Sportscaster June 2016

CBC HOSTS FLYING TO RIO BIG PLANS FOR VR AT RIO OLYMPICS

Golf Channel Scores with TV Transmission Deal

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CONTENTS 4 5 8

3

CBC and RIO

Coverage Plans Outlined

Big Plans for VR at Rio Olympics

The IOC plans to deliver daily doses of Virtual Reality

Blue Jays’ Jerry Howarth a Canadian Achiever The voice of the Jays is all ours

10

Bringing 4K Sports to Blue Jay Fans, Global Audiences

14

Golf Channel Scores with Extensive TV Transmission Deal

17

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The 4K TV ecosystem is starting to deliver real results

Satellite trucks, flyaway systems and more are required

Sports Tech

New technologies for sports broadcasting

80 Valleybrook Drive,Toronto, Ontario M3B 2S9 Editor Lee Rickwood, lrickwood@sportscastermagazine.ca Senior Publisher, Advertising Sales James A. Cook (416) 510-6871, jcook@sportscastermagazine.ca Art Director Mark Ryan Senior Circulation Manager Diane Rakoff, (416) 510-5216 Fax: (416) 510-6875 Customer Service Silva Telian, (416) 442-5600 ext. 3636; Fax: (416) 510-6875

Sportscaster Magazine is Published by Annex-Newcom LP. For reprints call: 416-510-6871 From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you.

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Indexed in Canada Business Index, Print edition: ISSN pending Online edition: ISSN pending Publications Mail Agreement 43005526.

Production Manager Steve Hofmann, (416) 510-6757 June 2016

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Rio 2016: CBC/Radio-Canada’s 20th Olympic Games as Our Official Broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada’s TV and digital media coverage of the summer’s biggest sports event will include more than 1,275 television hours, across various broadcast and sports specialty channels. Digital, online and mobile platforms will be used to deliver some 2,000 hours of programming (including the 360-degree VR content described in our next story).

CBC-TV, ICI Radio-Canada Télé, and primary Olympic television partners TSN and RDS, as well as Sportsnet, will share the TV load. CBC Radio One and ICI Radio-Canada Première will have special Olympic programming, with TSN Radio also carrying coverage as the Official Affiliate Radio Broadcaster.

“As Canada’s Olympic Network, we take pride in connecting Canadians to the athletes and the Olympic Games through a digital-first strategy, allowing them to watch what they want, when they want, from wherever they want,” Greg Stremlaw, CBC Sports executive director, and general manager and chef de mission for CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of Rio 2016, described.

“Along with our As the Olympic Games draw broadcast partners nearer, Sportscaster Magazine TSN, RDS and Sportsnet and our Olympic will post additional stories partners on the corpoand information about the rate side, we continue CBC’s Olympic coverage to prepare for what will be one of the plans on its website, at most innovative and www.sportscastermagazine.ca. accessible Olympic

“

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”

Games broadcasts ever provided to Canadians.”

Broadcasts during the Games will be split into three programming blocks — Olympic Games Morning, Olympic Games Daytime and Olympic Games Primetime — in English and French each day.

Ron MacLean will host Olympic Games Morning, followed by Andi Petrillo and David Amber on Olympic Games Daytime, with Scott Russell hosting the nightly Olympic Games Primetime block.

So, the hosts, anchors and on-camera reporters will be on-site in Rio, alongside some camera operators, technicians and production resource coordinators. More than half of the positions in Rio are considered “shared” resources supporting all platforms – specifically the English/French in-venue sport coverage teams at venues and at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC).

But the majority of CBC/Radio-Canada’s team will be based in Toronto and Montreal, including most producers, editors and production leads.

CBC’s model is as pure a remote production as there is. CBC/Radio-Canada has no production vans/ trucks on-site; no control rooms or edit suites. But every microphone and camera can be seen and controlled in Toronto and Montreal, and all of the direction and production is led and executed from Canada.

Where possible, CBC/Radio-Canada will have added cameras in key locations to be able to Canadianize the coverage and add perspective to the Canadian athletes’ story that may not be covered as fully on a world feed. ■

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Big Plans for VR at Rio Olympics One of the best ways to enjoy the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics may be at a distance, even virtually.

