Every year, the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating presents IMAGE and MediaNews with an extraordinary challenge: deliver professional broadcast coverage across seven weeks, three continents, and multiple venues. Their solution is a 100% NDI-based workflow that enables a lean 11-person team to produce 173 hours of live content while moving their entire setup weekly. This innovative approach—combining portable flight cases, custom encoders, and software-driven production—delivers international-quality broadcasts while significantly reducing equipment weight, shipping costs, and setup time.
Some of the most significant numbers behind this travelling production.
Challenge
Long-time collaborators IMAGE and MediaNews face the daunting task of producing high-quality figure skating coverage while navigating a grueling international schedule and technical limitations.
The production follows a relentless weekly rhythm: arrive Monday, set up Tuesday, rehearse Wednesday, broadcast Thursday through Saturday (8-13 hours daily), then relocate to the next international venue on Sunday. This nomadic workflow demands equipment that can be rapidly deployed, operated consistently, and packed efficiently.
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The challenge was how to organize a production spanning three continents, with no stop until the end: a true round-the-world circus.
Andrea Miglio, Director of IMAGE
Unlike senior competitions with larger budgets, the Junior Grand Prix requires delivering professional broadcast quality with more limited resources. The production needs to simultaneously output three distinct feeds: a main program with graphics and commentary, a clean international feed, and a dedicated graphics feed for the venue’s LED wall, all while maintaining broadcast standards.
Technical constraints further complicate matters. The venue’s LED wall requires zero-latency video, making remote or cloud production impossible and necessitating full on-site production capabilities. For venues in Bangkok, Ankara, and Wuxi (China), traditional OB vans aren’t practical, requiring a more portable solution that doesn’t compromise on quality.
NDI offers the flexibility IMAGE and MediaNews require to setup a professional-looking production.
Solution
The production team built their solution around NDI technology. This season’s packed calendar required three production setups. MediaNews’ OB Van covered the European stages, while for the Bangkok, Ankara, and Wuxi (China) events, the team utilized a unique “control room-in-a-flight case” solution.
The NDI-based production strategy focused particularly on minimizing the size and weight of equipment shipped, saving on both shipping costs and environmental impact.
The flight cases were equipped with:
4 Dell 3930 Rack Workstations: Each powered by Intel i9 9900K processors, 64 GB RAM, and Intel X520 10Gb network cards.
1 Lenovo P3 Ultra Workstation: Used for commentator operations, both on-site and remote.
A 10 Giga-bit main network infrastructure.
Simplified production workflow diagram.
This modular solution offered many technical advantages and unlocked new options for the production team:
Single-cable network architecture: The team ditched complex SDI cable arrangements for a streamlined single-cable IP-based network. This simplified connectivity dramatically reduced setup time and improved signal reliability across venues.
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With NDI, instead of dealing with the complexity of multiple SDI cables, you just run a single 10 Gbit fiber from the live production control room to the skating rink. Around the rink, several network switches, interconnected via 10 Gbit links, connect all the cameras and additional equipment, such as producer workstations and various decoders for distributing audio and video signals throughout the venue. It's fast, reliable, and incredibly efficient.
Roberto Musso, Technical Director at NDI
Software-based flexibility: y replacing traditional hardware-based workflows with software-defined tools, the system gained a new level of agility and scalability. When a broadcaster requested an additional language stream, the team didn’t need to add physical hardware or worry about running out of SDI outputs; they launched another instance of OBS Studio.
NDI enables this kind of flexibility: every output is just another stream on the network, not another cable or port. Whether adding a source or delivering a new destination, expanding the workflow is a matter of configuration, not infrastructure.
Thanks to its IT-based architecture, NDI removes the hard limits of traditional video systems. Adding capacity or redundancy becomes a software operation, not a logistical challenge. This paradigm allowed us to respond quickly, adapt continuously, and scale without friction.
Infinite configuration possibilities: Combining Viz Vectar Plus and LAMA eliminated the limitations of traditional SDI hardware, opening endless configuration options for live productions.
Directing every show in real-time has never been easier.
