OPTOCORE PROVIDES COMMS NETWORKS FOR COP21 CLIMATE CONFERENCE

COP21 (2015 Paris Climate Conference) was recently held at the Paris-Le Bourget Conference Centre. With 196 nations represented, the summit set out to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. AV France, host broadcaster for the event, was tasked with supplying live pool feeds to television and radio broadcasters and journalists. The company chose the Optocore solution to help create two distinct digital networks. Around 156 Optocore devices were utilised to create a stable fibre backbone for signal transport to ensure audio and other data streams were delivered reliably and with minimum latency to a variety of destinations.

The first of the two networks allowed AV France to provide the television and radio audio signal to the press. The second allowed connection of the OB vans and advanced SNG trucks that could live stream video, play out reports over satellite and record all the signals. Locations included two Plenary rooms and the Press Centre, which incorporated three press conference rooms and 44 Stand-Up positions. SNG vehicles or Flyaway Dishes were available to journalists — set within 200m of the IBC (International Broadcast Centre).

The Optocore networks were constructed around a series of DD32R-FX AES3 I/O devices, offering 32 AES ports with SANE and Ethernet, and X6R-FX converters. Also deployed were DD2FR-FX Network MADI I/O devices, offering 128 fibre MADI I/O channels with SANE and Ethernet.

The system in the Master Control Room (MCR) was fed to the various audio cabins via fibre and MADI, while the Yamaha digital mixing desks were equipped with 16-channel Optocore I/O mini YGDAI expansion cards and dedicated Yamaha SANE Interface I/O Y3R-TP cards (converting to Optocore’s SANE Cat5 protocol).

The 180,000sqm of space at at the Conference Centre was divided into different zones, all of which had to operate 24/7 over the two weeks of the Conference. This required a fully redundant system. “We provided all site flow visuals to the Centre using Optocore for 4-wire intercom signal distribution between the 44 press Stand-Up positions and 44 NSE OB’s,” said Ghislain Leclere, Head of Sound. This represented 176 audio I/O channels distributed in four zones over distances of 100 to 800m each.

“We also supplied audio distribution of eight audio signals to five media conference rooms over distances of 50m-100m. This represented 24 audio-in channels, distributed to the 37 press cabins.”

AV France first discovered the benefits of Optocore optical fibre after using it for the 70th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings at Ouistreham in June 2015. When COP21 came around, the company again favoured Optocore, knowing it would feed the system with a redundant signal and had minimal latency.

The scale of this global event, under the gaze of the international media, demanded careful organisation and skilled technical teams who could keep the system running 24/7. AV France carried out its mission successfully after overcoming a number of challenges typical of an event this size.

“The application of the Optocore network perfectly met our needs and our clients were 100% satisfied with the service we provided. The system’s functionality was such that it required very little intervention on our part. It proved really stable and reliable, working non-stop over the entire two week duration of COP21, and was a pleasure to work with,” concluded Mr Leclere.

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