With just days to go before the Games get underway, reports from the host country continue to cast a pall over the eager anticipation athletic fans should be having. So plans announced well in advance of the Games by the International Olympic Committee, its Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) production arm, and the rightsholder in Canada, CBC/Radio Canada, to deliver some 50 or 60 hours of live Olympic coverage as virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree video streams have gained in interest and attention.

No one says the streams are a substitute for actually attending, or for full screen TV viewing, but Olympic organizers are satisfied that the technology has matured to the point where they are now executing a VR video project at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Broadcasters know VR technology is still far from the mainstream, yet it has incredible potential for sportscasting (and other applications) with its immersive, you-are-there impact. OBS says the Olympic VR experience will place the viewer closer to the action than ever before, even if they are thousands of miles away.

As the CBC gears up to carry the OBS VR feeds, producers there anticipate that Men’s Basketball (the Final!) Fencing,

OBS VR CONTENT PLANS Day 0 2000-2330

Opening Ceremony

Day 1 1600-1835

Fencing

Day 2 1600-1835

Fencing

Day 3 TBD

TBD

Day 4 TBD

TBD

Day 5 1600-1845

Artistic Gymnastics

Day 6 1600-1810

Artistic Gymnastics

Day 7 2020-2325

Athletics

Day 8 0930-1250 & 2000-2315

Athletics

Day 9 2020-2230

Athletics

Day 10 0930-1210 & 2015-2250

Athletics

Day 11 0930-1240 & 2015-2250

Athletics

Day 12 2200-0130

Beach Volleyball

Day 13 2200-0130

Beach Volleyball

Day 14 1410-1720

Basketball (Men’s SFs)

Day 15 1530-1800

Diving

Day 16 1545-1805

Basketball (Men’s Final)

Day 16 2000-2330

Closing Ceremony

360 degree camera systems have been customdeveloped for OBS and the Rio Olympics.

June 2016

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NextVR’s production truck gives the company and the industry “…a distinct competitive advantage…” says Ryan Sheridan, NextVR’s senior vice president for Imaging and Production Technologies.

NextVR Unveils Production Truck at NAB With its track record of producing and delivering immersive 3D virtual reality sportscasts for the likes of NASCAR and the NBA, NextVR is rolling out the first live virtual reality production truck for marquee sports and entertainment events.

Custom-built from the ground up, the truck is A VR rig system from NextVR designed to be ‘plug and play’ so it can pull up is equipped with six Red Epic to any venue and begin producing live multi-cam- Dragon cameras. NextVR has era, stereoscopic VR programs with fully mixed more than 26 patents granted 3D VR audio right away. The truck fits into a large or pending for the capture, cargo plane to reach global markets and intercompression, transmission, and national sporting events. display of virtual reality content.

“Having a VR broadcast truck to cover major events is another example of how NextVR continues to read the market in this emerging technology,” said Michael Davies, SVP, Field and Technical Operations at FOX Sports. “NextVR continues to distinguish itself as the standard setter in bringing live, broadcast-quality VR to sports fans excited about the content.”

The NextVR virtual reality production truck is divided into three main sections: an on-board audio mixing facility to produce VR 3D audio; seating space for broadcast partners and event hosts to monitor the live VR broadcast; and a large section reserved for the computing horsepower, encoders, renderers and stitching tools required in live VR production.

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Diving, Beach Volleyball and Gymnastics will get the VR treatment, with unique in-venue camera placements and in some cases multiple camera/angle feeds from which the end viewer can choose.

There will be three VR camera head systems moving from venue to venue plus a wireless system that will rove within some venues.

The 360/immersive cameras will be placed in positions on the field of play closer than any spectator can sit, such as on the deck of a dive pool or directly beside the fencing court.

OBS is working with a third party service provider to produce the VR content on a daily basis.

OBS is responsible for on-site VR production and app design.

The content will be streamed live, in real time.

VOD content will also be available as highlights the following day.

The video is transferred directly to the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in the Olympic Park, and from there to rightsholders around the world.

From the CBC, feeds will be available for iOS and Android devices through the app and traditional Web offerings. Of course, the experience differs depending on the device that’s used: with a VR headset, a fully immersive view can be chosen to give the full 3D/360 experience in the binary-scopic view. Tablet or mobile users get a 360-degree motion-sensitive view.

