SVG’s IP Production Forum Showcases Telemundo Center, Latest Advances in IP Tech

Event includes tour of the state-of-the-art facility in Miami

At SVG’s 2019 IP Production Forum in Miami on Tuesday, more than 200 attendees gathered at one of the newest IP-based facilities in the nation: Telemundo Center, the Spanish-language network’s headquarters. Along with a tour and insightful presentations, the event featured informative panel discussions, lively debates, and networking opportunities for those interested in the future of IP-based production.

Telemundo Center is the largest SMPTE 2110 environment in the world.

Jeff Mayzurk, SVP, operations and technology, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, kicked things off with an overview of the facility and the philosophy behind the state-of-the-art IP-driven facility.

“IP is not an end game,” he said. “It’s part of a suite of technologies that allow automation and virtualization.”

Chris Swisher, director, production systems engineering, NBCU, and Intoto Systems partner David Potter then took the stage for an in-depth look at Telemundo’s new home, the challenge of getting it up and running, and how IP has improved the network’s internal operations, enabled at-home operations, and connected the Telemundo Deportes team with NBC Sports Group in Stamford, CT.

The Telemundo Center features 13 production studios and seven control rooms and is home to the largest SMPTE ST 2110 IP installation in the world (as of its launch in spring 2018), consisting of more than 12,000 unique HD sources and 150,000 multicast audio/video streams.

SVG held its annual IP Production Forum at the state-of-the-art Telemundo Center in Miami.

Ken Kerschbaumer, executive director, editorial services, SVG, moderated a pair of companion panels addressing the latest developments in IP standards and the challenges introduced for those currently working in baseband/SDI video. The first panel, “When Hype Meets Reality: Making the Move to IP,” offered IBM Aspera CTO Mike Flathers and MediaKind SVP, Technology, Matthew Goldman in a discussion of SMPTE’s ST 2110 suite of media-over-IP standards and how engineers will need to approach their jobs differently. The second session, “Weighing Your IP Options: Knowing Which Protocol Is Best for Your Needs,” tackled alternatives to ST 2110, including Sony’s NMI, Newtek’s NDI, and Evertz’s ASPEN.

After a networking lunch, the session resumed with a look at the latest IP-based mobile units. Leaders from NEP, Game Creek Video, and Grass Valley explored the way IP is changing live sports production.

SVG’s IP Production Forum drew more than 200 attendees to the Telemundo Center.

Capping off the program was a session that connected to SVG’s back-to-back IP Production Forum (Aug. 20) and SVG Soccer Summit Americas in Miami (Aug. 21): “Soccer, IP, and the Move to Remote Production.” Leaders from Telemundo Deportes, Bizzy Signals Entertainment, and VISTA Worldlink (who team up to produce NWSL, USL, and other North American soccer properties) discussed how they have embraced IP-based workflows to cut production costs without negatively impacting the quality of the coverage.

The IP Production Forum offered a behind-the-scenes tour of the Telemundo Center studios.

The IP Production Forum also featured a pair of case studies: the first, from Evertz, spotlighted the Telemundo Center as the world’s largest SMPTE 2110 facility; and the second, from Imagine Communications and CTG (Comprehensive Technical Group), chronicled their collaboration in delivering a mixed-vendor COTS-based ST 2110 IP control-room solution for the Milwaukee Bucks’ Fiserv Forum in 2018.

Attendees were also treated to a tour of the Telemundo Center and its ultramodern infrastructure, as well as a networking reception.

The SVG IP Production Forum hosted by Telemundo Deportes was made possible by Title Sponsor Grass Valley; Diamond Sponsors IBM Aspera, Lawo, NewTek, and Sony; Gold Sponsor Clear-Com; and Event Sponsors Evertz, Imagine Communications, Primestream, and Vista Worldlink.

Stay tuned to sportsvideo.org for more coverage of the IP Production Forum in the coming days.