Client: The Post men
Project: Streaming two cams direct from an train
The Day of the Composer was celebrated this year, on June 17, 2023, with many guest performances throughout the country. Several performances took place on “de Karel,” a train from 1970. This bright red presence managed to capture the attention of fellow passengers during the performances. One aspect of the Day of the Composer was a 10-hour livestream from this train, traveling to various stations in the Netherlands.
On behalf of the production company (Postmen.tv), we collaborated with them to devise, supply, and construct a solution to wirelessly transmit signals from two cameras in the train to the central studio in Utrecht. Additionally, a signal for IFB (earpiece) and intercom for the camera crew needed to be provided. The train’s ambient sound also had to be sent back to the central studio location to be combined with the footage from the two cameras.
The two FX6 cameras were equipped with Haivision Pro360 5G mobile encoders, each with 6 SIM cards from different providers to establish the most stable connection possible. In Utrecht, the cameras were received using our StreamHub, where we provided the SDI signal to the central control room. The StreamHub was equipped with intercom for the camera crew. We built the intercom system for the entire production based on RTS ODIN.
From the Odin system, a branch was also made to Unity Cloud, allowing production staff traveling on the train to communicate easily during the production. Additionally, a local mix of the various guest performances was created on the train. We received this signal and used AEQ Smartalk, a new cloud-based solution that allows audio to be sent directly from a web browser to an audio codec—in our case, the AEQ Phoenix 3. All audio was treated using IP (DANTE) to simplify the setup and minimize the need for cabling.
The journey of “de Karel” passed through various stations in the Netherlands, such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, Arnhem, The Hague, Den Bosch, and Amersfoort. Guest performances took place outside the train at each of these stations. The two cameras would leave the train to cover the festivities at the stations. The sound engineer’s audio was sent along with the SDI from the Pro360 encoders for the performances at the stations.
All of this also impressed the press. A quote from NRC about this production was, “Everything was streamed online wirelessly with an impressively stable connection.” We couldn’t ask for a better compliment as a facilitation partner and production partner for Postmen.tv. The client, New Music Now, was also highly satisfied with the final result.
YourSide would like to thank Postmen.tv and New Music Now for their trust. If you have any connectivity challenges in the future, please feel free to contact us through our contact page. A short montage can be found on the New Music Now website:
What we supplied:
2x Aviwest Pro360 5G encoders
1x Aviwest streamHub
1x RTS ODIN
1x CTP systems Dio88
1x CTP systems Dio1616
3x RTS KP4016
1x Intinor Direct Router
1x AEQ Phoenix 3 Audio Codec
1x Unity Cloud (15 Users)
1x AEQ Smartalk license
1x Support Engineer at the Utrecht location (Harm van Houten)
1x Support engineer traveling on the train. (Olaf Koenen)
