Lord’s Cricket Ground adopts Exterity IP Video and Digital Signage for world class spectator experience
Exterity today announced that its integrated IP video and digital signage solution has been selected by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)’s Lord’s Cricket Ground, widely recognised as the “Home of Cricket”. The deployment of the Exterity system is part of a multi-year redevelopment to help Lord’s maintain its position as the most prestigious ground in the world at which to watch and play cricket.
In May 2017, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opened the new £25 million state-of-the-art Warner Stand. With a capacity of 2,656, the striking new stand has been designed to deliver an enhanced spectator experience for members and their guests, and includes a significant upgrade to catering and entertainment facilities.
As part of the upgrade, Lord’s selected a complete, end-to-end Exterity IP video and digital signage solution to deliver high-quality live TV and digital signage throughout the stand, including bar and catering areas, as well as the match control facility. The solution was deployed by leading systems integrator RTS, working closely with the Technology Department at Lord’s.
Mike MacDonald, Technical Operations Manager at MCC, said: “One of the main reasons we chose Exterity was that we could get the entire solution from a single vendor. Exterity products are plug-and-play, easy to install, incredibly robust and centrally managed through a single panel of glass. I have also been very impressed by the level of service and support I have received from both RTS and Exterity and look forward to a ground-wide IPTV expansion in the future.”
Exterity AvediaStream HDCP Encoders securely deliver content-protected live Sky and BT Sports channels – which include live cricket matches – to screens around the Warner Stand, J.P. Morgan Media Centre and new scorers’ box, ensuring viewers never miss a second of the action. Lord’s also records non-televised county cricket matches: live camera feeds are fed into an existing RF system which are in turn captured by an Exterity AvediaStream TVgateway and streamed as channels over the IP network. The single TVgateway blade also delivers all UK Freeview channels.
Exterity ArtioSign digital signage solution – which is integrated into every Exterity AvediaServer and AvediaPlayer Media Player – is used in the bar, catering areas and the lobby to display drink menus and pricing, sponsors’ adverts, and to promote Lord’s Shop and cricket store merchandise on match days. ArtioSign is also used to create personalised, branded signage screens for meetings and conferences held on non-match days.
Asked about the importance of content protection for venues, Stuart Moore, Managing Director at RTS, said: “The customer wanted to ensure they were HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant and Exterity represented the obvious choice with its integrated, end-to-end HDCP solutions. Flexible and scalable, the Exterity IPTV system can also easily be expanded to the other stands as the ground redevelopment progresses. The team at Lord’s pre-configured the network for IPTV in advance of installation so everything was very straightforward.”
Colin Farquhar, CEO at Exterity, added: “We are delighted that our IP video and digital signage solution is helping to create an immersive fan experience at a world-class sporting institution such as Lord’s. Being equipped with the latest content protection solutions also ensures that they can meet the content industry’s stringent security requirements, something that will only increase in importance as the quality of video continues to improve.”
Owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Lord’s is also home to Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the European Cricket Council, as well as one of the world’s oldest sporting museums.
Exterity will showcase their solutions at TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit on 28-29 November 2017 in Barcelona.
