SVG Europe
The
opening and closing ceremony, swimming, canoe slalom, rugby sevens,
gymnastics, beach volleyball, diving, athletics, judo and football
are among sports to be captured in 8K from Rio by the Olympics
Broadcasting Services (OBS) team. Speaking to SVG Europe Sotiris
Salamouris, chief technology officer, OBS said the aim was to learn
as much about editorial language as it was to prove out the
technology.
“As
a result of this experiment we will have the capability to be screen
agnostic from mobiles to very big screens,” he said. “8K gives us
the opportunity to explore how close sports broadcasting can come to
a cinematic experience. On the one hand we want to test technical
quality and resolution but the idea is to explore how the editorial
language changes with 8K. There is not a single approach which is why
we want to test 8K on many different sports events.”
He
confirmed that OBS plans to produce close to 120 hours in 8K from two
mobile units. SHC-1 is an Ikegami-built video truck and there is a
separate audio truck handling discrete signals for 22.2 channel
audio. An ENG camera crew will also be deployed. While the live 8K
broadcast will launch the test transmissions for NHK’s domestic
Super Hi-Vision system, OBS has built a theatre at the IBC for
broadcasters to view the live 8K feeds on a 350-inch screen.
The
multi-cam production is based on the Ikegami SHK-810, light enough
now to be hand held, with slow motion feeds up-converted from 4K for
replays. “Again the idea is to produce as close as possible a full
live 8K production,” said Salamouris. “4K up-converted is pretty
close to 8K and it will give us another tool to assess how a live
programme might be cut.” Graphics (data, results and timing) are
added to the 8K video after being up-converted to the 8K format.
The
production is forced to work with 16 x HD SDI signals around the
trucks. “It’s a bespoke arrangement, predominantly SDI-based, and
using twice the 3G capacity,” said Salamouris. “SDI has its
limitations we all know but there are extensions – 12G even 24G
coming for routing 8K. In the end we will probably have a mixed world
where both IP and SDI signals will co-exist.”
“NHK/OBS
are basically doing 8K as a 8 x 3G signal connection which is quite
strange – because while this is bleeding edge it is like going back
to being in an analogue truck,” said Kevin Salvidge, European
Regional Development Manager, Leader Electronics. Leader’s monitors
are being used to check the individual RGB of each camera signal.
Live
coverage will not include the Hybrid Log-Gamma high dynamic range
(HDR) standard developed by NHK and BBC. “We need to remain on SDR
and 709 colour gamut for many practical reasons not least that the
BBC and NHK proposition is very recent and challenging to deliver in
a 4K environment, let alone an 8K one,” said Salvidge.
However,
OBS and NHK plan to test one 8K camera featuring HDR/WCG function for
the coverage of the Opening Ceremony. NBC will also experiment with
this technology during the Opening Ceremony with a selection of 4K
HDR cameras.
The
Ikegami cameras record the media onto a Panasonic P2 solid-state
AVC-Intra recorder with 16 P2 cards for post production of an 8K
summary reel. This will also be shown in the IBC Super Hi-Vision
theatre. Since memory devices have limited capacity, LTO (Linear Tape
Open) which is capable of preserving a large amount of data will also
be used as an ultimate device to store the 8K material.
SAM’s
Danny Peters, Director of Creative Services, said the company is
working closely with companies including NHK that use a Quantel Rio
8K 60P for sporting events like the Olympics. “This year, SAM will
continue to help NHK with its productions by adding 8K 120fps support
on the Quantel Rio,” said Peters.
“Tests
so far have proved 8Ks value in capturing wide scenes with an amazing
level of detail,” said Salamouris. “Combine this with a
relatively short viewing distance and viewing angle of 100 degrees on
consumer TVs and you can feel the immersive experience. This is still
an experimental period but technically it is very close to an
applicable technology. We will see it soon in the coming years.”
Analysts
Futuresource Consulting says that since the consumer side of the
business is still sorting 4K UHD out, it believes the jump to 8K is a
bridge too far at this moment. “The demand curve for 8K will follow
a similar pattern to 4K. That is, starting out in ultra high end
niches like CAD/CAM, simulation, military and medical where there is
a genuine requirement for picture quality,” Futuresource analyst
Chris Mcintyre-Brown stated.
“Adoption
beyond these verticals will be ‘pushed’ down by the panel
industry as production switches to 8K. Given only 1% of the market
was 4K in 2015, this is some way off.”
For
Futuresource’s Adam Cox, the prognosis is equally sceptical. “From
a video production perspective, 8K is a long way away except within
the world of digital cinema,” he says. Hitachi Kokusai launched an
8K system camera at NAB (created for the NHK trials), but the list
price of $600K means that very few companies are going to be able to
experiment in the short to medium term. Simply put, there are no even
relatively inexpensive ways to acquire 8K content at the moment.”
For
an alternative point of view take a look back in history at a
precedent for when broadcasters chose to leapfrog resolution
standards. While the US was first to launch into HD in 1998 Europe’s
broadcasters opted to sit back a few years and wait to implement an
arguably greater step change in quality over PAL than 720p with
1080i. The 8K production ecosystem is being rounded out, screens are
coming to market and content is coming, albeit in limited from the
Olympics. As IP is implemented then a move to 8K production should be
relatively straightforward.
Virtual
Reality Olympics
Following
a first test of a 180-degree VR experience at the Lillehammer 2016
Winter Youth Olympic Games, OBS will continue exploring VR
possibilities in Rio. It plans to live stream in VR at least one
event a day during the Games. These include Athletics Artistic
Gymnastics, Mens semi final Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Fencing and
the opening and closing ceremony.
“We
are offering this as an end to end production of white label content
to rights holders,” explains Salamouris. It will deploy four rigs
with eight cameras and produce three 360-degree live streams which
will be viewer selectable as well as a curated 360-degree view.
Once
more the focus for OBS is on editorial presentation. “The language
for VR is under development. The experience is unique and there’s a
big momentum and interest coming from many different areas, but we
don’t know what will be the best way to offer this to a sports
audience.
“We
want to position cameras close to the actual action so viewers have
an opportunity to be in an immersive environment where the action is
happening and also we will place cameras in positions where it might
be called ‘best seat in the house.”
The
Lillehammer test enabled OBS to better understand the positioning of
the VR cameras (i.e. as close as possible to the field of play to
increase the feeling of “being there”) and refine its production
plans for Rio 2016. Adds OBS, “We do not pretend that our VR
coverage in Rio will be as mature as our standard coverage, but we
are endeavouring to offer a completely different type of opportunity
and experience and for an event like the Olympic Games where it’s
all about experience, providing an opportunity for people around the
world to have a sense of being there is of extraordinary value.”
The
multilateral HD production of the games is expected to yield over
7000 hours of coverage and will include feeds from 14 cablecams (a
Games record), two drones (used for example over water slalom events
rather than in stadia) and point of view action cams on equipment
(such as sailing vessels). There are even plans to include POV cams
on athletes, such as canoe slalomists.
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