SVG SportsTech Journal Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

VOLUME13 ISSUE 1 PUBLISHED BY

Class of 2018

ADVANCING THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, & DISTRIBUTION OF SPORTS CONTENT

SVG FOCUS:

YEAR OF ESPORTS

INSIDE SVG UPDATE: Recaps of the Latest SVG Events, Initiatives, Sponsor News, and More SPECIAL REPORT: Super Bowl LIII and College Football Playoff National Championship WHITE PAPERS: Canon, Levels Beyond, OpenDrives, and SwiftStack PLUS IN-DEPTH: NAB 2019 Previews From More Than 175 SVG Sponsors

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in this issue SPRING 2019 Volume 13 Issue 1

upfront 4 FROM THE CHAIRMAN Technology Needs Cooperation 6 COVERING THE FIELD Esports Makes Its Presence Felt

SVGupdate 8 SVG SUMMIT 10 TRANSPORT

14 INITIATIVES 12 ESPORTS & GROUPS PRODUCTION FORUM

page 8

page 12

17 SPORTS BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME

page 17

SVGspecialreport 40 SUPER BOWL LIII 46 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

coverstory page 52

page 40

page 46

SVG FOCUS

YEAR OF ESPORTS

54 B LIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

70 ESPORTS STADIUM ARLINGTON

60 RIOT GAMES

74 H YPERX ESPORTS ARENA LAS VEGAS

66 ELEAGUE

78 ROUNDUP

white papers 80 CANON: ADVANCES IN SECOND GENERATION LONG ZOOM 4K UHD FIELD LENSES 82 LEVELS BEYOND: WHAT TRADITIONAL SPORTS LEAGUES CAN LEARN FROM ESPORTS SUCCESS WITH YOUTH AUDIENCES 84 OPENDRIVES: HUB-AND-SPOKE REMOTE PRODUCTION FOR ESPORTS AND LIVE EVENT BROADCAST 86 SWIFTSTACK: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF THE CLOUD WITHOUT THE COMMITMENT AND COMPLEXITY 88 NAB 2019 PREVIEWS What to expect from more than 175 SVG Sponsors 128 SVG SPONSOR UPDATE 146 SVG SPONSOR DIRECTORY 152 2

FINAL BUZZER Remote Production Workflows Embrace the Big Time SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

page 88

Media Connected

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Our renowned high-speed fiber optic network delivers major broadcasts like the Olympics with low-latency hitless video and data, creating an optimal viewing experience.

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Come by the AT&T Global Video Solutions booth (SU7916) and see how AT&T can help your next broadcast <br >

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<br >

ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS COOPERATION

By Tom Sahara Sports Video Group, Chairman In my first SVG SportsTech Journal letter from Fall 2013, I talked about the growth of the sports broadcast industry with the introduction of NBC Sports Network from their new Stamford, CT, facility and the rebranding of SPEED Channel to FOX FS1. House of Cards won its first Emmy and Aereo was disrupting New York City with low-cost TV viewing over the internet. Other announcements in 2013 were Ultra High Definition (4K) TV and Google Glass being the rage of CES and the endorsement of the ATSC 3.0 next-generation digital TV standard by the FCC. A lot has changed since then. Aereo and House of Cards are faded memories, and half of 21st Century FOX is now part of the Disney family.

But UHD and ATSC 3.0 are still relatively unknown to the average consumer.

While manufacturers have made significant strides in producing UHD TVs at affordable prices, the infrastructure to produce and distribute UHD remains expensive and incomplete. The ATSC 3.0 standard may be dead on the vine as over-the-top (OTT) delivery does not need it.

What do these examples prove? That technology alone cannot effect change. It takes value to drive change, whether experiential — as when a consumer buys a new UHD TV because it looks better — or profit-driven — as when corporations merge to take advantage of economies of scale.

The business of sports continues to drive demand, and technology is making it easier for fans to follow their passions wherever they are, and on whatever device is in hand. The growth of mobile-video viewing defies traditional business projections, yet the business of mobile has yet to prove as profitable as its popularity suggests. Esports dwarfs NFL audiences across the world, yet few have figured out how to profit from the massive viewership.

Through the years and changes, there are a number of SVG initiatives that have become the reference standards within the industry. The success of these initiatives is due to your participation, and I urge each of you to have your voice heard by joining an initiative.

The Sports Production Safety Group (SPSG) has become the gold standard for safe operations among broadcasters. Hiring an SPSG member ensures that your crews know the dos and don’ts around the TV compound.

The Sports Broadcasting Fund continues its mission, bringing relief to families of industry professionals hit by hardship. The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame continues to bring in generous contributions to the Fund while honoring those who have made significant contributions to the industry.

