FIFA FROM AFAR With a remote production surge catalysed by the pandemic, Competitive Gaming Entertainment (CGE) – the esports division of game giant Electronic Arts – has deployed a cloud-based 20 camera feeds from Europe, plus additional live contribution feeds for the talent, came into an AWS data centre in Northern Virginia. EA technical director, Geoff Butler, operated the show
platform that enables the fully distributed production of its big competitive gaming events, including FIFA 21 and Apex Legends. EA teams will be able to work remotely as necessary, producing live gaming events from any number of locations, while the EA technical director orchestrates everything from the company’s base in California. Underpinning EA’s new fully cloud-based workflow is Grass Valley’s GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform). It employs Grass Valley’s GV Korona switcher control panel, connected over the public internet to a K-Frame production centre engine, running on the GV AMPP service. The system will be used on an ongoing basis for the FIFA World Cup qualifying tournaments.
from his base in Sacramento, California, using GV K-Frame on AMPP. The production reported that AMPP’s low latency meant there was no perceivable difference from directing the show in a physical studio. Grass Valley’s K-Frame switcher can integrate with the AMPP platform via a software upgrade. While the physical K-Frame switcher panel remains, it can run either on a COTS server or a public cloud service. With K-Frame on AMPP, operators can set up a show on a regular K-Frame, punching it using an AMPP-connected frame and accessing with regular, familiar functions. This operator-specific UI is central to helping EA productions run consistently.
THERE WAS NO PERCEIVABLE DIFFERENCE FROMDIRECTING IN A STUDIO
Other AMPP applications in the EA set-up include master control, flow monitors, clip players, master control switcher, test signal generators, AV mix, HTML5 graphics render, multiviewer, recorders and streamers. The team can also access probing and monitoring capabilities for excellent workflow transparency.
EA first went live with GV AMPP following a trial with Grass Valley for an Apex Legends live tournament in early December 2020. The service supported the FIFA 21 Global Series Europe Qualifier 1 event that took place 12-13 December. More than
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