Control rooms, reinvented

Control rooms, reinvented

From monitoring to decision-making, we share the modern technology powering these essential cogs in the media production machine

Words Katie Kasperson

Control rooms are the hidden heroes of media production, with the most important decisions often being made behind the scenes. Managed by operators and serviced by engineers, control rooms collate data, audio signals, video feeds and the like, creating one centralised hub of seamless activity.

Whether they are being used for monitoring a live broadcast, switching between feeds or communicating with a crew in real time, control rooms play a host of roles – and, in recent years, have developed significantly. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, over-IP production and cloud computing, as well as improvements to video quality and latency, these central spaces have evolved alongside the technology that powers them, meeting the needs of today’s live productions.

Core components

No control room set-up is one-size-fits-all. “At its core,” begins Daniel Phillips, engineering manager at Techex, “control rooms are centred around monitoring and managing live content. Operators use centralised displays, including mosaics and multi-viewers, to track

live, off-air and remote signals. This set-up enables engineers to track system health and performance data in real time.”

Chris Scheck, head of marketing content at Lawo, suggests that there are three types of control rooms – at least in live production – with each serving a distinct function: “Production Control Room (PCR), Audio Control Room (ACR) and Master Control Room (MCR),” he says. “The equipment varies – video-centric for the first, audio-centric for the second and signal checking and grooming for the third.”

According to Ian Godfrey, CTO at TSL, “A typical control room will include a monitor wall and audio monitoring units for viewing and listening, along with audio and video mixers, servers and graphics systems.” A control room “also relies on intercom systems and a range of control surfaces,” bringing all elements of production tech under one singular umbrella.

Due to IP adoption, control rooms have been expanding digitally and shrinking in physical size

In any control room, Scheck notes that “a workflow system is indispensable to ensure that all required video and audio signals are available for processing and mixing. He adds that “a growing number of control rooms rely on IP-based signal transport, so a fundamental requirement is interoperability via NMOS (Networked Media Open Specifications) and SMPTE ST 2110” – the industry’s accepted suite of standards.

Remote control

Historically, common issues in control rooms have included cable complexity, limited space, lack of scalability and a lack of available staff. “The biggest challenge may be finding enough staffers and freelancers for live coverage of same-day events in different places,” says Scheck. The solution: remote production and remote control.

With IP-based transport comes more opportunities for remote production, inviting mobile control rooms into the picture. “Functionally, mobile and fixed control rooms are very similar,” explains Godfrey. A key difference is that “Outside Broadcast (OB) environments will be naturally more compact, which can lead to consolidated monitoring and control system interfaces. For example, audio monitoring and intercom functions may be combined into a single workflow.”

According to Scheck, “Lawo has been advocating for IP-based production scenarios where fewer key people need to be on site and the production proper is handled from a central location.” He encourages OB trucks to ‘travel lightly’, as these portable control rooms can use Lawo’s Flex licenses to monitor and process data from ‘thousands of miles away.’

Control rooms don’t have to be ‘fixed spaces,’ Phillips reminds us. “An IP-based set-up breaks that mould by allowing users to operate from anywhere. Whether users are in a permanent studio or a compact mobile unit out in the field, everything connects easily. Sharing feeds and using the same monitoring tools across different sites, remote teams and home-based crews can work together as if they’re sitting in the same room,” he continues. “It effectively turns multiple locations into a unified production environment.”

Evolving towards efficiency

Over the past five-plus years, control rooms have undergone marked change. From IP infrastructures to cloud storage and from AI-driven automation to more intuitive interfaces, tech evolution has certainly made an impact on the operators who run the control rooms –and the engineers who design them.

“Live production still relies on three elements: content acquisition, media processing engines and monitoring and control – the operator-facing layer that brings everything together,” states Godfrey. “At TSL, we’ve seen big shifts in where and how media processing takes place. Control surfaces are usually on-premises, but the equipment they drive may sit in the cloud, in a central facility or in a nearby rack room – increasingly, it’s a hybrid of all three.

“As media processing moves towards flexible software and cloud deployment options, operators expect monitoring and control systems to keep pace,” he continues. “There’s a growing need to preserve a consistent workflow as those environments evolve; controls should feel familiar. The challenge falls to engineering teams,” Godfrey suggests, “who must maintain workflows while taking advantage of the agility that cloud and IP infrastructures provide.”

“Transitioning to IP shouldn’t mean inheriting old inefficiencies,” argues Phillips. “Many teams struggle with latency and rigid monitoring because they’re still using legacy workflows. The aim is to clear those hurdles by providing a streamlined monitoring system that allows teams to share sources and swap layouts on the fly.” He suggests ultra-low latency should be a priority in ensuring sharp productions.

Due to widespread IP adoption, control rooms have been shrinking in physical size while expanding digitally. “Being tied down to a specific rack of hardware is no longer the requirement; instead, everything is software-driven and flexible,” explains Phillips.

“Some operations already leverage the power of app-based workflows,” adds Scheck, “which allow them to start and stop video and audio processing on demand – because all apps run on the same servers or in the cloud. As a result, datacentres are a lot emptier and utility bills a lot lower than they used to be.”

Control rooms don’t have to be fixed spaces and can operate from anywhere

Control rooms don’t have to be fixed spaces and can operate from anywhere

Similarly, advances in AI have automated processes like camera switching, indexing and triggering graphics, easing the workload for operators and reducing the need for manual intervention. Ross Video’s Overdrive platform, for instance, automates graphics, audio, robotics and more during live productions.

Finally, devices like video walls and control surfaces have seen significant upgrades, including customisable interfaces, higher resolutions and touchscreens with tactile technologies (like those from Densitron) especially taking off. Systems such as Matrox KVM solutions are also becoming popular, allowing operators to access multiple computers remotely and from just a single device, further freeing up physical space in the actual rooms.

The best changes are those that slip under the radar, making operators wonder how they’d ever done things differently. Now, “even complex routing and configuration tasks can be triggered via a single button,” suggests Scheck. “Things have changed for the better.”

Making progress

No matter where they’re located, modern control rooms look smaller, tidier and more flexible than ever before. Processes that traditionally required hardware have migrated to software, IP networks and even the cloud, which diminishes control rooms’ physical footprints. Rather than flicking between dozens of individual monitors, operators can view large, high-res video walls, capable of displaying several feeds at once – as well as customisation.

Control rooms are also now more in-tune with what human operators want. They’re less busy (thanks in part to hybrid employment) and more intuitive, with systems that feature haptic feedback and tactile technology. Plus, many control rooms now act as reconfigurable spaces, able to adapt to the specific production or project at hand.

Whether for monitoring a feed or making a timely decision, control rooms are like the central nervous system of live production – with reliable, contemporary technology, they can run as required.

This feature was first published in the Sping 2026 issue of LIVE.