Sony enables remote and virtual operations for sports production

Sony customers can now operate their XVS Switchers remotely

While the summer of 2020 saw only a few sports being broadcast because of the ongoing pandemic, those events that were produced were done so with safety and social distancing in mind. Therefore, now more than ever, switching to an IP based infrastructure makes sense.

As a part of Sony’s efforts to support the media industry during the current health crisis, existing customers can now operate their XVS Switchers remotely, leveraging the virtual toolsets available such as Virtual Menu, Virtual Panel and Virtual Shotbox.

During the pandemic, Sony offered these capabilities for free, on a trial basis. By using this remote operations set-up, operators and technical staff were able to work from home or a remote studio. This software has been used in major broadcasters in Europe and North America, as well as eSports programme production in South Korea.

The recently announced BRC cameras update will allow output tracking data over IP, using the industry-standard Free-D protocol. These cameras, with their enhanced PTZ capabilities, necessitate a minimal number of operators, who can work remotely and on several cameras at the same time.

IP Live solutions from Sony have been adopted already by more than 100 customers worldwide.

Launched this summer, the HDCE-TX30 solution enabled the HDC-3500 and previous generations of HDC cameras to become IP Native, opening up here again, new possibilities for remote production. It allows for greater workflow stability and resource sharing, which is key for any customer investing in remote and fully distributed production.

New licenses for HDC-3500 and for HDCE-TX30 to enable IP HFR and IP 4K remote solutions will be available from March 2021.