SVG Sit-Down: For Grass Valley’s Mike Cronk, ‘All Roads Lead to AMPP’
New cloud-based SaaS platform is ‘truly groundbreaking’ for broadcast industry
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Yesterday at the GV LIVE Presents – Innovate 2020 event, Grass Valley launched its cloud-based SaaS GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform). GV AMPP is the core technology powering the newly announced GV Media Universe, a comprehensive ecosystem of cloud-based tools and services that kicks off a new SaaS era for Grass Valley.
The first application available for the platform, AMPP Master Control, has been on-air with Blizzard since the opening of the Overwatch League 2020 season in early February. Last month, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Blizzard began using AMPP as the core of a new distributed-remote-production model to produce live Overwatch League (OWL) and Call of Duty League (CDL) matches with all operators and talent working from their homes.
SVG sat down with Mike Cronk, VP, Advanced Technology, Grass Valley, to discuss the launch of AMPP and GV Media Universe, the integral role Blizzard played in AMPP’s development, how the market has reacted to the release so far, and what the platform means for Grass Valley’s existing and widely used hardware products.
Grass Valley’s Mike Cronk: “We envision [AMPP] becoming something that not only connects into cloud applications but also connects into our traditional products.”
We saw that we needed to be able to deliver on the flexibility and the agility that cloud-based systems can afford because broadcasters have a lot of needs that are very elastic in nature. You may need one thing for one show but not for another — and the cloud is perfect for that. So we set off four years ago to build a cloud-based system that, over time, could encompass the entire Grass Valley product line. Obviously, cameras can’t be virtualized, but it is truly a platform that has been built from the ground up to allow the various Grass Valley applications to move to an elastic type of workflow. That can be in a public cloud like an AWS or an on-premises center.
Over time, we envision this becoming something that not only connects into cloud applications but also connects into our traditional products. It’s a broad strategy from Grass Valley that we believe is going to allow us to deliver on the promise of true elasticity for production workflows.
What role did Activision Blizzard Esports play in the development of AMPP?
Blizzard been a key partner almost from the outset. We first met with them at NAB 2018, and, very quickly, we developed a common vision for what the future could look like. We started doing master control with Blizzard at the start of OWL season, which was [AMPP’s] inaugural on-air show.
It was definitely a very intimate and close working relationship. It had to do with a common vision of the future and a willingness to experiment. Let’s face it, [in] research and development early on, things aren’t fully baked, so we both took a totally transparent approach of letting each other know exactly where we are in terms of development and testing together. Our milestones were all driven by Blizzard, and they really pushed us to make [the product] better. I also think that Blizzard, being an esports leader, does an awful lot of great software development in-house, and they are very fluent in the cloud. They understood what this would take. We were able to forge that level of honesty and trust early on, and I think it has served us well throughout the process.
Of course, back in February, none of us could have expected what we’re dealing with now with the COVID-19 situation, so we did not expect things to escalate so quickly. But, thankfully, working with Blizzard, we were able to add a few features and figure out how to do a fully distributed remote production using AAMP where operators and talent can be safely in their homes.
How did the coronavirus pandemic and Activision Blizzard Esports’ shift to online events affect the development timeline for AMPP?
We were always targeting to launch [master control] with Blizzard at the start of the OWL 2020 season, which was on Feb. 8-9. We went live with that on schedule independent of anything that was happening in the world with the pandemic. The pandemic accelerated things, and we began looking into what we could to enable productions to happen from people’s homes. The fully distributed [production model] became the only way to get a broadcast on-air. There were changes we had to make in terms of audio mixing, as well as how to take the observer systems, which are the virtual cameras used to tell the story inside the actual game, and get that video contributed into the cloud. We had to bring those things online very quickly. We had already planned to introduce AMPP at NAB prior to this situation, but we’ve really extended its capabilities more quickly than we expected in order to meet the needs of our customers as a result of COVID-19.
Is AMPP available immediately?
Yes, it’s available right now. Our strategy was a little different in this case. Typically, many companies, Grass Valley included, introduce big products like this when they are close to being totally ready just to get feedback and generate excitement, and then we deliver it a couple months later after some further R&D. But, in this case, we had a customer who was ready to take AMPP on-air, and be the guinea pig if you will. So we worked very closely with Blizzard and got to the point where Blizzard was comfortable using it live on-air. Our strategy was to announce something that had already been on-air for several months. That’s kind of the philosophy we want to carry forward in the future.
What has been the initial reaction to AMPP from the broadcast market?
I think there’s tremendous interest — more than I think I had anticipated, frankly. The idea that you can have a tape op, a TD, a graphics person, an audio person, and so on and each [has] the interface and the monitoring they need [and is] actually working from their house with low latency is pretty powerful. And it’s not just a monolithic app where you can share a couple of screens with two other people; [it’s] truly distributed in the same way that a production crew works traditionally. Obviously, with everything happening in the world, people are looking for solutions like this.
How does the pricing structure of AMPP works
The primary method of pricing is based on applications called AMPP apps, such as a multiviewer, a switcher, and a clip player. Those are priced and metered on a SaaS, so each user is essentially billed based on the hourly usage of the apps they elect to use in their AMPP [ecosystem]. There is also a nominal entry fee to gain access to the platform and the tools.
One of the really cool things about that usage-based [pricing model] is, [a user] can select which apps are used by which show. In our industry, it’s very hard to truly track your costs per show, but this makes it very easy to do that. And, if there’s a weekend or a month where you don’t use it, you’re not paying anything. You can scale this system based specifically on your actual production needs.
How significant is this product release for Grass Valley overall, and how do you see the Media Universe model driving the company’s direction moving forward?
I think it is truly groundbreaking. One of the ways I gauge that is by looking inward. Grass Valley has acquired a lot of companies over the time, and we have some very smart technology leaders across the company [whom it has] been an honor to collaborate with, many of them extremely well-known names in the industry and founders of companies. When they all look at this, most of them have said this is one of the most special things that we’ve done. I know I’m biased, but it’s pretty powerful.
How will the launch of this SaaS/cloud-based model impact Grass Valley’s existing hardware and physical-equipment business? Can they co-exist long-term?
Our strategy can be articulated in a single phrase: “We believe that all roads lead to AMMP.” We think that is a benefit to the traditional Grass Valley product lines. We have this notion of AMPP Connected, which is going to allow familiar Grass Valley panels that users all over the world know well to connect into a backend, which is all software or hardware. As an OB provider or a network that has equipment from Grass Valley, you’ll have the choice to connect into the traditional hardware or go the other way with software. I think we’re going to give people more choice. I don’t think that the transition to software and cloud is going to happen instantaneously overnight; it’s definitely going to be an extended transition. I think we’re going to be able to offer our customers the best of both worlds, as well as a path to get from point A to point B if they want to make that transition.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
For more information on Grass Valley, please contact David Cohen at [email protected].
