Revolutionizing global event production with NDI

Organizing a large-scale event with a worldwide presence is no easy task. This was the challenge MMG Events tackled when they were assigned the job of producing a four-day diversity and inclusion festival for the insurance industry. The event, spanning 26 countries and reaching over 60,000 participants, was built around NDI technology. MMG Events crafted a solution that was not only highly reliable and flexible but also incredibly innovative, exceeding all expectations.

Ryan Majchrowski, CEO of MMG Events, faced an extraordinary challenge: producing 150 hybrid and virtual sessions that spanned four days and ran around the clock. Each session needed to be live-streamed across six concurrent channels and made available on-demand within minutes. This involved coordinating AV teams across 26 countries, requiring extensive signal testing and onboarding to integrate hybrid and virtual elements seamlessly.

Adding to the complexity, MMG had to prepare over 600 presenters for their virtual appearances, ensuring they were comfortable with the environment and technology. With an audience of over 60,000 attendees, the event required impeccable reliability, stable connectivity, and robust redundancy to prevent any potential disruptions.

“Live only happens once – redundancy is key,” emphasized Ryan, guiding MMG Events’ approach to ensuring every layer of the production was secure, scalable, and adaptable to the demands of such a dynamic event.

Innovative solutions

MMG Events tackled these complex challenges with a carefully crafted workflow centered around NDI technology. They spent months planning and conducting comprehensive onboarding programs for AV teams and presenters, which included video content and live testing sessions to optimize signal flows well before the event. By utilizing the Cvent platform as an endpoint, they ensured that all live sessions were instantly available. Meanwhile, a dedicated editing team worked behind the scenes to quickly replace the initial recordings with fully edited content.

During the event, MMG deployed over 200 NDI signals across their network, providing exceptional flexibility and allowing signals to be redirected anywhere within the studio. Monitoring was centralized using NDI Studio Monitor, combined with Atomos Shogun screens to display extended desktops. BirdDog Flex with Atomos Ninjas were used as reference monitors, and proactive monitoring enabled the project manager to follow onboarding processes, watch streams go live, and address technical issues before they could disrupt the live event.

Signal transmission from the hybrid London hub featured multiple layers of redundancy, including primary transmission via the Atomos Shogun over cloud-based SRT, a backup path through Microsoft Teams, and a failover system with pre-configured Atomos devices ready to take over streaming if needed.

The team also used Atomos Ninja Ultra devices to encode and pass through NDI signals, allowing real-time validation of signal quality while ensuring smooth processing. Combined with triple-layer backups for internet and power, MMG built a rock-solid production environment capable of handling any challenge.

Remarkable results

This workflow showcased how NDI can enhance flexible products. Atomos monitors, such as those from the Ninja and Shogun lines, are typically used in filmmaking studios. However, they can also function as NDI encoders or decoders, confidence monitors, or even visual signal testers. These monitors were well-equipped to meet MMG’s specific requirements for a live stream of this scale.

The event concluded with outstanding success. Of the 150 sessions produced, only two encountered minor technical issues, both of which were resolved within seconds. All live sessions were made available for on-demand viewing within minutes, ensuring attendees could access content without delay.

Client feedback underscored MMG’s exceptional delivery: “Our experience with MMG was seamless from start to finish. MMG was extremely organized and proactive, providing clear directions and prompt support throughout. Their responsiveness made a significant difference in our collaboration.”

“NDI is one of the most significant technology changes for AV production. It’s a game-changer for delivering seamless, global events.”

Beyond the glowing endorsements, MMG’s approach provided tangible benefits. With triple-layer backups for power, internet, and signal paths, the redundancy-driven reliability ensured uninterrupted performance. The event achieved near-perfect uptime, with only two sessions encountering minor issues, both swiftly resolved. Additionally, the rapid turnaround enabled on-demand content to be available within minutes of each session’s conclusion.

Ryan summed up the impact of their approach: “NDI is one of the most significant technology changes in the last decade for AV production. It’s a game-changer for delivering seamless, global events.”