NEP Group chooses the new modular Sony MLS-X1 Live Switcher

NEP Group has become the first organisation to purchase GTC Sponsor, Sony’s new MLS-X1 Live Switchers. It has purchased over 20 MLS-X1 units for use in their NEP Andrews Production Hub in Sydney, Australia. The MLS-X1 stood out for its modular and effective approach and is a key element of Sony Networked Live ecosystem which helps productions take full advantage of resources in high-quality mission critical live situations through connected hybrid on-premises and Cloud capabilities.

NEP’s SVP Technology, Marc Segar, says:

NEP has a long and successful history of using Sony switchers and an extraordinarily strong relationship with Sony overall. When the possibilities of the MLS-X1 switcher were outlined to us, we decided that this would be ideal for our current and future requirements. As a result of more in-depth discussions with Sony at IBC, we were invited to Sony HQ in Japan to see a pre-production unit and spend time with the product designers so we could fully understand the new system, how to deploy it in our environment and the benefits it would provide to us and our production partners.

Anthony Kable, CCS Group Manager, Sony Australia says:

We have been working with NEP for a long time, across its different operations worldwide and it is always a pleasure to see how forward thinking and agile the organisation is. When we developed the MLS-X1, NEP was exactly the type of company we knew would embrace it and see its possibilities. We are very happy to see our new switchers selected for this next phase of NEP’s development and would like to thank them for their collaboration and trust in us.

The MLS-X1 is a modular switcher system that, by using Sony’s unique ‘scalable’ architecture, enables multiple units to be connected and the system expanded as required. Thus, the resources for the switcher can also be divided up and used as multiple virtual switchers in a single physical system. According to a production’s needs, the necessary number of units can be selected and configured, and users can easily add additional units for temporary or special, large-scale events.

The new MLS-X1 units will set up in NEP Andrews Production Hub in Sydney, Australia, with the signals from remote locations across the country, such as sports stadiums, sent back to the hub across an IP network. The signals will then be switched by the MLS-X1s with the production staff operating the units at the hub itself.