CP Communications and its subsidiary Red House Streaming have been working on the TCS New York City Marathon since 2014 and have taken their content acquisition, networking and transmission strategies to new heights this year.

Led by event producer FILM 45 on behalf of the New York Road Runners (NYRR), for this year’s race in November, their innovations included a broader implementation of private LTE spectrum, Streamlined REMI site and an integration with Starlink which enabled IP-based aerial acquisition.

This allowed CP Communications technicians to expand the event’s streaming footprint to 48 outbound feeds from its HD-21 production truck. The feeds were sent to multiple broadcast and streaming platforms, including WABC-TV in New York, ESPN2, the TSC New York City Marathon app and the NYRR’s social media platforms.

Frank Rafka, Technical Director of CP Communications, says: “Over the years we have gradually taken control of production elements where we can make a difference.

“This year, we took full responsibility for the consumer experience of the TSC New York City Marathon app, producing and broadcasting nine live streams. This is a big change from last year, when we handed over some camera feeds to a third party.

“We added two VMix systems to the HD-21 and assigned a dedicated operator to each for live mixing and switching of the nine streams. We also added a dedicated encoding channel to our onboard Haivision Makito low-latency transmission, which ensured real-time delivery to the application.

Slimming technology
The Red House Streaming team deployed REMI production systems across three locations, streamlining technologies to simplify setup and operation. Haivision Pro460 5G mobile video systems were part of the encoding and decoding technologies used to deliver live feeds to HD-21 from the three REMI sites, leveraging public mobile networks and special wireless spectrum of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

Pro460 systems were used for seven motorcycles on the course, including dual-stream Smartcars with Sony cameras and microphones, to capture live POV feeds and on-course commentary.

Troubleshoot capacity issues
CBRS spectrum has proven particularly useful for intercom communications, particularly at start and finish lines, where public mobile spectrum can quickly reach capacity.

Aaron Segarra, Vice President of Sales at CP Communications and Red House Streaming, said: “We have awarded a Green-GO digital intercom system to CBRS Spectrum, which provides a private LTE cellular network for critical upgrade needs. networking and communications.

“This ensured a clear spectrum for intercom at the start and finish lines, where large crowds of spectators shared their own photos and live video feeds.”

The Green-GO intercom network included 18 belts at the start line and 12 at the finish line, as well as six iPhones at each venue, with connectivity to a Pente Networks cloud server to manage all technology assigned to the CBRS spectrum.

The communications strategy included a citywide Unity radio system for field technicians, motorcycle operators, bike spotters and press vehicles, as well as an RTS ADAM matrix with RVON connectivity between HD- 21 and the three REMI sites.

The biggest change has occurred in the sky, as RF technology was until this year used exclusively for aerial content acquisition and networking.

CP Communications has partnered with Heli INC to provide a camera-equipped helicopter for aerial coverage of the race. Technicians from CP Communications and Red House Streaming designed a platform in collaboration with Heli INC to mount a Starlink satellite dish and use that service for connectivity, and Haivision for encoding.

“Huge success”
“This represents a great achievement in our quest for uninterrupted connectivity,” says Rafka. “We recently started using Starlink to spruce up existing cellular coverage for sporting events, as there are always places with coverage caps, and others where we can’t establish a reliable internet connection or get a pass through. cable across the street.

“For the marathon, we equipped Starlink connectivity to a helicopter for the first time. We still had a traditional RF microwave link on the helicopter as a backup, but used the Haivision encoders as the primary encoding links.

“For the first time, we provided uninterrupted coverage of the entire race from all locations via IP with Starlink satellite connectivity.”