EVS premieres its “Flex Production” project, pioneering centralized 5G-based production

On October 5th, EVS unveiled its "Flex Production" initiative, a project supported by the Belgian Federal Government, dedicated to showcasing the advantages of using 5G technology in centralized productions. Alongside La Grand Poste, Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement, and Playtime Films, EVS collaborated with Orange Belgium and the Théâtre de Liège to live stream the theatrical play "Andromaque" to over 70 schools in the Wallonia and Brussels regions. This captivating live film experience, watched by over 10,000 students, coincided with the theater's 10th anniversary celebration.

The theatre setup includes multiple Ultra HD cameras, each equipped with a LiveU field encoder for transmitting video feeds via Orange Belgium's robust 5G network to a central control room at La Grand Poste – a hub dedicated to fostering creativity and innovation. Powered by LiveU’s field-proven Reliable Transport protocol (LRT™), the encoders ensure the highest quality and ultra-low latency live streams over the 5G network.

Taking centre stage in the control room, is an EVS central production system, orchestrating the entire live production process. Moreover, the use of EVS’ MediaHub SaaS content exchange solution facilitates rapid access to video content for the creation of clips, highlights and long-form content,  seamlessly delivering it across the web.

The educational institutions selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement (WBE) have free access to EVS' MediaHub solution, which serves as the repository for all footage captured on October 5th. Students can access the recorded content of the Andromaque play from any location, and through the integration of MediaHub with Blackbird’s cloud native video editing platform, they can create their own edits and highlights of the performance directly in the cloud. Students will be trained by EVS to navigate and utilize this dynamic platform for content editing and production, fostering the growth of the next generation of content creators.

Beyond being an innovative technical showcase, with a significant educational component, the project is also a demonstration of how 5G stand alone enhances the flexibility of remote productions while reducing costs and environmental impact. Nicolas Bourdon, Chief Marketing Officer at EVS, said: "5G technology is set to drastically reduce the need for production team travel, resulting in a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions. By centralizing audiovisual production tools through 5G technology, we are driving resource consolidation, which, in turn, translates to reduced operational costs for event production. With this centralization, you can easily imagine hosting diverse productions in a single day; such as morning TV debates, midday news programs, afternoon theater plays, and regional sporting events in the evening—all made possible by the same infrastructure. This opens up opportunities for smaller events to reach larger audiences through accessible, professional-grade audiovisual content distribution."

Renaud Falise, 5G & IoT Strategic Manager at Orange Belgium said: “The project marks a significant milestone in the world of live video technology, showcasing the immense potential of 5G and its practical applications. We inaugurated a first Orange 5G Lab in Antwerp in October 2021, and a second one in the iconic Grand Poste in Liège in 2022 demonstrating our role as a generator for innovative solutions leveraging Orange Belgium's 5G network. The live capture at the Théâtre de Liège is a testament to the vast possibilities unlocked by this groundbreaking technology.”