Resolution 06-23
To: Members of Dublin City Council
From: Megan O’Callaghan, City Manager
Date: January 24, 2023
Initiated By: Jenny Delgado, Clerk of Council
Michael Farrar, Director of Information Technology
Re: Resolution 06-23 - Waiving Competitive Bidding and Authorizing the City
Manager to Accept Swagit Productions, LLC’s Proposal for Video Streaming and
Production Services
Background
In 2022, at the request of Council, staff investigated options for improving upon the
operations and capability of the audio visual (AV) technology that currently exists in the
Council Chamber. Staff also reviewed hosted solutions that could potentially be
implemented to provide a clearer, visual experience for users.
As part of this initial investigation, staff looked at other municipalities and solutions that
use remote director/management systems. Staff spoke with Swagit Productions, LLC
(Swagit), and 543 Production Studios to explore services offered. Using comparisons from
other cities and investigating the services available from other meeting management
vendors, staff determined Swagit has the services and capabilities desired by Council.
Review of Solutions
Office of the City Manager
5555 Perimeter Drive • Dublin, OH 43017-1090
Phone: 614.410.4400 • Fax: 614.410.4490
Solution First Year
Installation
Cost
First Year
Service
Cost
Total First
Year Cost
Ongoing
Yearly Cost
Services offered
Swagit $68,239 $46,026 $114,365 $46,026 • 75 Meetings
• All Council, Agenda
Visible in Live Stream
• Agenda Items
Tagged
• Real Time Captioning
• Searchable Captions
and Transcripts
linked to Video
• Webex/Virtual
Participation Support
• Remote Direction
543
Production
$37,000 $33,950 $70,950 $33,950 • 75 Meetings
• In-Person onsite
direction using own
equipment
Memo
Memo re. Audio Visual Solution for Council Chamber
January 24, 2023
Page 2 of 2
Staff did a search of other remote-director solutions that are competitors to Swagit. They
were Boxcast, NTT and Video Solutions. The services offered by those competitors were
not as comprehensive as those provided by Swagit, therefore no bid was solicited. They
did not offer services such as searchable transcription and descriptive banners.
Recommendation
Staff recommends adoption of Resolution 06-23 at the January 30, 2023 meeting.
• Time tagged agenda
Full Time
Staff
Member
$106,236*
*Wages/Benefits
plus annual
increases
• Dedicated person to
manage /operate
systems
• Maintain city
equipment
• Support all City live
streamed meetings
To: Members of Dublin City Council
From: Dana L. McDaniel, City Manager
Date: August 2, 2022
Initiated By: Jenny Delgado, Clerk of Council and Michael Farrar, Director of Information
Technology
Re: Audio Visual Solution Review for Council Chamber
Background
At the request of Council, Staff investigated options regarding A/V technology that currently
exists in the Council Chambers. Staff was also asked to review hosted solutions that could
potentially be implemented to provide a clearer, visual experience for users watching remote
or via YouTube post council meetings.
As part of this investigation, the Staff looked at other municipalities and solutions that use
remote director/management systems, like Swagit. The City of Westerville was specifically
reviewed to understand their in-person director solutions. Shared Vision Communications
and 543 Production Studio of Westerville were also engaged for their professional opinion
and recommendations regarding Dublin’s the current solution.
Hosted Remote/In Person Director Solutions
Swagit, an industry leading organization, is a remote director solution where a team based
in Texas would remotely control the feed of the cameras and live stream. Their solution
would require new hardware installation, which would break the integration with WebEx for
remote participation. Utilizing Swagit would require an upfront investment of $57,000 and
an annual service cost of $15,000 to remotely direct and produce our videos. Cost could be
negotiated based on specific needs but would be complicated. Swagit also does not integrate
with the Granicus Live Manager software currently being installed. Swagit was recently
purchased by Rocksolid and would not work with any of our current infrastructure.
Additionally, Swagit had concerns with the size of the Council Chambers. Swagit informed
us that their camera system does not reach those distances to provide clear video feeds. To
move forward with their hosting solution, the City would have to move away from Granicus
to the Rocksolid solution.