The SVG College Summit and College Sports Media Awards, along with the Veterans in Production Initiative, recognize and expose college graduates and military veterans to professional opportunities within the industry.

And the newly formed Sports Content Security Workgroup is focused on protecting our content and productions from disruption and piracy. As the internet becomes the lifeblood of modern business, the protection of our production and content from malicious actors is never more urgent than today.

I have learned a lifetime’s worth of lessons over these past years serving as your Chairman. One lesson that I hold most dearly is that technology without people is just a pile of junk. It takes creative, intelligent, dedicated, and, most of all, cooperative people to make technology work. I could not be prouder to have served you and will treasure each and every moment that each of you have shared with me. < 4

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

>CHAIRMAN

Tom Sahara,Turner Sports, VP, Operations and Technology

>EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ken Aagaard, SVG Chairman Emeritus and CBS Sports, EVP, Innovation and New Technology Andrea Berry, The G.A.P. Media Group, CEO Eric Black, NBC Sports Digital and Playmaker Media, CTO Jason Cohen, CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network, VP, Remote Technical Operations Mike Connelly, Fox Sports Regional Networks, SVP, Production Michael Davies, Fox Sports, SVP, Technical and Field Operations Scott Gillies, VICE Media, SVP, Global Technology Steve Hellmuth, SVG Chairman Emeritus and NBA Entertainment, EVP, Media Operations and Technology Jeff Jacobs, Skyline Sports and Entertainment, Principal Patty Power, CBS Sports, EVP, Operations and Engineering Susan Stone, MLB Network, SVP, Operations and Engineering

>ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Adam Acone, NFL Network, Director, Media Operations and Planning Glenn Adamo, Ivanhoe Media and Entertainment, President Peter Angell, Lagardère, SVP Onnie Bose, NFL, VP, Events Chris Brown, Turner Sports, Senior Director of Technical Operations Tab Butler, MLB Network, Senior Director, Media Management and Post Production Chris Calcinari, ESPN, SVP, Remote Production Operations, ESPN and ABC Sports Mary Ellen Carlyle, Dome Productions, SVP and GM Ken Clausen, HBO, Director of Production Joe Cohen, The Switch, President, Sports Michael Cohen, Industry Consultant Don Colantonio, Industry Consultant Scott Davis, CBS Sports, VP of Broadcast Operations Jim DeFilippis, Industry Consultant Ed Delaney, Industry Consultant Jed Drake, Industry Consultant David Dukes, PGA Tour Entertainment, Senior Director, Technical Operations Jerry Gepner, CP Communications, COO Steve Gorsuch, Industry Consultant Ken Goss, NBC Sports Group, SVP of Remote Operations and Production Planning Mark Haden, NHL, Group VP, Broadcast Technology Ed Holmes, The Holmes Group, Principal Deb Honkus, NEP Broadcasting, Chairman of the Board George Hoover, Industry Consultant Darryl Jefferson, NBC Sports Group, VP, Postproduction and Digital Workflow Robert D. Jordan CFE, Industry Consultant John Kvatek, University of Central Florida, Associate AD Multimedia and Creative John Leland, PSL International, LLC, Principal Glen Levine, NEP, President, U.S. Louis Libin, Broad Comm, President Jodi Markley, ESPN, EVP, Content Operations and Creative Services Bernadette McDonald, Major League Baseball, SVP, Broadcasting Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology Ken Norris, UCLA, Director of Video Operations Gary Olson, GHO Group, Managing Director Del Parks, Sinclair Broadcast Group, SVP and CTO Scott Rinehart, University of Notre Dame, Director, Broadcast Technology Larry Rogers, FirstInTV, President Mike Rokosa, NHRA, Technology Executive Scott Rothenberg, NEP, SVP, Technology and Asset Management Oscar Sanchez, CONCACAF, Director of Broadcast Operations Bruce Shapiro, Industry Consultant Tracey Shaw, WWE, SVP, Network and TV Operations Jack Simmons, Industry Consultant Don Sperling, New York Giants Entertainment, VP and Executive Producer Jerry Steinberg, Industry Consultant Patrick Sullivan, Game Creek Video, President Jason Taubman, Game Creek Video, VP Design/New Technology Larry Tiscornia, Major League Soccer, VP, Broadcasting Jacob Ullman, Fox Sports, SVP, Production and Talent Development John Ward, Industry Consultant Ernie Watts, Turner, Manager, Transmission Operations Center Mike Webb, YES Network, VP, Broadcast Operations Jeff Willis, Industry Consultant Dave Zur, KSE Media Ventures, SVP, Operations and Engineering

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COVERING THE FIELD

PLATINUM SPONSORS

ESPORTS MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT

By Karen Hogan Ketchum, Sports Video Group, Director of Production and Editor, SportsTech Journal