CBC adds that a lot of work is being done to try and deliver a satisfying and consistent experience across multiple devices and different mobile systems, but challenges partly due to proprietary engineering in some operating system software must be overcome; CBC/Radio-Canada and OBS say they are making progress on the issues.

As happened with HD when it began to replace

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IOC President Thomas Bach looked into the future of technology, society and sport on a three-day tour through Silicon Valley ahead of the Summer Games in Rio.

CFC Looks Into VR SD, broadcasters and sports content providers must think carefully and invest wisely in a new technology like VR, when the number of users is so small that the mass appeal may not have kicked in yet.

CBC/Radio-Canada says it’s chosen to lead in this instance knowing that VR is a hot topic in the entertainment and sport industry, although its use does raise those questions of value of innovation and the value to the mass audience.

So all concerned, OBS says, will take a close look at the different production and delivery technologies used and assess what was most successful, based on daily analytics on video views, unique views, session time, device and locality breakdown data that will be gathered. ■

The Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab (CFC Media Lab) and OMERS Ventures are looking at the VR ecosystem in Canada, and they will report on the key players in this emerging industry and the primary workflows used to bring virtual reality (VR) content to users.

“The current reality of the VR workflow in North America is that it’s complex, multi-layered and not well understood,” said Ana Serrano, the Chief Digital Officer at CFC. “With this study, we hope to uncover strengths, weaknesses and gaps in Canada’s VR ecosystem in order to determine and tap into new areas for growth in VR that offer promising market potential.”

The Pulse on VR: A Workflow and Ecosystem Study and research is funded by Canada Media Fund (CMF), Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, On Screen Manitoba (OSM) and New Media Manitoba (NMM), the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), la Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) and supported by Super Ventures.

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SPORTSCASTER CANADIAN ACHIEVER

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Jerry Howarth is joined by his extended family and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame officials during a ceremony at the Rogers Centre honouring his induction to the Hall, and the presentation of the Jack Graney Award for his body of work with the Blue Jays.

Photo credit: Chuch Kochman.

Howarth Voice of Blue Jays

BY DICK DREW

“ And there she goes!

”

The call is instantly recognizable.

For 35 years, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays have enjoyed hearing radio sportscaster Jerry Howarth’s words each time a Blue Jay hits one out of the park: “Up! Up! Up! … and there she goes!”

On well over five thousand radio broadcasts and counting, he has built a tremendous relationship with his accomplished broadcast partners, several former players and of course, millions of listeners.

Born in York, Pennsylvania, raised in San Francisco, Jerry was a devoted sports fan growing up.

With an economics degree in hand and a couple of years of army service behind him, he launched his sportscasting career in 1974, calling play-by-play for the Tacoma Twins and the Salt Lake City Gulls of the Pacific Coast League. He would later become the Salt Lake radio station KWMS’ sports director and sports talk show host.

While with the Gulls, he applied for a radio job with the start-up Blue Jays, in 1977. The team hired

Paperwork and Coloured Pens To mark Jerry Howarth’s 35 years in the booth, Sportsnet.ca is posting fully annotated reproductions of his scoresheets, covered with his multi-coloured pen scribbles and symbols, as well as featured clips and interviews from the games.

Among the scoresheets, Howarth’s first game: Toronto vs. Detroit.

Pitching for the Tigers: Jack Morris, who would later be a Blue Jay and later still, be Jerry’s announcing partner for a year.

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Tom Cheek and Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, but told Howarth to stay in touch.

Howarth’s break came when Gulls’ manager Jimy Williams was hired by the Blue Jays in 1980 and put in a good word for Jerry. But he was well-seasoned before joining the Jays radio, and he fit right in alongside Tom. For the next nearly quarter century, “Tom & Jerry” would be the voice of the team, an almost-inseparable pair of major league baseball announcers.

The team they covered was getting just as good, especially in those heady years of ‘92 and ’93, and Jerry described to me his two most memorable moments: “Dick,” he said, “First was calling Dave Winfield’s two-run double in the top of the 11th inning in Game 6 of the ‘92 World Series in Atlanta.”

That gave the Blue Jays the 4-2 lead they would not surrender.”

