MADRID, Spain—Launching our company in early 2017, during the Spanish broadcast industry’s worst financial crisis meant that we had to adapt our business model to incorporate remote IP production or perish. With broadcasters’ budgets at an all-time low and pressure to provide high-quality content at an all-time high, traditional workflow proposals were too expensive.
We had to find a way to produce top-quality remote productions without passing on the cost of a full crew and OB van to our clients. Since then, we have scaled our business from zero to more than 50 broadcasters and sports federation customers worldwide, including international federations, such as FIFA, FIBA, FINA, IWF, Rugby Europe and various world sports committees; plus many private sports promoters such as Grises Humacao and Peter Auto, on top of 35
120 Units in the Field
We’ve utilized Dejero EnGo transmitters since day one and have now deployed approximately 120 units all over the world, from Brazil to Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia to Dominican Republic and the United States to Austria, as well as Poland and Ukraine. We have also built a number of central hubs and OB trucks that are equipped with Dejero receivers so that we can receive camera feeds from any location and distribute them anywhere.
With EnGo—which blends cellular networks from multiple carriers—we do not have to rely on laying cables or parking a satellite truck on site in order to gain the resilient connectivity required to transmit high-quality video for a live production; nor do we need to bring producers, directors, graphics operators, technicians, or other onsite staff to the venue. This alone saves between 60-75% of the set-up time and cost of a traditional workflow.
Currently I am in the Dominican Republic working with the country’s government, national television stations and local federations. If you think about the time it would have taken to get a multicamera OB truck that is usually based in Spain, for example, across to the Dominican Republic, it would take weeks by sea freight plus the logistical challenges of customs and insurance.
Faster and Less Expensive
Using our remote production model, all we needed to do was fly out EnGo transmitters and cameras along with our camera operators and talent and we were ready to roll within 48 hours of landing. Everyone else involved in a production like this stays at home or in the office—as the EnGo is able to transmit high-quality live camera feeds in real-time, without interruption, back to the hub for packaging and distribution.
Again, 60% to 75% of the production team now remain at the hub, saving thousands on hotel bills, airfares, logistics and expenses, let alone the time it takes for a full production crew to travel there and back.
I’ve also found the EnGo is incredibly simple to use—you just turn it on and go—no matter how remote or crowded the location may be, because it cleverly finds the most reliable connectivity paths in the background. The EnGo transmits over multiple IP networks to reliably deliver exceptional picture quality with extremely low latency—even in challenging network conditions. We simply don’t have to worry.
I believe that no other mobile transmitter on the market can offer the resilience that Dejero’s EnGo does. Having tested similar devices, it’s the only transmitter that can transmit 10-12 hours continuously without interruption.
We’re currently working with a customer to plan live coverage of a prominent U.S. sports league. With a traditional OB truck, the cost per game would average $35,000, but with our remote production model, which includes multiple EnGo transmitters, we can reduce that cost to $20,000. With 80 games in a season they could be looking at a savings of around $1.2 million.
Pablo Reyes is chief production officer and partner at Quality Media Producciones in Spain. An experienced TV producer with more than 10 years in the industry, he produces multicamera events across the globe. Reyes has also developed some ground-breaking engineering advances, especially in IP remote production models. He can be reached at pabloreyes@qualityamericas.com.
For more information visit www.dejero.com.