Pantone + Solid Coated 2623 Process Match C 70 M 100 Y 28 K 16 Process Black C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100

PREMIER SPONSORS

ADDER TECHNOLOGY • AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS • ALDEA SOLUTIONS • AVID • CAMPLEX • CHYRONHEGO • CISCO • CLARK WIRE & CABLE • CLEAR-COM, AN HME COMPANY • CLOUDIAN • COBALT DIGITAL • COMREX CORPORATION • DAKTRONICS • EUTELSAT • EVERTZ • EVS • FX DESIGN GROUP • IBM ASPERA • IBM SYSTEMS • IHSE USA • IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS • IMT VISLINK • JOSEPH ELECTRONICS • MARKERTEK • MASSTECH INNOVATIONS • MEDIAPRO • MICROSOFT • NEUTRIK • NEWTEK • PANASONIC • SES • SWIFTSTACK • TEDIAL • TELESTREAM • TELOS ALLIANCE • TERADEK • THE STUDIO – B&H • THE SWITCH • VITEC

CORPORATE SPONSORS

ADORAMA • APERI • APM MUSIC • ARISTA NETWORKS • ARTEL VIDEO SYSTEMS • ARVATO SYSTEMS • ATEME • AUDIO-TECHNICA • BLUEFRAME TECHNOLOGY • BOSE • BRAINSTORM • BRIDGE DIGITAL • CARINGO • CARTONI USA • CATDV • COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS • CONNECT • CORESITE • CREATIVE DIMENSIONS • DALE PRO AUDIO • DELAPLEX• DELL EMC • DIMETIS • DMC BROADCAST GROUP • DOCAPTION • EASY LIVE • EEG ENTERPRISES • ENCO SYSTEMS • ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA • ENDEAVOR STREAMING • FINGERWORKS TELESTRATORS • FLETCHER SPORTS • FOR-A • FORECAST CONSOLES • FRAUNHOFER • G&D NORTH AMERICA INC. • GAME CHANGER MVP • GIRRAPHIC • GLOBECAST • GRABYO • GTT • HAIVISION • HARMONIC • IKEGAMI • IMAGE VIDEO • IMAGEN • INTELSAT • INTERXION • IPTEC • ISTREAMPLANET • JB&A • JUNIPER NETWORKS • JVCKENWOOD • LEADER INSTRUMENTS • LEGRAND AV DIVISION • LEVELS BEYOND • LIMELIGHT NETWORKS • LTN GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS • MARSHALL ELECTRONICS • MAXON • MEDIA LINKS • MEDIAKIND • MIXON DIGITAL • MPE • MULTIDYNE • NAGRA • NCAM • NECF • NET INSIGHT • NEVION • NEXSAN • NOVELSAT • NTT ELECTRONICS AMERICA • OBJECT MATRIX • OOYALA • OPENDRIVES • OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION • PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES • PRIMESTREAM • PRIMEVIEW • PRODUCTIONHUB • QUANTUM5X • QUMULO • RADIO ACTIVE DESIGNS • RCN BUSINESS SERVICES • ROCK-IT CARGO • RT SOFTWARE • SANKEN/BRAINSTORM ELECTRONICS • SENNHEISER • SHOFLO • SHURE • SIGNIANT • SIMPLYLIVE • SIXTY AS • SMT • SNEAKY BIG STUDIOS • SPARK DIGITAL • SPECTRA LOGIC • SPORTRADAR US • SPORTZCAST • STATS • SUPPONOR • SWITCHBOARD LIVE • TAG V.S. • TATA COMMUNICATIONS • TEKTRONIX • TELSTRA • THE VIDEO CALL CENTER • THE WEATHER COMPANY, AN IBM BUSINESS • TSL PRODUCTS • TV GRAPHICS • TVU NETWORKS • UTAH SCIENTIFIC • V-NOVA • VERITONE • VERIZON DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES • VIDEOCITES • VISTA WORLDLINK • VITAC • VIZRT • VSN • WARNER/CHAPPELL PRODUCTION MUSIC • WAVE CENTRAL • WESCO • WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS • WSC SPORTS • ZAXCOM • ZAYO • ZEGAMI • ZIXI • ZYPE