A Professional Bond Forged in Innovation
The long-standing professional and personal relationship between Andrea Miglio, director and owner of IMAGE, and Roberto Musso, Technical Director of NDI and CEO/CTO of MediaNews, is rooted in mutual respect, creativity, and a shared passion for pushing technological boundaries.
Andrea recalls:
“I first met Roberto in 2000, when I joined the team at Sailing Channel, a thematic TV channel. Roberto had literally built the entire infrastructure, studio, playout system, and post-production rooms. Even back then, he was inventing creative technological solutions, often going beyond what was considered possible at the time. I remember during the 2000 America’s Cup, Roberto devised a system to transfer interviews from Auckland to Milan overnight, so we’d have fresh content ready to air the next morning. We eventually lost touch for a while, but reconnected shortly before the COVID pandemic and started working together again. Roberto and I have a relationship built on mutual respect, we never step on each other’s toes when it comes to our areas of expertise.”
Roberto adds:
“Andrea is a tsunami of ideas, with deep expertise as a director and a producer. Every time he calls me about a new project, he presents it as a challenge and gives me complete freedom in the technical approach. Once production is underway, I often hear him say, ‘With a traditional setup, this would have never been possible.’
Sometimes, when he proposes something particularly ambitious, I tell him it’s not feasible. He just smiles at me and says, ‘Yeah, right. See you next week, you’ll figure something out.’”
Outcome
The NDI-based workflow delivered exceptional results across both technical and creative dimensions. Over seven weeks, the 11-person team produced 173 hours of live broadcasts, reaching more than half a million viewers—all while maintaining professional quality and overcoming the logistical challenges of a constantly moving production.
The simplified connectivity of NDI dramatically reduced equipment weight and complexity, generating substantial cost savings in international shipping while improving reliability through fiber optic connections. This proved especially valuable for venues with long cable runs where traditional copper connections would have been impractical.
For Director Andrea Miglio, NDI’s most significant impact was on creative freedom. “I remember asking, ‘How many sources can we use?‘ and Roberto replied, ‘Think of a big number, now square it’. That’s the kind of freedom we’re talking about.”
This removal of traditional hardware constraints transformed how the team approached production decisions. Rather than limiting creative options, NDI expanded possibilities, allowing them to enhance storytelling with multiple daily interviews and varied visual approaches.
“For this season, I proposed not one remote guest per weekend but three per day—and with NDI, adding a remote guest is just ‘do it.’ You don’t need to add extra equipment,” explains Andrea. This flexibility enabled the team to implement impromptu creative decisions without technical delays or equipment adjustments.
The technical simplicity of NDI also freed the production team to focus on storytelling rather than equipment limitations. “Instead of dealing with the nightmare of SDI cabling and synchronization, with NDI, you just add another network switch. It’s super easy to change, reconfigure, and add creative layers,” notes Andrea. This streamlined approach allowed for ultra-low latency between remote and on-site elements, making the international production feel seamless despite spanning multiple continents.
Most importantly, NDI provided the operational agility to respond instantly to changing requirements and venue conditions.
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NDI is like a friend—it never says no. When the client wants another output or screen, we can simply add it. It's flexible, scalable, and the backbone that makes our innovative workflows possible.
Andrea Miglio, Director of IMAGE
Sometimes, production stations need to be set up in the most unassuming places.
On March 22, 2024, the NHL made history by producing its first game entirely from the cloud using NDI-based Vizrt solutions—marking the first time a major U.S. professional sports league relied exclusively on cloud production. Leveraging AWS’s robust infrastructure and the low-latency power of NDI, the NHL not only streamlined its operations but also set a new benchmark for innovation in sports broadcasting.
Panel featuring NDI, NHL, AWS, Verizon, and Vizrt at IBC 2024.
Challenge
The NHL’s production team was confronted with the limitations of decades-old, hardware-bound broadcast trucks that stifled innovation and flexibility. With uncertainties surrounding regional sports networks and escalating production costs, the league needed a more agile, future-proof solution that could elevate fan engagement and operational efficiency.
