SMU Enlists Anthony James Partners for New SMPTE 2110 Broadcast Production Facility

In preparation for SMU’s historic move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Anthony James Partners (AJP) has been put to the task of redefining SMU’s broadcasting capabilities. With completion slated for fall 2024, the new SMPTE 2110 broadcast production facility will serve as the epicenter for SMU’s coverage of ACC sporting events, offering enhanced capabilities for live broadcasts, studio shows, and digital content creation.

“SMU is committed to excellence in everything we do, and the development of this production studio to meet this major milestone is no different,” remarks Director of Athletics Rick Hart. “As SMU embarks on this exciting journey, we extend our deepest gratitude to our donors. Their support and vision have been instrumental in making this project a reality. Together, we are not just meeting the current standards of sports broadcasting, we are setting new ones for the future.”

“We are on the cusp of a new era in sports broadcasting at SMU,” says Spencer Jones, SMU Assistant A.D./MustangVision. “We are dedicated to leveraging this opportunity to enhance our media capabilities. Our goal is to deliver an unparalleled fan experience, making Mustang sports accessible to all with exceptional clarity and detail.”

The widescale nature of the production facility buildout required a close working partnership between AJP, the university, SMU Athletics, and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in the planning and design stages, followed by close coordination with GSBS Architects and Clark Construction. Multiple production studio locations were evaluated as part of an initial feasibility study to consider all possibilities and options. A final decision was made to repurpose an existing space at the SMU Indoor Performance Center’s Armstrong Fieldhouse, a 67,000-square-foot facility located in the heart of campus. The retrofit involved taking the multi-level space down to a shell and rebuilding from the ground up.

At the heart of this advancement was the creation of four control rooms (two full linear control rooms, and two full digital control rooms) centered around aSMPTE 2110-compliant core and 1080p HDR base resolution, capable of up to 8K. The facility includes several editing suits, an independent shading and engineering room, small cut-in studio, technical operations center, and production staff offices.

The project also involves integrating two existing 3G baseband studio control rooms, based at Ford Stadium, into the new production facility’s core. Campus-wide, the university had limited broadcast cable infrastructure, which required the project team to develop a complete infrastructure to support MustangVision and enable production truck connectivity into the venues.

The control room system is composed of an Evertz IP routing core, terminal equipment and Dreamcatcher for replay and clips for an end-to-end core solution. Four (4) Ross Video Acuity 3ME switchers and six (6) 3-channel XPression Studio graphic generators were included. Calrec audio mix positions and studio interface boxes were remotely located in each of the six connected venues. Both network and wireless intercom were achieved using the latest Riedel technology with Access Points deployed throughout the campus. Sony technology was chosen for all camera complements (total of 18 for use across campus), including hardwire, wireless and PTZ. Wave Central was employed for the wireless transport of the cameras and used to update the main production facility. MultiDyne was behind the fiber networking between the venues and core, centering on the HoneyBadger Venue Interface Unit.

“Working with SMU production staff to build-out this state-of-the-art operation has been an exciting opportunity,” says Michael Martin, Vice President, Technology for AJP. “This will be most advanced production facility in the ACC, setting a new standard for collegiate sports broadcasting.”

“The speed at which this project has unfolded has been unlike anything in the industry,” says AJ Faxel, AJP’s EVP of Business Development. “From planning stages to being fully operational, the timeline for complete buildout was less than eight months – a herculean effort on the parts of all involved.” For context, this type of scope is typically an 18-month process at minimum.

The project was split between two integrators: ZTranform for the control rooms and Digital Resources, Inc., for venue cabling. SMU facilities will feature the latest in broadcasting technology thanks to: Adder, Calrec, Cisco, CueScript, Dell, Evertz, Forecast Consoles, Fujinon, JBL, Marshall, MultiDyne, Panasonic, Riedel Communications, Ross Video, Samsung, Shure, Sony, Studio Network Solutions, Studio Technologies, Telestream, Vinten, Wave Central, and others.