Broadcast & media

Gateway to a new world

R&S®SpycerNode is the ideal accompaniment for the renowned New World Symphony’s digital storage needs

The future needs memories. Ever since we started recording information, we've been storing data. Currently, the global data volume is more than doubling every two years, with the media and entertainment industry helping lead the explosion. Sophisticated, modern workflows require exceptional storage solutions. That's why national archives, film studios, TV stations and cultural institutions such as the renowned orchestral academy in Miami rely on the media storage solution from Rohde & Schwarz.

There can be a very dark side to digital technology – as anyone who has ever experienced a failure on a hard disk containing important data knows. The makers of the blockbuster Toy Story 2 can tell a particularly harrowing story. A mistakenly executed command nearly deleted all the files for the 1998 film. It was only by sheer luck that they could be restored.

Since then, data volumes and the speed of communication have exploded – and they continue to rise. It is estimated that storage requirements for content acquisition and creation in the media sector will grow 4.5 times by 2023. In the future, producing a large video or film – from creation and post production to distribution and archiving – could take more than an exabyte of data.

Nearly all applications in the media, culture and entertainment sector need storage. Modern storage solutions enable digital content to be seamlessly created, delivered and managed. Technologies such as 4K, high dynamic range (HDR) and high frame rate (HFR) are massively increasing the demand for performance and capacity. This makes smart, truly secure media storage a prerequisite for efficiently exploiting digital production and distribution solutions.

Broadcast and streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic

Storage is a key component in a booming market. In 2019, 101 billion dollars was spent worldwide in the cinema, TV and streaming sectors – the first time the global entertainment market surpassed 100 billion dollars in revenue. Even though in 2020 almost all film production worldwide has come to a halt that will continue for months due to the coronavirus pandemic and experts expect Hollywood alone to suffer at least 20 billion dollars in financial losses, the demand for storage will continue to rise in the medium term. Preparations are in full swing on numerous post-coronavirus projects. Streaming services are even in the midst of another upswing.

And classic broadcast is experiencing a renaissance. The coronavirus situation has significantly increased the use of linear TV. In-depth news coverage is again gaining in importance. R&S®SpycerNode media storage is widely used in this field. It supports the smooth broadcast operations that are urgently needed in times of crisis. That includes clips, graphics, image processing as well as live streaming, remote productions and other virtual events that are currently taking place more and more frequently.

R&S®SpycerNode and the New World Symphony

Efficient storage architectures are also increasingly in demand for classical orchestral music. Such architectures provide integrated support and automate the concert-recording-to-digital-archiving cycle. A good example is the collaboration between the New World Symphony in Miami and Rohde & Schwarz. The renowned concert hall and academy for musicians has equipped its newly installed 4K UHD video system with the R&S®SpycerNode storage solution.

High-resolution, dynamic and collaborative

R&S®SpycerNode has been specifically designed for the capacity and bandwidth requirements of the media industry. It is ideal for a concert hall such as the New World Symphony: America's largest orchestral academy was designed by architect Frank Gehry and enjoys worldwide recognition. It is unique in many ways – definitely in terms of its technical equipment.

The New World Symphony has invested six million dollars in its new 4K UHD video system. Both the interior and exterior of the concert hall were designed to inspire visitors. The concert hall also serves as an academy to teach musicians on site – and online, which is particularly important in current times. The New World Symphony's high-tech equipment includes twelve 4K UHD cameras inside the concert hall. The adjoining park is equipped with 160 loudspeakers to offer visitors an impressive open-air experience. Images of the orchestra are projected onto the New World Center's exterior projection wall. This striking feature allows up to 1,000 additional spectators to watch the concerts outdoors – free of charge and even in casual attire such as shorts and T-shirts.

A project close to people's hearts

"R&S®SpycerNode is extremely flexible," explains Erik Balladares, VP Sales, Broadcast & Media at Rohde & Schwarz. "Our team collaborated closely to tailor the storage infrastructure to the wishes of the New World Symphony. It was clearly a project close to people's hearts on both sides."

From live concerts to training, recording, post production and archiving, R&S®SpycerNode is deeply involved in all of the concert hall's projects. The New World Symphony has immense storage requirements. Huge data volumes need to be processed and efficiently managed. Two versions of every New World Symphony production are archived: an unedited version and a version with graphics and text. High-resolution images and online training courses are also stored in the archive.

R&S®SpycerNode: A prelude to a digital future

Due to the coronavirus crisis, there will be no more live concerts during the current season. However, the New World Symphony will provide content, curate concert streaming and open its concert archive to the public. A highlight of the program is a series that enhances archived recordings with new contributions from guest artists and faculty members.

The illustrious music lab owes its name New World Symphony to Antonín Dvořák. The Czech composer experienced the industrial revolution and how it changed the world. Dvořák's symphony "From the New World" at first sounded strange and then exciting – and it immortalized him. When astronaut Neil Armstrong traveled to the moon, he took a recording of the New World Symphony with him. Today, we are once again at the gateway to a new world – solutions such as R&S®SpycerNode support the digital transformation and make this world possible in the first place.

Safeguarding the cultural heritage

But looking back is also immensely valuable for future generations. The analog film history has to be transitioned into the digital era without overlooking the cultural treasures of the past. More and more cultural nations are taking on the demanding task of restoring and archiving their valuable film heritage. Images are being rescanned in high resolution; color spaces and contrasts are being recoded. In many cases, R&S®SpycerNode is part of this important process. The future needs memories – especially as we head for new worlds.