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We set out to really kick the tires on cloud broadcast. There were a lot of reasons, but some of them were the uncertainty surrounding regional sports networks in the United States and the desire to provide better content for our fans.
Grant Nodine, Senior Vice President of Technology at NHL
A further challenge was proving that high-quality, low-latency broadcast production could be achieved over mobile networks—a critical step in moving away from traditional, wired setups.
The NHL production team needs all hands on deck when the puck's dropped. (Image courtesy of NHL)
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What we were doing was proving that you can do all of this with a mobile network. So all of the things that you would traditionally do over dedicated broadband, wired connections; we’re proving out that you could actually do this over the air.
Dave Pirrocco, Distinguished Architect at Verizon
Solution
In partnership with Vizrt and AWS—and with key support from Verizon—the NHL embraced an NDI-based cloud production model that reimagined live sports broadcasting.
Central to this solution was NDI’s ability to provide reliable, low-latency signal transport across both fixed and mobile networks, enabling production teams to operate from virtually anywhere and unlocking production switching in the cloud with minimum latency.
Key components included:
NDI-Powered Signal Transport: NDI’s robust protocol allowed for the transmission of multiple high-definition video feeds inside the cloud, ensuring seamless collaboration across distributed teams.
Cloud-First Infrastructure: By migrating to AWS, the NHL replaced aging broadcast trucks with a scalable, flexible, and cost-effective cloud environment capable of handling the rigors of live game production.
Live Production Switching:
The team managed all aspects of multi-camera switching and mixing through TriCaster Vectar, a software-based low latency live production solution designed to excel in virtualized cloud environments.
Cloud-based graphics insertion: Leveraging Vizrt Trio/Engine, the NHL team was able to insert graphics and stats without disrupting the live flow.
Replay System: For instant replays and highlight creation, the production employed the Evertz DreamCatcher™ Production Suite, a collection of scalable and flexible tools for live production, including capture, replay, playout, live editing, storage, logging, and content management.
Mobile Network Integration: Verizon’s innovative use of mobile networks demonstrated that high-quality production isn’t confined to wired setups.
Success requires teamwork, on and off the ice. (Image courtesy of NHL)
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Mobile networks are ubiquitous in our buildings and also in other places that are not in our buildings. Being able to flex that same muscle on special events becomes really powerful.
Grant Nodine, Senior Vice President of Technology at NHL
A further challenge was proving that high-quality, low-latency broadcast production could be achieved over mobile networks—a critical step in moving away from traditional, wired setups.
Cloud workflow diagram courtesy of AWS. Learn more here.
Outcome
By transitioning to an NDI-based cloud production environment, the NHL has set a new standard in live sports broadcasting. The results include:
Enhanced Viewer Experience: Seamless, high-quality streams enriched with dynamic graphics and real-time data ensure that fans never miss a moment.
Operational Agility: Reduced dependency on aging hardware and significant cost savings through a scalable, cloud-first infrastructure.
Empowered Innovation: With the flexibility of NDI and mobile network capabilities, creative production teams can now focus on delivering innovative, engaging content without traditional technical constraints.
This success story not only highlights the transformative impact of NDI but also illustrates how forward-thinking partnerships and state-of-the-art technology can revolutionize sports broadcasting for a new era.
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The most important thing is evangelizing this to the actual production community—that this is not going to cause you problems; this is going to help you. You’re not going to complain anymore about not having enough replay channels in your trucks or needing more cross-converters. Now, you have the opportunity to be innovative.
Grant Nodine, Senior Vice President of Technology at NHL
Creative conversations in real-time. (Image courtesy of NHL)
Chess.com is the world’s #1 online chess platform, hosting up to 1 billion games each month. Recently, they began using modern broadcasting techniques to air chess matches around the world, along with interviews and expert commentary. Today, their AWS VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) studio handles up to 80-120 NDI signals per match, allowing the fully remote, international team to work from anywhere and adapt to a wide range of conditions.
IBC 2024 Panel – Mastering Cloud Production: Chess.com’s Use of NDI in Virtualized Sports Broadcasting
Challenge
Chess.com began with the idealistic vision of getting people excited about chess through online play and interviews with top players and experts.
