The cloud has offered significant on-demand availability for data storage without direct active management by the user. Increasingly, however, it isn’t just the place to store content. The cloud now offers the ability to become part of the production process where it can save on infrastructure costs and aid in remote production.
Cloud-based production is beginning to see even greater adoption, and while it could provide significant advantages, it will require new technology to support it.
“The cloud is the first technology platform where cooperation and collaboration are built-in and expected,” said Jeromy Young, CEO of Atomos. “So-called ‘Camera to Cloud’ workflows are starting to gain traction, notably for live events. Sports events, for example, can be clipped, branded and packaged for social media within seconds thanks to cloud-connected devices like the Atomos Ninja and Shogun. While the devices retain their primary function as monitor-recorders because they can attach to any HDMI or SDI source, virtually any camera can be connected to the cloud.”
Though cloud production has always been a potentially transformative idea, it has had to overcome multiple reality-based roadblocks, including cellular signal coverage, bandwidth issues and the largely untried techniques needed for a reliable workflow. Those issues are being resolved and addressed.
“The cloud is probably the fastest way to work, can handle any workload, and is as reliable as any mature digital workflow — which is to say, very reliable,” added Young.
The industry’s move to the cloud may not be seamless, but it is coming. In the short term, it might require backup plans to ensure that productions can accommodate previously unforeseen issues.
“These are high-stakes environments, and companies can’t afford content to go down. The biggest challenge is that there is a knowledge gap in how to deploy production to the cloud. It is gaining more steam now, and we’re still in the early days,” said Mike Gibson, technical support engineer at Telestream. “The advantages will outweigh the issues that have to be overcome — including that you’re not limited by physical infrastructure.”
Magewell’s Director Mini is a complete portable production and streaming system. It combines multi-input switching, graphics, streaming, recording and monitoring in one compact device. According to the company, Director Mini can encode video up to 1080p at 60 fps and bitrates up to 30 Mbps, with an array of output possibilities.
“For live production, hybrid on-prem/cloud workflows can often enable key efficiencies,” said Nick Ma, CEO and CTO, Magewell. “While it can be used to directly encode contribution feeds, it can also perform initial production tasks, such as switching and mixing of multiple camera angles, before creating an SRT output stream for sending to a remote studio or cloud-based suite for further production processes — thus reducing the number of bandwidth-consuming individual feeds that must be sent into the cloud.”
Intelligent Orchestration
Diversified is previewing its pioneering solution that could manage and scale media production and distribution, paving the way for advanced dynamic content. Located in the Connect Zone, the company’s team is discussing its approach to “intelligent orchestration,” which unifies the user, service and cost management of production environments regardless of where the infrastructure is running.
“Intelligent Orchestration powered by Diversified at the Connect Zone marks a significant departure from traditional methods of design and implementation, creating an integrated infrastructure that harmonizes cutting-edge technologies, paving the way for a transition from conventional, inflexible facilities to agile, responsive content centers,” said Jared Timmins, vice president of innovation at Diversified. “This forward-thinking approach emphasizes continuous optimization, ensuring that technological capabilities are consistently aligned with the evolving demands of the media and entertainment sectors.”
NAB Show attendees can explore several key aspects of Intelligent Orchestration, including decentralized production, streamlined media workflow orchestration and software-defined production integration.
Copyright NAB 2024.
