DTAGS, PRG Come Together For One-Stop End-to-End Services

When PRG and DTAGS worked on the NFL Draft earlier this year it jump started a relationship that is ready to move to the next level as the two companies are working closely to provide a combination of transmission services, production equipment, and personnel support that is truly end to end. The centerpiece of the relationship is the DTAGS HUB a production facility located at the DTAGS facility in Bixby, OK and outfitted by PRG.All Categories

DTAGS and PRG now provide one-stop shopping for production and transmission services.

Mike Burk, president of DTAGS, says the combination of a transmission-oriented company like DTAGS with a production-oriented company makes sense, especially as the past few months have seen an explosion in new production methods and types of feeds being integrated for a show.

“We identified a need in the marketplace and then saw how our capabilities layered on with PRG’s could provide a solution,” says Burk. “We specialize in designing flexible, reliable, custom transmission solutions for live sports, news and special events, layered with network management, video monitoring, conversion capability and LIVE Closed Captioning. Each of these services are tailored to fit individual customer requirements, creating an extension of their overall operational capabilities.”

The DTAGS HUB features a GV Kayenne production switcher and EVS replay systems.

“The DTAGS HUB consists of multiple control rooms, audio rooms, EVS replay rooms, a TOC and data center built with a purpose to provide a seamless workflow of production and transmission. Sheila Smith, DTAGS, vice president, says the goal is to allow for clients to make one call and find production resources, rental gear, transmission services, and more.

“DTAGS stands for Digital Transport Agnostic Gateway Solutions and like our name says, we are platform agnostic and develop flexible solutions to match the increasing speed of change, simplifying the process for content owners,” she adds.

Andrea Berry, PRG, SVP, TV, Film, and Broadcast, says that the new entity will be able to do anything from small shows to large shows as PRG partners with other vendors like mobile production facility providers to fill out production services.

“We have 4K fly packs as well that can do shows with up to 30 cameras and then we can supplement with other partners like we do with Game Creek Video for America Ninja Warrior.”

DTAGS fully managed encoding, multiplexing and decoding solutions enable customers to transmit multiple HD signals over both satellite and fiber infrastructures. Those signals can then tap into the DTAGS production control rooms or PRG’s facility in Los Angeles and beyond.

“This gives us an alternative location for a control room,” says Bruno Brunelle, PRG, systems engineer. “It has a full GV Kayenne production switcher, EVS, graphics, and can also handle cameras with robotic heads remotely as well as audio. And it’s a secure network so operators can also be at their homes.”