For years, the team behind the platform used basic OBS setups to stream chess tournaments and events, but in 2022, they decided to build a full-scale media arm to cover chess tournaments using modern broadcasting techniques. They hired Mike Buetsch to serve as Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production, and he led a holistic review to identify their options and plan a production strategy.
Mike Buetsch, Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production at Chess.com
We started off with the idea of building a physical studio, but we quickly moved away from that idea,” says Mike. “In the spirit of Chess.com as a fully remote company, we decided to create a completely remote broadcasting solution that lives entirely in the cloud.
Mike Buetsch, Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production
Mike and his team envisioned a virtual production workflow where employees in Europe, South Africa, India, and the United States could seamlessly collaborate. That meant every employee could work from their home office and access all the tools they’d find in a traditional broadcasting truck.
“That plan led us away from the all-in-one packaging that most cloud-native companies are currently trying to serve,” says Mike. “We found packages that offered switching audio comms, multi-viewing, and everything else, all in one device. They load it up and manage it for you, but we knew it wouldn’t be strong enough.”
These options fell short because Chess.com wouldn’t have one signal entering a single location to be distributed through a single application. They needed to distribute every signal across as many as 13 EC2s, relying entirely on AWSfor cloud production.
“NDI made a lot of sense because it didn’t require us to manage so many transport destinations,” says Mike.
Live event setup
Mike and his team hired Advanced Systems Group (ASG) as their integration partner. Together, they began building what Mike calls a “virtual product truck” that could handle 80-120NDI signals during a given match and numerous camera inputs (50+ cameras in some cases) from different camera types.
We asked ourselves how we could cover chess in a traditional sports manner while putting our own spin on it. We decided to build out workflows that let us show the game of chess how we wanted to show it, without having to tailor it to a truck or a flypack.
Mike Buetsch, Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production
Solution
The Chess.com team began with a proof of concept, starting with the switcher. Creating a test case by broadcasting a few shows with vMix in the cloud, they set up several vMix instances using NDI to transport the signals.
“We started with the switcher because we had a huge, 40+ camera count. That’s a lot of cameras for any production, so we had to figure out how to put that amount of cameras in the cloud. We explored so many solutions, from Ross to Grass Valley,” says Mike.
Chess.com live event
As their transmission needs grew, they quickly moved into the Zixi infrastructure. Once they validated their proof of concept, they started hiring a large staff of engineers and technical directors.
“We did all kinds of very small standups using vMix for cloud production, just to see if the solution worked, and we felt comfortable with it,” says Mike. “We needed to know if we could operate it how we wanted, so we tested it for a few months.”
The next iteration of the broadcast infrastructure involved delving deeply into the website’s API and working with the development team to create the appropriate toolsets. Once they had the infrastructure figured out, they managed to set up a fully personalized virtual production truck in just six weeks.
Trying to achieve as much cloud-nativity as possible, the infrastructure consisted of:
Vizrt TriCaster Vectar as the primary production switcher
Vizrt Viz 3Play3PV as the primary replay solution
Telos Infinity VIP for intercom with 41 seats
Grass Valley AMPP for back-end infrastructure (e.g., AV mixing, multi-viewing, web RTC distribution)
Zixi as the primary transport solution
Chess.com cloud VPC
The team connected 18 intercom panels to each employee’s home and used Parsec for remote desktop management, allowing the crew to manage EC2s and software in the cloud. This allowed them to handle 100+ sources within their VCP on a regular basis, often taking in feeds from 30-50+ cameras for a given show.
Transporting all this data over NDI has proven incredibly valuable, especially since multiple systems need access to those signals.
Mike Buetsch, Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production
Outcome: new wireless possibilities
Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Mike’s team and the experts at ASG, Chess.com went from a simple OBS streaming setup to a media company that broadcasts more than 80% of the year, covering their own events as well as third-party events such as major chess tournaments.
A single event might use a variety of camera build-ups using Grass Valley or Sony cameras, PTZ cameras, and sometimes even POV cameras popular with eSports broadcasts. Mike recalls one event, the 2023 Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto, where they captured feeds from 26 cameras (at 30 MB each) that covered an on-site analyst desk and four separate matches simultaneously at any given time.
