Dejero, instrumental in the production of ‘The Wheel of Time’ launch event (Amazon Prime Video)

The promotional event for The Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime Video) reached Italian viewers thanks to the Dejero EnGo mobile transmitters and GateWay network aggregation solution.

The director of the new Amazon Prime TV series, Claudio Piccolotto, chose Nexting, the Dejero local partner and production company, to provide production services for this innovative promotional activity, designed to appeal to younger OTT viewers and which could be seen on YouTube and Twitch. The live event included hours of LARP (Live Action Role Playing) games on the theatrical stage of the castle in Gargonza (Italy), a 13th century fortified village spanning 10,000 square metres in Tuscany.

Nexting deployed three kilometres of SDI fibre cable to receive the signal from 17 fixed cameras, while eight wireless cameras and a drone covered the action on three different live sets. The wireless cameras used the Dejero EnGo mobile transmitters equipped with SIM cards from various network providers to offer “greater reliability, wider coverage and higher bandwidth from anywhere in the village”, as Dejero itself points out. Prior to the live broadcast, Nexting used the Dejero Control cloud-based management system to monitor the EnGo SIM cards, traffic usage and mobile coverage, allowing the production team to “ensure” optimal SIM configuration at the various locations.

Enrico Parolisi, digital and communications strategist at Nexting, is very positive about the Dejero systems: “The sets were stunning, but as with most of these remote locations, the connectivity was patch. With an entire castle to cover and no plot or script to work on in advance, it was absolutely crucial that our wireless camera operators could roam freely without fear of losing connectivity. With EnGo (which automatically connects to multiple IP networks simultaneously, including cellular, Wi-Fi and ethernet) our crew had the freedom and mobility to stream from the best possible vantage points in any of the castle locations.”

GateWay deployment

The Dejero GateWay network aggregation solution provided high bandwidth and “public and reliable” internet connectivity, which allowed an SRT encoder to stream live to a central MCR room for remote production of the event. GateWay provided a conduit for streaming video and data, defined as “fast, secure and reliable”, combining multiple wired (broadband, fibre) and wireless (3G/4G/5G, Wi-Fi, satellite) IP connections from multiple networks into a single service.

Rob Waters, EMEA and APAC sales director at Dejero, appreciates the Dejero role in the The Wheel of Time launch event: “Knowing that Dejero’s connectivity technology has enriched the production value of this ambitious live launch event makes us incredibly proud. It’s all about providing creative freedom to production teams – and the confidence to be able to live stream from even the most challenging and most remote of locations such as the Gargonza castle. With Smart Blending Technology, creative and production professionals no longer need to limit ideas based on location – they can achieve flawless live streaming of high quality video from anywhere.”