Avocent AMX5010 User manual

Case Study
Football Show Hits the Mark
Thanks to New Data Centre
Vienna. October 2004. The thought of a Saturday evening with no football
on the box is unimaginable for millions of fans. And a football show with
technical problems is inconceivable for producers and directors. A single
90-minute sports programme can contain dozens of match reports,
interviews, graphics and live studio discussions. But what football fans
never get to see is the data centre working away behind the scenes
between the opening and final credits.
ATVplus, Austria’s only commercial national broadcaster, has been televising
the country’s Bundesliga matches since the current season started. Fans meet
up regularly at ATVplus on the football show Volltreffer (“Back of the Net!”),
for which a brand new studio was built just a few months ago.
When Max Schmiedl, presenter of Volltreffer, and his team go on air, they
place their complete trust in the first class technology solution supplied to
ACT-Media Produktionsservice-GmbH by the Vienna-based system vendor
AMEC Medientechnik Vertriebs-GmbH.
Some 44 servers provide all of the information required both on and off
camera: from video servers providing reports from the football stadiums, to
character generators which create captions displayed at the bottom of the TV
screen and autocues providing the presenters with their scripts. All of this is
backed up by a host of other computers that work in the background to
provide additional facilities for the show.
To make sure Volltreffer is always on target, 16 staffers work behind the
scenes on high-performance computers. They assess and edit incoming
reports in the short space between the final whistle and the start of the show,
and deliver them to the control room.
The control room is the studio’s nerve centre, where decisions are made
about which report goes on air and which of the studio cameras will transmit
images to the viewers at home. Every Saturday the show features 11 pre-
recorded segments, one live link, statistics containing graphics after each of
the five match reports, and countless other types of text segments, all of
which must be displayed on cue.
At the heart of all this behind the scenes work is a single piece of
sophisticated equipment. It controls who does what on the production
computers. Known as a KVM switch, this piece of hardware is the interface
between operators and the computer technology. The importance of this
switch interface is emphasised by Erwin Keil, managing director of AMEC
Medientechnik, who explains that all of the essential systems in the video
network depend on this single piece of equipment. The switch captures the
signals from the keyboard, video and mouse (hence the acronym KVM) of
each operator workstation and relays them to the relevant server. This allows
technical staff to work as if they were accessing the computer directly –
Volltreffer as the viewers see it:
presenter Max Schmiedl (standing at
the desk on the left) with his studio
guests. Meanwhile, an entire data
centre is working away behind the
scenes of ATVplus’ football show.
Erwin Keil, specialist for TV
production technology, demonstrates
how, from the control room,
producers can access all computers
required for producing a TV show.
The Data Director: The Avocent
AMX5010 KVM switch captures all
user entries made by the production
team and relays them to the
connected computers.

regardless of which workstation they
are actually working on.
This is essential for live broadcasts
in particular, where error-free
operation and reliability are
absolutely essential. Describing the
worst-case scenario, Keil explains
that “if a workstation terminal
breaks down, I can simply move on
to the next unoccupied one and
continue working as normal.” If the
error doesn’t actually happen “on
air,” viewers won’t even notice the
breakdown.
The use of the KVM switch was
certainly a leap of faith on the part of
ATVplus. The first Volltreffer show
went on air on July 14th but the
AMX™5010 KVM switch,
manufactured by US company
Avocent, only arrived at ACT-Media
the day before. “The show was
practically broadcast from a building
site,” notes Keil. Using the system in
a live show without thorough testing
beforehand was certainly a gamble,
he admits, but as he puts it: “What
else were we to do?” However, their
courage paid off and the first show
broadcast without any problems.
Keil said the investment in the
AMX5010 switch was absolutely
essential for managing the
sophisticated technology required
for the football show. The AMEC
team previously equipped ACT-
Media’s production environment
with KVM switches from the Avocent
XP series. Positive experiences with
the equipment prompted Erwin Keil
and ACT-Media’s management to
choose Avocent as the preferred
supplier again when they required
KVM switches with additional ports
to support the Volltreffer
production’s extensive server farm.
AMEC’s hardware partner Weik
Ordnungsmittel also recommended
Avocent. “The AMX5010 met our
exact requirements,” says managing
director Wolfram Weik who explains
that “ACT-Media needed a device
that was highly reliable and able to
manage the most diverse systems.”
AMX developers even factored in the
need for problem-free compatibility
between the switch and the input
device. The result is that the
AMX5010 appliance is the only KVM
switch capable of providing error-
free transmission of jog-wheel
control signals for Pinnacle’s video
editing system. Editors can use the
jog-wheel to run video data
backwards and forwards at any
speed, just like a traditional film
reel. This in itself is vital for
precision editing of footage down to
the exact frame.
Keil said one of the big advantages of
the matrix switch is its unlimited
parallel access – users can work
simultaneously on any of the
computers connected to it. Keil is
also impressed with the fact that
user access can be centrally
managed, thus preventing both
accidental errors and deliberate
manipulation when the systems are
in use.
“The incredibly high level of
flexibility is yet another factor which
separates the new KVM switch from
the competition,” said Keil. By
allowing technicians to choose the
systems they require for a specific
show from the device pool, and
providing predefined macros which
contain all of the settings necessary
for a production, the changeover to
the new system was extremely
smooth. “Setup times for switching
from show A to show B have been
reduced considerably,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Avocent AMX system
has also been used in other ACT-
Media productions, including the
entire children’s schedule at ORF
(Austrian Broadcasting Corporation),
a children’s talent show called Kiddy
Contest, as well as the home and
lifestyle programme Schöner Leben
and the daily talk show Barbara
Karlich also broadcast on ORF.
Erwin Keil concludes that the switch
is reliable under the high demands
placed on it by live television. “The
matrix is rock solid,” he said. The
switch is reliable, capable and
always on the ball – like a midfield
general on the football pitch.
AMEC Medientechnik
Vertriebs-GmbH
AMEC Medientechnik Vertriebs-
GmbH is a specialist in planning and
building studio and post production
facilities in the broadcasting and
multimedia industry. The range of
services provided by the Vienna-
based systems vendor includes
planning, installation and
maintenance of technology for TV
productions. In addition to television
studios, the company, which was
established in 1995, also equips fixed
multimedia installations, including
those at the Schönbrunn Zoo and the
Siemens-Forum, an event centre in
Vienna.
On the Internet: www.amec.co.at
Avocent
Avocent is the leading worldwide
supplier of KVM switching and
connectivity solutions that allow IT
managers to monitor and control
entire server farms from anywhere
in the world, both locally and via the
Internet. The company’s portfolio
covers the complete market from
specially configured enterprise
solutions to sophisticated small
office product solutions. Avocent
Corp. was formed in July 2000 from
the merger of Cybex Computer
Products Corp. and Apex Inc. Apart
from its headquarters in Huntsville,
Alabama and other locations in the
US, Avocent branches include
Shannon (Ireland), London
(England), Tokyo (Japan),
Steinhagen (Germany), China and
Singapore.
On the Internet: www.avocent.de
Avocent Computertechnik GmbH
Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 2–4
33803 Steinhagen, Germany
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.avocent.de
Avocent, the Avocent logo, The Power of Being There and AMX
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avocent Corporation
or its affiliates. All other marks are the property of their
respective owners. Copyright © 2005 Avocent Corporation.
0105-AMEC-CS