Second? “In the bottom of that inning: I turned the mic over to Tom when we came back from the commercial break, surprising him so he could call the Blue Jays’ and Canada’s first ever World Series Championship.”

Sadly, as we know, cancer claimed Tom in 2005 and Jerry became sole play-by-play announcer the following season, working with an analyst or colour sideman. Following Tom’s death, Jerry and baseball announcer Mike Wilner drove a successful lobby to finally have Tom Cheek inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he was posthumously presented with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2013.

Of course, Jerry has not been without major rec-

SPORTSCASTER CANADIAN ACHIEVER

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ognition of his own talents. On Canada Day 2014, Jerry was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Not only for his work with the Blue Jays, but also for his unflinching support of amateur sport, his fundraising efforts for the Special Olympics and for being head basketball coach at an Etobicoke high school for the past 20 years, both of the junior and senior teams.

Often asked to speak at high school and college events, “Two things I always share with the students: First, get as much education as you can. Second, follow your heart and do what you really love doing, then turn your hobby into a career enjoying every moment along your journey.”

Jerry is also a devoted family man. Married 44 years to wife Mary, they’ve raised two adopted boys whom they were blessed to receive at birth. The boys are grown men now, of course, and Jerry and Mary are happy grandparents.

I’m also happy to report that Jerry is a Canadian Achiever, as back in 1995, all four members of the then-Howarth family became Canadian citizens. As Judge Gina Godfrey was leaving the citizenship ceremony, Jerry claims he said, “And there she goes…”

Certainly, Canada scored that day, and we’re glad he joined the team!

Jerry Howarth…another Canadian Achiever. ■

On the field with Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons.

Photo credit: Fred Thornhill.

Dick Drew has a long and accomplished career of his own in the Canadian radio broadcast industry, and he has been reporting stories of other Canadian Achievers in his best-selling book, The Canadian Achievers, on a daily syndicated radio series and weekly newspaper

Jerry Howarth at work in his office.

column, and in Sportscaster

Photo credit: Fred Thornhill.

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Advanced Media Solutions Bring 4K Sports to Blue Jay Fans, Global Audiences

Walk-off victories will be even more exciting in 4K, as major sports broadcasters invest in leading-edge production technology for the production and delivery of 4K/UHD and HDR video.

Snell Advanced Media (SAM) is having quite an impact on professional sports media in just its first year or so of operation.

Formed by Quantel’s 2014 acquisition of Snell, the company is a key player in the broadcast industry’s move to 4K, HDR and IP production workflows.

The company has worked with multiple partners, broadcasters and rightsholders to help to launch the UK’s first 4K/UHD channel, BT Sport; to produce live 4K sports event coverage of the recent El Clásico football match in Spain, and its recent major live 4K production and playout sale to Rogers Media.

SAM provided a Kahuna 9600 switcher — featuring a 16-input A/B cut bus — for the MCR alongside

a new batting “ Like line-up or hockey power play combo, the 4K ecosystem is starting to gel and deliver real results.

”

Morpheus automation and ICE Channel-in-a-Box units. Rogers has also installed main and backup 4K sQ 1800 servers in addition to a range of SAM infrastructure products.

The Kahuna production switcher makes it possiSPORTScaster

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ble for Rogers’ production staff to handle multiple formats, such as HD feeds or commercials, simultaneously for inputs and outputs using its FormatFusion 3 system. The crew can work with any format and assign any input as HD or SD, even smartphone video, eliminating the need for external conversion boxes. Already familiar with the Enterprise sQ server, Rogers staff was comfortable working with the UHD variant, which stores 4K media as single image files, reducing the risk of sync or alignment errors. Coupled to a 4K-enabled version of the Qube editor, recording, editing and playback are supported from a single mainframe. Playback control is from the existing SAM Morpheus installation.

“We have deployed 4K solutions before, but none of them have been as comprehensive as the system we have installed at Rogers,” noted David Tasker, SAM VP Systems & Technology. “The solution was specifically built for Rogers; it’s extensible and upgradable.

He described the Kahuna’s Live Touch sports highlights toolset used by Rogers, which enables a slo-mo playback on video from any one of a number of cameras. It also lets the sportscast director call for extracted video zooms from a scene in order to amplify its visual features, say in a close play at home plate, while still presenting a 1080 HD quality image.

