THE CLIENT

ORF (English: the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), is the Austrian national public service broadcaster. It is Austria’s largest media provider, operating four national television channels and 12 radio stations, as well as a range of websites. 

THE PROJECT

THE APPROACH

THE OUTCOME

THE PROJECT:

The PyeongChang Games saw a record 92 nations compete in 15 sports over 16 days in venues across the county. On the face of it, this would be a daunting challenge to support, but it all came down to careful planning and meticulous attention to detail.

Central to the plan was creating a workflow that could manage several different EVS operators, each working for different companies and streaming media to different countries. Each of the five operations had its own Production Control Room, so unlike a regular outside broadcast – such as a live football match – it was the equivalent of setting up and running several complex events simultaneously.

THE APPROACH:

Gravity Media – then branded HyperActive Broadcast – began by drawing up schematics to help shape the workflow. Starting small, focusing on one operator at a time and how best to manage its needs, our technical team gradually built up the picture into a full-scale layout that would cover each operator and result in a seamless broadcast setup.

By exploiting some great new pieces of kit – such as EVS’s IPWeb, which allows clients to access their IPDirector database and transfer and edit content remotely – Gravity Media was able to create a cost-effective solution for multiple clients wanting access to their media.

Once Discovery had given the green light, the Gravity Media logistics team made sure that every piece of equipment headed for PyeongChang was working properly, stress-tested and packaged safely.

We prepared over six tons of kit in all, including 70 x EVS XTAs, 29 x IPDirectors using a million gigabytes of storage, the EVS IPWeb, Ingest Funnel, APP servers, DNS Servers, Cisco 7000 Series, IPD Database Servers and XSquare Database Servers.

On arrival in South Korea in December 2017, the equipment was unpacked and configured for the job. This included multiple ingest funnel machines for each venue, allowing the operators to transmit directly to the International Broadcast Centre. This then allowed their media to be available across the EVS network, allowing authorised crew access to it at any time. This was the most cost-effective solution: instead of having to send people half-way around the world, clients could remote in and manage their media from wherever they wanted.

THE OUTCOME:

In February 2018, the Winter Games began. Gravity Media engineers were on hand, supporting multiple Production Control Rooms, assisting the Media Management team, and providing operational assistance.

Discovery was able to broadcast one of the biggest sporting events of the year without a hitch. Viewing figures indicate opening-weekend events were viewed by 212 million people across Europe, watching 373 million hours of video between them.

The project was a huge undertaking, but one that was deemed extremely successful against all measures. Gravity Media was able not only to improve the efficiency of the Winter Games broadcast through using such kit as the EVS IPWeb and funnel machines, but we were also able to help Discovery make significant savings by supplying Gravity Media kit and engineers.

THE CUSTOMER

BBC News is a division of UK public national broadcaster, the BBC. Globally, BBC News is the largest broadcast news organisation currently generating over 120 hours of radio and television output every day, plus online news coverage.

THE PROJECT

BBC News needed a fully functioning studio facility near Olympic Park, in time for the hotly anticipated 2012 London Olympics Games.

Leading broadcast solutions provider Gravity Media – then branded Gearhouse Broadcast – was selected to provide the BBC with the systems integration of a Master Control Room and three studios, in a joint venture that saw the BBC provide communications and control systems.

Located 23 floors up on the roof of the Lund Point building in Stratford, East London, the broadcast facility was used to transmit the 1pm, 6pm and 10pm News, as well contributions to the Breakfast News programme during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Gravity Media was also contracted to provide studio facilities for World and local London News.

THE APPROACH

Gravity Media’s team of experts, who had previously worked on the Beijing Olympic Games, handpicked a range of high performance equipment known for reliability, compatibility and quality.

The Master Control Areas for engineering and quality control comprised of test and measurement equipment from Tektronix, and Panasonic Vision Mixers.

Routers selected for the project included the Pro-bel Sirius 800 video router. Harris equipment was selected for the HD distribution and glue products. Equipment for the studios included Sony HDC 1500 Cameras and Canon lenses.

The build took six Gravity Media specialists six weeks to complete.

In addition to this work, Gravity Media provided the BBC with ancillary services for the Games, namely, Project and Logistics Management and Technical Support. Operational crew members provided included Engineers, Audio Engineers, Communication Engineers, Vision Controllers and Riggers, some of whom were permanently on site for the duration of the event.

OUTCOME

As expected, this project was a huge undertaking for the joint venture, but one that paid off. Screening the news from Olympic Park helped convey the excitement, hype and atmosphere of the Games.

Meanwhile, London 2012 saw the BBC achieve record levels of viewing and internet access – fulfilling the corporation’s aspiration to deliver the first truly digital and mobile Olympics.

