In Broadcast - February 2015 - 55

55

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 2 | February 2015

InStudio

Broadcast Systems
Integration - Part I
Contributing Editor Andy Stout asked some of the leading systems integrators to comment on
the health of the market and the wider broadcast industry, while assessing the impact of new
technologies and some key projects from the past year...
ATG Danmon
ATG Danmon Managing Director
Christoffer Kay, says that 2014 was
a busy year for the company with
some fairly hefty projects underway
both at home and abroad. He names
projects for ABS Broadcast, Arqiva,
the BBC, Intervideo, Trinity Broadcast
Networks "and a very high profile
central London system which we are
not at liberty to talk about yet", while
also commenting that the company
is seeing a high level of activity in the
Middle East with strong demand from
customers around the region.
He maintains that the SI's role has

"The swing towards
IT-based systems
has made software
skills increasingly
important"
Christoffer Kay
ATG Danmon

Broadcast Networks
Broadcast Networks is another
company that points to a fecund MEA
region providing lots of business
through 2014, with HD upgrades a
significant part of the workload.
"I think the industry itself is moving
through an interesting time as we
settle into HD broadcasting whilst still
pushing technology and innovation
to continue to drive the market place
forward. The term "good enough"

Broadcast Networks is building a playout
centre for Fox Sports Studio in Holland

changed considerably in the past
decade.
"The swing towards IT-based systems
has made software skills increasingly
important," he says. "Success now
demands a strong understanding of
the whole technical spectrum from
baseband video and audio right
through to media file processing and
IP bridging. There is also a recognition
right across the industry that the
broadcast business is in a constant
state of advancement."
This is also changing how the SI
business operates, being brought in
to advise customers much earlier in
the technology planning phases than
before.
"This is both as an independent
advisor and to some extent a sparring
partner for hammering out contentious
workflow issues," he continues. "This
is a very healthy development as it
ensures that the resultant system
meets the requirements of each
organisation as a whole rather than
being influenced by financial or
technical factors in isolation from
the realities of running an efficient

media operation. Creative people in
the television business want systems
that are easy to use, particularly when
working on live programmes. That
means providing user interfaces which
deliver the information relevant to the
task in hand so that creative decisions
can be made quickly and precisely.
This is the benchmark we work to."
Following the successful completion
of a major project for the company
in Madrid, ATG Danmon recently
completed a new playout system for
the London studios of Trinity Broadcast
Network, part of a major expansion of

the London facility which includes two
new state-of-the-art HD production
studios. See more on page 22.
Kay's forecasts for 2015 includes
continued uptake of 4K UHD, though
he acknowledges that broadcasters'
desire to climb further up the
resolution ladder is as yet untested,
and IP technology to have further, farreaching impacts.
"We have every confidence that 2015
will be at least as healthy as 2014,
powered by continuing convergence
between the broadcast, multimedia
and telco markets," he concludes.

seems to have become more common
place," comments Broadcast Networks
Director Malcolm Robinson.
"We are currently building a playout
facility for Fox Sports in Holland -
working with Eredivisie to provide
multiple playout facilities in Hilversum
for the Dutch football coverage - and
the OTT side of things is very important
too," he continues. "Customers have
become accustomed to getting as
much data as possible at any time
so as an ISI we have to understand
the solutions available to fulfil those
requirements."
Robinson maintains that an SI's role
is to give a balanced innovative design
service to their customers and that
whatever technological changes occur
in the industry, this has never changed.
However, as he says, the market is
turbulent with new technology acting

as a destabilising influence.
"Nobody is sure of when the
technology will be ready to truly go
4K across the broadcast chain, and
IP is full of nonsense at the moment:
in its basic form it's a point to point
transportation method which has
been around for a number of years;
as a full blown infrastructure its full of
unknown complications at the moment
but this is steadily becoming a little
less hazy. Give it time and we will see
all of these innovations naturally find
their place."
For the moment he sees the
movement towards a full HD broadcast
infrastructure across the whole of the
Europe and MEA region as the main
work in progress, alongside a steady
migration to opex investment over
capex, especially for start-ups.
"OTT services are already a large

part of any installation and I can see
this continuing. The live production
environment is keen to evolve to 4K
but I think the commercial side needs
to work out. Manufacturers are still in
the mid-phase regarding IP and I think
we may see some movement towards a
more cohesive offering to the market
place, but there is still the 'so what'
question."

Trinity Broadcast Networks project

"OTT services are
already a large part of
any installation and
I can see this
continuing"
Malcolm Robinson
Broadcast Networks
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.atgdanmon.co.uk/News.1566/New-Playout-System-for-TBN-Europe.123.aspx http://www.bcnet.co.uk/
In Broadcast - February 2015

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