Universum Media Inc. Leverages Matrox Monarch EDGE Series to Stream Canada Games with Reliability and Cost-Effectiveness

Universum Media Inc., a production company based in Charlottetown, PEI, was tasked with streaming the Canada Games. The company faced several challenges, including reliability, cost-effectiveness, and synchronization, that needed to be addressed to produce high-quality content for the event. To meet these challenges, Universum leveraged Matrox Monarch EDGE encoders and decoders, which provided a reliable synchronization mechanism and low-cost network connections to transmit the SRT streams, resulting in an effective and efficient streaming solution.

Background:

Universum Media Inc. was established in 2004. With over 100 years of combined experience in the television industry, their team offers a range of services from live productions to promotional videos. The company aims to provide its clients with professional quality products that reflect their unique style and preferences. 

In recent years, Universum has been interested in adopting a REMI (Remote Integration Model) for their productions. The motivation for this shift is to address challenges with staffing, the need to send vehicles, and the ability to cover more events over a wider geography. The company has mostly dealt with multi-camera sports events, but they have faced challenges with single-channel encoders due to syncing issues and reliability. 

After experimenting with various solutions, Universum evaluated the Monarch EDGE E4 encoders and D4 decoders and found that they performed flawlessly. The company finalized a purchase of Monarch EDGE to support their multi-camera REMI productions. 

In addition to their remote productions, Universum also operates a professional studio equipped with green screens and a studio control room. They offer a variety of set-ups tailored to meet their clients' specific needs, including DJ virtual parties, music video shoots, live stream concerts, and sports desk analysis. 

 Challenges

Universum was tasked with broadcasting the Canada Games in English and French, which posed several challenges that needed to be addressed with the use of Monarch EDGE technology. 

Firstly, synchronization (genlock) was a crucial challenge. Since multiple cameras were being used to capture the events, it was essential to ensure that all camera feeds were synced to avoid any timing issues during production. The Monarch EDGE encoders and decoders were able to handle this by providing a reliable synchronization mechanism that enabled Universum to effectively produce high-quality content. 

Secondly, reliability was another significant challenge. Given the long hours of the Canada Games, it was crucial that the technology used was reliable and could operate seamlessly throughout the day. With Monarch EDGE technology, Universum was able to ensure that the four SRT streams sent to homebase for production were uninterrupted and reliable. 

Lastly, cost-effectiveness was a crucial challenge that Universum needed to address. Sending a van to the venue would have been a costly option, and the solution had to be more affordable. With Monarch EDGE, Universum was able to leverage the internet and use low-cost network connections to transmit the SRT streams, thereby reducing their overall costs. 

Overall, with the use of the Monarch EDGE encoders and decoders, Universum was able to solve these three main challenges and produce high-quality content for the Canada Games. 

 Solution 

Matrox Monarch EDGE proved to be the ideal solution for Universum Media Inc. during the Canada Games streaming project. The event was a success, and the Monarch EDGE technology was instrumental in achieving this outcome. By leveraging the Matrox Monarch EDGE encoder, Universum was able to solve the synchronization, reliability, and cost challenges that it faced. 

The Monarch EDGE encoder delivered flawless quality, and the four SRT feeds were sent to Universum’s home base, where they were able to complete the production in-house. The Monarch EDGE Command Center web interface was easy to use and provided the ability to add subtitles, replays, commercials, and switching helped to enhance the overall quality of the content produced. 

Moreover, using Matrox Monarch EDGE encoders eliminated the need to send out a van to the venue when there was no room, which saved Universum a significant amount of time and money by not having to send staff on-site. Moving forward, Universum can continue to use EDGE encoders to keep production costs low. Scott MacLean, President of  Universum Media Inc., was pleased with the outcome, stating that “everything was flawless. The quality level was unbelievable; you would never know that we weren’t at the venue.”

In conclusion, the Matrox Monarch EDGE Series was a game-changer for Universum during the Canada Games streaming project. The encoder and decoder solved multiple challenges and delivered high-quality content, ensuring the event was a success.