Live production director Toby Santos equips the live control room inside his studio with AJA Corvid 88 video/audio PCIe I/O card to produce and stream professional content remotely.
Director Toby Santos, based in Los Angeles, specialises in live production, bringing experience ranging from news and sports to corporate events and music performances.
For him, the faster pace of live production today has led to a merging of technical and creative roles as workflows rapidly evolve, and he finds that shows need to be structured differently, from planning and preparation stages through to the final product. He is now able to adopt a hybrid approach, combining technical direction with production and streaming in one workflow.
Seizing a Live Opportunity
These changes arose partly from the hiatus in traditional production in 2020, when Toby seized the opportunity to build a live control room inside his home studio as a way to meet demand from past collaborators. The set-up enabled him to produce and stream professional live content remotely. A central component of his workflow is the AJA Corvid 88 video/audio PCIe I/O card, and since then he has continued to use the device in portable production setups.
"For six months, I took an essential role in producing several different Viacom shows out of my house,” he said. “I helped direct, record and manage graphics and logging for seven shows through my control room and two other control rooms for MTV and BET. I also contributed to managing two live broadcasts for BET, and recording PSAs for CBS.
"I needed a rock solid I/O device that could handle multiple SDI feeds, integrate with vMix, stay in sync with no latency issues and deliver a reliable output to my recorders. Corvid 88 delivered that and more, which is why it's now an integral part of my portable production flypacks."
Adapting to Demand
Using Corvid, producers can expand on their video and audio I/O capacity, individually configuring each SDI connection input or output. In other words, each BNC connection on Corvid 88 can be set programmatically as either an input or output and each can support a different video format, as long as all formats use the same clock timing.
It is possible to mix formats for up to eight channels on a single card. When moving up to higher resolutions, SDI connections can be combined for multiple 4K/UltraHD channels, giving developers scope to adapt to modern playout and ingest servers.
Working either in his home studio or on site, Toby receives incoming signals via decoders, which are converted to SDI and routed through a Corvid 88 for real-time processing inside vMix live streaming software. The card is also used to output the signal to his recorder. Whether he needs to record, switch or output feeds for live delivery, the card helps manage complex productions with the required flexibility and stability.
Clean Consistent Signal Handling
"Corvid 88 gives me clean, consistent signal handling," he said. "It's the backbone of my system, and I can adapt quickly, even mid-show, because it is so versatile."
Although in-person productions have resumed, Toby continues to work from his home setup for remote audio and technical roles on large-scale shows. "We're in an age where producers are also stream engineers, and directors must assume multiple roles,” he said. "The lines are blurring, and having equipment like Corvid 88 in my toolkit makes it easier to stay ahead without affecting output quality."
As he considers the future, he sees a need to blend new tools with familiar, tested approaches. He reflected, "The key is balance. New workflows are exciting, but you still need gear that won't let you down. AJA gives me that peace of mind." www.aja.com
