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Appear has announced the successful completion of a proof of concept (POC) with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP). This has demostrated that full multi-camera remote live production can be delivered reliably over bonded 5G cellular and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity, without relying on fixed internet infrastructure, as the company has claimed in a statement.

The project successfully validated a complete REMI production workflow, transporting four live HD camera feeds from a remote racecourse to TRP’s production facility while simultaneously returning two HD programme feeds back to the venue over the same bonded network.

The outcome aimed to evidence how broadcasters can extend high-quality remote production to locations where dedicated fibre or fixed connectivity is unavailable.

TRP, the production arm of Racing Victoria, delivers live horse racing coverage from 51 regional racecourses across the Australian state of Victoria. Of these, 20 – together with the state’s metropolitan venues – feature access to high-quality wired connectivity that makes REMI possible; the remaining 31 regional racecourses do not.

With TRP planning to centralise its production resources, the organisation wanted to determine whether broadcast-grade REMI production could be achieved at these remote racecourses using cost-effective bonded cellular and LEO connectivity.

Deployment

Working closely with TRP, Appear deployed its compact X5 platform at the racecourse and an X20 at the production centre to validate the workflow. Four live HD camera feeds were encoded in HEVC and transported using Appear’s hardware-accelerated SRT technology across bonded 5G cellular and LEO satellite networks.

At the production centre, the X20 decoded the incoming feeds for live production while simultaneously encoding and returning two HD programme feeds to the racecourse, with the intention of enabling two-way production and communications throughout the event. Once production was completed, the finished programme was reviewed by TRP and Racing Victoria, produced end-to-end as though it were a live broadcast.

The proof of concept was conducted across two separate racecourse locations, including a more remote venue where heavy rain and challenging weather conditions tested the resilience of the workflow. Across both sessions, all four camera feeds and two return feeds were delivered successfully, with no video quality issues reported and no operator intervention required.

“Remote production continues to transform the economics of live broadcasting, but until now its benefits have often depended on access to dedicated network infrastructure”, explains Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, CEO, Appear. “This proof of concept demonstrates that broadcasters can reliably extend those same production models to remote venues using bonded 5G cellular and LEO satellite connectivity. By combining our unique, hardware-accelerated SRT technology with the flexibility of the X Platform, we’re helping customers rethink how and where live production can be deployed”.

The Appear X5 simultaneously transported four live camera feeds and two return feeds within a single compact platform. Combined with Appear’s hardware-accelerated SRT technology, the deployment was designed to deliver reliable, low-latency transport while maintaining broadcast-quality video across variable network conditions.

The same platform can also be reconfigured via software to support JPEG XS workflows over high-bandwidth IP networks, allowing broadcasters to use a common platform across both remote and metropolitan production environments.

“For us, this wasn’t simply about proving that the technology works; it was about validating a new way of producing live racing from some of our most remote venues”, adds Charles Cole, Engineering and Technical Operations Manager, Thoroughbred Racing Productions. “The success of these trials has given us confidence that multi-camera REMI production over bonded cellular and satellite connectivity is a practical option for our regional racecourses. It opens the door to centralising production resources while maintaining the quality, reliability and operational standards our live coverage demands”.