TV GLOBO Sports Production
TV Globo strategically decided to deploy a file-based sports production system to provide sports content for a multimedia environment that includes terrestrial TV, pay TV and new media (Internet and mobile). This decision was motivated by the workflow and editorial quality improvements that file-based systems offer when compared with the linear-based process.
Three major steps were taken to accomplish the project’s goals:
- Migrate from linear to nonlinear editing and playout systems;
- Implement ingest channels, central storage and logging systems; and
- Integrate with new media content platforms.
The first step started May 2008 by replacing the tape-based workflow with nonlinear edit suites and playout servers. From November 2007 to May 2008, TV Globo and Sony worked together to refine the XPRI nonlinear editing station. Then, a major effort was undertaken to train all image and text editors on the use of the new platform. Each editing suite comprises one XDCAM deck and one editing station. Content is ingested through the Ethernet interface to the local hard drive of the XPRI edit suite, or to a central storage where image editors have an individual amount of space to share content in a contributive way. Edited material is then exported through a 10Gb/s data link to the playout servers installed in the news control room.
The second step started with a fruitless market search for a tapeless system that would integrally adhere to the desired workflow. TV Globo then decided to develop a solution using its engineering departments. The main goal was to create a system capable of simultaneously recording, logging live feeds and making all this content immediately available to the editors. Based on IT servers, the system comprises a mirrored 3400-hour storage system, 14 ingest channels, 14 live logging stations, nine nonlinear editing suites, two mirrored playout servers and a structured gigabit network with 10Gb/s uplinks. In January 2009, the system went operational, allowing editors to quickly search, review and retrieve recorded material.
The third step was delivered in August 2009, when content stored in the sports server was made available to new media platforms. Raw and edited material could be retrieved from the central storage and delivered to any of the four editing suites dedicated to new media production. Once edited, a pool of render servers is accessible by all nonlinear editing stations to automatically convert the final edited clips to the desired output format.
With this system:
- Material is available to all editors simultaneously, no copy is needed, and content is ready for editing just a few seconds after the recording has started.
- Editors are able to produce more and better stories due to a richer database available in the central storage.
- The content in central storage is available to many new
media platforms.
- New studio technology — network
Submitted by GLOBO Comunicação e Participações SADesign teamMauricio Felix, proj. mgr.; Julio Lima, proj. coordinator; Filipe Forte, proj. eng.; Silvio Pereira, R&D mgr.; Daniel Monteiro, proj. coordinator; Luiz Carlos Abrahão, maintenance mgr; Alvaro Antelo, sys. researcher; Evaldo Ferreira, support eng; Marcelo Ibrahim, news op. mgr.; Luis Domingos, news op. supervisor; Luiz Rabello, news op. mgr.; Anderson Gazio, news op. supervisor; Marcello Azambuja, proj. coordinator (Globo.com)Technology at workDell: MD-1000 storage, PowerEdge servers with Matrox XMIO2 board, ML family tape library
Evertz: VIP multiviewer
Genelec: 8030 audio monitor
Hewlitt-Packard: ProCurve switcher family
MySQL: Database
Sennheiser: Headsets
Sony: XPRI editor, XDCAM PDW series, Luma family monitors
Wohler: AMP1-S8 audio monitor
© 2009 Penton Media, Inc.
