The restrictions put in place due to COVID-19 have meant broadcasters and production companies have had to change the fundamental way they work.
The restrictions put in place due to Covid-19 have meant broadcasters and production companies have had to change the fundamental way they work.
The shift from an office-based to home-based environment has created an incredible demand for high-quality contributions from people around the world who traditionally would have attended studios. For companies such as Quicklink, an innovator in video-over-IP solutions, this has generated unprecedented opportunities.
“Quicklink has experienced an incredible growth period over the last few months,” Richard Rees, CEO of Quicklink, tells Videstream. “We have seen a huge demand from our traditional broadcast customers who have found themselves in a position where they were not able to have guests in their studios. This has been a large sector of growth for us.”
With Quicklink’s ST55 solution, broadcasters can easily receive contributions from users using a regular web browser on a desktop or mobile device – no software or apps required.
Where a professionally managed, high-quality interview is required, the ST500 (Studio-in-a-box) is an all-in-one, compact and rugged solution that includes an inbuilt Panasonic PTZ camera, lighting, monitor and audio device. The ST500 is designed to be extremely user friendly for non-technical users and can be controlled remotely from any global location using just a web browser.
“There has also been growth from the production sector where events are not able to take place and people are not able to attend. As a result, production companies have had to reimagine productions and adopted Quicklink to bring attendees/speakers into their events,” Richard added.
“There has also been a shift with our Corporate customers who were using traditional video conferencing systems but are now requiring higher quality with the Quicklink broadcast solutions. Where we thought of people as traditional broadcasters this is no longer the case; now every corporate has become or is becoming a broadcaster in their own right.”
Quicklink solutions have been used in a number of ways by different organisations to ensure that broadcasts can continue to go ahead. Ultimately, the primary demand is bringing in high-quality contributions using Quicklink, as opposed to traditional video conferencing systems which compromise on the quality and ease of use.
A recent example of this was the use of the Quicklink TX by oXyFire Media to remotely produce FreeSports’ Rugby League Back Chat programme, when the usual studio-based production was not able to take place amid COVID-19. Jay Rozanski, Creative Director at oXyFire Media commented “[Quicklink] allowed us to provide episodes where shortly before we had been resigned to the prospect of cancelling an entire series. And so well received was this show we have gone on to make one each week throughout the lockdown which is something any number of sport shows have not been able to achieve.”
With no real end in sight for Covid restrictions, Richard also believes this will be a permanent industry change. “I think that the way the world works has changed forever – this is a moment in history. If you look back through the centuries there is always a large change in the world which drives a change in society, I believe this is going to drive a shift towards home and remote working.”
“People have now been moved to home working and equipped with the tools and technology to do so. I believe there will not be a return to a working office environment like we have seen prior to the pandemic. This is the new world, so yes I believe that moving forward there will be a paramount shift towards a new way of working and a new way of communicating, in which Quicklink will be at the forefront , as we have been for many years.”
To find out more about Quicklink solutions, please visit www.quicklink.tv.