Since the inception of the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, the way the fans view football has changed dramatically. Today, it’s far more complex then just delivering a football game to the fans; they’re now provided with video clips, images, and audio to magnify the viewing experience. The Emmy-winning Ravens Productions team has the task of delivering content to fans, whether it’s in-stadium or on the web. Just because the screens go black in the stadium doesn’t mean that Ravens Productions’ job is over. The fans expect to be able to find compelling content wherever they are, whether it’s on BaltimoreRavens.com, the Ravens’ mobile app, or social media. With the amount of digital content accessible to the fans at all times, there’s no longer an offseason in the NFL.
In 2014, to make room for working files and to make better use of their existing historical assets, the Emmy-winning Ravens Productions team decided to make the shift from a videotape-based workflow to a file-based system, but further issues arose during the implementation phase. This led the Ravens Productions team to engage Integrated Media Technologies, Inc. (IMT) to upgrade their media production and distribution systems. The solution had to be implemented before the start of the 2015 season, but more importantly it had to be reliable, cost-effective, and suitable to their needs today and well into the future. After a carefully implemented needs analysis, IMT recommended an integrated set of solutions based on open-platform technologies with Quantum, Levels Beyond, and Telestream.
The solution suggested by IMT included a dual redundant StorNext Metadata Controller (MDC), a StorNext Pro Studio Storage Area Network (SAN), StorNext File System and Storage Manager, and a StorNext, Archive-Enabled Library (AEL). These offerings from Quantum allow all editorial and graphics workstations shared access to work in progress and archived content. As for the media asset and workflow management aspect, the system uses Levels Beyond’s Reach Engine (LBRE) Studio, which gives the Ravens’ creative users access to content from initial capture to edit, through metadata management to distribution. High-quality, high-performance transcoding is provided by Telestream’s Vantage. One of the key advantages of this solution is its ability to integrate highly scalable storage for both archive and archived content across multiple storage types, while providing direct access to all content. This integrated set of solutions enables The Ravens to be the first when delivering content, and allows their editors and producers to focus on creating complimentary content to further entertain and inform their fans.
