J Sports: 100% Blackmagic on-demand streaming workflow

黑魔法设计 solutions such as the ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K mixer, Smart Videohub matrices or Teranex AV converters backbone the workflow implemented by the Japanese television J Sports for its production service and retransmission of on-demand content.

In addition to managing four sports channels, J Sports has a division called J Sports On Demand, which provides the industry with on-demand broadcasts of all types of events. The Japanese TV branch started this service with a pipeline integrating products from different manufacturers, but nowadays it consists exclusively of 黑魔法设计 equipment that can be handled by just a few operators, as Yuichiro Waki, head of production technology in the technical department of J Sports, says: “For simple streaming, a one person operation is possible. In cases where constant updates of titles like match scores are necessary, a CG staff would join and operations are conducted with a two person team. While the operation of the subsystem is mainly outsourced to external staff, they quickly mastered its operation. It has become easy to use workflow.”

A key solution for their broadcasts is an ATEM 1 M/E 制作工作室 4K mixer controlled by an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 10 device that also integrates an ATEM Television Studio HD as a backup. Waki elaborates: “As an example of redundant system construction in our broadcasting subsystem, the backup system was built by directly switching the matrix switcher so that you could swap signals before they go to the video switcher. However, due to the affordability of Blackmagic Design products, we were able to introduce backup switchers within budget. Additionally, we use SmartScope Duo 4K mainly for CG Fill/Key monitoring.”

In order to accommodate the large amount of content streamed over the Internet, J Sports uses three ATEM mixers connected to an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 10 device and a SmartScope Duo 4K monitor. “All three units have exactly the same setup, so we use whichever is available based on the situation. As a matrix router to bundle these three setups, we use the Smart Videohub 40×40 and Videohub Smart Control Pro, and we flexibly change routing depending on the content,” said Waki.

Also part of the J Sports workflow are a SmartView 4K monitor and a Blackmagic MultiView 16 monitor, which are used to view the sources assigned to each subsystem; four Teranex AV processors; HyperDeck Studio devices for recording signals; two HyperDeck Studio Mini units used for playback; and several Micro Converter SDI to HDMI 3G。