EVS recently opened a new UK office in Leatherhead to be located closer to the rental companies in the UK and the London airports, according to marketing and communications director Nicolas Bourdon. In addition to sales and support, the office houses a training center. The company is rolling out 10 training centers at strategic locations worldwide to better service the band of freelance operators as well as broadcast customers.
The launch was also an opportunity to showcase the recently launched Silverline products, including the XS server. “At EVS, we are positioned in two markets, one is live sport production. This a consolidated solution based on XT[2] servers with software control systems including IP Director. These applications for OBs and live sport are now being branded the Blueline solutions,” Bourdon said.
“The other group of solutions is Silverline. These are dedicated to studio production,” he said. The Silverline brand was launched recently with the XS server, optimized for the demands of multicamera studio production. XS can be managed by another new product, Insio, or from the existing IPDirector. “The XS server is based on the XT[2] architecture, with the loop recording, but we have adapted it for studio use. It has the personality of a VTR, but all the advantages of a server,” Bourdon said.
The four-channel HD/SD XS server can be networked to craft editing stations. Material is available for editing as it is being shot, so studio workflows can be accelerated. The cost has been optimized for this application by removing “sports” features such as the live slow motion. The XS adds further preview facilities without sacrificing the primary video outputs, so users can preview over the network or through the Web from another location.
To partner with the XS server, EVS launched the Insio controller, which features a touch screen interface for the operator “designed for multicamera reviewing and control, clip creation and transfer to post production. We wanted an application dedicated to studio production,” Bourdon said.
“What [VTR operators] like [about Silverline] is that it’s not a revolution. The operator will find all the same functionality, but with all the advantages that the XS is always recording content, so if they forget to record a clip, they can retrieve the media. The second point, on the producers’ side, there is the ability to accelerate workflow. Multiple people can simultaneously review the content in parallel, and there is the connection to post production, which is key,” Bourdon said.
Server-based studio production is proving popular, not only for the nonlinear collaborative operation that it enables, but also the lower support cost when compared with the continuing maintenance that VTRs need.
XS is finding other applications outside the studio as well, one being multiple feeds to large display walls, where the frame-synchronized playback is a benefit. “In the U.S., the XS is being is used for multichannel playback for major events like the Oscars,” Bourdon said, “so clips can be launched to the big screens.”
EVS will be demonstrating the Blueline and Silverline products at the NAB Show Booth C9508.
