EVS servers, asset suites for BT Sport facility

The new Timeline Television facility that provides a complete managed service to BT Sport – launching this Thursday (1 August) – has already been the subject of extensive coverage on SVG Europe. Now EVS has revealed its role in the project, having supplied 12 of its latest XT3 and XS studio servers for live production to handle all video feed ingest and highlights playout.

EVS‘ IPDirector production asset management suites will control the entire media workflow, including video ingest scheduling, logging, playout control and scheduling, as well as media exchange with Avid Interplay. There is also integration with Harmonic nearline storage, with high and LoRes files available for instant access via EVS IPBrowse terminals. An IP2Archive system has also been supplied to enable content so be stored – and easily re-used during production – on LTO and integrates tightly with BT’s chosen HSM.

BT Sport’s operators, editors and journalists will be using a total of 200 IPBrowse stations, providing access to hundreds of hours of logged content via EVS’ LoRes network. This will allow them to create reviews, rough cuts and quick highlights or transfers directly to their Avid timeline, resulting in faster production turnaround.

Luc Doneux, executive vice-president sports division at EVS, comments: “In a project of this size and scale, the flexibility and seamless third-party integration that EVS systems provide really comes to the fore. The fact that the XT3 and XS servers are at the heart of the BT Sport workflow speaks to the absolute trust our customers have in the reliability and robustness of our technology.”

Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer of BT Sport, adds: “At the core of our new studios build is a spirit of collaboration that brings the best of industry – and sometimes competitors – working together toward a common aim: to make the BT Sport studios a world-class hub for the best ideas and talent. We believe talent attracts talent and our partnership with EVS has helped us to foster that mind-set.”