BURLINGTON, Ont.—TVN Live Production, a division of TVN Group Holding, will be showcasing its latest Outside Broadcast vehicle at IBC 2024 and onboard is an Evertz NEXX processing and routing platform that is one of the largest the company says it has ever built.
TVN-OB8 is fully UHD/HDR-capable and equipped with cutting-edge broadcast technology and corresponding back-up systems. With two galleries and 32 UHD cameras, OB8 was built for the UEFA EURO 2024 football championship where it captured games taking place in Berlin, including the closing ceremony at the finale in Berlin.
Based in Germany, TVN approached Evertz at the 2023 NAB Show and asked if the company could build a large-scale 704 x 704 12G-SDI UHD routing platform, which was significantly larger than any router available on the market at the time. This needed to be ready, installed and fully operational in time for the UEFA EURO 2024 championships, which kicked off in June 2024.
The final go-ahead for the project wasn’t signed off until the end of 2023, but Evertz was able to deliver a fully operational large-format router in time for TVN’s deadline.
“With its distributed floating backplane technology for hybrid audio/video routing, frame syncing, multiviewers and conversion, Evertz’ NEXX routing platform was a very compelling option,” says Christoph Moll, TVN Live Production’s Technical Manager for Outside Broadcast. “In fact, at NAB 2023 it was the only solution that seemed close enough to be delivered in time for the EURO 2024 championship. The company’s engineering team and product managers were convinced that they could make it happen, and we are delighted to say that they did.”
For such a large and complex routing challenge, an IP solution using SMPTE ST 2110 would be the primary choice for the UHD routing core. However, TVN insisted that their router be SDI-based, as the OB van’s use is aimed at large events where it is necessary to exchange a high number of SDI signals from 1080i to UHD 12G directly at the OB van patch panel with other broadcasters. In addition, SDI is faster than IP and is therefore perfect for the instant playback of live content on large LED screens at festivals without any visual delay. Also, switching between the live camera signals on an SDI basis is still the most efficient and convenient solution for the technician when shading on the reference monitor according to Evertz.
As the NEXX processing and routing platform offered optional SMPTE ST 2110 gateway capabilities, the choice of a NEXX router has made it easy for TVN to transition to IP in the future because all they need to do is change out the modules, giving customers the perfect hybrid solution that allows them to be future-proofed.
Designed to provide broadcast facilities, OB trucks, venues and stadia with the building blocks for 3G/12G-SDI, Evertz NEXX next generation processing and routing solution has a compact modular frame with a main interface/backplane. The router supports SD/HD/3G/6G/12G data rates, thus providing a clear pathway to transition to SMPTE ST 2110 and adopt more remote services as part of their workflow.
For TVN Live Production’s OB8, Evertz built a NEXX router with 704 x 704 12G-SDI I/O, 16 x 3G and 8 x UHD HDR conversion paths, and 48 standard and 14 advanced UHD multiviewer heads in 17 RU. This compact routing and processing platform also includes flexible modules for conversion, processing, and non-SDI interfaces.
“This was a massive engineering challenge because nothing of this size had ever been done before,” says Sebastian Ruchti, Sales Engineer for Evertz in Germany. “What we built was certainly a first for the broadcast industry – the largest 12G UHD single link router anyone had ever made.”
“The density of the router Evertz has built for us is phenomenal,” Christoph Moll adds. “It’s 960 x 960 UHD with Frame syncs, Embedders/De-Embedders, Multiviewers and Up/Down/Cross Conversion – and all in a non-blocking architecture, which makes it very reliable and easy to use.”
Moll also highlights the help the Evertz engineering team provided during this critical project, especially during the final days of commissioning prior to the start of EURO 2024.
“They listened to my concerns and got fixes and new features developed very quickly and in a highly professional manner,” he says. “The router was the core component of this project and a cutting-edge development. Having direct access to Evertz’ engineering team was very valuable for us, and we continue to feedback ideas for improvements that they are happy to work on.”
TVN Live Production’s OB8 will be showcased at IBC 2024 in the Outside Broadcast Area (0.A17). Evertz will also be highlighting the latest addition to its NEXX router platform at IBC 2024 and these can be seen on booth 2.B51.
