France Galop chooses Sony IP Live
August 24, 2018
France Galop, the governing body of French flat and steeplechase horse racing, has chosen Sony’s IP Live production system to modernise its coverage of horse racing. As part of a complete renovation of its prestigious Longchamp Racecourse, France Galop is now equipped with an IP production control room, allowing for greater flexibility and sustainability.
With Sony’s IP Live production system having already proven itself to more than 30 systems around the world, France Galop joins these customers, working with AV engineering consultancy, MTCE Consulting and AV expert integrator, EV Corp. during the selection and installation of Sony’s solution.
“From a global perspective, since the installation of IP based production, we have been able to use fibre cabling for transporting video signals without the need for a huge HD-SDI gate and to eliminate HD-SDI/fibre optic conversion. The goal was to be able to offer a set of future-oriented IP solutions, especially for audio, intercom, KVM and video,” says Kevin Bonnaud, Project Manager at MTCE Consulting. “Before we chose the solution for the racecourse, we had made a comprehensive study of the technical and financial offers on the market, a key factor was also our visit to both the BBC Studioworks’ installation of IP and Sony’s IP set-up, located at Pinewood Studios,” adds Kevin Bonnaud.
During production, Sony’s XVS-6000 multi-format video switcher offers flexibility with mixed SDI and IP production capacity. The new switcher sits at the heart of France Galop’s control room, receiving up to 24 possible sources of video across the site, which are handled by conversion gateways. Sony’s NXL-FR318 chassis and NXLK-IP40F conversion board providing SDI to IP conversion, gives France Galop’s producers the ability to evolve content from classic HD to the latest 4K standards.
“We needed a long-lasting technology which offered flexibility, ready for an IP-driven future and possible upcoming expansion. MTCE Consulting and EV Corp. naturally recommended Sony, as a pioneer of live production and IP, as well as its maturity, expertise and interoperability with the CISCO infrastructure,” commented Thierry Migeon, Technical Leader in charge of France Galop.