SIC deploys IP-based remote production solution from Sony and Nevion

Sony’s Networked Live remote production solution, a solution developed with support from Nevion that enables production via IP from central facilities without the need for local production resources, is coming to SIC in Portugal.

SIC wanted to expand its regional news facilities in Porto, but needed a solution to optimize the use of production equipment and workflows to “keep costs down and increase competitiveness”. To explore how to move in this direction, SIC turned to Sony, which had already completed the IP migration of its main production facilities in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, in 2019.

The new solution designed by Sony and Nevion, and delivered in conjunction with local partner Dec.Imagem Sistemas de Vídeo Lda, is based on Sony’s Networked Live, an ecosystem of solutions, products, services and partners that combines on-ground and cloud processing with network connectivity to transform the logistics and economics of live production. The solution, which went live in September 2022, enables SIC to produce live content captured in Porto, some 270 km away, from its central Lisbon facility. It is based on two fundamental elements: media acquisition and transport.

For the acquisition from Porto, SIC chose Sony HDC-P31 compact PoV (Point of View) system cameras. Although the cameras have been installed in Porto, all technical operations, including camera control, are performed remotely in Lisbon, using the existing studio infrastructure for typical camera control workflows using the Sony RCP-3500. On the other hand, the transport of video and audio signals from Porto to Lisbon is handled by Nevion Virtuoso, the software-defined media nodes. The signals from Porto are transported as IP (TSoIP) streams over a wide area network (WAN), with JPEG 2000 video coding and SMPTE ST 2022-7 protection. The return signals are also transmitted from Lisbon to Lisbon through the same infrastructure. The return signals are also transmitted from Lisbon to Porto through the same infrastructure.

José Lopes, director of operations and technologies at SIC, talks about the project undertaken together with Sony and Nevion:” We have been working with Sony for several years, so the company and its subsidiary Nevion, were the obvious choice to deliver this critical solution for us. (…) The impressive track record of both companies in project delivery was also important to us, given the tight deadline we were working to.”

On the other hand, Rob Thorne, Category Head for Networked Live Solutions, Sony Professional Solutions Europe, believes that this project “underlines the joint value Sony and Nevion deliver with Networked Live Solutions, and the benefits this can bring to our customers. We are experts our customers can trust to transform their production workflows.”