NBC Olympics to deploy Avid and EVS for Tokyo Olympics coverage

Tokyo 2020 will be brought to U.S. viewers by NBC Olympics. The NBC Sports division will use Avid and EVS solutions for its coverage.

NBC Olympics will deploy Avid’s MediaCentral solutions to power remote workflows from its headquarters in Connecticut, although the network will have a large team on the ground in Tokyo. From these two nodes, content will be generated for linear, OTT and social media platforms. The US network will also use Avid Nexis shared storage, Media Composer Ultimate and the Media Composer Cloud VM option to enable its team to connect and collaborate in real time for content production and delivery.

NBC, on the other hand, has chosen EVS’ XT-VIA servers for HD and UHD. The network will deploy the equipment at both its broadcast centers in Tokyo and Stamford, Connecticut, as well as at several venues at the Tokyo Olympics. With more than three times the internal bandwidth of the flagship XT3 server, the XT-VIA provides more than 12 channels of 1080p and six or more channels of UHD-4K in both SDR and HDR.

1080p and 1080i production

Darryl Jefferson, vice president of post-production operations and digital workflow for NBC Sports and NBC Olympics, has confirmed the presence of both manufacturers in the long-awaited Olympic Games.

He also took the opportunity to confirm that the opening and closing ceremonies of the event, which will run from July 23 to August 8, will have a dual HD output: progressive (1080p HDR) and interlaced (1080i) versions. Using a feature in Avid’s Media Composer, enhanced specifically for NBC Sports Group, editors will be able to enable frame rate relinking between interlaced and progressive media.

Reactions from Avid and EVS

Jeff Rosica, CEO and president of Avid, said the company feels “privileged” to maintain its partnership with NBC Olympics: “One of the more fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of the Olympic Games is the sheer amount of technology innovation that’s driving volumes of content to make the events more enjoyable and accessible across consumer platforms. It’s Avid’s extreme privilege to continue working with NBC Olympics as they raise the bar in sports production with teams collaborating on a global scale in real time to create and deliver phenomenal programming.”

Quentin Grutman, EVS chief customer officer, shares his colleague’s sentiment, “We are extremely proud to continue to be an integral partner of NBC Olympics, helping bring to life their vision of the Olympic Games with our incredibly powerful and robust XT-VIA servers.”