desire. Such a partnership helps both Dome Productions and EVS continue our industry leadership when it comes to efficient and reliable tapeless production workflows.”

Dome Productions is already using EVS servers for tapeless production and NLE integration for Canada’s Got Talent. Dome chose EVS’ XFly portable storage platform to help improve its tapeless workflow for such shows. It will also reduce the amount of USB drives that producers have to carry to and from live events by storing up to 140 hours of HD material. After a live shoot, operators can easily transport the entire production, including program feed, multi-camera angles, best shots, and highlights, in a single storage case. Editors can then plug XFly into their edit suite and start working straight away.

IPDirector allows Dome to manage ingest, metadata, on-the-fly editing, and playout scheduling – all from a single interface. The IPDirector suite is quick and easy to learn, making it ideal for every member of the production team in Dome’s fast-paced environment. Anyone with access to the network can instantly share content. By integrating with any third-party system, IPDirector increases workflow accessibility and simplifies media transfers to post-production or archives.

By equipping its mobile production units with the XF2 removable server, Dome can back up and transfer media for any live or near-live production while in the field. The XF2 offers short- or long-term archiving of clips, audio/video feeds, and highlights originated on EVS servers with associated metadata.

“The new technology in these trucks will give Dome more flexibility than ever before to create the smoothest and fastest workflows their clients have ever experienced for both entertainment and sports broadcasts – with the ability to deliver content to new media outlets at the same time,” said Philip Stein, sales manager at EVS.