Having announced its plans to deliver significant sports content in 4K, including all of the Toronto Blue Jays’ home games, Rogers began a period of extensive market research and comprehensive technical trials to evaluate its playout options and choices. Rogers is also working with high dynamic range (HDR) video – a leading edge technology said to produce real-life images with richer colour saturation, contrast and resolution.

(Rogers Media and Bell Media are broadcast partners in and co-owners of Dome Productions, the leading Canadian mobile TV production company. Dome reports it is trialing HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) format in delivering HDR to enhance the overall viewing experience for the consumer. “We work hard to stay at the forefront of the industry,” said Mary Ellen Carlyle, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Dome Productions. “We were the very first production mobile vendor in North America to launch 4K and we are very excited to begin trialing HLG in Canada.”)

Like a new batting line-up or hockey power

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Rogers’ new Master Control is 4K-capable with a new switcher, servers and infrastructure from Snell Advanced Media.

play combo, the 4K ecosystem is starting to gel and deliver real results. Tasker noted that some current 4K products process video in four HD quadrants, and that Rogers had experienced problems with quadrant signal delays in early trials with another vendor, but the SAM solution presented no such issues with 3 Gbps spigots.

As Frank Bruno, Vice President of Engineering

and Operations at Rogers, described, “After a rigorous testing process with a variety of manufacturers, SAM’s technology just worked. SAM’s support during the proof-of-concept was excellent, installing, testing and ensuring the system would be rock-solid live on-air. In fact, we have gone live with the proof-ofconcept system while we deploy the full system: it worked that well.” ■

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More than 20 of PSSI’s C-Band satellite trucks and C- and Ku-band flyaway systems are needed to meet the logistical challenges of covering some 66 tournaments for the Golf Channel.

Golf Channel Scores with Extensive TV Transmission Deal The inherent value of live sports content and the comprehensive TV coverage that fans expect means that robust, capable and redundant TV and video distribution capabilities are a necessity, not a luxury.

So when PSSI Global Services LLC, a leader in mobile satellite transmission, finalized its new, multi-

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year technology partnership with the golf entertainment and sports specialty service Golf Channel to be its primary provider of satellite transmission services across North America, it required comprehensive technological expertise, geographic reach, industry experience, fleet size and more to exceed the requirements of Golf Channel and the expectations

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of its audiences and advertisers.

Even with extensive use of fibre transmission from those facilities that are capable, the remote locations, slower Internet circuits and often one-time location requirements of many tournaments means it’s essentially an all-the-eggs-in-one-basket approach that required careful consideration at the Golf Channel and an all-encompassing while economically sensible proposal from PSSI. “Golf Channel provides more live golf coverage than all other U.S. networks combined,” said Marc Caputo, senior director, remote technical operations for the Orlando, FL-based sports specialty service. “So reliable, consistent delivery is crucial. This new deal with PSSI will help ensure that we are able to get just that. There’s lots of confidence from the experience we’ve had with PSSI, who’ve been covering Golf Channel majors well before I started.

“Last year at the U.S. Open, we started the conversation about how we get even more bang from our arrangements with PSSI. It turned out well - more work for them meant better packages for us.”

Golf Channel will make full use of PSSI’s extensive sportscasting capabilities at golf’s biggest events throughout the year: more than 20 of PSSI’s C-Band satellite trucks and C- and Ku-band flyaway systems are needed to meet the logistical challenges of covering some 66 tournaments for the Golf Channel, not to mention encoding and transmitting live news, road show events and press conferences created by and carried on the channel.

As it has with many top sports channels (ESPN, FOX Regionals, and HBO to name a few) PSSI will also help Golf Channel develop efficient production technologies and transmission methods unique to its sport and events, much as it has for pro boxing, wrestling and auto racing organizations.

Matt Scalici, general manager of PSSI/Strategic Television, said the company was “thrilled” to be selected by Golf Channel for the exclusive service and support contract. Of course, he’s proud of the reputation PSSI has built up for its advanced technology, versatile and experienced engineering team, and the largest fleet in the industry with more than 40 Ku-Band and C-Band satellite uplink/production dual-path capable trucks so far.

“This agreement is seen part of the reason for growth in our overall capabilities, including fleet size, coverage territory and concurrent bookings.

