Inside the flexible new workflows of Associazione Sportiva Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma is today regarded as one of the outstanding clubs in the Serie A football league. Established in 1927, AS Roma has expanded its remit over time to include extensive merchandising and multimedia communications interests.
The new media centre of the channel and the multimedia production centre are located in Trigoria, where all the activities of AS Roma are concentrated. In the past, shooting video was contracted to external parties, but now AS Roma has significant numbers of editorial staff to produce content for its own portal as well as TV broadcasters (eg. Sky Sports), radio broadcasters (eg. Radio Rome) and other platforms on various social media.
This transition has been made possible thanks to the integration of innovative technologies that have enabled the club to pursue a production model that “with traditional technologies would have had no chance of being realised [due to] obvious budgetary problems,” explains Guido Fienga, head of strategy & media at AS Roma.
The strategic model is based on a particular system of outsourced activities that allow AS Roma to have as much control as possible over the content and production phases, without having to taken on additional duties and responsibilities related to different aspects of production and technology.
The preparation is in fact managed directly by the company, with a substantial team of editors and other personnel. Only two external companies – namely Broadcast Solutions and InMedia – are involved in the set-up.
As well as designing the system, Broadcast Solutions prepared and installed all technologies dedicated to the production of content and playout, coordinating with InMedia too in providing human resources devoted to production activities.
The tech control room is structured for multi-camera HD production, and the set-up is based around new Grass Valley LDX cameras, the Karrera video mixer and the K2 Dyno video server. The infrastructure is also reliant on video technology from Grass Valley and includes the KaleidoX NV multiviewer and Densité processing frame.
The audio system is based on a Lawo Crystal MkII console, along with a Riedel intercom system and microphones and speakers by Neumann and Sennheiser.
The playout system is the Grass Valley iTX scalable, enterprise-class solution. Based on standard IT infrastructure, iTX allows simultaneous operation by means of a master control panel similar to those in traditional automation systems (Grass Valley Imagestore).
Connected with the Asset Management Production system, it enables the easy exchange of content which, at the end of the editing process, can be transferred to the playout system and programmed for broadcast.
In the case of problems, the channel will stay on air thanks to the presence at Sky HQ of this playout server and a minimal teleport.
The playout system is also integrated with the iControl system monitor and control technology and Grass Valley Kaleido multiviewer, paving the way for a reduction in operating costs. The PAM (Production Asset Management) system and Newsroom is based on EVS Xedio.
However the input material is received, everything is subject to a first automatic indexing and made available to users for the preparation of contribution and finished editorial for publication or archiving.