“We took all those isolated feeds and pushed them into a studio in Oslo, where they cut the show and weaved in live desk commentary during gameplay. There was a double set of transmission lines going out, on top of all the intercom connectivity and archiving we do,” says Mike.
What’s truly impressive is that Chess.com accomplished all this with a fully remote workforce. Today, they produce professional-quality broadcasts, with team members collaborating from their homes across continents. NDI allowed them to support their remote-first philosophy, which has been part of their culture since day one.
Chess.com’s future plans include more live-streaming content through faster platforms (as opposed to slower platforms like Twitch), moving to 10-bit signals, and pushing HDR video, which is now supported with NDI 6. They’re also exploring the flexibility of NDI and compatible technology to support the next iteration of their broadcast infrastructure.
We stood up our virtual production truck in about a month and a half. Anywhere else, that sounds insane, but we connected everything through cloud-based software and leveraging the flexibility of NDI.
Mike Buetsch, Director of Broadcast Engineering & Production
Formula X Racing Weekend organizers deployed a full IP-based video workflow and low-latency solution running NDI HX, ensuring the live stream kept pace with the high-speed action on the race track.
Challenge
Formula X Racing Weekend is an Italian motorsport championship that takes place at top race tracks across Italy. With limited time to set up video production at each event as Formula X Racing Weekend travels from city to city, the organization needed a plug-and-play solution that was easy to use and seamless to operate. While simplicity was the goal for set up, the races required high-efficiency video production to broadcast the real-time action to its fans without being constrained by cables and bandwidth.
Solution
Formula X Racing Weekend worked with ADCOM and Kiloview to deliver a full IP-based live-streaming solution using Kiloview products to make the most of the NDI HX format.
Six Kiloview P1 and P2 4G Bonding Encoders were located on different cameras. With optimized technology, Kiloview P series encoders offer an ultra-low latency video delivering less than one-second delay for remote production. Kiloview’s MG300 Media Gateway was selected to transcode the SRT from the cameras directly into NDI HX to be input into the video switcher, making a full IP workflow possible.
NDI HX harnesses codecs H.264 and H.265 with reduced bitrates and no visible compression artifacts for visually lossless images. With very low glass-to-glass latency and a rapidly growing ecosystem of devices, NDI HX is removing the limits to video connectivity. It’s the perfect video connectivity format for challenging environments where bandwidth might be limited.
The client wanted to have a full IP workflow, so instead of using standard SDI decoding for each camera, we moved to a total NDI solution.
Simone Messina, Technical Consultant of Formula X Racing Weekend.
Outcome
Broadcast of the Formula X Racing Weekend kept fans up to speed on the action in real-time, and Kiloview’s setup using NDI as the backbone of the livestream fully met the needs of the organization.
By deploying everything on the cloud using VPS technology, the team had great flexibility to handle every part of the setup without adding weight to their production, and it also reduced the overall number of physical computers needed. Preparation, set up, and rehearsal time for the event was reduced from a few days to just a few hours with the designed broadcast solution.
Kiloview provided all IP workflow for this event, reducing the need for hardware and staffing compared with the standard-based broadcasting events. To some extent, it lowers production prices overall. The applied technology fully meets our needs. This IP workflow opens many possible solutions for event direction setup. From the most complex outside broadcast solution to a single workstation.
Luca Panizzi, CEO of FX Master Racing Weekend
Seamlessly connecting content creators across the globe using NDI and an IP-based infrastructure, Blinx delivers news that resonates with young people throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Taking a streamlined, cost-effective approach to disrupting the news industry status quo, Blinx is changing the way content is produced and consumed.
Challenge
Blinx is reinventing the news industry to reach Gen Z and millennials throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Prominent journalist Nakhle Elhage launched the Dubai-based startup after serving as Director of the Al Arabiya news channel for 16 years, and Blinx is blazing new trails.
