Timeline Television, the managed service provider for BT Sport, has installed two ContentAgent workflow management and automation systems from Root6 Technology at BT Sport’s studios in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Integrated within the file-based workflow with core technologies from EVS, Avid and Harmonic, ContentAgent is utilised to automate a variety of tasks from the ingested material, often against demanding transmission deadlines.
Alongside its expanding portfolio of sports including the UEFA Champions league, Barclays Premier League and Aviva Premiership Rugby, BT Sport also caters for fans of north American sports. To this end, ContentAgent is deployed with its integrated Tachyon motion compensated frame rate conversion option to provide automated file-based workflows for BT Sport’s substantial volume of US generated programming.
“It’s a very flexible tool capable of automating a raft of frequently used workflows,” said Malcolm Cowan, head of technology for Timeline TV at BT Sport. “It’s easy to plug in different nodes for specific operations. We use it for a variety of everyday tasks around the facility including transcoding material to AVC Intra 100 files for our EVS and Avid systems. With new camera formats and changing production requirements it’s important to be able to process a wide range of file types. ContentAgent accommodates this well, enabling us to process material in a reliable and repeatable manner.”
August 2015 saw the launch of Europe’s first live sports Ultra HD channel with BT Sport’s Ultra HD, supported by Timeline Television’s first in Europe purpose built Ultra HD Outside Broadcast Truck. The channel is broadcasting selective Champions League and Premiership fixtures with a 50fps frame rate to ensure less motion blur in fast paced action. ContentAgent’s resolution independent processing, coupled with Tachyon frame rate conversion and its ability to generate UHD XAVC and UHD AVC Intra files from pre-recorded material in almost any format, helps to ensure the consistent quality of output demanded by the new channel.
