Client News

Stand 14.D10, IBC 2019, RAI, Amsterdam

Intinor Technology, Sweden’s leading developer of products and solutions for high quality video over IP networks, has announced that ESL, the world's largest esports company, has deployed a combination of Intinor’s Direkt router, Direkt router lite, and Direkt receiver units to cover its linear broadcasting needs.

ESL wanted to move away from a rigid managed service model for traditional linear broadcasting and expand its internal distribution workflows for the web and, for the first time, take care of linear broadcasts internally.

ESL Director of Streaming, Steven Jalicy, said, “We wanted a solution that could dynamically scale and deliver high quality and high reliability without generating out of control service costs and technology bottlenecks. Furthermore, we wanted the future capacity and potential to merge our online and linear workflows into a single ecosystem.

“To achieve this, we needed a hardware system that was protocol and service agnostic. Something we could build into our own infrastructure and workflows to deliver traditional linear content to traditional linear takers, but deploy it using the same concepts that have been so successful for ESL when it comes to delivering content to our core audience on online platforms. Intinor was the perfect partner for this project.”

Intinor’s solution for ESL was to use a combination of Direkt router, Direkt router lite, and Direkt receiver units. The receiver units enable ESL’s takers to receive content via IP transport, which then breaks out to an SDI output that conforms to the respective traditional broadcast standards required. The routers enable ESL to contribute and distribute content from live events directly to takers worldwide and are the backbone of the deployment as they handle SDI source inputs onsite; perform live video encoding; process IP contributions; and ensure content distribution across the vast ESL network.

With the Direkt system, ESL can now directly manage and operate its own linear content distribution network without an expensive managed service, and without investing in the traditional infrastructure and hardware that would normally be required for linear content delivery.

Additional benefits include the ability to use Intinor’s proprietary Bifrost Reliable Transport (BRT™) protocol for 100 percent redundant transport over the public internet while also staying flexible and agnostic with options for RTP, HLS, RTMP and SRT protocols. Owning the hardware also enables ESL to integrate Intinor technology with ESL’s own workflows, which can then deliver key functionality for innovative broadcast concepts without increased costs for services and development.

Jalicy added, “Set against a backdrop of an almost impossible deadline - we had to go from fundamental design, through proof of concept and then onto a full scale deployment in less than four weeks - Intinor has been a great partner throughout this process and we will soon deliver our first live event using the new Intinor system, which takes place 28th-29th September 2019, live from the Barclays Center, New York. This represents just the beginning of our plans and we are confident that Intinor technology is going to play a crucial role in ESL’s continued innovation in the live broadcast space.”

Intinor CEO Roland Axelsson said, “We are delighted to have delivered such a robust and well-received Direkt system for ESL that eliminated their need for an external, restrictive, and expensive managed service provider. Having freed them from such hold-ups, we very much look forward to even more exciting applications and deployments for both companies.”

ESL will feature prominently in The IBC Esports Showcase on Tuesday 17 September, which will include information and discussions on entry into esports and managing the complexity of production through to the seamless technical delivery of an esports broadcast. Intinor will feature the Direkt router, Direkt router lite, and Direkt receiver on Stand 14.D10 during IBC 2019.

IBC 2019, 13-17 September, Stand 2.C11

Hitomi Broadcast, manufacturer of MatchBox, the industry’s leading audio video alignment toolbox, is partnering with Broadcast Wireless Systems (BWS), manufacturer of the ultra-low latency BWS NanoPRO TX camera-back transmitter, to showcase remote production capabilities featuring Hitomi’s new ‘Matchbox Glass®’ iOS app at IBC 2019.

Using a Sony PXW 500 camera on loan from Presteigne Broadcast Hire and two of Hitomi’s own, fixed cameras, Hitomi will deploy BWS’s NanoPRO TX and associated RF receiver to demonstrate MatchBox Glass’s real-world ability to instantly measure latency and provide fast, accurate lip-sync and alignment of multiple cameras.

Hitomi Broadcast Director Russell Johnson said, “This is not just a demonstration of how to save time and money with MatchBox Glass, we’re highlighting how the latest remote production techniques and technologies can provide numerous advantages for reporters in the field.

“As broadcasters need simple and reliable RF transmitters to move content, they similarly need a quick and accurate way in the field to ensure sync, including for multicamera productions. So long as they have a MatchBox Glass-equipped iPhone or iPad, production teams can now easily measure and correct for latency differences between cameras on site, which is especially useful for remote productions.”

BWS Director Stuart Brown added, “We have an excellent and ongoing working relationship with Hitomi and are delighted to have this additional opportunity to demonstrate the various benefits of what BWS NanoPRO TX offers to the production community.

“Many aspects of technology are rapidly converging to enable remote productions to get faster, more economic and, ultimately, more exciting for consumers. What we are demonstrating with Hitomi are extremely versatile systems that can be readily deployed by broadcasters worldwide to ensure quality transmission of live news, sports, and events, guaranteed by fast, high-quality synchronisation, all of which are essential for modern productions.”

MatchBox Glass and its companion, MatchBox Analyser, are being introduced along with the remote production demonstration at IBC 2019 on Stand 2.C11 in Amsterdam from 13-17 September.