The crucial moment: the consolidation of the IP in Telemadrid
José María Casaos, CTO of RTVM, sheds light on how the implementation of the new IP infrastructure of RTVM has been. Telemadrid, tested in highly demanding formats and already used daily on Madrid public television.
The jump to Telemadrid's IP, as José María Casaos announced in a tribune at Panorama Audiovisual, was born as part of a transversal digital transformation plan. By modifying its infrastructure, Madrid public radio and television had the opportunity to modernize a production center with twenty-five years of history which, given the high demands of its programming and its commitment to live broadcasting, required new functionalities, capacities and improvements.
Now, it can be said that IP is already a reality in Telemadrid. The project is at 50%, since a new control that completely transforms the RTVM production model still needs to be enabled. But the other half is already working at full capacity, with important operational benefits and a staging that has allowed television to look into the eyes of many other national channels in the Spanish broadcast panorama.
Casaos tells how the steps were prior to the implementation of this IP model with the electoral debate of the Madrid regional elections, what are the solutions that have fueled this new era in Telemadrid, and elaborates on the visual and operational benefits of the IP. Before there were doubts, but now there are no more: for Telemadrid, the IP is already the present.
Premiere in style
As happens with the launch of any new infrastructure project, Telemadrid had to undertake a process of advance planning to train all the professionals in the house and, in Casaos's own words, “gain skill in the operation.” After an extensive integration period given the complexity of this new infrastructure, training by area was followed by different training courses. onboarding so that producers, directors, editors and program directors were clear about the main differences that the IP would bring. The objective was to be 100% prepared before the date marked in red on the calendar of Telemadrid's technical management: May 16, debate of the candidates for the presidency of the Community of Madrid.
“We were aware that the decision to debut in IP on the day of the Community of Madrid debate was very brave. (…) But, thanks to the previous work of our team and that of TSA, everything went well”.
Three weeks before the debate, the IP infrastructure was already ready, but technical zeros to make the decision whether, finally, to carry out this program with the new RTVM infrastructure. This is how Casaos tells the story crucial journey on Friday, April 21: "We did a zero in which we validated whether or not we were going to go towards the new technology. After successfully completing it, the deputy news director, the production director, the head of news production and all the technical management were clear about moving forward and we agreed that the new production control was wonderful, it was something we were waiting for."
The work, however, was not finished. As Casaos acknowledges, there were still some configurations and “minor incidents” to resolve, which were addressed over the following weeks. Hand in hand, there was the question of fine-tuning the new cameras, the new system of lightning and, ultimately, the new set in which this debate was going to be held: "We were aware that the decision to premiere in IP on the day of the Community of Madrid debate was very brave. These are programs in which we logically have a large audience and it was an added pressure. But, thanks to the previous work of our team and that of TSA"Everything went well."
IP: when the gear works
Telemadrid undertakes its new stage in IP, understanding it as a transition, since RTVM continues to maintain all types of sources SDI, integrated through converters or with hybrid solutions. Among this equipment, for example, is the LED screen for Madrid television news.
“In the IP configuration you could find problems such as an audio signal inserted in a specific system not working, but they are minor issues that we have been solving. In fact, we have not had any major incidents”.
The hybrid nature of the equipment that feeds Madrid's IP infrastructure has made it necessary to have a detailed configuration of all the equipment, centralized in the tool. broadcast controller VSM of Theirs. Casaos prefers not to define these compatibility issues as problems, but rather understands that the aforementioned incidents are a natural phase in the configuration of a new infrastructure, and even more so with a new IP technology: "We have undertaken this configuration thinking about real applications and programs. You could encounter problems such as an audio signal inserted in a specific system not working, but they are minor issues that we have been solving. In fact, we have not had major incidents."
On the contrary, once the configuration period has passed, Telemadrid's technological management is currently faced with a system that provides “much more ease” in the item configuration, as well as “flexibility” in each process. This jump to IP, therefore, has been accompanied by an organic transition process with many more advantages than disadvantages.
He core IP technology in Telemadrid
There are countless solutions that have been part of the transition to IP and Telemadrid's latest technological renewal: cameras and video mixers. Sony along with its HIVE studio automation and program production system, digital audio desks from Yamaha, the graphics platform of Avid Maestro and its iNews Newsroom Tracking Tool (NRCS), or the monitoring system with NEC. Without detracting from all these solutions, Casaos considers two solutions above the rest as key.
First of all, the IP infrastructure of Cisco, an “absolutely redundant” solution structured in two networks (blue and red) that is configured as the “true heart” of the IP network: “There we have connected all the sources, cameras, video mixers…”. The system is completed with the IP Fabric for Media solution, as well as the Cisco Network Dashboard Fabric Controller, responsible for providing a real-time photograph of the network and devices. From an audio perspective, everything is managed homologously using the well-known protocol Dante.
The second key piece for RTVM has been the technology of Theirs with the VSM software, which acts as broadcast controller and how orchestrator, and together with the platform V_matrix, offer a joint solution to manage signal processing, gateways, multi-screen and, in short, “they provide many of the advantages or new functionalities that we obtain with this IP system.”
