Sportscasting
Premier Media Group Speeds Up with Evertz Premier Media Group (PMG) has seamlessly expanded its operations through the use of equipment and services supplied by Quinto Communications. As one of Australia’s leading content providers for subscription television, PMG’s growth has also seen it increase its delivery of content for internet and mobile platforms. From its headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney, PMG owns and operates TV channels, which are provided to subscription TV providers FOXTEL, Austar and Optus. On November 1, 2010, the motorsport-oriented SPEED channel joined the existing standard definition channels FOX SPORTS 1, FOX SPORTS 2, FOX SPORTS 3, FOX SPORTS NEWS, FUEL TV and HOW To Channel. SPEED, FOX SPORTS 1, FOX SPORTS 2 and FOX SPORTS 3 are also broadcast as separate High Definition channels, creating a total of 11 channel offerings. SPEED is currently only available through FOXTEL. “We started talking to FOXTEL and Quinto about the launch of a new channel eight months ago but the actual start of implementation for the project was not until September, so we had only two months to get it up and running,” said David Blackett, PMG Engineering Manager. “We were looking for systems that we could use with our existing infrastructure and wanted to maintain a consistency in our approach.” PMG’s existing Evertz QMC master control switcher platform and pre-existing content management and playout systems significantly eased the rollout. Rather than a major technical undertaking, the expansion became an incremental evolution and broadening of capacity that involved increases in the capacity to handle incoming live feeds, and in master control switching, branding and signal monitoring capacity. The most visible part of the added channel capacity is in the presentation area where PMG required and constructed additional presentation suites. “When we are dealing with live programming we want to be able to spread out with separate control rooms for live channels - because of the vagaries of live sport we prefer to have one person per channel,” explained Blackett. “Of course there is an SD and HD version of each channel. Effectively each operator is looking after four channels when replaying pre-recorded material or two channels when dealing with live events. “When it’s not live and we are playing out recorded material we wanted to fold back down to just use the main presentation rooms. So we needed a system with the flexibility to scale up and down as needed with the same look, feel and quality for the presentation team so we don’t have to retrain people after their initial training. We also wanted to keep the cost of change low but maintain features and flexibility at a very high level so that each channel has the same high level of reliability
36 Sportscasting
are used in order to transparently convert 59.94 fields per second HD feeds coming in from the US to Australian 50 fields per second broadcast standards, maintaining the highest possible video quality on challenging, fast moving, high definition sports content.
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Premier Media Group’s new Evertz-powered presentation suite.
and performance. To do that easily we had to have common equipment.” After discussions with Quinto Communications, the Australian distributor of Evertz equipment for the television broadcast industry, PMG selected additional Evertz QMC Master Control switchers and Evertz QMC-DCP Desktop Control Panel software with touch screen control surfaces to power
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Dave Blackett, Engineering Manager
the new SD and HD services PMG’s pre-existing Evertz MVP Multi-Image Display Processor systems, which provide video monitoring for both the Master Control Room and the presentation suites were also expanded. The presentation suites’ MVP Multiview display processor was expanded to drive a total of 12 high resolution multi-image displays with each display providing all the monitoring required for a channel, or in some cases for a pair of channels, on a single large flat panel display. Sources for any channel can be called up and displayed in any suite. Quinto also supplied new NEC Multeos large flat panel displays for monitoring in the additional newly constructed presentation control rooms. The SPEED Channel also presented a design and integration challenge with additional equipment required to handle the unique “HotPass” feature of the US-based NASCAR racing broadcast. Viewers can select to see the race from the vantage point of each of four drivers, as an alternative to the general broadcast coverage, by using the red button on FOXTEL’s remote. Viewers can also listen to either the broadcast network audio or the selected driver’s team radio. The value-added NASCAR HotPass feature for FOXTEL subscribers requires PMG to automatically switch each of the driver views back to the main international race feed during times when the individual driver views may be unavailable, such as during US ad breaks. Evertz X-0401 video switchers have been purchased and utilised to facilitate this seamless video and audio switching between individual driver views and the general broadcast coverage. Snell Group Mach HD motion compensated HD standards converters were also supplied by Quinto as part of the new build, to supplement the five pre-existing Snell Alchemist PhC HD standards converters that Quinto has previously supplied to PMG. The Alchemist and Mach HD converters
