Swiss Teleclub expands its live sports broadcasts with Blackmagic Design solutions

The Swiss payment platform Teleclub has just expanded its offer to more than 83 channels, including eight in UHD with broadcasts in German, French and Italian and coverage of a wide variety of sports.

Teleclub, the leader of pay TV in Switzerland, has implemented a UHD playback system with 12G technology from Blackmagic Design in order to offer more non-linear and pay-per-view (PPV) channels with live sports content.

The service recently expanded its offer on more than 83 channels, including eight in UHD; broadcasts in German, French and Italian and coverage of a wide variety of sports, such as the most prestigious national and European football leagues or ice hockey, through its IPTV platform.

“We needed to improve the production facilities, double Teleclub's capacity to be able to offer additional HD and pay-per-view channels, as well as add more commentary and graphic elements,” he explains. Remo Val, software and systems engineer at Teleclub. “When we considered the requirements for the UHD definition, we were clear that with a single-link 12G SDI network, we would ensure we had enough capacity in the servers and kept the cabling and signal distribution as optimized as possible.”

To create the system, we installed 18 ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, each dedicated to two of the HD or UHD channels, with a mix/effects panel linked to each channel. In turn, each mixer is connected to an in-house developed computer graphics server with DeckLink Quad 2 and Caspar CG capture cards for video playback. Finally, another ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K mixer transmits a multi-channel in HD.

Custom interface

Remo explains that the system is controlled through a custom-made interface with two playlists. "The operator opens an event from the database and then the client generates all the specific content in a playlist, for example a studio or live feed, lower thirds or sponsor logos. The software controls the mixer, CG server and audio engine to produce the next file in the list, so a single operator can stream the entire event live with a single button," he says.

The facilities also have a new studio and 26 commentary booths composed of 12 matrices Smart Videohub 40×40 12G, in order to subaltern between the monitors located at the production channel's headquarters in Volkestwil, near Zurich, which also has VIP rooms and a bar for spectators. “There must be more than 250 Blackmagic Mini Converters and Teranex Mini units that function as a digital nexus in the production center,” says Remo. “An important consideration was testing the expansion of the network through the production core itself, so that regardless of where we are in the facility, it is possible to see the indicators and scale in the signal transmitted by Teleclub.”

"We simply could not have done this project without Blackmagic Design solutions. The open programming interface and pricing of the capture cards allowed us to design a flexible and reliable playback solution, which we were also able to specifically build around a future-proof 12G infrastructure that will give us the ability to continue delivering the best sports broadcasts to our viewers," concludes Remo.