Intent on cutting through the noise of the traditional news cycle and providing relevant stories to their audience, the team at Blinx set out to build the world’s first-ever digital-native storytelling hub. In other words, unlike established outlets that have adapted traditional broadcasting for online consumption, Blinx decided to build a cloud-based newsroom designed to reach all the major online media platforms.
Chief Creative Officer Fadi Radi knew this would require flexible technology that could:
Allow content creators in remote locations to stream content with a hassle-free setup
Produce content automatically formatted for every platform, adapting to different aspect ratios and switching seamlessly between horizontal or vertical viewing
Deliver responsive graphics across all platforms
Harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recommend content to viewers that matches their interests and keeps them engaged
Based on these goals, Fadi and his team made the bold decision to design their entire infrastructure using devices integrated with NDI. That meant using no leased lines or fiber-optic cables for real-time streaming or transmissions.
We started with NDI infrastructure from day one. We knew NDI would be a great, flexible solution for us because we’re digitally native, cloud-based, and AI-based.
Fadi Radi, Chief Creative Officer (CCO)
Solution
As a digital-native startup, the Blinx team had the unique opportunity to start from scratch and opt out of traditional solutions. Using nearly 100% NDI-enabled devices, from cameras to mixers, they built an infrastructure that was cost-effective and easy to use. For any non-NDI-enabled devices, they used Kiloview NDI converters to create an entirely IP-based infrastructure.
Enabling remote reporters and content creators to stream content anywhere in the world—from Cape Town to Los Angeles—is simply a matter of sending an NDI link. Content creators can film and stream from a laptop or mobile device with minimal latency and virtually no loss in fidelity.
Flexible led walls and virtual sets can be found everywhere at Blinx’s studios.
The power of modular workflows
Even more revolutionary is the ability to work with remote production teams across the globe. Thanks to the modular setup and workflows made possible by NDI, a director in Mumbai or Hollywood could perform their entire job from start to finish, no matter where the rest of the team was based.
Fadi explains the power of a modular setup and workflow through an analogy. Compare the keyboards of today’s mobile devices to manual Blackberry keyboards from many years ago. If Blackberry manufacturers wanted to provide a different keyboard for a new language, that meant changing the layout for each version.
By contrast, today’s phones and tablets use a virtual keyboard with hundreds of layouts for languages around the world. Similarly, with modular configurations made possible through an IP-based infrastructure and NDI technology, Blinx attained the flexibility to support fully distributed productions.
Finally, the two-way communication between devices, including metadata — made possible by the NDI standard — lets them collect and process viewer data using AI-based tools. This allows the Blinx team to understand their audience and hyper-personalize each user’s experience with content they’re likely to engage, share, and love.
There’s a lot of cost savings, functionality, and added value, which encouraged us to go with NDI technology. NDI is one-tenth the cost of SDI or any other solution available. Lots of cameras, mixers, and other technology are using it, so it’s getting easier and easier.
Fadi Radi, Chief Creative Officer (CCO)
Outcome
Thanks to their IP infrastructure powered by NDI-enabled devices, Fadi and his team achieved the flexibility necessary to launch a truly innovative storytelling hub—something they believe will be the future of news and information.
NDI provides the backbone for all workflows, both on-premises and remote.
Rather than a one-to-many model of disseminating news, Blinx hopes to shift the paradigm to a many-to-one model, where content creators around the world can tell their stories, and Blinx can follow their lead. Plus, with actionable data and AI-based insights that only a cloud-based infrastructure can offer, it’s easier than ever to support that viewer-driven, many-to-one model of storytelling.
Fadi estimates that his team built the infrastructure at one-tenth the cost of a traditional setup, allowing them to focus their creative energy on designing the future of news and storytelling.
He says that once they’ve established their brand, perfected their metadata processing, fine-tuned the AI, and optimized their cloud integration, they will be in a position to build on their success. Telecommunications will improve, telecommunication will improve and get faster, and NDI will enable seamless growth and scaling for this innovative startup.
We’re breaking the norm of all the television stations’ technology and going into the next level of the digital era. Our brand positioning is ‘more story, less noise,’ and with NDI technology we can achieve this.