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PMG is also a partner with FOXTEL in the new FOXTEL Xbox Live service, a partnership with Microsoft which allows reception of selected FOXTEL channels over the internet and direct to television sets through the popular Xbox 360 entertainment console. The service allows Xbox 360 owners in Australia to access FOX SPORTS, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV, and other channels. “With all these new endeavours we went from four presentation suites to seven handling a total of nine operator positions including a training suite,” said Blackett. “The equipment began arriving in early October and we had it working for testing 10 days ahead of the FOXTEL launch using a combination of our in house engineering expertise and the support of Quinto and Evertz engineers to handle the installation and commissioning. “Every new build involves a competitive review of the available solutions and we always look at what new kit is available. We always aim to pick best of breed equipment for our requirements with functionality and flexibility as our number one priorities
while also ensuring we get good value for money. “We already had the Evertz routers as the core of our pre-existing Evertz QMC master control switching and branding systems for our existing channels and it was relatively easy to add the additional Evertz QMC driven SD and HD SPEED channels. Having previously bought the core Evertz infrastructure to allow for expansions we were able to reap the rewards of that decision to quickly expand our channel offerings,” said Blackett. PMG runs fully redundant A and B hot systems for all its channels. Each channel is output simultaneously by both an A and a B system and presentation can use Evertz modular changeover switching equipment to seamlessly switch broadcast of any channel to be from either of these two systems. The new channel simply required the installation of extra inputs on the core routers and extra master control switchers for the new SD and HD channels. “By using Evertz systems PMG is proactively ready to build its business by being able to quickly add new channels for clients,” said Alan McIlwaine, Managing Director of Quinto Communications. “PMG is able to leverage its existing systems using very scalable core architecture so any new channels can be easily added. We are pleased to be able to supply an Evertz solution with the ability to expand quickly rather than starting from scratch each time.” Visit www.quinto.com.au and www.premiermediagroup.com.au
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GLOBECAST POWERS LIVE HD SUPER 15 Rugby Union’s iconic southern hemisphere Super 15 competition runs from February to May. The 2011 competition opened with an historic first night match featuring a brand new team, the Melbourne Rebels. With fifteen teams from three countries, all the action in High Definition has been delivered to millions of viewers internationally via GlobeCast Australia. Super 15 is the only sporting tournament in the world that is played across so many different time zones, around Australia, in New Zealand and South Africa. But, viewer interest in the showdowns extends
further, as far as Europe and the Middle East. In 2011, from Friday February 18, GlobeCast Australia has been moving the action live around the Globe. Client networks through until May include BSkyB UK, Sky New Zealand, FOX Sports, Fiji TV, JSports Japan, MNet South Africa, Sky Italia and the Australia Network across Asia to India. GlobeCast Australia is using its owned and operated satellite leases and its global fibre network to move the games exclusively to key international broadcasters. Visit www.globecast.com.au
I-MOVIX DEBUTS LATEST SPRINTCAM VVS HD At the 2011 NAB Show, I-MOVIX will debut the latest version of SprintCam Vvs HD (Phantom-Powered), the groundbreaking ultra-slow-motion system for live HD broadcast production. SprintCam Vvs HD now operates at frame rates up to 2,700 fps in 1080i50 or up to 5,800 fps in 720p60 (more than 200 times slower than live action) and provides instant replay at native HD resolution and image quality. New features include a dual output that allows a camera operator to shoot and record at the same time, segmented memory, ramping of speed within a replay, dual output of live action and replay sequences, and integration of both live- and replayview on the viewfinder. Operational enhancements include compatibility with EVS server ultra-motion mode, a digital lens interface for better iris and lens switch control, improved replay controls, support for synchronisation of two cameras in 3D ultra-slow-motion capture, and a new joystick-equipped control panel.
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Aside from providing frame-rate speeds far in excess of other slow-motion systems, SprintCam Vvs HD also offers superior integration into broadcast operations. Specially designed for live broadcast use, SprintCam Vvs HD can be specified in a standard camera version or optimised for shoulder-mounted portable shooting. The SprintCam Vvs HD system comprises the latest generation Vision Research high-speed HD camera; an operational control panel that provides a real broadcast-quality colour matrix and control of framerate choice; a slow-motion remote that allows the user to select a video sequence and instantly replay it with an HD-SDI output for live broadcast or storage on any HD-SDI recorder for a later use; and the camera control unit, which provides control of the slow-motion instant replay, camera control, and data interface between a camera, EVS server, or SDI recorder. Visit www.i-movix.com
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