IBC 2018: Grass Valley eyes software-defined future with cloud-enabled news, playout technology
At IBC 2018, Grass Valley, a Belden Brand (# 9.A01), will cement its position as the market leader in cloud-based and software-defined broadcast technology and solutions by demonstrating entire news production and playout workflows running virtually for the first time.
In a departure from previous IBC exhibitions, the amount of market-leading hardware traditionally featured on the Grass Valley booth will be drastically reduced to dedicate more focus on its extensive suite of cloud-enabled solutions.
With consumer demand for more content on a greater number of devices, broadcasters are under increased pressure to reach ever-widening audiences on tighter budgets. This is why the need for efficient, flexible workflows that are both scalable and future-proof is critical. Cloud-enabled solutions deliver workflows that can scale up or down as needed, delivering greater efficiency while still allowing broadcasters to provide more content to more viewers across more devices.
“Our industry is in an exciting transition period,” says Tim Shoulders, president of Grass Valley. “The ability to make fast and smart decisions to capitalize on the promise it holds will undoubtedly set the winners apart, and IBC will make it clear who those are. The cloud will be key in driving the future of broadcast media technology, and the strategy within Grass Valley’s IBC booth will not only reflect this, but support our position as the number one player in this industry. We have an unwavering dedication to being the long-term business transformation partner to guide our customers through the decision to invest in IP and other enabling technologies, and IBC will be a clear demonstration of how we’re doing this.”
The latest version of the GV STRATUS nonlinear production system delivers a suite of tools that includes simple editing via the GV STRATUS web client. Operators can work anywhere on any supported device, capturing content from a wide range of sources, editing while mobile in the company’s new HTML5 simple editor and triggering automated Social Media publishing via the GV STRATUS Rules Engine. The latest version of the versatile production solution will be demonstrated as a miniature virtualised installation in the booth.
Additionally, news operations can now handle content from almost any source, and distribute that content quickly, using a cloud-based workflow to facilitate working from almost anywhere. Grass Valley’s fully cloud-based editing solution, EDIUS Cloud, features direct editing from S3 storage on the Amazon AWS platform. EDIUS Cloud provides a full-featured editing environment with no compromise for the cloud convenience, such as support for HDR, multicam editing, effect filters and graphics overlay.
Grass Valley’s playout systems will be installed to showcase the flexibility and agility of its pure software solutions. This area of the booth will be free of racks for the first time. GV Flex Cloud Orchestrated Playout will be demonstrated and hosted in the cloud via Azure. A dedicated playout node will handle streaming to YouTube Live and Grass Valley will demonstrate how additional playout nodes can be rapidly spun-up on commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. Grass Valley’s Morpheus Playout Automation and ICE Automated Channel Playout will also be virtualised on COTS hardware at IBC 2018.
“Thanks to all the work done by equipment manufacturers and industry standard groups, IP is advancing and maturing in the way it enables efficiency for broadcasters and media organizations,” adds Shoulders. “Our cloud and software-based solutions enable these industry players to seamlessly and cost-effectively scale to support new services, and better allocate their resources. It’s logical then to use the cloud to best demonstrate this at IBC.”