Consistently exploiting technology advances to enhance its production work, NBC Sports continues its uptake of Dante AV-over-IP transport. In 2016, the broadcaster’s communications team deployed a completely new technology for their intercom backbone – RTS Intercom Systems’ Omneo – supporting Dante for both audio networking and AES70 control. At the time, its use it for high-profile events represented a considerable risk – but has paid dividends.
Led by John Pastore, NBC Sports’ Senior Director of Broadcast Communications, the communications team has since further integrated Dante into their operations: ‘In terms of bringing on new technology at NBC Sports, there is a very slow and cautious approach, which is typically how we like to do things,’ Pastore says.
Today, NBC Sports has rolled out ten Dante-enabled systems that include more than 350 Dante-enabled devices, including announcer consoles, analogue-to-Dante converters, and high-density audio console I/O units. The systems also periodically feature 11 RTS Intercom systems that incorporate 140 Omneo keypanels, all integrated with Dante to enable audio sharing between consoles, intercom systems, and engineering endpoints.
In Stamford, Connecticut, the NBC Sports Broadcast Operations Center handles coverage of events year-round. The facility has, at points, featured 100 Dante-enabled announcer consoles and 18 high-density audio console I/O units, all integrated into the audio network. Fourteen Production Control Room intercom systems use Dante as primary RTS trunking, supporting a dynamic and responsive production environment. In total, the global system supports more than 14,000 trunked intercom and audio resources, made possible by Dante’s high channel density and the management capabilities of Dante Domain Manager. Final programme mixes have been produced using Calrec Apollo, Artemis and Brio consoles, each using Dante connectivity to ensure smooth integration with the overall network.
NBC Sports’ Broadcast Operations Center now operates a Dante network of roughly 500 devices; this includes numerous high-channel-count consoles and converters, totaling 10,000 Dante sources and 12,000 Dante destinations. The footprint continues to grow rapidly, as new control rooms come online, and legacy point-to-point audio interfaces are replaced with Dante. ‘That number will go up substantially,’ Pastore forecasts.
This expansion is largely driven by the organisation’s move to a Field Acquisition Unit (FAU) production model, with Dante playing a key role. The Stamford facility includes 12 production control rooms, 15 audio control rooms, and two submix rooms, with additional buildouts happening on a regular basis. Under the FAU approach, mobile units deployed to events handle only signal acquisition, while core production tasks – video switching, audio mixing, graphics and replay – are centralised at the Operations Center. ‘The success of our FAU model is reliant on the ease and repeatability we get from using the Dante infrastructure,’ says NBC Sports’ Senior A1 & Audio Design Engineer, Mike DiCrescenzo.
The transition from analogue to Dante is especially evident in the Communications Machine Room, where legacy analogue intercom systems now operate side-by-side with Dante-based counterparts. The contrast is striking – traditional racks filled with analogue patchbays and multipin analogue patch panels are steadily being replaced by modern set-ups featuring RTS Intercom Odin frames and Cisco network switches. Bringing new intercom frames online has become significantly more efficient, requiring only a few network connections and familiar tools like RTS AZEdit and Dante Controller. ‘With Dante Controller, we can make a few clicks and drags, and our systems light up quickly,’ says NBC Sports’ Broadcast Communications Engineer, Niraj Patel.
Managing a Dante network of this scale requires advanced management and monitoring tools. To handle network segmentation, clocking, and the management of multiple subnets, NBC Sports deployed Dante Domain Manager. ‘Dante Domain Manager has been the only way we’ve been able to scale to meet our needs,’ says Broadcast Communications Engineer, Dave Meehl.
Given the complexity of the network and the number of operators involved in daily operations, the team have needed to simplify some of the more intricate tasks. To achieve this, EVS’ Cerebrum broadcast control system makes API calls to Dante Domain Manager via Dante’s Managed API allowing real-time route changes without operators needing to interact with Dante Controller.
To further optimise operations, control rooms across the facility are equipped with Densitron touchpanels to provide operators with intuitive XY routing capabilities, but with restricted access to only the sources and destinations they need. ‘Tech managers and engineers are predominantly dealing with sources we’ve exposed via the Dante Managed API in Cerebrum,’ says System Design Engineer, Paul Dryden. ‘The control side of things is critical, and we couldn’t do this without Dante’s Managed API.’
For NBC Sports, Dante is now a cornerstone of operations. From its initial adoption to the advanced, high-performance workflows of today, Dante has empowered the team to continually evolve, tackle new challenges, and deliver exceptional sports productions. Its scalability, reliability, and flexible integration have redefined the possibilities of live broadcasting, enhancing both the technical execution behind the scenes and the viewer experience on-air.
More: www.getdante.com