The visual and operational benefits
The IP, beyond industrial convenience at the time of digital transformation that Telemadrid was in, has brought tangible benefits to both spectators and for himself staff technical from Telemadrid.
In relation to the visual quality of the images that reach the audience, Casaos recognizes that this transition has been like passing “from night to day” This is how he explains it: “There has been extraordinary work by the lighting and camera control team. Beyond working with this new network, we have renewed all the cameras and changed our lighting infrastructure to LED, which has allowed us to control the color temperature in detail and create a new staging between the production teams, mixers, cinematography and camera control.”
In this sense, the workflows of graphics, virtual and augmented reality, as well as all the processes to feed images and videos to the LED screens on the sets, which today are a key element in the making of their programs. "The production, graphics, engineering and information systems teams have done extraordinary work in the execution of all the special programs for the regional and municipal elections in May. Of course with the direction and planning of the editing and production team," comments the CTO of Telemadrid.
“Everything is changed and configured a so flexible way which, sometimes, even scares. We can configure the production table so that a program can be carried out with five people or with twenty-five, as necessary by the technical or human means that requires production.”
The IP has also been the ideal opportunity for redefine processes, achieving milestones such as an improvement in capture of LED screens, new stage movements and unprecedented decisions on direction and production: "Although it may be a hackneyed expression, thanks to this teamwork we are already competing with national television in terms of quality. People can already perceive a substantial improvement in the quality of the broadcasts of programs such as 120 minutes, and this is not only thanks to the IP infrastructure, but to all the elements that we have taken care of in detail.” The operational benefits are especially noticeable. Casaos highlights, above all, the flexibility that provides the IP along with the Broadcast Controller, which allows each program to have the signal configuration desired, that the teams can be scaled to address especially complex productions or that each operator can select through the Lawo system the elements you access for each production, as well as associate production controls with any studio or even combine any sound and image source of the infrastructure.
"Everything is changed and configured in such a flexible way that, at times, it is even scary. We can configure the production table so that a program can be carried out with five people or with twenty-five, as necessary due to the technical or human means that a production requires. This was a basic concept of the design that we initially imagined in the engineering team, even before the tender and the subsequent award to Telefónica: the IP had to allow us to adapt to the design of each production with much greater flexibility. And that is how it has been," he transfers. Get married.
The transition to IP has only just begun. Over time, the Telemadrid team intends to migrate the entire production center to this technology, where different protocols will surely coexist, such as the current one. 2110 for the video, Dante for audio, and others that provide a better solution to different workflows such as IS or the SRT. Manufacturers are increasingly providing this type of interfaces for the interconnection of different equipment and systems, and this makes evolution easier.
The Human Question: A Complete Adaptation
The introduction of a promising or especially interesting technology is of no use without a human team prepared to take full advantage of the benefits of this, and even more so when what is on the table is a transition to a completely different technical infrastructure that brings substantial modifications in the operations of a large part of the broadcast chain. The technology team Telemadrid was fully aware of the challenges involved in adapting a human team accustomed to working in SDI and took all the necessary steps to undertake the process in a manner ethical and responsible.
“The only thing I can convey to my Telemadrid colleagues is my congratulations and my congratulations: we had been waiting for many years to make a transition and it has been accepted with a lot of enthusiasm. And when everything is taken with enthusiasm, any barrier or obstacle is jumped with a amazing ease”.
"From the first moment, it was agreed with the works committee on the adaptations that each of the professions of the basic design of engineering would follow, which helped a lot. Each profession has given its specific training, and they have contributed a lot to the project, but we knew that the most important issue for success would be the attitude. The only thing I can convey to my colleagues at Telemadrid is my congratulations and my congratulations: we had been waiting for many years to make a transition and it has been assumed with great enthusiasm. And when everything "It is taken with enthusiasm, any barrier or obstacle is jumped with amazing ease," says Casaos.
Apart from the specific training by profiles to which Casaos has alluded, there have been different figures who have had to redouble their efforts to be prepared for the possible cases derived from the IP infrastructure, such as Technical Study Officers of Telemadrid: “With the old technology, everything was done by patch either with manual matrix switching, or it was solved from the rack room. Now it doesn't work like that, but there is software that you have to configure. Working with themselves and with the collaboration of the engineers, a process was made so that within this team of Technical Officers there would be, from the beginning of the project and with full dedication, the figure of the “Super Users” of the system, who have been key to the success of the implementation of all the systems and have worked hand in hand with the extraordinary Telefónica staff for the implementation of the system and to take all that know-how "That will allow us to walk alone in the rest of the exploitation of our formats."
“You can have the best cameras or technology, but without the daily work and team effort, things could never have turned out the way they have. Let's knock on wood so that everything remains the same," concludes Casaos, who will face the arrival of the IP in the coming months with a homologous design to its other main study. With this step, Telemadrid will now face a new era, more flexible for the technician, and a lot more attractive to the viewer.
A report by Sergio Julián Gómez
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