RTL's charity marathon, first 5G multi-camera production

The charity marathon organized by RTL marks the first live production with multiple 5G cameras by combining the Grass Valley LDX 110 and links Vislink.

From the beginning of planning the 30th edition of the charity marathon, the team was aware that the 30 hour production would pose a significant challenge in creative, technical and operational terms. What was not foreseen was that the event would also become the scene of a world first for the audiovisual sector: the Debut of Grass Valley's LDX 110 Integrated 5G Camera System, in collaboration with Vislink, used for the first time in a fully operational live broadcast environment. The result was clearly satisfactory and exceeded initial expectations.

For years, the broadcast sector has debated the potential of 5G as an enabling technology for live production, with promises of true mobility, high bandwidth, ultra-low latency and coverage without the need for dedicated infrastructure. However, until now there have been few real use cases demonstrating the feasibility of 5G to continuously support live multi-camera production with full camera control, shading, tally, video returns and professional image quality. In this context, the objective was to find a solution capable of integrating all these functions without resorting to a complex combination of systems, protocols and providers.

During the 24-hour challenge outside the Cologne broadcast center, two Grass Valley LDX 110 cameras equipped with integrated Vislink 5G modules and connected to the red privada 5G NPN from RTL. These cameras not only transmitted the video signal, but were fully integrated into the remote shading workflow via GV AMPP, allowing real-time control equivalent to that of a wired studio camera. Vislink took care of video transport, signal return, camera control and tally, while RTL's private 5G network ensured stable coverage throughout the broadcast period.

The truly differential thing about this experience was the realization, for the first time, of a multi-camera production in 5G with the combination of LDX 110 and Vislink, demonstrating that the Shading and remote camera control via 5G can match the performance of traditional systems. Additionally, the project served as a demonstration that public or segmented 5G networks can become the next evolutionary step for live production. It was not a simple laboratory test, but a prime-time broadcast, live and for the RTL audience.

Freedom of movement with 5G

From a narrative point of view, the impact was notable. The usual limitations of traditional RF links, such as coverage areas, frequency licenses, bandwidth restrictions or the need for expensive air links, were overcome. Thanks to Grass Valley and Vislink's integrated 5G-based setup, camera operators were able to move freely, without being conditioned by fixed infrastructures or by the classic restrictions of the RF, which made it possible to follow the action from all angles of the route and offer more dynamic, fresh and authentically live images.

From an operational perspective, the system demonstrated its solidity during 24 hours of continuous emission. The cameras offered stable, professional-quality images, latency remained within acceptable margins for live broadcasting, remote shading using AMPP worked without interruptions and both Grass Valley and Vislink systems responded reliably under the real-world pressure of a live production. Although, as in any proof of concept, areas of improvement were identified and transferred to the engineering teams, at no time was airtime compromised and all the planned segments were able to be broadcast as planned.

A key element of this experience was the direct integration of cameras into AMPP, especially regarding remote shading, which turned the entire production chain into a Collaborative and consistent workflow, from camera operator to shader and image mixer. Without workarounds or signal conversions, the production ran naturally, anticipating what live production of the future should look like. This experiment not only contributed to improving the broadcast of the Spendenmarathon, but also demonstrated that 5G is no longer a technology of tomorrow for streaming and broadcast, but a practical and operational solution today.

The use of 5G opens the door to new production models, such as fully wireless field productions with multiple cameras, lighter setups with minimal infrastructure, large-scale remote production workflows, and leveraging public or segmented 5G networks for nationwide mobility. And, as evidenced in this experience, this is just the beginning.