Using IP technologies to replace traditional video transmission for remote event production has opened up a world of possibilities for increased production values and richer content exchange. This tech can bring improvements to productions, large and small. Speaker : Michael Harabin, V.P., Technology, Engineering & Media Management, Pac-12 Networks

1. The 3 Ring Circus of TV
Production
Remote collaboration & use of cloud
technologies

2. Who is the Pac-12?
TWO ENTITIES
The CONFERENCE
 One of the 5 “Power” College Conferences
 12 Universities in 6 Western states
 More NCAA titles than any other conference, closing in on 500
 100 Years Old
 Content licensed to Fox and ESPN
The NETWORKS
 Launched August, 2012, located in San Francisco
 Independent Media Company operating 6 regional and 1 national sports networks and
digital properties (TVE)
 Affiliates include Comcast, Spectrum, Dish Network, SlingTV
 Produce 850 live events for linear distribution, between August and May
https://vimeo.com/206512500/312a1676d4

3. Context
Challenges
At Launch: Approximately 75 of the 850 broadcast events garner “big” audiences
• The remainder (~775) need to be produced live and as inexpensively as possible
• Editorial voice and production values need to be maintained across all events
Now: Increasing demands for unique content for OTT and digital distribution
• Production of additional full events (Twitter), behind the scenes (Facebook Live),
bonus coverage (TVE) did not exist at launch, but are now important part of
Production Operations

4. The 3 Ring Circus of Live, Remote TV
Production
Network
Distribution
• Scheduling & Log
• Playlist manipulation
and management
• Asset management
• On-air operations
• On-air GFX
• Reporting & Recon
Field
Production
• Camera
• Switching
• Mixing
• Replays
• GFX
• Communication
• Internet Access
Acquisition
• Signal Transmission
• Multi-path
• Bi-directional
• Low latency
• Lower cost than
video

5. Acquisition (aka Transmission)
Connectivity as the foundation for all things
• Video is out & Data is in
Pros
• Multi-path & Bi-directional – allows for collaboration
• Low latency – improves production quality & values
• Lower price point overall
• Unlimited use – connect upon arrival
• Services and communications
Cons
• Complexity / New vendors in a new space / Staffing skill set
Acquisiti
on
Big, fat, bi-directional
pipes connecting 100+
venues back to the to
Studios

6. Enhancing “Traditional” Field Productions
Enhancements achieved with improved connectivity
• Enhanced Productions
• Operators and artists stay in the Studio & work multiple games
• Easy to add resources advantageously
• Less staff to travel = lower costs
• Hardware is centralized & easier to maintain
• More topical content from Studio to Field
• Packages and profiles can be more timely
• Immediate transfer of highlights from field to Studio
• No waiting for game breaks to send content
• Scenics & other content ingested directly to EVS
• No hard drives or tapes to ship or send
• Improved communications
• 4 digit dialing, faster Internet access
Big, fat, bi-directional
pipes permit collaboration
Field
Productio
n
HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/208153188/CC

7. Field Production in the Studio
Centraliz
ed
Productio
n
Efficiencies achieved with improved connectivity
• Camera leads and audio stems fed directly to Studio
• Majority of crew works from home Studio – Video switching, audio mixing
all GFX, instant replay, even Talent could call the game from the Studio
• TD, Director, Producer & Operators work at Studio & work multiple games
• Easy to add resources advantageously
• Less staff to travel = lower costs
• Hardware is centralized & easier to maintain
• Can deploy more resources advantageously
• Game highlights immediately available
• Exploit content across all platforms (Digital, other games and Studio shows)
• Return path with audio mixes
• Post game interviews quality super high
Further exploitation of
connectivity

8. COLLABORATION EXAMPLE
https://business.facebook.com/Pac12Conference/videos/10153516907446801/

9. Distribution (aka Master Control)
Trying to move aggressively towards the Cloud for Linear & Digital
• Virtualized processes – available today
• Transcoding and versioning (Elemental)
• Content acquisition, QC, ingest
• Workflow automation (AWS)
• Content storage (AWS)
The promise of tomorrow, virtualized processes – the “webification” of TV
• Content scheduling (Log), Playlist manipulation and execution, Asset management, On-
air operations, GFX, Secondary events, Real-time reporting and reconciliation (Air-
checks)
Expected Benefits & Attributes
• Ability to “accordion” operations to meet peak needs
• Pay as you go Opex model
Unrealized potential
Distributi
on

10. RISKS & CHALLENGES
Adoption rate
Fears surrounding security
Displacing entrenched tech is never a picnic
Level of captivity with cloud vendor(s)
Staffing skill set shift (internally & with vendors)

11. “Friends don’t let friends build data
centers”
Infor CEO Charles Phillips
AWS 2014 San Francisco Summit
Take away
MICHAEL HARABIN
PAC-12 NETWORKS
mharabin@pac-12.org