543 Production is a local video production company that is based in Westerville Ohio and
currently provides an in person director solution for the City of Westerville’s Council
meetings. A.J. Fox, owner and operator of 543 Studios, came out and assessed the current
setup in Council Chambers. Their service would be an in person solution where a team
member of 543 Studios would control the feed of the cameras/audio during the meetings.
Office of the City Manager
5555 Perimeter Drive • Dublin, OH 43017-1090
Phone: 614.410.4400 • Fax: 614.410.4490 Memo
Memo re. Audio Visual Solution Review for Council Chambers
August 2, 2022
Page 2 of 3
Like Swagit, they would require different hardware as the currently installed hardware is not
compatible. Again, we would also lose the direct integration with Webex for remote
participation. 543 Studios would require an upfront cost of $37,000 and a yearly cost of
$11,000. These operating costs would be for only Council meetings, any additional meetings
would be $450 per meeting plus any ongoing equipment upgrade costs. We would, however,
be able to keep using our Granicus solution with the in person director options.
Challenges with utilizing these services would be the loss of remote participation via WebEx
and replacing the currently installed Cisco cameras and codec with a new technology
provided by the supplier. These solutions would both require a person to act as the director,
remote or in person, to operate all meetings functions and to operate the camera/audio
functionality. Additional cost will be required to set up, run new cabling and purchase new
camera solutions that would work with the director’s solution. Finally, these costs quoted
only cover the cost of Council meetings and additional money would be required for any
other Board and Commission meetings that would need to be streamed.
To fully understand the scope of switching solutions, Staff engaged with New Era to
determine what the total cost would be to remove existing solutions and automated
equipment. Total cost of removal of existing cabling, cameras and codec would be around
$80,000.
The current Cisco solution installed in the Council chambers represent a total investment of
$425,000. With the additional cost to remove equipment, $80,000, this would put the total
of investment in the council chambers at $505,000, before we spend any additional funds
on implementing a new solution. Moving to a Swagit solution with their cameras and
hardware to be set up would be roughly $72,000 investment with a 15,000 yearly cost for
the two council meetings a month, and $80,000 to remove our current solution would take
our first year costs to $152,000. Any other meetings would require additional investment.
Furthermore, having 543 studios implement new cameras and cabling would be around
$48,000, removal of the current solution would be $80,000, with the $12,000 yearly cost
and $450 per additional meeting including any upgrades to equipment as we move forward
would take our first year costs to $128,000.
Professional Engagement
Staff consulted with both Shared Vision and 543 Production Studio regarding our current
feed and video quality. We asked them to provide their professional recommendations, as
well as any potential improvements. Both agreed audio quality was exceptional and video
quality was very good considering the system was 100% automated. They agreed a rear
static fourth camera would help with the production and overall operations of the meeting
for wide-angle shots when multiple people are talking. That recommendation was
implemented and is operational. Additionally, some programming to preset the focusing
values on each camera position would help with the transitioning between shots. Further,
Memo re. Audio Visual Solution Review for Council Chambers
August 2, 2022
Page 3 of 3
they each cautioned that there will always be glitches or issues that pop up from time to
time, even with in person director solutions. Their bottom line assessment was the
improvement in quality vs cost would be very marginal.
Recommendation
Based on the information provided, it is Staff’s recommendation to keep the existing system and
continue to work with New Era to improve the issues. Staff further recommends the hiring of a full
time, dedicated resource to own and manage all AV solutions across the City. This new position
would be requested during the Operating Budget process for 2023. Finally, as the Legislative Affairs
team finalizes testing with Granicus’s Live Manager, they would be able to tag the agenda and
playback of the video, making it easier to navigate council meetings postproduction.
