Cologne, Germany service provider smartregiehas opted for Lawo VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) as the control and workflow solution underpinning its rental offerings of modular control rooms for events and TV productions.

“VSM can be easily and quickly adapted to the frequently changing network setup we deal with in equipment rental – and it is also easy to operate, so we can make much better use of the potential of our production infrastructure,” explains Christian Brauksiepe, responsible technical manager at smartregie.

For each smartregieproduction environment, different equipment modules are precisely combined according to client requirements and networked using state-of-the-art fiber-optic and cloud technology. In order to manage the existing IP-based network architecture more flexibly and make it more user-friendly, smartregiechose Lawo VSM to handle the video routing of a Riedel Mediornet system via IP network using Ember+ protocol, as well as tally and label transfer via TSL-5 protocol to the internal multiviewers. Three virtual VSM panels on tablets are used as the user interface.

“For example, on a production we just completed in Croatia, we had 45 permanently installed remote cameras and five shoulder-mounted cameras in use,” explains Brauksiepe. “Monitoring and adjusting the streams of the 50 cameras in parallel use would have been impossible with the conventional and operator-intensive solution. But with VSM running on tablets, all the controls are at our fingertips. A single keystroke is all it takes to switch streams and access settings. Real-time feedback from all components brings transparency, and status information can be displayed at a glance through global labeling.”

In addition to simplified camera control and monitoring, VSM brings multiviewer functionality to smartregie, allowing operators to see, even from the second row, which cameras in the stream are online.

For the new set of The Bachelor/Bachelorette supervised by smartregie, which uses over 30 cameras distributed over two sets (“House of the Candidates” and “Night of the Roses”) smartregie will refine the workflow using VSM: in addition to image, sound will also be integrated.

About VSM

VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) is the independent control and workflow solution for IP-based broadcast infrastructures. Thanks to its support for countless protocols, which are becoming more and more numerous, VSM gets along with just about all common broadcast solutions: video routers and mixers, audio routers and mixers, multiviewers, intercom systems, modular solutions and many special solutions. Wherever possible, the native protocol is used so that solutions from different manufacturers can work together seamlessly and be operated efficiently with loading and logic functions. Thanks to a TCP/IP backbone, VSM runs on standard IT hardware, but sophisticated redundancy concepts ensure maximum reliability. In addition, VSM can communicate with serially controlled devices, proving once again that users are completely free in their choice of specific solutions. For more information, see VSM – LAWO.

About smartregie GmbH

Smartregie GmbH, TV production service provider based in Cologne, Germany, has developed “smartregie”, a next-generation mobile control room system: smartregie makes TV & video productions easier and more efficient through modular design, fiber & cloud technology and custom-fit scalability. This means that the modular, mobile high-tech equipment can go anywhere – from the basement to the restaurant to the roof of a high-rise building – wherever the set is. Whether small or large, smartregie offers up to twenty HD channels, ingest, fiber optic technology, IP-based broadcast workflows, camera remote control, image radio, intercom and much more – everything a high-performance live control room needs for big challenges. Efficient – for lean productions.

About Lawo

Lawo designs and manufactures pioneering network, video, audio, control and monitoring technology for TV and radio broadcast, performing arts, houses of worship, stadiums and corporate applications. Products include IP-based media infrastructure solutions, control and monitoring systems, digital audio mixing consoles and video processing tools. Products are developed in Germany and manufactured according to highest quality standards at the company’s headquarters in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany.