NFL Superbowl standouts The Philadelphia Eagles talk us through the play call that revolutionized the way they are seen and heard.
Needing a new game plan for its AV system, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles tackled the future head on.
A major upgrade of the Eagles’ 20-year-old stadium led to a re-evaluation of the outdated legacy AV offer.
“The system was traditionally serviced by a large HDMI matrix but the system was reaching the end of its life and it was time for us to build a future-proof solution,” said David Sullivan, Broadcast and AV Engineer for the Eagles. “It was important we found a solution to distribute high-definition and 4K video through both buildings, including meeting rooms, training spaces, auditoriums and premium spaces like the club level suites.”
In August 2003, the Eagles Lincoln Financial Field stadium opened for visitors. Since that grand opening, the Eagles have invested in major upgrades included seating expansion, two new HD video boards, upgraded amenities, Wi-Fi and two new connecting bridges for upper levels.
The upgrades put AV in the frame.
Sullivan said: “We explored an IP-based solution to create a future-proof system. The goal was to leverage a network-based solution, provide greater flexibility and lower our troubleshooting calls. We were led to Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series due to their tight integration with QSC Q-SYS. We were incredibly excited to deploy our first PacketAV Encoder and Decoders in the meeting rooms and training rooms. Although, both are very high-value spaces for us. The football operations primarily use the meeting rooms and training rooms, so we required a seamless integration.”
Visionary’s IP video technology provides flexible, scalable and reliable solutions suitable for large-scale installations. An IP-based solution enables the end-user to monitor and control remotely using an IP network as the system’s backbone.
“Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series paired with QSC’s Q-SYS platform provides us with a peace of mind that the video is coming into the system and being distributed to the display,” said Sullivan.
“With a traditional fixed HDMI matrix solution, you have no monitoring capability unless you’re in the room. Visionary’s IP-based solution enables us to sit in our office in a different zip code and pull up any stream from any room and quality control the signal. We can state with confidence that the video is leaving the decoder and going to the display or a number of displays.”
The Eagles’ initial success with Visionary led to a significant expansion in the project’s scope. Sullivan said: “We started with a few training rooms and we’re finalizing a large-scale replacement where we have phased out every single large-frame video matrix and replaced it with Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series. We are utilizing Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series to distribute video through our training facility and stadium.”
Sullivan said: “We integrated Visionary’s PackeTV AVN series H.264 IPTV Encoders to distribute local video feeds from the scoreboard, production and television truck to the stadium suites. There are 1,400 HD television endpoints in the stadium complex. The televisions were initially integrated in 2014, therefore, the system had higher latency and lower picture quality. The PackeTV AVN Series H.264 IPTV encoders provided a solution to update our existing infrastructure and provide a solution with lower latency and higher video quality. We were transitioning to 1080p and required an encoder that could handle 1080p. The PackeTV AVN series H.264 IPTV encoders created a reliable solution to distribute time-aligned video between each display in the stadium suites.”
Visionary’s PackeTV IPTV ecosystem, including the PackeTV AVN Series H.264 IPTV Encoder, is a modular, end-to-end solution for any organization. It is designed to deliver and manage real-time and recorded video over virtually any network. The PackeTV AVN Series H.264 IPTV Encoder transforms live video sources into full-screen, full resolution, Internet Protocol Digital Video, compatible with multicast, webcast and video-on-demand protocols.
Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series has provided the Eagles with a new level of flexibility. “During COVID-19, we had to relocate and reconfigure the traditional meeting space,” said Sullivan. “We cleared an entire building floor. It was originally cubicles, but we turned the floor into a large meeting room because those individuals were staying at home. We took one encoder from the auditorium and sent it to 10 decoders across different rooms within the building. Traditionally, it would require a large AV integration and a significant investment. With Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series, we could repurpose Ethernet connections and add a few displays to create a new meeting space. Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series, paired with QSC Q-SYS, is the Swiss Army Knife of AV integration.”
Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series provides powerful cinema-quality, ultra-low latency video resolutions while bypassing the constraints of traditional switch matrix distribution systems. The final result is a system that performs flawlessly. “We were concerned the coaches would notice a difference in quality, compression and latency between the HDMI and IP-based solutions,” said Sullivan. “The football coaches are using a handheld trigger and they are expecting an immediate response when they press play. Immediately, we realized Visionary’s IP solution paired with a capable network was able to handle this type of bandwidth. Overall, the end-user experience has been really great.”
A unique value-add for Visionary’s customers is their personalized customer service. “Compared to similar solutions, Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series is very cost effective – but the true selling point of their technology is their customer service,” said Sullivan. “Their in-house customer support and the breadth of technical knowledge from their team is unparalleled. If you inquire about technical support, you are immediately connected to a knowledgeable person. When you’re working in the NFL you normally don’t have a lot of time. We’re wearing many hats, but, if something is broken we are responsible for getting the system up and running. We’ve found Visionary’s customer support to be incredibly helpful.”
Sullivan said: “Visionary has a great view of the industry. They understand the future of audio and video technology. We’re really excited about the future of Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series. The latest addition with Bluetooth-enabled Wall Plate Encoders has been an exciting development for us. We are integrating Visionary’s new Wall Plate Encoders as a reliable, future-proof solution.”
