MPTS 2024 – The Benefits of Story-Centric Workflows

The Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS) in London has wrapped. The two days went by in a whirlwind, and it was fantastic to connect with so many customers, both new and old at the show. Thanks to everyone who took time to stop by the stand – we really appreciated the opportunity to catch up with you. 

During the conversations we had across the two days, I noticed the following themes emerge:  

Metadata is a Superpower   

In news, sport, entertainment, enterprise and public safety, the benefits of a truly story-centric workflow are becoming increasingly sought after. Across the entire glass-to-glass process, being able to depend on the accuracy of metadata throughout the value chain and in and out of multiple vendor environments is a true game changer. It fuels automation, collaboration, timely content re-use and it simplifies monetisation. LiveU EcoSystem partners, Dina and Mimir, were busy having similar conversations on the other side of the exhibition hall and we demonstrated how story set-up information was transmitted from the story planning solution, Dina, directly into the LiveU IP-video EcoSystem. Here growing files can be clipped, automatically recorded, enhanced and distributed and passed to a MAM, like Mimir, with their metadata intact, for longer term utilization 

AI is Interesting but Connectivity is Key   

IP-video is now widely adopted by professional visual storytellers of every variety. Conversations about AI as a ‘force for good’ (workflow acceleration and task automation) versus AI as a ‘challenge’ (deep fakes and IP infringements) were sidelined by other conversations about reliable connectivity. With the ability to provide a truly diverse array of connectivity options, all underpinned by LRT™ (LiveU Reliable Transport – the only IP-video protocol built explicitly to help video traverse austere wireless environments), the LiveU EcoSystem is well equipped to support the demands of nimble live production. LiveU’s field encoders like the LU300S and LU800 are all designed to be able to work, ‘out-of-the-box’ with our connection options that include private cellular, network slicing and LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite, alongside public 4G and 5G services, ethernet and WiFi.   

If you’ve ever been to London Olympia, (where the show was held) you’ll know that, thanks to its innovative (for 1886) metal and glass roof, which acts a little like a Farraday Cage, finding a stable mobile signal is often impossible. The fact that one of our EcoSystem partners at the show used an LU800 with LiveU DataBridge to provide connectivity for their cloud-based demonstrations is a great proof point of our focus on resilient, mission-critical connectivity. 

Cloud Production Meets Lightweight Production 

The simple need to deliver real-world efficiencies in terms of money, time, resources, and sustainability stimulated many conversations about the evolution of live production. Smaller crews, fewer hours spent travelling, quicker set-up and deployment times, easy collaboration from any geo-location, improved work/life balance, tangible carbon and cost reductions all featured heavily as we discussed our Lightweight Production solutions. LiveU Studio, the cloud native virtual production solution captured the imagination of many stand visitors as they envisioned the benefits that new features like SCTE-35 markers for easy ad-insertion and frame accurate cloud-based switching across multi format feeds for compelling multi-cam productions could deliver. Visitors to the booth were also given a ‘sneak peak’ of a new, soon to be released, feature in LiveU Studio that caused a good deal of interest. More will be revealed in due course, but if you would like to learn more, please do reach out to us. 

The second half of 2024 is about to get a little busy in terms of live production with the Summer Games and US Elections just around the corner. The central concepts of the LiveU EcoSystem, to shorten workflows by removing complexity and adding efficiency will help our customers produce much more, for much less.