At the heart of the 800 m2 broadcast center is a VSM broadcast control system from Lawo which, in a fully redundant system, allows user interfaces and controls to be freely configured with virtually no limits, and thus efficiently adjusted to all the different application areas and workflows of PLAZAMEDIA. The IP-based central router controls the synchronization of signals and distributes them into multifunctional rooms in which, depending on requirements, modular functions, e.g. live broadcast, graphics and sound recording, can be brought together in one space on a project-specific basis. The broadcast center should be up and running in time for the new Bundesliga season 2018/2019.
Extending over two stories, as well as the master control room and the actual broadcast unit, the new broadcast center consists of four large multifunctional rooms, which can be extended to seven if required, as well as six smaller ones, which are already expected to be expanded to up to ten. The new center has over 70 incoming and 40 outgoing transmission lines, which can be flexibly expanded at any time. The central router technology with a video router with 500 inputs and outputs, and an audio router with 6,000 inputs and outputs, handles the entire signal distribution and processing. The new, freely scalable technology replaces the previous 17 routers of the old broadcast center. A digital KVM router allows direct access to all the computers, while 38 IP-based, freely switchable multi-viewers handle the monitoring of the broadcast center.
The three central server rooms and the individual workstations are currently being networked with over 60 kilometers of fiber-optic and copper cable. As a result, all tasks from broadcasting to graphics right through to sound recording will be able to be done from any workplace in one of the multifunctional rooms. Once they have logged on to the workstation, staff will only have to select the task profile they need, thus minimizing setup times between the productions.
With its automated broadcasting, PLAZAMEDIA offers its clients a broad spectrum of complex live productions all the way through to simple, cloud-based playouts. In this, PLAZAMEDIA continues to work with its partner of many years S.A.M., but has opted for a modern, virtual Cisco server and NetApp storage infrastructure with an efficient mix of on-premises and cloud components.
The new broadcast center allows client-oriented production, workflow and media-asset management from remote production to cloud archiving. To this end, PLAZAMEDIA has built the concept on a combination of “still necessary” on-premise systems and cloud-based services. In future they will form the basis for highlight productions during a live broadcast and for processing and managing the associated high volumes of data on the PLAZAMEDIA campus. At the same time, clients will therefore be able to access their production and archive data at any time via the cloud.
Special focus is being given to the best possible optimization of the streaming quality and capacities. To achieve this, PLAZAMEDIA will completely renew its streaming and OTT delivery platform, so that in future it can process even more event streams in parallel, add sound live, and play them out live in an optimized quality that users will perceive as the broadcast standard. A multi-CDN, with DRM if required, will ensure cost-efficient and high-quality distribution of the streams. PLAZAMEDIA will furthermore enable its clients to monitor the quality of these streams from the point of view of its end customers by providing the necessary metrics.
For maximum fail-safety, all components and infrastructures have been built with multiple redundancy, from the power supply to the air-conditioning, all the way through to the data connection and processing. Comprehensively modernized and future-proofed, the now UHD-ready and IP-based hardware of the broadcast center is already designed for the large volumes of data that will arise in the production and management of future transmission standards.
Jens Friedrichs, Chairman of the Management of PLAZAMEDIA:
“For PLAZAMEDIA going forward, nothing is impossible! We have designed our new broadcast center for maximum flexibility and scalability. So with an IP basis, in future we will be able to handle a significantly higher volume of projects than before in parallel – also at short notice – and with lower operating costs. With our planning and the implementation, we made sure our specialists worked closely with our industry partners from the word go. The result is an exclusive system solution that you won’t find in any other broadcast center.”
