Japanese production company NTV Technical Resources (NiTRo) recently combined its broadcast expertise with its skills in TV production, post-production, and CGI to launch M-CUBE in 2022. Located at NiTRo’s facility in Tokyo, the virtual production studio now hosts esports productions. . for some of Japan’s biggest video game leagues. To meet the encoding and routing desires in a variety of developing productions, the NiTRo team has incorporated AJA HELO Plus H. 264 recorders/streams and AJA KUMO 6464 3G-SDI routers into their M-CUBE pipeline.
To get M-CUBE off the ground, NiTRo first tapped into an old online editing room, which it renovated and modernized using existing equipment. Since its opening, the studio has been chosen for various esports league productions, as well as streaming foreign motorsport events, small-scale events, and online corporate seminars. By looking at its amenities and increasing the number of users it could support, it began making plans for an upgrade. Their main goal with the update was to find an environment optimized for esports streaming that would be available to even the most novice users. Signal skills and the ability to demonstrate remote participant content (including on-screen graphics) in real-time, while supporting streaming to multiple content delivery networks (CDNs) were also considered.
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After the upgrade, the M-CUBE studio now includes a secondary room, an apparatus room, an editorial room, two dressing rooms and 3 production backdrops (white, dark blue and an undeniable chromatic green color); The setup allows a play-by-play announcer and commentator to be seamlessly in the studio while players participate online. If required, the on-site CG branch of NiTRo is also available for M-CUBE productions.
At the heart of M-CUBE’s workflow is Telestream Wirecast Pro streaming software, used throughout NiTRo’s studio. The backup encoder selected by the team is AJA HELO Plus, which supports SDI and HDMI I/O and can record while sending up to 1,080 60p. signals to a CDN. It allowed NiTRo to transmit to two locations with individual settings for each destination and provided built-in security, as the equipment configured it to turn on immediately in the event of a failure in the production formula.
“When it comes to device procurement, our primary goal is to meet the streaming needs of esports leagues controlled through NiTRo. In addition, other operators use the formula for other projects, so we needed the formula to be intuitive to use, making HELO Plus “The Best Choice,” shared Masaaki Iwahara, Technical Director and Video Engineer at NiTRo. “When we built the formula, we tested the device very well and were inspired by its stability and reliability. “
“The fact that HELO Plus also allows us to supply two bit rates was a determining factor,” added Ryuichi Koyama, video engineer at NiTRo.
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NiTRo’s esports productions involve many audio and video inputs and outputs that require the connection of many coaxial cables. Managing all those signals can be challenging, and this is where AJA’s KUMO 6464 router proved indispensable for the M-CUBE; Housed in a narrow 4RU frame with 3G-SDI connectivity, it includes 64 inputs and outputs, which the studio maximizes. “For esports streaming, we use all available inputs and outputs,” Iwahara explained. To scale streaming gigs, we only use what is necessary. With KUMO, we can seamlessly scale on demand.
The M-CUBE workflow also includes a Panasonic camera and two Canon cameras, two KUMO CP2 panels, a switcher and five SKAARHOJ deputy directors for touchArray. As NiTRo continues to grow its business in the coming years, it plans to expand its use of M-CUBE. CUBE from esports and live event production to other entertainment productions and corporate events, and in doing so, your AJA device will continue to provide stability in the process.
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