OFF-PREMISE REMOTE OPERATION
Experience Smooth Broadcasting Operations from Anywhere with Our Off-Premises Remote Solutions
Remote operation has become a hot topic in the current coronavirus era. We have many clients that use the proven techniques described below to enable their own remote production implementations. Please feel free to contact our tech support if you need guidance in further understanding the solutions described below.
Remote Operations
Our products and solutions are geared to be easily operated through remote applications, VPNs, and video teleconferencing applications. Our free DashBoard software makes it simple to control and monitor hardware products, and many of our software applications can easily be accessed through remote applications. Additionally, we have solutions that are hosted through web servers that can easily be accessed via VPNs. Inception and Streamline are fully cloud-ready with our Inception.cloud and Streamline.cloud software as a service platforms. A wide range of our products now support the use of an Elgato Stream Deck, which is a great tool for remote production.
Monitoring
Monitoring is crucial in all production workflows. It’s important to have a low-latency stream of a MultiViewer that can be accessed by all off-premise operators. One quick way for a user to get a low-latency MultiViewer accessible to multiple people is to use a third-party SDI / HDMI capture device for Mac or PC from a vendor such as AJA or Blackmagic. Next, with embedded audio included on the stream, the operators can utilize a video conferencing software such as Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Skype and set the capture device as the webcam input. The video conferencing software is made to handle multiple simultaneous users and operates in close to real-time, which keeps the latency low. However, it’s important to consider the fact that lower latency may result in lower quality as well. Other solutions include hardware appliances that can be used to deliver point-to-point video streams at low latency from vendors such as INET.LIVE and Haivision.
Intercom
One major thing to consider is the solution that your team will use to communicate between different locations. Remote and cloud systems are available for many intercom systems, and we recommend consulting your intercom partner for options. Conference calls and online conferencing sessions are not ideal ways to communicate with your team when placed in separate off-premise remote sites.
IT Requirements
When using remote apps, we ask that you consult with your internal IT resources to make sure they comply with the current network policy. We recommend TeamViewer as the remote access application of choice, and it is the application that we have used for all of our testing. Some IT departments are concerned with the security of using TeamViewer, as it exposes their network to the outside world. It should be noted that TeamViewer has a local-only mode that will isolate itself behind a VPN. If you wish to use a remote access application other than TeamViewer, we recommend that you consult with our Tech support. Please note that Microsoft Remote Desktop is not recommended for use with XPression, Mira, and Tria systems. It is also important to note that many VPN connections often do not provide an IP address in the same subnet as your production equipment if the network is segregated. Please ensure your IT group is aware of what you are connecting to so that they can allow the necessary routes to the devices you need from your remote computer over the VPN.