Digital Cinema Collective trusts SilverBack-V fiber camera adapters to give live productions a cinematic look
Digital Cinema Collective has recently comunicate the benefits of SilverBack-V fiber camera adapters from MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Solutions regarding its live production model. Their professionals have utilized several MultiDyne SilverBack models in productions such as Democratic National Convention Digital Production and ABC holiday specials.
“We specialize in multi-camera TV shows that capture a cinematic feel,” said Aaron Cooke, CEO, Digital Cinema Collective (DCC). “That means using digital cinema cameras from Sony, ARRI, Panasonic and others with a variety of cinema lensing to enhance any broadcast production with a film aesthetic. The SilverBack systems help us incorporate these cameras into the broadcast workflow, which has not historically been easy to accomplish.”
The SilverBack-V and SilverBack-4K5 both convert digital cinema cameras into studio cameras for live multi-camera productions. These converters transform multiplex video, audio and data signals for multicamera 4K/UHD productions onto a single tactical or SMPTE hybrid fiber cable.
James Coker, Technical Engineer, who has used the SilverBack-4K5 on many large multi-camera shows, says that “We do live-to-air and live-to-tape events, which have different yet challenging timeline demands. I can now get a 10-camera production up and running in four-to-six hours, compared to what used to take up to two days. The SilverBack-V has a more direct mounting interface that makes camera adaption even faster. From there it’s just pulling all the feeds from the I/O of the cameras, including SDI 12G, 6G, and 3G signals, as well as sync, timecode, power, audio, intercom and other important elements for the editors.”
Coker adds that MultiDyne’s 12G throughput and fiber-optic connectivity make it easy to manage cameras across multiple locations for live productions. He points to a recent large corporate event: ““We had 12 cameras for the main show and six remote cameras in other states, and we used the SilverBack to send everything over fiber and into the cloud for a three-hour event,” he said. “This is a show that has been done for 10 years and was enormously complex. Now we can provide everything back to the truck over the network with livegrade instead of RCPs. We brought the cinema world to multi-camera along with all the power to do everything with live control.”
Cooke confirms that both SilverBack models will play significant roles in future live and recorded productions. He noted that the SilverBack-V was used for several holiday specials that aired over the 2021 holiday season and would be used for this year’s Super Bowl Halftime show.