Close to 52 million people watched the Olympics for at least 15 minutes, the BBC said, making the Games the biggest national television event since the current ratings system began.

The studio facility was kept in place to broadcast the Paralympic Games which ended on 17th September 2012.

THE CUSTOMERS

BBC Sport

BBC Sport covers a range of high profile sporting events, broadcast on the BBC’s television channels, as well as on BBC Radio, and online. Holder of exclusive terrestrial rights to show both the Summer & Winter Olympic Games, the UK’s public broadcaster has captured and transmitted live footage of every Summer Olympics since 1960.

Siemens IT Solutions Services provides information technology (IT) solutions. The company specialises in consulting, systems integration, software engineering, & IT infrastructure management.

THE PROJECT

Beijing 2008, the Summer Olympic Games of that year, was held August 8-24 and saw a total of 10,942 athletes from 28 different sporting codes compete across 302 separate events at multiple venues.

During the run-up to this hotly anticipated Olympics, technology project managers Siemens IT Solutions Services selected broadcast solutions specialist Gravity Media – then branded Gearhouse Broadcast – to ensure all its core objectives were met.

Specifically, the challenge was to provide BBC Sport with systems integration of the BBC’s International Broadcast Centre (IBC), which was located within the main Olympic IBC in Beijing.

Additionally, Siemens & BBC Sport relied upon Gravity Media to produce a bespoke flyaway solution suitable for its track and field coverage.

THE APPROACH

August 2008 saw all eyes on China for 17 action-packed days, as the Olympic Games were beamed to television screens across the globe.

Multiple broadcasters were tasked with capturing and delivering the action live as it happened, to a combined worldwide audience of billions. It was crucial for well-respected broadcasters like BBC Sport, to ensure high-end production values were met and seamless, faultless coverage was achieved.

Gravity Media, with its focus on reliability, flexibility, cost-effectiveness & innovation, as well as its access to the very in latest in broadcast technologies, made use of the vast experience of its team when tackling this important project.

The BBC’s IBC area covered around 5000 square feet and housed a control room for the main HD production, interactive internet and mobile-phone services. There was a large audio control room and a sub audio control room, from where all audio and communications were controlled.

The control rooms were supported by 18 edit rooms, production offices and two big servers, all connected to the venues and the BOB EVS server.

OUTCOME

A record breaking 4.7 billion viewers worldwide were estimated to have tuned in to television coverage of Beijing’s Olympic Games at some point during the 17 days.

Advancements made in so-called “new media” since the Athens Olympics four years prior upped audience expectations of broadcast content, which was now expected to be viewable on social media, mobile web, & catch-up services like BBC’s iPlayer.

Speaking in 2008, BBC Sport’s Head of Major Events Dave Gordon noted that Beijing presented a “much more complex” challenge for those working behind the scenes. “At any one time there could be up to six TV channels going, different types of services on radio, clips to look at on the website, action to download onto iPlayer, clips possibly to mobiles – it’s very much a 24/7 Olympics.”

Gravity Media’s experienced team was able to identify the best, most innovative ways to ensure every requirement of this complex project was met, to budget.

The BBC screened 300 hours of footage across the BBC1 & BBC2 channels – double that of the previous Games. In addition, 2,450 hours featured on BBCi, whilst there was also more online content and more live coverage screened on BBC’s HD channel.

The customer

Al Jazeera Sports is the former name of the Middle Eastern television network known since December 2013 as beIN Sports. The group of sports channels is based in Doha, Qatar, primarily serving the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.

SuperSport

A Pan-Africa South African group of television channels owned by Multichoice and carried on the DStv satellite platform, SuperSport provides sports content in South Africa and many other African countries.

ARD/ZDF

Founded in 1950, ARD is a joint organisation of Germany’s regional public service broadcasters, whilst ZDF is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Together with Deutschlandradio, the broadcasting entities form a joint organisation commonly known as “the Beitragsservice”.

The project

The Olympic Games have always presented unique challenges for broadcasters and Beijing 2008 was no exception. For 17 days, the world’s attention focused on China, where a total of 10,942 athletes from 28 different sporting codes convened to compete across 302 separate events at multiple venues.

Multiple broadcasters worked around the clock to deliver footage – much of it live  –  to a combined worldwide audience of billions.

Leading broadcast solutions and equipment provider Gearhouse Broadcast was kept busy both during the run-up to, and during the 2008 Olympic Games. As well as winning a major contract to provide systems integration for BBC Sport, Gearhouse Broadcast also provided innovative & reliable, cost-effective solutions for the aforementioned customers.

