WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 38 - DECEMBER 2014I N T E R N A T I O N A L N E W S37
I N T E R N A T I O N A L N E W SWWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 38 - DECEMBER 201438InSTUDIOThe Show Must Go On With SeamlessCoverage And Reliable ScalabilityIn a business where most of their fed back over fibre optic cable, nowork is done outdoors, it’s no obstacle is unmanageable.surprise that maintaining reliableand robust signals across large,geographically diverse eventsdrives how Broadcast Sports, Inc.(BSI) prepares for events week toweek.The company provides wirelessaudio, video and communicationstechnology and support for livebroadcasts of golf, motor racing,horseracing, rugby, football,marathons, parades, sailing, surfingand skiing competitions and aplethora of other events.BSI’s Intelligent Diversity ReceiveSystem uses proprietary technologyCertain environments regularlypresent challenging conditions thatBSI has become adept at handling.For many years, the company hasprovided wireless technology toESPN for the Winter X Games. Asan event that takes place primarilyon the side of a mountain, it’s onewhere deploying wireless equipmentis extremely beneficial. It’s also onewhere BSI’s team of techniciansmust take special precautionsto ensure that their equipmentis still fully functional. One of thesimplest things the team doesis to store and prepare all of thedeveloped and manufactured inhouseat BSI to connect a network of at or near the external temperature.camera equipment in temperaturesBSI at Winter X Games (Picture courtesy of Broadcast Sports, Inc.)receive sites throughout the desiredcoverage area of a given event,enabling the operation of variouswireless components. The systemis customised by the BSI teambased on the breadth of coverageneeded, attributes of the location,obstructions that may inhibit signalquality, and components that willoperate on the system. By deployingsmall receive sites capable ofproviding locally diverse receptionThis prevents condensation frombuilding up and freezing on thecamera lenses which occurs whenconstantly moving between warmand cold environments. When thenetwork broadcasts go live, BSI’stechnology and RF infrastructureallow the camera operators totravel freely around the event withflexibility and control.“Our teams take great painsto ensure that every show goessmoothly,” said Peter Larsson, BSI’sGeneral Manager. “We can’t controlthe landscape or what MotherNature will send our way but wehave strict quality control standardsin place that mitigate the effectsand unique challenges of the venueon event day. After more than 30years in the business, we’ve seenour share of location and weatherrelatedissues so we are alwaysprepared for the worst.”When the broadcast environmentpresents challenges that can’t beaddressed with simple precautions,BSI takes preparation to the nextlevel by incorporating advancedsolutions into their technologyand designing equipment thatcan withstand or neutralise thesehazards. That, combined with greatcommunication between techniciansand operators, is the key to keepingeverything running smoothly.Re-Inventing The Sports Broadcast Instant ReplayWhere would sportsbroadcasting be without theinstant replay? The instant replayas a concept dates back to the veryearly days of sports broadcasting,and today it is difficult to imaginewatching a match or gamewithout it.Of course, the technology hascome a long way since the early1950s, when sports broadcastersfirst began to experiment with replaytechniques. In one growing trend,broadcasters around the world areadding increasingly sophisticatedenhancements to their traditionalreplays for live sports coverage.Instant replays are a fantastic toolfor enhanced storytelling, but let’sbe honest – enhancements likeslower-than-real-time presentationand new camera angles are littlemore than window-dressing for thesame action, played over and overBy Jesper GawellChief Marketing Officer, ChyronHegoagain. Clearly, there is plenty of roomfor improvement.Today’s sports viewers arealso becoming more and moresophisticated, and they’re veryopen to taking in and understandingmultiple layers of information throughenhanced broadcast graphics.Live graphics heighten theexperience during live actionand virtual graphics boost thesportscasters’ storytelling ability.Now, we’re seeing the next logicalstep with graphics and telestrationbecoming more widespread forenhancing the instant replay.Traditionally, advanced telestrationand analysis were reserved forhalf-time and post-game showsbecause the workflows to preparethe sequences were simply too timeconsuming.This has all changedwith tools such as ChyronHegoPaint, which was designed to makeadvanced telestration fast to createand easy for anyone on the sportsproduction team to use.As a result, broadcastersworldwide are using ChyronHegoPaint in their live broadcasts. Thereal game-changer is that they’reusing Paint to touch up and illustratereplays during the live match, notjust the half-time show.With advanced built-in featuressuch as calibration-free cameratracking, chromakeying, and aunique keyframing interface, Paintenables users to tie graphics to thepitch, highlight players, and addgraphics that follows players, fasterChyronHego Paint makes for fast advanced telestrationand easier than any previous method.“It’s all about enhancing thestorytelling with stunning visuals.With ChyronHego Paint, users canget advanced telestration on air asa second or third replay during thelive production,” comments MarkBowden, Senior Product Manager,ChyronHego. “With input from ourcustomers such as Sky SportsU.K., we’ve continued to developPaint to be even faster and offera better workflow. With Paint, ourcustomers are re-inventing theinstant replay by adding powerfulnew visual effects.”
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