RTS Migrates Grading Suites to DaVinci Resolve Studio
How RTS reduced overhead and simplified IT management with DaVinci Resolve Studio.
As a public broadcaster, Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) must constantly balance innovation with value for money. That pressure, combined with IT requirements for standardization, prompted the Swiss network to reassess its picture finishing workflow.
“Our biggest pressure comes from IT, with regular security updates,” begins Nathalie Montjouridès, post production system owner at RTS and head of the project. “That means working with managed hardware and software that can be centrally updated, while finding cost savings through IT standardization.”
These pressures ultimately led RTS to evaluate alternatives to its existing systems, with two core considerations. “First, the high cost of alternative hardware and support, which was becoming hard to justify,” said Cyril Moulin, head of ENG and postproduction at RTS. “The other was our desire to move toward a more flexible and sustainable solution, with free software support and wider industry adoption. DaVinci Resolve ticked those boxes.”
When evaluating alternatives, RTS set out clear requirements. “On the software side, we needed a solution that was reliable, proven in professional environments and already widely used within the industry,” said Moulin.
Similarly, the hardware expectations were no less of a challenge, including GPU performance, silence for grading room comfort, compatibility with existing network storage infrastructure, dependable SDI broadcast monitoring, long term reliability and a solution that had precedent with DaVinci Resolve Studio to facilitate the complete workflow.
The case for a clean break
For RTS, DaVinci Resolve Studio’s appeal was its breadth and familiarity. “Resolve isn’t limited to grading; it also covers finishing, online and conform, which meant we could replace several tools with one,” said Moulin. “Because it’s already widely used in the industry and has a modern interface, the transition has been straightforward.”
RTS deployed Mac Studio M3 Ultra systems featuring 28 CPU cores, 60 GPU cores and 256 GB RAM, integrated into Sonnet xMac Studio Echo III chassis. Each system hosts a DeckLink 8K Pro G2 capture and playback device for SDI video I/O, a 10/25 GbE network adapter for storage connectivity and two 4TB NVMe SSDs for DaVinci Resolve Studio cache and fallback mode. “This configuration is silent, compact and perfectly optimized for DaVinci Resolve,” said Moulin. “The Mac Studio was the natural fit because it offers native integration with DaVinci Resolve through Apple Silicon (GPU/CPU/unified memory), delivers high GPU and AI processing performance and delivers stable performance. The Sonnet chassis allowed us to add the broadcast essentials, including a DeckLink card for monitoring purposes and the network adapter for reliable storage connection.”
A seamless migration
RTS tackled the migration methodically to avoid disruptions. “We provided one week of training for users, pre migration tests on Mac Studio systems and timed the changeover with our support contracts ending on the previous solution,” said Moulin.
Today, DaVinci Resolve Studio is integrated with the broadcaster’s existing network storage infrastructure, with deeper links to MAM and archive systems under discussion.
The cost savings were immediate. “By moving to MacOS and DaVinci Resolve we’ve saved about 150,000 Swiss francs, done away with a dedicated maintenance contract and streamlined operations on standardized, IT managed hardware,” said Moulin. “It means we now have better control of the budget and less daily overhead to deal with.”
Based on RTS’ experience, Moulin believes the transition offers value for others as well.
“DaVinci Resolve has become a recognized industry standard that is technically sound and cost effective,” he concluded. “The migration is manageable and the benefits in cost, stability and integration are immediate.”
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