It’s not replacing one business with another,” Scalici explained. “We’re building and rebuilding, acquiring, making careful choices for a 40+ and growing fleet that will continue in 2016 and 2017.”

He noted the Golf Channel partnership has exclu-

The Golf Channel played with 4K HDR video during the 2016 Sony Open, using Sony’s HDC4300 to capture the action on the 17th hole in 4K resolution, while simultaneously recording 4K HDR images to separate servers as part of its R&D in HDR production. Sony’s F55 cameras were also used for the 4K HDR production, with signals converted to HD for the main broadcast.

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The Golf Channel uses the cutdown highlights, homebase or remi (remote integration) production model, as do many other sports broadcasters, to manage assets required on location with content mixing and integration done back at the main studio facility in Orlando.

sive C-band requirements of 130 to 160 megabits, with various modulation schemes, multi-signal carrier paths with signal integrity protection for single channel backhaul and multiplexed channels used in both full tournament coverage and at-home style productions.

As Caputo acknowledges, it may be one basket, but it big robust and capable one.

He went on to describe some of his production crew and staffing considerations, noting that all crew for the tournament coverage and remote studio productions are from the Golf Channel and its crewing department, with support from NBC Golf.

The majority of production equipment support comes from NEP, the Pittsburgh, PA-based and privately owned broadcast and video production company. NEP handles international production with a focus on sport, and the company has set up a presence in Canada via partnerships with French-Canadian production company Mobilimage (based in Montreal) and Ivar Boriss (Words or Pictures), who was director of remote operations sales/technical producer for Dome Productions for 17 years. NEP already had a location in Vancouver, but it will support all of Canada with its U.S.-based fleet of nearly 60 mobile production trucks.

The Golf Channel does work with Toronto-based Dome Productions on occasional golf coverage assignments in Canada, and it regularly works with solo camera owner/operators who provide single camera live shot services for the Morning Show, other news reports and highlight packages.

So some production are as simple as a single uplink, one pass service to the Orlando home base, but of course, some events are much more complex Caputo said that major tournaments such as The Masters and Player’s Championship have multi-chanSPORTScaster

| June 2016

nel transmission paths available, dedicated fibre channels, with full back-up and redundancies. More than ten fibre paths leave Augusta, he itemized, and five return channels are needed to handle production and transmission requirements for The Masters.

Multiple encoders and decoders, DAs and modulators, huge routing and monitoring matrices as well as multiple overlapping crew shifts are brought to bear.

So while live competition is a centrepiece of the Golf Channel’s television programming schedule, it is placing more and more emphasis on related programs and specialized golf content.

Both Caputo and Scalici made reference to the enormous production and transmission resources brought to bear for National Instruction Day, a major event in PGA of America’s 100-day Centennial campaign.

Nearly two dozen of the most legendary names in golf instruction as well as former PGA players presented their expertise at six clinics across the country.

Golf Channel hosted 16 hours of television coverage on May 4, including 12 hours of live broadcast from multiple locations literally spread across the country: the day began at Baltusrol, in Springfield, New Jersey (this year’s PGA Championship host site) and it wrapped up at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

PSSI provided live transmission services from each of the six main golf locations, including multiple send and receive channels for full interactivity among locations, so on-camera talent could deliver the best instruction, swing analysis and golf information possible. In addition to the eight or nine trucks used on Instruction Day, it still had a handful of golf tournaments to cover during the week ■

SPORTS TECH

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Astucemedia Live Sports Graphics Creation and Data Management Montreal-based Astucemedia has a new version of its Sports Data Platform for real-time data-driven sports graphics in live sportscast productions.

It can take in real-time data feeds from STATS, OPTA and other sports data service providers, and put out live TV graphics from an open, software-based workflow.

At NAB, Astucemedia showed off the system’s datadriven graphic abilities for soccer, football, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis and motorsports coverage.

On-camera presenters access the interactive graphics by using an on-set touchscreen display to call up information they need to illustrate the segment.

The modular platform ingests data as it streams in, and populates pre-designed, customizable graphics templates with the key information to be presented.

The platform has custom plug-ins to integrate with graphics software from Vizrt, including Viz Libero, a 3D virtual sports solution that generates live 3D replays, novel game perspectives and sports analysis.