These recommendations come from a team of City of Dublin Staff representing the offices of the
Clerk of Council, the City Manager, Communication and Public Information, and Information
Technology, gathered together to review the options and evaluate the potential opportunities. Staff
felt that the loss of integration with WebEx for remote participation would be detrimental to the
success of meetings. Additionally, the professional feedback from Shared Vison and 543 Production
Studio regarding the marginal improvement to quality from removing the existing $425,000
investment was not favorable. The team felt that the investment of removing the existing solution
and implementing a new solution could be better used by further investment with New Era and the
authorization of a new position within IT to manage all AV equipment across the City and provide
dedicated support all Council, Board and Commission meetings.
P.O. Box 251002, Plano, TX 75025-1002 • Fax 214-750-9513 • corporate@swagit.com
Make checks payable to Swagit Productions, LLC
SWAGIT QUOTE TO: City of Dublin, OH
Attn: Kyle McKee
Created Date: 11/15/2022
Valid for 60 days TIPS Contract #: 220105
Broadcast Solution (Avior includes a 2D Encoder)
Item & Description Quantity Up-Front Cost
Avior™ HD - Five (5) camera setup- 1Me Switcher (upgraded switcher for more inputs)
(allows for remote operation by Swagit staff, see corresponding monthly package on next page)
1 $42,105.00
VTC Integration, lift, patch work, paint match-etc- miscellaneous 1 $1,590.00
CaptionPrime Streaming Software- ONLY Required if needing realtime captioning 1 $6,800.00
Standard Caption Encoder/Decoder- Automated Transcribing ONLY Required if needing realtime captioning 1 $6,290.00
Installation for Avior 1 $6,850.00
Total One Time Cost: $ 63,635.00
Optional
Item & Description Number
of Years
Unit Rate Extended Cost
Annual Support for Avior Upgrades, EASE Appliances,
CaptionPrime Appliances, Caption Encoders, GoMobile and Uverse
Encoders, Playback365 Support & Annual Maintenance
● Support renewal is optional but recommended
● Includes support and any software upgrade as long as you are covered under the
support contract
2 $2,302.25 $4,604.50
P.O. Box 251002, Plano, TX 75025-1002 • Fax 214-750-9513 • corporate@swagit.com
Make checks payable to Swagit Productions, LLC
Yearly Managed Service Package
Item & Description Rate Quantity Yearly Cost
EASE™ Hands-Free Service – 75
• Up to 75 indexed meetings per year
• Up to 120 hours of specialty video content per year
• 24/7Live Stream
Avior™ Hands-Free Production – 75
• Up to 75 remotely switched meetings per year with lower
third character generation
$2,245.50 12 mos $26,946.00
Captioning Service Plans
Item & Description Hourly Rate Quantity Yearly Cost
CaptionLive Premium*
(requires CaptionPrime/Advanced Encoder/Decoder)
• Up to 75 Meetings per year
• Real Time automated English & Spanish
• Searchable Captions/Transcript
$ 1,590.00 12
months
$19,080.00
Package Overages
Item & Description Cost
Additional EASE™ Hands-Free Indexed Meetings $ 175.00 / meeting
Additional AVIOR™ Hands-Free Remote Switched Meetings $ 175.00 / meeting
Total Costs
Total First Year Costs (Social Media eXstream not included in the total) $ 114,265.00
Second Year Costs (Social Media eXstream not included in the total) $ 46,026.00
Optional Add-Ons
Item & Description Cost
Social Media eXstream (Facebook or YouTube)
● When sending to YouTube captions appear on live with > 10k subs and with VOD
● Facebook Live stream can include captions, if applicable
● Inclusion in the Swagit Roku channel in BETA
$300.00/month
* Price and hardware model are subject to change after 60 days without prior notice
Swagit is the sole source provider of Swagit’s Extensible Automated Streaming Engine (EASE™) software
framework. The EASE™ application is manufactured, leased and distributed by Swagit alone.
SIGNATURE & DATE ________________________________________________
P.O. Box 251002, Plano, TX 75025-1002 • Fax 214-750-9513 • corporate@swagit.com
Make checks payable to Swagit Productions, LLC
CONTACT NAME ___________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER __________________________________________________