About CrossFit
Producing a high-quality, low latency live broadcast of any large live event is a significant undertaking and the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games proved to be no exception. For this year’s event, CP Communications and Lange Productions leveraged Haivision technology to ensure the successful broadcast contribution and distribution of live video during the course of the games.
The premier competition in the sport of CrossFit, this year’s games were held over six days in August in Madison, Wisconsin, welcoming nearly 450 elite athletes from 42 countries. One of the fastest-growing sports in the past decade, millions of viewers worldwide watched athletes compete in a series of events for the title, “Fittest on Earth.”
“We distributed to many different partners this year, between international feeds, a major sports broadcaster, and social media channels. What blew my mind was the transmission team’s ability to quickly and easily adapt the technology we selected to accommodate the needs of each distribution channel.”
Mike Roth
TV Director, HRP-Live contracted for the Games by CrossFit, LLC.
The Challenge
Efficiently transmitting feeds from the event site while operating within strict bandwidth constraints was the main challenge presented to Michael Lange of Lange Productions, who was charged with the distribution of live event feeds to distribution partners.
Michael Lange, a key player in this endeavor, emphasized the importance of flexibility when designing the transmission pipeline: “The main challenge was to distribute high-quality, low latency feeds from the site to all the distribution partners with the constraints of the bandwidth we had. The biggest challenge was the ability to adapt to workflow changes to accommodate new distribution partners up until 24 hours prior to the event. We had to create a workflow that was flexible and scalable enough to let us make those changes on the fly should we need to. And thankfully, we had the tried and tested Haivision video solutions on hand to do the job.”
The adaptability and reliability that Makito X4 video encoders provided proved to be instrumental in successfully tackling the challenge of live broadcast distribution, even amidst the most demanding circumstances.
The Solution
In the live broadcast of the CrossFit Games, CP Communications supplied the essential OB trailer and RF video equipment. Haivision solutions were pivotal in the transmission of the live footage to key distribution partners, including a leading sports network and CrossFit’s own live streaming and social media platforms. In the expert hands of Michael Lange, Owner and Cloud Architect at Lange Productions, two Haivision Makito X4 video encoders, coupled with a streaming hub software, were used to send both 1080p and 720p outputs from the same channel, providing a failsafe system with primary and backup encoders. A third feed was used to manage simultaneous competitions at different venues, while different feeds were tailored for partners with SCTE markers and a variety of audio and video configurations for distribution to partners.
The flexibility provided by Haivision’s encoders allowed for easy accommodation of additional distribution needs, including a backup transmission path over IP for the last-minute addition of a major broadcaster, showcasing the adaptability and power of Haivision Makito X4s in action.
The Result
“We distributed to many different partners this year, between international feeds, a major sports broadcaster, and social media channels. What blew my mind was the transmission team’s ability to quickly and easily adapt the technology we selected to accommodate the needs of each distribution channel,” said Mike Roth, TV Director, HRP-Live contracted for the Games by CrossFit, LLC.
The result of the broadcast distribution solution for the 2023 CrossFit Games was a resounding success. The flexible workflow and, more specifically, the transmission pipeline, effectively met the challenge of distributing feeds within constrained bandwidth to diverse partners, showcasing the capabilities of the Makito X4 encoders. Haivision’s tried-and-trusted encoders not only allowed reliable, high-quality, low latency live broadcasts throughout but also seamlessly managed unexpected last-minute changes and overflow scenarios.