User-customized graphics creation tools include the data ingest, external-APIs, intelligent template logic, plug-ins, live data monitoring web terminal, and data publishing to various platforms, including mobile and so-called second screen apps.

There’s also a cool real-time auto racing module that ingests and processes live, in-car telemetry and timing data from NASCAR, INDYCAR and MotoGP series races and the data-compatible tracks where they run. The data can be integrated with posts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. ■

New Sports Data Platform from Montreal-based Astucemedia

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June 2016

| SPORTScaster

SPORTS TECH

18

Brandable Drone Joins the Fleet Cameras, projectors and branding message can be mounted on new inflatable drones

Sony’s First 4K Camcorder with 2/3”-type Sensor Sony is introducing a new 4K shoulder camcorder with a 2/3-type Exmor CMOS sensor embedded in a balanced form factor with low power consumption.

The new PXW-Z450 records 4K QFHD (3840 x 2160) at 50p/59.94p, as well as a variety of HD formats, using the XAVC Intra and XAVC Long GOP workflow standards.

The camera’s designed for a wide variety of 4K operations, including pool feeds, live ENG shooting and multi-format productions. It can be used with commercially available B4 mount lenses without an external optical attachment or internal optical extender.

The PXW-Z450 supports networking features with a built-in wireless module and an embedded RJ-45 Ethernet 100B-T connector. It also has a Near Field Communication (NFC) function for Wireless LAN setup and operation via a smartphone or tablet with Sony’s Content Browser Mobile application. ■ SPORTScaster

| June 2016

Aerotain’s Skye inflatable drone is the next new entry in the aerial platform market, offering media acquisition and presentation options at live events and public gatherings.

This helium-filled controllable balloon normally comes in around three metres in size, but its overall shape and total volume can be creatively constructed to different requirements. Flight motion, direction and speed are driven by remote-controlled adjustable surface propellers.

Its exterior is printable with 360° graphics, and there’s an option to use the balloon skin as the display surface for an internally mounted projector.

As a platform for aerial photography and video live streams, cameras up to 2 kg can be added. Drone movements can be pre-programmed, and flights of about two hours at speeds up to about 20 kph are powered by rechargeable batteries.

Skye is offered as part of a complete service with a trained operator being required for flight operations, but a more autonomous version that can be operated independently by end users is in development. ■

SPORTS TECH

19

Visualizing UEFA Euro, Copa America

Data-driven graphics and interactive analysis are driving live sports broadcasts

Producers of Euro 2016 and Copa America coverage have new plug-and-play 4K graphics tools created specifically for the tournaments.

Reality Check Systems (RCS) has teamed up with Vizrt to create a new interactive version of its LaunchPad package, so real-time graphics and full screen highlights used by sports producers and studio analysts can be delivered on-screen.

The RCS platform combines industry-specific Opta Sports data with dynamic visual templates, the Vizrt graphics and video compositing solution and a 3D analysis toolset.

Graphics for Euro 2016 and Copa America - including results; standings; fixtures; touch, pass and shot maps; player and team profiles; and more - are instantly available and controllable by on-air talent using a 65” touchscreen. Of course, social media feeds can be integrated into the presentation.

Opta data is used in graphics systems to generate visual representations of player activity, including heat maps, sequential scoring plays, 3D virtual replays, passing maps and penalty trajectories. ■

Sony’s new PXW-Z450 is designed for a wide variety of 4K operations

June 2016

| SPORTScaster

SPORTS TECH

20

HD video footage can be transmitted from drones and helmets

Video Transmissions from Drones, Helmet-heads Fans watching recent MasterCard Memorial Cup coverage could pay close attention to the game referee and his point of view thanks to the RefCam HD-I, an integrated sports camera and transmitter solution that was helmet mounted during the competition.

The unit, developed by digital microwave and transmitter company IMT (Integrated Microwave Technologies) in partnership with iSee, was an integral part of the CHL sportscasts, carried by sports specialty services Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

The RefCam HD-I encodes video footage in

SPORTScaster

| June 2016

H.264 HD, and it operates in the standard 2K DVB-T COFDM mode; it’s compatible with a wide range of Nucomm IP diversity and handheld receivers. It supports standard licensed and unlicensed frequencies. The low-profile antennas are optimized to work in various stadium environments.

