In this episode of Broadcast2Post, we interview the CTO of Ross Video, Troy English. Cloud and Cloud Hybrid workflows have become an absolute necessity over the past few years. Now engineers and managers are at a crossroads, trying to determine which aspects of their production to keep in the cloud, which to move back on-prem, and how to mush both into a cohesive hybrid workflow. Troy has a front-row seat to the innovation at Ross Video and the unique ways customers are adopting new technology and workflows. Watch the interview below. Key Code Media is a top-tier dealer of Ross Video, providing equipment solutions with our outstanding technical integration, design, install, and support team. Need help? Book A Consultation or Request A Demo.

Watch: Ross Video CTO Discusses On-Prem, Cloud, Hybrid

Let’s look at defining On-Prem, Cloud, and Hybrid solutions for live production.

On-Prem Solutions For Live Production

What are live on-prem solutions, and why do people use them? On-prem stands for on-premise, which essentially, at its core, means that the document you’re using is in your physical location or physical location that you’re renting or owning. The main thing is the equipment is physically somewhere that you have access to. Someone that works for you can go physically touch the gear. Trucks are a good example of on-prem as well. While a truck is mobile, the crews’ hands still have access to the physical equipment during production.  

Cloud Solutions For Live Production

What are live cloud solutions available today, and why do people use them? Can we maybe identify why Cloud is not the same as remote? While most would assume Cloud is the new ‘cutting-edge’ solution, the cloud in broadcasting has been used for several years. For example, Newsrooms have been using asset management systems that leveraged the cloud for several years. The new “Live” Cloud trends we’re seeing today are focused on putting equipment in the cloud, processing “live” audio and/or “live” video stream for elements of a production, whether it’s virtual switching, virtual graphics, virtual audio mixer, or another component. Often, we see manufacturers take the software component of hardware solutions they already offer and provide over the cloud with a SaaS pricing model.  

Hybrid Solutions For Live Production

Why not go “all in” on on-prem or “all in” on the cloud? When does it make sense to mix and match Cloud and On-Prem? Hybrid is when you want to do a bit of both! If you have some cloud processing and some on-prem processing equipment and bridging audio and video signals between the two methods. Hybrid is likely the most realistic future of production- as opposed to all production being done all-in cloud or all-in on-prem.  

Side Note: Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Hyperconverged infrastructure is a software-defined, unified system that combines all the elements of a traditional equipment solution: storage, computing, networking, and management. There’s nothing television engineers hate dealing with more than cables. With hyper-converged, you combine parts of the solution that would traditionally be separate servers and rack spaces connected via cable. Instead, products are combined with software and connectivity solutions. These solutions also reduce weight and footprint, condensing the footprint with software and making it easier for customers looking to save space or reduce the cost of shipping gear between event locations.