PlazaMedia stages UEFA Euro 2020 for Deutsche Telekom’s MagentaTV using Riedel Media infrastructure
PlazaMedia has successfully staged all 51 UEFA Euro 2020 matches for live UHD broadcast on Telekom’s MagentaTV, leveraging an expansive Riedel media backbone.
PlazaMedia used Riedel’s MediorNet real-time media network as a decentralised production video routing infrastructure to support management and processing of signals across their production facility. The production company also deployed Riedel’s Artist intercom system with 2300 Series SmartPanels and an integrated Bolero wireless intercom to maintain crystal clear communications throughout the tournament, which took place from 11 June to 11 July 2021.
“Riedel’s extensive product line allows us to build out decentralised communications and signal routing infrastructure with the flexibility to accommodate even the most demanding productions,” said Hardy Steinweg, COO at PlazaMedia. “The MediorNet, Artist, Bolero and SmartPanel systems set up quickly and performed reliably, giving us more time to focus on making the UEFA Euro 2020 broadcast event a success.”
PlazaMedia has been a Telekom partner since August 2019, implementing more than 1,500 live broadcasts per season for linear TV and online/OTT as part of the MagentaSport offering. For UEFA Euro 2020, PlazaMedia created a production environment across 2,600sqm with three studios, four playout centres and a content centre. The state-of-the-art 350sqm main studio in the ziegelei101 event location featured a 32:9 LED wall as well as augmented reality and virtual graphics designed to give viewers the feeling of being even closer to the action.
The Riedel MediorNet distributed routing and processing solution implemented by PlazaMedia included four MetroN routers, 13 MicroNs and almost 20 MicroN UHD frames, one of the largest such MicroN UHD deployments in the young history of the product line. The MicroN UHDs formed a redundant ring each with 200G bandwidth and distributed 33 UHD signals, four of which originated from the IBC in Amsterdam. Furthermore, the system routed almost 70 3G video signals and the audio layer handled 10 fully saturated MADI connections in addition to all the embedded tracks. The network trunking and sync distribution functionalities rounded off all infrastructural demands.
Although the main and backup feed from Amsterdam had different audio content and mappings, MediorNet’s integrated embedder/de-embedder allowed the production team to make sure that all the used signals shared one mapping, and to implement certain changes to the audio without additional external hardware. For this PlazaMedia project, the 13 MicroN modules were dedicated to run Riedel’s MultiViewer app. With access to all distributed MediorNet signals, the MultiViewer app creates up to four monitoring heads that can be routed to any given output.
To ensure efficient operations for the PlazaMedia production team throughout the month-long event, Riedel also supplied an Artist intercom system with around three dozen RSP-2318 SmartPanel interfaces and 16 Bolero wireless intercom beltpacks. In addition to facilitating crew communications, these systems enabled users to monitor the audio channels and to establish communication with onsite reporters or interview guests.
“PlazaMedia delivered a remarkable production for Telekom and MagentaTV viewers and we’re proud to have supported this successful high-profile event with our MediorNet product family,” said Marco Kraft, head of sales Germany at Riedel Communications. “The UEFA Euro 2020 broadcasts were a win for everyone involved and we look forward to partnering again with PlazaMedia on future production projects.”