Arqiva to support SNG for ESPN

TV Technology

UK-based telecommunications firm Arqiva is supporting ESPN’s distribution of World Cup coverage by providing the network with extensive SNG services. This includes two HD SNGs, two SD SNGs, one HD/SD production SNG truck, two TVROs and an HD flyaway. The SNGs, all fully crewed by Arqiva engineers, will move between venues uplinking news and information content for production and turnaround to ESPN’s global audience.

Jon Kirchner, executive vice president at Arqiva, said, “We are delighted that ESPN has chosen Arqiva to support their distribution of this prestigious sporting event to audiences around the world. By deploying the bulk of our extensive SNG fleet and personnel to South Africa, we are ensuring that our customers have direct access to the highest levels of Arqiva service throughout the tournament.”

With a fleet of SNG trucks and more than 100 earth stations at multiple teleports, Arqiva regularly enables the managed global delivery of live and special events like major football tournaments.

- See more at: http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0086/arqiva-to-support-sng-for-espn/225974#sthash.ZEW4m9bX.dpuf

Grass Valley wins lead equipment contract from Host Broadcast Services for World Cup

TV Technology

As it was for the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, Grass Valley is the lead equipment supplier to the host broadcaster for the 2010 World Cup. It will provide 290 HD broadcast cameras, 43 production switchers, 1200 modular cards and three routers.

Grass Valley is being contracted by Host Broadcast Services (HBS) to supply and deliver (to the HBS designs) the identical technical infrastructure for the tournament’s host production, including 10 technical operations centers and 10 outside broadcast (OB) facilities to which the operations centers are integrated.
In turn, Grass Valley outsourced the build of the operations centers to Gearhouse Broadcast, and HBS asked Grass Valley to contract the OB build to Alfacam for Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg/Ellispark and Pretoria venues; Studio Berlin for the Johannesburg/Soccer City and Rustenburg venues; CTV (part of the Euro Media Group) for Polokwane and Nelspruit; VCF France (also part of Euro Media) for the Cape Town stadiums; and Spain’s Mediapro to deliver for Bloemfontein.
“The biggest challenge from a conceptual point of view is to manage the increasingly complex production requirements for the World Cup with multifeed productions and integration of feeds from more specialty cameras,” according to Grass Valley representatives. “This goes hand in hand with the new technical concept of a container infrastructure replacing the traditional OB vans, providing separate production areas with improved working environments for the international production teams.”
Grass Valley’s provisions for each of the 10 OBs are as follows:

• Multilateral production: Nineteen LDK 6000/8000 WorldCams, including 2 wireless versions and one dedicated to the mobile TV feed, and six LDK 8300 Super SloMo cameras (60 in total);
• Unilateral production: Two LDK 6000/8000 WorldCams, for possible interviews on the sideline or special coverage of a player for individual broadcasters and not used in the multilateral world feed;
• Infotainment: Two LDK 6000/8000 WorldCams, feeding large-screen stadium displays.

The production switchers for the OBs include one 4M/E Kayenne XL HD and one 2M/E KayakHD for multilateral production; one 1M/E Kayak HD for unilateral production; and one 1M/E Kayak HD for infotainment. That totals 10 Kayenne HD and 30 Kayak HD across the venues.
At the Johannesburg international broadcasting center, Grass Valley equipment includes two 1M/E Kayak HDs and a 4M/E Kayak SD as well as three routers (256 Trinix, 512 Trinix and 256 Trinix NXT), 55 Kameleon frames, 56 Gecko Flex frames, 23 Gecko frames and more than 700 HD/SD distribution amplifiers.

- See more at: http://www.tvtechnology.com/sports/0115/grass-valley-wins-lead-equipment-contract-from-host-broadcast-services-for-world-cup/226855#sthash.Jznkx1OQ.dpuf

Broadcasters tackle loudness monitoring

CSI

: The introduction of loudness level metadata and an international standard for loudness measurement is seeing the problem in the digital TV world being finally addressed
http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/Broadcasters-tackle-loudness-monitoring.php

3D leaps out of the small screen

 

 

CSI: A status report on stereo 3D broadcast, highlighting current approaches http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/3D-leaps-out-of-small-screen.php

Las Vegas shows the road ahead for technology

Media Week

Last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas revealed the internet is being hooked to flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray players, cars, GPS units, digital photoframes and even watches. The majority of products don't feature a conventional web browser, rather applications in the style of iPhone apps.

http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/976813/las-vegas-shows-road-ahead-technology

Camera Corps fields 80 Q-Balls at World Cup

TV Technology

Eighty Camera Corps Q-Ball robotic camera systems will be fielded across the 10 venues of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 10 of which will be installed at each stadium, either for the duration of the tournament or moved between multiple locations. These will be used in a commentator camera role and steered via a Camera Corps Mini Joystick Control by the commentators themselves while presenting to camera or by a remote colleague.

“We will be sending a total of seven crews to cover the 10 venues,” said Laurie Frost, Camera Corps founder and managing director. “Four crews will be assigned to single venues and will consist of a climber, a CCU operator plus a technician.”

The other three crews, each including an additional technician, will work across two venues under the overall direction of the outside broadcast production by Host Broadcasting Services (HBS).

The specialist camera developer based at Shepperton, UK, will also be managing 40 Hitachi DK-H32 and 20 Toshiba HD mini cameras. These will provide point-of-view cutaways from the manually operated cameras used to follow the routine cut-and-thrust of each game.

“We have developed a new triax adapter enabling the robotic heads to be powered and data-controlled via a single triax cable,” Frost said. Four of these adapters will be used at each of the 10 venues.

“Two Hitachi DK-H32 cameras will be installed at each stadium as ‘box cameras’ covering the penalty box for close-ups of the ball as it crosses the goal line,” said technical director Jim Daniels. “These will be mounted off-pitch quite high up on remote pan/tilt heads, which will remain in preset positions throughout the game.”

A third DK-H32 will be placed on the VHR remote pan/tilt heads directly behind one of the goals, again from a high position, and operated throughout the game. This will provide end-on shots of the goal area just under it or of the far goal. A fourth DK-H32 will be fitted with a wide-angle lens and will deliver high-viewpoint shots of the entire pitch. Two more Hitachi cameras will be rigged in the international broadcast center press conference area. The Toshiba HD mini cams will be used as goal cams, attached to stabilizing cables supporting the rear top corners of each net, again on remotely adjustable pan/tilt/roll heads, but only to allow positional realignment if a camera is struck directly by a ball.

- See more at: http://www.tvtechnology.com/sports/0115/camera-corps-fields--q-balls-at-world-cup/226589#sthash.GR3h5Zhb.dpuf

A pocketful of tape

CSI 

Migrating to file-based broadcasting allows previously complex activity to be consolidated into a single workflow, yet tape remains surprisingly widespread.

http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/A-pocketful-of-tape.php