WATERLOO, CANADA—Video production company Fuel MediaLab is relying on Dejero IP transmitters for real-time contribution of races from speedways across Canada to the TV2GO teleport in Toronto for distribution to NBC, TSN and other broadcast networks.
The setup, being used for a variety of races, including NASCAR Pinty’s Series and Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC), overcomes the challenges associated with cellular networks at speedways.
“Most race tracks are located in rural areas where cellular network connectivity is limited,” said Joel Robinson, media producer at Fuel MediaLab. “When you add a few thousand spectators into the mix, the networks can become congested. However, with Dejero’s EnGo mobile transmitter blending all available networks, we get incredibly reliable connectivity – and we can boost cellular reception even further by securing the EnGo into the vehicle antenna dock and connecting it to our truck’s rooftop antennas.”
FuelMedia is also using the Dejero GateWay M6E6 network aggregation solution, equipped with six cellular modems, thereby boosting internet connectivity in production trucks, the company said.
A Dejero WayPoint receiver at TV2GO headquarters reconstructs broadcast-quality video transported over multiple IP connections from the EnGo, decodes HEVC or AVC, and outputs to SDI or MPEG-TS workflows for distribution across multiple online and broadcast platforms, it said.
The Dejero Control cloud-based management system gives TV2GO simplified routing and video feed sharing. It allows the company to monitor the status of EnGo SIM cards, traffic usage and mobile coverage, so it can keep track of data costs while ensuring the best connectivity performance in the various race locations, Dejero said.
“What I love about the EnGo in particular, is its simplicity and flexibility,” said Robinson. “I press a button on the unit, TV2GO checks the signals remotely and we’re good to go from virtually any speedway location.”
NASCAR Pinty has contracted with Fuel MediaLab to be the official host broadcaster for 2022. The race season, which begins May 14 at Sunset Speedway, consists of 13 races across Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Many are in remote locations with little or no internet connectivity on site.
“For the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, we can distribute the video stream in different formats that are required by the event sponsors at these races,” said Lawrence Partington, chief innovation officer of TV2GO.
“It might be pay-per-view, a dedicated OTT channel or a traditional linear channel. We send the live video coming in from the Dejero EnGo or GateWay through our teleport to TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold in New York via RTMP and to Canadian rights holder TSN as HD SDI over broadcast fiber. It works incredibly well,” he said.
The solution leverages Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology to create a resilient internet connection by aggregating multiple networks into a single service. Dejero’s new EnGo 265 mobile transmitter allows for the transmission of high-quality live video with glass-to-glass latency as low as 0.5 seconds over the bonded cellular connections, Dejero said.
Fuel MediaLab and TV2GO plan to build a REMI kit using multiple Dejero EnGo transmitters for specific racetracks where laying camera cables is logistically too difficult and using satellite connectivity alone would be costly, the company said.
More information is available on the company’s website.