The approach

In order to successfully bring all the action and excitement of the Olympics home to their viewers, Al Jazeera Sport, SuperSport & ARD/ZDF each had their own unique, specific project requirements and budget. The approach taken by Gearhouse Broadcast thus involved devising bespoke solutions that were both reliable & cost-effective.

A market leader with a proven track record working on major world sporting events, Gearhouse Broadcast drew on its vast degree of experience and access to the very latest in technological advancements to create innovative, flexible solutions for the trio of broadcasters.

FOR AL JAZEERA SPORTS:

OLYMPIC BROADCAST SOLUTION

Qatar’s most popular sports channel, Al Jazeera Sports, contracted Gearhouse Broadcast to design, install and operate their entire broadcast operation in Beijing. The broadcaster shot the games in SDI and Gearhouse Broadcast supplied a Production, Editing and Switching facility along with a 4 camera studio. Two specialist engineers were provided  for the installation and setup.

FOR SUPERSPORT:

OLYMPIC FACILITY AT IBC

Gearhouse Broadcast supplied leading South African satellite channel SuperSport with a high definition (HD) broadcast facility for the 2008 Games. Gearhouse designed, installed and operated a facility which included Switching, Editing and Production. This was located in the main International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Beijing. The crew covered two VTR Operators, one Audio Engineer and two Video Engineers. Shift patterns were planned and scheduled for sixteen hours of transmission every day.

FOR ARD/ZDF:

FACILITIES AT MULTIPLE VENUES

German broadcaster ARD/ZDF also selected Gearhouse Broadcast to design and install its facilities for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Gearhouse Broadcast provided broadcast coverage facilities at the National Sports Stadium (NST), the National Aquatics Centre (NAC), the Rowing area (SRF), and the Equestrian Centre (HKS), which was situated in Hong Kong.

the Outcome

The 2008 Olympic Games attracted an estimated worldwide viewing audience of 4.7 billion. The record-breaking result is attributable to significant “new media” advancements made during the four years between Olympic Games events, allowing viewers to watch across multiple platforms, or while on-the-go, from just about anywhere.

Adapting to the new multimedia broadcasting landscape meant networks needed to expand their coverage, as by 2008, consumers had come to expect dedicated content for the likes of social media platforms, the mobile web & catch-up services.

Those working behind-the-scenes to deliver footage of the Games were thus met with a more complex logistical challenge.

Thankfully, Gearhouse Broadcast has a proven track record delivering solutions for the most logistically complex projects on the calendar. So its experienced specialists were well-equipped to identify the best & most innovative ways to ensure every requirement of each individual broadcaster was met, allowing for seamless, reliable coverage.

THE CUSTOMER

Owned by Seven West Media Limited, Australia’s Channel Seven is a major Australian, commercial free-to-air television network.

THE PROJECT

In 2006, Australia’s Channel Seven network was looking for technical solutions that would allow for transmission of top-quality, seamless footage of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.

The Winter Olympics featured top athletes from 26 nations competing across 84 events. The Games, known as Turin 2006, or Torino 2006, opened on February 10^th and provided spectators and those tuning in at home 16 action-packed days of winter sports.

Broadcast project solutions specialist Gravity Media – then branded Gearhouse Broadcast – was selected to provide Channel Seven with cost-effective, reliable technical solutions to help convey all the action and excitement of the Games back to its viewers.

THE APPROACH

From system design and conceptual planning, to supply of equipment, project management and installation of the complete technical facility – located at Turin’s International Broadcast Centre (IBC) – Gravity Media handled all aspects of this project.

The installation team began work three weeks before the Games’ opening ceremony, handing over to the production team one week prior to the start of transmission.

The facility for Channel Seven consisted of a presentation studio, production control room, an audio control room, switching centre, two avid non-linear editing suites, four tape- based edit suites & video archiving.

Equipment included a Probel 96×96 HD/SD Router with four levels of associated Analogue Audio. Various HD and SD glue products were also supplied to cater for the multi standard HD and SD input signals supplied by the host. The latest LCD monitors available were used in the control rooms and were fed via multi-viewers.

The ENG facilities supplied consisted of four Sony Digi Beta Camcorders with associated radio microphones, weather bags, monitoring and lighting kits.

OUTCOME

With plenty of prior experience catering for Channel Seven’s technical needs, including provision of broadcast solutions for the Australian Open & Melbourne Cup, Gravity Media offered ongoing support to the network’s team throughout the Games.

Speaking on behalf of Channel Seven Colin Southey noted: “Gearhouse Broadcast engineers were on hand around the clock to offer technical support and as always with Gearhouse Broadcast every necessary measure was put in place to ensure that the event ran smoothly.”