GDQ adopted Dante AV to simplify and modernise the AV operations for its gaming shows, presented live and on Twitch using a scalable, reliable system that is straightforward to use.
Games Done Quick (GDQ) works between the competitive gaming industry and fundraising for charity. They hold semi-annual speedrunning style marathons for gamers that attract donations for causes like the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders, and so far have raised more than $50 million.
Their team delivers live GDQ competitions from hotel ballrooms as real-time Twitch streams viewed by millions. “Our primary show needs to serve both an online audience, streamed on Twitch.tv, and an in-person audience at a hotel ballroom,” Jason Deng, Director of Technology at GDQ said. “We also deliver CCTV so that anyone staying at the hotel can watch the event on their in-room TVs.” Meanwhile, each marathon runs continuously 24 hours a day through an entire week.
Dual Delivery Workflow
The team has refined a custom events workflow to cover all details. However, managing the required processes to work together has not always been straightforward. Their dual-delivery setup, combined with GDQ’s reliance on volunteers to manage critical AV workflows, created challenges that not all equipment is designed to address, as the team has discovered.
Adopting Dante AV networked video systems, developed by Audinate, has helped GDQ to simplify and specialise their workflows. Earlier on, GDQ had used a complex mixture of video specifications and connectivity standards that demanded significant resources and effort to manage. For video transmission, for instance, their main solution brought certain limitations.
“With NDI, we needed to set up a PC in the ballroom and another PC to capture the signal at the hotel’s CCTV location,” Jason said. This configuration required multiple devices and technicians, and it was prone to signal degradation and artefacts if there were any network disruptions.
GDQ had also experimented with connectivity options such as HDBaseT but, as Jason noted, “We had problems if the signal had to hop through network switches.” A hop traverses one portion of the network path between the information sender, or transmitter, and the receiver, and must be accurate. The complexity of laying out SDI cabling further compounded the challenges in physical setups, particularly in tight or difficult-to-access areas.
These limitations, combined with the need for relatively simple, reliable systems that volunteers could manage, showed the need for a more robust solution.
Managing Latency and Video Quality with Dante AV
Using Dante AV systems is especially useful where latency and video quality are critical, as well as where cost effectiveness, rapid time to market, compatibility and flexibility are the goal. Tailored to meet different OEM design requirements, it means end customers can choose products that suit their applications and budget.
Dante AV supports interoperability between manufacturers of products using the same video codec, and results in audio channels that are immediately compatible with the thousands of Dante-enabled audio products. It can be installed on standard 1 GbE networking infrastructure and, because audio, video and ancillary channel routing remain independent, signal routing is very flexible.
GDQ had worked previously with Dante for its audio networking, and this experience made the transition to Dante AV easier. “Most of our audio flow already ran through the Dante platform, so we were quite used to that system,” Jason said. Then when the opportunity arose to incorporate Dante AV, GDQ could deploy a solution that simplified their video workflow by a large margin, needing only a single AJA Dante AV 4K-T transmitter in the ballroom with a Dante AV 4K-R receiver in the hotel’s consumption area.
When Simpler is Better
This simpler combination was able to handle the fast-paced, visually demanding content of GDQ’s gaming marathons. Based on the Dante AV Ultra codec, the AJA devices deliver 4K60 4:4:4 HDR video with ultra-low latency and visually lossless quality over standard 1GbE networks. They support SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs, which helped GDQ simplify their SDI cabling. Dante AV Ultra audio and video streams are precisely synchronised and, as mentioned, individually routable.
“With AJA’s Dante AV-enabled gear, we we only need to deploy the single transmitter/receiver hardware system. After testing, it was essentially plug-and-play with no need to manage different pieces of hardware,” said Jason. The result was a reliable, low-maintenance setup that avoided the switch-hopping issues and the frequent troubleshooting required by their previous workflows. “Dante AV helps prevent such issues, even when you’re using an unmanaged switch like ours.”
Visual Routing
As a charity fundraiser, GDQ’s reliance on volunteers to operate its AV systems made ease of use a critical factor. The Dante Controller centralized management platform was very helpful in that regard because it presents a clear visual interface for routing AV signals. Jason commented, “We can see exactly where the signals are going and manage the system remotely. We have been able to write training documentation for volunteers as well.”
Not only does this visual approach reduce GDQ’s dependence on external contractors, thereby keeping costs down, but also controls technical overhead more generally. “Before Dante AV, we needed two technicians and three machines to get a signal from the ballroom to the hotel CCTV,” said Jason. “Now, we only need one technician and the AJA Dante receiver and transceiver set-up.”
Looking Ahead
As well as smoothing out operations, Dante AV achieved 24/7 reliability on its initial seven-day event. “The image quality was excellent, and it worked continuously for the entire event without any signal degradation,” he said.
In terms of interoperability and scalability, the platform has integrated directly into the larger Dante ecosystem, enabling GDQ to manage both audio and video signals through the same interface. “Adding Dante AV can be done whether you’re already working with Dante or are new to the platform, and the visual nature of Dante Controller means you can see the signals, making networking layouts much easier than SDI.”
As GDQ continues to refine its technical workflows, Dante AV seems likely to play an even larger role. While bandwidth considerations remain a factor for future expansions, GDQ’s successful deployment so far at major events assures them of its ease of use and ability to meet demanding professional AV requirements. www.audinate.com
