Fox Sports leverages OpenDrives to deliver next-generation computing

Leverage OpenDrives’ simplified and scalable solution for a transformative speed and content delivery experience; accelerates performance while reducing physical footprint

Scales NASCAR and NFL technologies for Qatar 2022 to optimize workflow efficiency across 90 simultaneous camera streams and seamlessly reach over 1 billion viewers globally

LOS ANGELES, November 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of hyper-scalable and software-driven storage solutions, today announced that its next-generation computing architecture has been implemented by Fox Sports for its biggest events, including NASCAR and NFL, and will be deployed for Qatar 2022 and events through 2024. OpenDrives combines flexible and scalable software solutions with high performance hardware to solve the complex challenges that live broadcasters face with new formats, environments and technologies.

“Consolidation of hardware and software systems is becoming more and more crucial with every camera we add to the field and every system or equipment evolution, whether it’s the rapid switch to IP or the rise. in high dynamic range (HDR) and 8K formats, ”said Kevin Callahan, vice president. field operations and engineering at Fox Sports. “This has created a huge demand for data transfer to ensure Fox Sports continues to provide the best possible viewing experience. OpenDrives’ efficient and flexible software and hardware solutions have proven to be essential in helping Fox Sports achieve this goal. “

OpenDrives provides a modular and portable system with turnkey installation to dramatically reduce complexity, physical footprint and installation time. A traditional architecture takes days or weeks to set up while the OpenDrives solution can be up and running in less than an hour. Using standard open IP-based protocols, OpenDrives integrates with leading providers of broadcast technology and data solutions, including CMSI, EVS, Western Digital, Signiant, Google, Aspera, and Arista, to serve as a centralized hub for powering seamless on-site connections and real-time access to content.

“OpenDrives offers a much smaller footprint with less hardware and cabling than existing infrastructure systems with an intuitive workflow interface that can be deployed and accessed by our product teams at any time, whether from our “Vault” based in Los Angeles or across the world since on the sidelines, ”Callahan added. “Every square inch and every millisecond counts. With OpenDrives and the powerful ecosystem it powers, we’re able to maximize all of this for superior performance and hassle-free streaming transfer.

OpenDrives has successfully powered advanced systems for some of Fox Sports’ biggest live streaming events including NASCAR, NFL, Golf US Open Golf Tournaments and more. Recently, for NASCAR 2021, Fox Sports was able to map and convert their entire archive for NASCAR with a transfer rate three times faster than their previous systems. Fox Sports leveraged OpenDrives Ultimate hardware for the 2021-22 NFL season to deploy all-flash NVMe transfer kits, quadrupling read / write speeds while halving rack space and the overall size.

OpenDrives has proven both the concept and the performance required for Fox Sports to evolve the IT architecture to support Qatar 2022, which is expected to be one of the biggest events in live streaming history. Fox Sports will broadcast more than 90 simultaneous camera feeds, all shot in HDR, covering four games per day at eight stadiums geographically 75 kilometers apart.

“OpenDrives solutions are designed by M&E industry veterans and the individual needs of our M&E clients. In fact, the OpenDrives Ultra series was created for broadcast to provide shared storage systems that both scale and scale to individual capacities and performance requirements for live streaming with a form factor. much smaller, ”said Sean Lee, chief strategy officer at OpenDrives.

“But it’s more than hardware,” added Lee. “It’s about taking a software approach to storage technology and being able to work with a valuable ecosystem of partners like CMSI, Signiant and Aspera. Together, we have made significant advances in containerization and computation.

OpenDrives and Fox Sports discussed these abilities at an intimate event in Los Angeles on November 17, where they or they announced how Fox Sports leveraged OpenDrives for Qatar 2022 and beyond:

“The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be our biggest effort yet. We’re talking about 80 different live streams at a minimum of 1080p to 50p HDR, not to mention UHD. The amount of content is getting bigger and bigger. We have feeds coming into Doha and publishers over 8,000 miles from Los Angeles producing, editing and composing the graphics.

“Real-time media access is essential. We need to have the ability to move content back and forth down to the millisecond. Qatar.”

“This is a critical time for Fox Sports – we are broadcasting two of the biggest events in the world which are just six weeks apart with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022 and Super Bowl LVII in February. 2023. We will use the same OpenDrives system for both events and plan to implement the system for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia / New Zealand and 2024 UEFA â„¢ European Football Championship.

Sean Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenDrives, joined Callahan on stage during the November 17 panel, adding:

“By integrating containerized compute into the data storage ecosystem in addition to a small and dense hardware form factor, customers are able to gain physical efficiency and reduce workflow complexity. “

“We are ushering in next-generation IT infrastructure for a new era of live streaming. We couldn’t be more ready and excited to propel Fox Sports events to Qatar in 2022 and beyond. ”

For more information on OpenDrives, visit opendrives.com, and to download the Fox Sports success story, visit opendrives / customer-stories / fox-sports.

About OpenDrive
OpenDrives, Inc. is a global provider of enterprise-grade, hyper-scalable network attached storage (NAS) solutions. Founded in 2011 by media and entertainment post-production professionals, OpenDrives is designed for the most demanding workflows, from Hollywood to healthcare, businesses large and small. OpenDrives provides the best performing solutions to meet individual performance needs, even for the most robust, complex and critical projects, on premise and in the cloud. OpenDrives is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. To learn more about OpenDrives, visit opendrives.com.

Media contact:
Lindsey Henn
l.henn@opendrives.com