BEHIND THE SCENES NMRC delivers one of the biggest IP broadcast infrastructures
the requirements, but also detail how they deliver on their promise and anything else they allow you to do. Coupled with a presentation of a plausible vision for your project, this should give you an idea of whether the vendor is a good fit. Again, the ability to ask for clarifications and comments will be invaluable. Your team may have imagined a workflow that could be delivered in a different, less costly and more flexible way. Listen to such remarks. After all, you have enough experience to separate the wheat from the chaff at this stage. Although there may be some haggling involved, your focus should be on whether the proposed solution offers everything it takes to see you through the next five to ten years – and beyond. If you or your systems integrator approach several vendors for different parts of the envisaged solution, be sure to ask them about interoperability; how well their products communicate with devices or software from other brands. WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER There are also examples of broadcasters that refuse to rely on an external systems integrator. The most remarkable instance of this approach can be found in Montreal’s La nouvelle Maison de Radio-Canada (NMRC). There, the decision was to keep planning and execution in-house, forcing the project team to quickly come to grips with open standards ST 2110 IP, NMOS, SDN and several other concepts. By the time selected partners were invited, the project team had acquired sufficient knowledge to realise that their vision of maximum agility and the capabilities of the prospective equipment required an open partnership. The NMRC team was not just expecting advice and a helping hand – they also asked partners to refine the specifications of their products in order to implement the vision. Several partners were at first hesitant to go that far, not quite knowing what they were committing to and whether the ambitious goals could be reached in a timely fashion. An open working relationship where temporary failure was deemed a stepping stone to success eventually convinced them to join. In Lawo’s case, this has resulted in significant refinements to its VSM broadcast control system and other products.
SHARING ALL INSIGHTS GAINED IN THE PROCESS IS A NOBLE GESTURE
NMRC clearly deserves most of the credit for the successful completion of the biggest IP broadcast infrastructure to date. Its highly flexible workflow and rigorous resource pooling strategy exceeded anything that has been done in the past. But the team also knew who to rely upon as partners and how to steer the collaboration to reach an ambitious goal of controlling its agile infrastructure with single hardware or software button presses. Montreal-based broadcasting arm of CBC, but the broadcast community at large: product refinements and ingenious methods were only part of the story. The other half were refinements to the ST 2110 and NMOS specifications instigated and performed by the team. Sharing all insights gained in the process is a AND THE WINNER IS... In NMRC’s case, the winner was not just the noble gesture that will benefit peers in other parts of the world. This project shows that going it alone may occasionally work, but working hand in hand with trusted partners and openly sharing qualms and ideas will allow you to move mountains.
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