Or above them.

IMT’s microLite aerial transmitter, mounted on unmanned drone systems like the Aerobo Mini, is used by clients in news, TV, sports, advertising as well as cinema and remote location inspection. The lightweight (4.4 lbs) drone carries the newest version of the microLite COFDM HD transmitter. ■

SPORTS TECH

21

Calrec Delivers the Call at MLB Network Calrec is hitting it out of the park as it meets the demanding digital audio needs of Major League baseball.

After last season, MLB Network took on the added responsibility for all NHL Network TV production, including live studio shows, taped content, intermission programming, and updates.

That made necessary a new studio and control room in MLB TV HQ in Secaucus, New Jersey.

In particular, a second Calrec Apollo production and live to air audio mixing console has been added, and it’s linked both to a new router core and Hydra2 network. MLB Network also upgraded the processors in its first Apollo to Concord, Calrec’s latest processor, to match the power and functionality of the new desk.

The router core serves as the hub of MLB Net-

work’s Calrec Hydra2 network, giving control and access to all networked audio resources. It allows MLB Network to scale up when necessary simply by adding more I/O or consoles to the Hydra2 network.

“When we added the router core coupled with the Concord upgrade, it opened up greater access to everything in our studios and control rooms.

The Concord upgrade allows us to add more production to our day’s schedule and makes it possible to switch at a moment’s notice; we can swing between setups thanks to lightning-fast memory and file-load execution,” said Mike Curry, senior audio engineer, MLB Network. “Having Hydra2 and the Concord functionality allows me to say ‘yes’ to the production team when they have great ideas and need to execute them quickly.” ■

Mike Curry pilots the Apollo in MLB Network’s new control room.

June 2016

| SPORTScaster

SPORTS TECH

22

Facility operators want to deliver high quality liveaction video coverage, as well as news and sportsrelated programming throughout their venue as a way to keep visitors engaged and involved.

IP Deployment Supports UEFA Euro In-Stadium Video Delivery PSV Eindhoven Philips Stadium serves up video to hospitality suites and other locations through the facility using Exterity IP solutions.

SPORTScaster

| June 2016

The sports stadium business embraces the use of high-tech digital media platforms as it seeks to boost the fan experience at major sports events worldwide.

Facility operators want to deliver high quality live-action video coverage, as well as news and sports-related programming throughout their venue as a way to keep visitors engaged and involved.

Whether in private VIP and hospitality suites, public food and shopping concourses, in their seats or even gathered outside the stadium, sophisticated TV and video distribution infrastructure helps create an engaging experience for fans, while also supporting the venue’s promotional activities and the delivery of visitor information, concession advertising, fan merchandising offers, scheduled events and emergency information.

Such systems can also be used automatically record in-situ activities for team analysis, to support kiosks for self-service tickets sales, and they are often used to feed media and press facilities.

Exterity, based in Scotland with offices worldwide, provides enterprise IP video technologies for the

secure distribution of live, on-demand and recorded video over IP, working with owners, operators and developers of the world’s leading sports venues.

Its IP video systems include HD and SD encoders, digital terrestrial and satellite TV gateways, set-top boxes to service thousands of screens, and a centralized media management and control server.

Exterity works with a large number of stadiums and venues, including football facilities like Celtic Park Stadium and PSV Eindhoven Philips Stadium, and it has deployed its IP video solutions in major venues in France, host of the 2016 UEFA Euro Championships.

The tournament attracts some 2.5 million visitors in ten cities there, and four of the ten tournament hosts are working with Exterity. Three of these stadiums, including the Stade Vélodrome, underwent refurbishment and installed an updated video system to provide better quality around the venue. The fourth, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, is a new build with a brand new media system serving up tailored content to some 400 screens around the stadium.

“From VIP rooms to public areas, video is pervading every part of the stadium experience,” said Colin Farquhar, Exterity CEO. “The systems used to distribute video need to adapt to the specialist demands of each sport. For example, stadiums hosting football games need a system that can easily deliver immediate replays of action on the field, while horseracing and golf tournaments need to provide real-time, low latency streaming of the action as it happens across their larger, spread out venue.”

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