Butler University integrates NDI at the heart of new Esports Park 

Challenge

Butler University in the US has put itself in the vanguard of the global esports revolution with the creation of a dedicated new Esports Park. To ensure plug & play connectivity and high-quality live production, the university has settled on a combination of NDI video connectivity technology and NewTek media production equipment.  

Located in Indianapolis, Butler University today encompasses six distinct colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences and Pharmacy & Health Services. In recent years, thanks in no small part to a student-led initiative, it has also become a leading player in the growing esports movement with its varsity esports teams participating in a number of prominent tournaments. 

For the latest stage in this journey, Butler has developed a first-of-its-kind Esports Park featuring a 7,500 sq ft facility with 40 gaming PCs, gaming consoles, a virtual reality area, cafe and community office spaces. Tthe identification of suitable, high-quality broadcast production systems became a priority from day one. 

“Our facility required adaptable livestream technology which was easy to understand and use.This was especially important given our efforts to host various livestream competitions while also providing students with hands-on production experience and learning opportunities.” 

John Lacheta, Manager of Facilities and Operations 

Solution

Butler University decided to go for efficiency and flexibility and selected a solution based around NewTek media production equipment and NDI technology. Specifically, it is using the NewTek TriCaster TC1 video production platform and NewTek 3Play 3P1 sports video production solution, along with three NewTek NDI|HX PTZ cameras.  

While the TriCasters make it possible to connect and switch between multiple cameras used to film esports competitions, NDI – which is supported by all NewTek products in the workflow– allows users to connect devices such as cameras, microphones, intercoms, and lighting through Ethernet cabling, as well as providing two-way communication, all without having to set up complicated custom networks 

Initially, the Cranfield team used a TriCaster Mini with NewTek TalkShow VS 4000, an NDI-enabled multi-channel video calling system designed to simultaneously connect up to four remote guests in real-time. But to increased demand and the highly enthusiastic reaction to the new production environment, the university team has now upgraded to NewTek’s premium TriCaster 2 Elite, which supports the most updated versions of NDI and provides extra functionality and capabilities.

Outcomes

The new installation has fully satisfied the facility’s requirement for quality and flexibility, and equipped Butler University with the tools to host major esports events, like BIG EAST Esports championships, held in Butler’s esports park in March 2023. This event showcased the university’s new facility and the live production capabilities enabled by the combination of NDI technology and NewTek’s equipment. 

“The flexibility of this system allows us to support a plethora of events of different shapes and sizes,” he says. “The agility of the NDI standard plays a massive role in how we can shift from classroom to open play and live event modes quickly and with intent. Given that we host so many high-profile esports events, it was necessary for us to have the technology that could easily ingest a magnitude of virtual signals and tie them all into a network quality product for our fans and players. TriCaster with NDI did just that – all while not requiring an intense production set-up.”

Nathan Duke, Manager of Esports Programs and Facility Operations