Due to the heightened popularity and massive growth within the eSports industry, Tencent China and Riot Games recently joined forces to create Asia’s first large-scale eSports remote production centre, TJ Sports.

As the eSports industry continues to expand worldwide, production companies are looking to streamline operator workflow. Providing a technologically advanced, yet simple-to-operate control solution, TJ Sports selected TSL Products’ TallyMan Advanced Broadcast Control System to accomplish the management of large-scale video switchers, audio mixers and the AV matrix for its events.

“TSL enables us to produce more events that are more intensive and complex,” says Zhang Xuming, head of broadcast technology planning at TJ Sports. “The TSL TallyMan controller greatly reduces execution risk during production while improving the overall operator experience, and its price to performance ratio is extremely attractive. With TSL’s TallyMan, we have successfully accomplished off-site control of remote network production for major international events.”

With more teams, venues and cities involved in eSports, as well as an increase in overseas competitions, TJ Sports requires an advanced, centralized control system to carry out high-quality, telecast productions across multiple venues. With this multi-venue production workflow, flexibility of resource allocation and access to control are among TJ Sports’ top priorities when it comes to product selection.

In order to capture the live venue and the virtual gaming ecosystem, eSports productions have to manage both aspects to provide balanced coverage of the event. Unique to eSports is the Observer role, which is essentially the game director, that works with the program director to help guide the event and production in identifying in-game highlights and ideal slow-motion moments. This results in a large number of production signals. With a complex broadcast control system, these signals can be more easily managed for a seamless event.

With TSL’s TallyMan, TJ Sports can host centralized scheduling and control over the entire signal path throughout its studio complex, which includes five studios, five control rooms, the core server room and multiple specialized eSports function rooms. TJ Sports relies on the system’s controller and virtual panels (TMVP) for dependable control throughout the 3,550-square meter facility.

Simultaneously, the system carries out centralized tally management as well as some personalized items throughout the broadcast process. By allowing for the advanced scheduling of signal pre-sets, TSL’s TallyMan streamlines operator workflow and optimizes on-site event management during production. The system also allows for control across third-party AV equipment at the facility, while matching the remote production of off-site network control.

“In addition, the TallyMan virtual panel provides a complete software control interface and intelligently drew out a two-story floor-based floor plan across the entire production center,” adds Xuming. “TSL is able to hide the complexity of the underlying system so that operators can always focus on producing great content.”

With the help of TSL, TJ Sports was able to remotely produce the 2020 League of Heroes Mid-season Cup (MSC) through innovative strategy and efficient team collaboration. The competition attracted eight professional teams from the Chinese LPL and South Korea's LCK and was the world’s first remote production event to be broadcast in venues in different countries.