LTN transmits 2018 FIA Gran Turismo Championship to a global audience
As virtual race cars whizzed around the track, LTN Global Communications assisted Canadian production company Boombox with IP transmission of the 2018 FIA Gran Turismo Championship in November.
The worldwide competition was live-streamed on OTT platforms and social media (Twitter and Facebook) and shown on selected broadcast channels.
“For Gran Turismo, we had a complex and ever-changing transmission plan,” said William Robitaille, director, Boombox. “We had seven languages distributed on 16 different tracks of audio under one video signal. [The tournament was] simultaneously broadcast to up to 17 destinations, from Twitch to YouTube and from proprietary RTMP infrastructures to linear television partners.”
Before Boombox could get started on putting the operation together, its team addressed the details of transmission.
“The goal was to work with a knowledgeable company who had the quality standards to match ours and have all feeds up without any problems,” said Robitaille. “[Since] we don’t typically handle transmission on productions, we were exposing ourselves as being in charge of it.”
In the search for a suitable partner, the company emphasized that a team needed to be adaptable to changes, versatile to accommodate all broadcast destinations, capable of conducting proper testing and quality control before the event, and able to finish each transmission from start to finish. After deliberating on the options, Boombox went with experience.
“We had worked with [LTN] on smaller events, and we knew about their professionalism,” Robitaille explained. “One thing that has shined through on this programme was the ability to troubleshoot, react quickly, and communicate effectively.”
Some components of the tourney posed issues. “We met a good challenge with clients requesting transmission in 1440 to ‘trick YouTube’ to improve stream quality, like they do in Japan,” said Robitaille. “Our clients’ main concerns in the stream was always having the best audio and video quality possible.”
Despite the obstacles, LTN’s services covered all of the technological bases for the event. “The process was very smooth, considering our timeline for this series was tight,” said Robitaille. “We were able to meet our clients’ multiple feed-count goals while providing tech solutions to all destinations, including international commentators remotely.”
In addition to checking off all tech boxes on the list, LTN was able to cut travel costs and help Boombox with logistics as well. “For the RTMP feed to Japan in Monaco [with] alternative languages regrouped in Salzburg for the Las Vegas show, that helped logistics [and] travel costs,” said Robitaille. “It also helped reduce footprint at events with satellite trucks.”
Overall, the collaboration between LTN and Boombox provided a sustainable connection for fans around the globe and a successful production for those involved.
“[They were] our one-stop shop for everything transmission — from internet connection to signal flow to required equipment and technicians,” concluded Robitaille. “For us, [LTN] represents a trusted partner that has our back, that is technically savvy, and that is available to tackle issues as they come along.”