MOBILE/INTEGRATOR SPONSORS

3G WIRELESS • ADVANCED SYSTEMS GROUP • AE GRAPHICS • AERIAL VIDEO SYSTEMS • ALL MOBILE VIDEO • ANTHONY JAMES PARTNERS • ALPHA VIDEO • ARCTEK SATELLITE PRODUCTIONS • AV DESIGN SERVICES • AZZURRO GROUP • BEACON INTERNATIONAL • BECKTV • BSI (BROADCAST SERVICES INTERNATIONAL) • BSI (BROADCAST SPORTS INTERNATIONAL) • C360 • CAT ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES • CBT SYSTEMS • CHESAPEAKE SYSTEMS • CHILEFILMS • CINESYS-OCEANA • CLARK MEDIA • COGNIZANT • CP COMMUNICATIONS • CREATIVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS • CSP MOBILE PRODUCTIONS • CTG • DIGITALGLUE • DIVERSIFIED • DNA STUDIOS • DOME PRODUCTIONS • DX3 MEDIA GROUP INC. • ES BROADCAST • F&F PRODUCTIONS • FILMWERKS • GAME CREEK VIDEO • GEARHOUSE BROADCAST • HIGH ROCK MOBILE TELEVISION • ILLUMINATION DYNAMICS • IMS PRODUCTIONS • INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES • INTOTO • KAUFMAN BROADCAST • KMH AUDIO-VIDEO INTEGRATION • LH COMPUTER SERVICES • LIVELIKE • LYON VIDEO • M2 AERIALS • METROVISION • MEYERPRO • MOBILE TV GROUP • NEXTVR • PCCW GLOBAL • PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS • PSSI/STRATEGIC TV • REALITY CHECK SYSTEMS • RF WIRELESS SYSTEMS • SDTV • SHOTOVER • SKYCAM • SMARTCART SVX • SONOVTS • SPEEDCAST/GLOBECOMM • STOREXCEL • T2 COMPUTING • THUMBWAR • TNDV • UNICOM • VIDOVATION

6

Since SVG’s founding in 2006, our mission has been to advance the creation, production, and distribution of sports content. And, while the ways in which sports content is created and produced — and certainly distributed — have evolved over the past 13 years, the idea of what constitutes sports content remained relatively the same. Until now.

Over the past 12 months, esports has exploded onto the sports-production scene. What once was considered a hobby for young gamers has become a billion-dollar industry, rivaling even the most established sports leagues and properties. Not only are esports tournaments consistently selling out traditional sports venues, such as Barclays Center and Staples Center, but esports-specific arenas are popping up all over the world with the aim of revolutionizing the in-venue fan experience.

For this reason, SVG is dedicating 15 pages of the Spring 2019 SportsTech Journal to the esports phenomenon. Beginning on page 52, SVG explores the Year of Esports with the industry’s biggest production leaders — Blizzard Entertainment (page 54), Riot Games (page 60), and ELEAGUE (page 66) — and esports-specific arenas — Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas (page 70) and HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas (page 74). The section closes on page 78 with a look at how the NBA, NBC Sports, and the EA Sports’ Madden NFL franchise are getting in on the action.

Stay tuned to www.sportsvideo.org for continuing esports coverage and be sure to subscribe to The SVG Podcast for in-depth interviews with leaders in this exciting space.

Of course, esports isn’t the only live-production sector experiencing technological innovation. SVG traveled to Santa Clara, CA, for the College Football National Championship (page 46) and Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII (page 40) to cover how ESPN and CBS Sports, respectively, tackled the two biggest games on the football calendar in record-breaking fashion.

The Spring 2019 SportsTech Journal looks back on the second half of 2018 and spotlights four industry events: SVG Summit, our largest to date (page 8); TranSPORT (page 10); our inaugural Esports Production Forum (page 12); and the 11th-annual Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Ceremony (page 17). On Dec. 11, the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inducted the Class of 2018: Gary Bettman, Mary Carillo, Bob Costas, Bill Fitts, Bud Greenspan, Peter Larsson, David Mazza, Gene Mikell, Jim Nantz, Neal Pilson, and Dick Vitale. To learn more about these 11 industry legends or to relive the December ceremony, check out our all-new website at www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org.

In addition, each Spring edition of the SportsTech Journal looks ahead to the new year. This year’s offers four industry white papers exploring the future of sports production and an extensive preview of the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Turn to page 80 for white papers from Canon (page 80), Levels Beyond (page 82), OpenDrives (page 84), and SwiftStack (page 86). Beginning on page 88, learn what you can expect from more than 175 SVG Sponsors on the 2019 NAB Show exhibit floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center. And, throughout the show (April 6-11), be sure to consult SVG’s SportsTech@NAB Show Blog for the latest news, product intros, and more, live from Las Vegas.

2019 promises to be a busy year for Team SVG as we continue our mission to advance the creation, production, and distribution of sports content; a mission we share with our members and sponsors all over the world! <

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

UPDATE

SPORTS VIDEO GROUP CONFERENCES IN REVIEW

> SVG SUMMIT

DECEMBER 10-11 NEW YORK CITY The 13th-annual SVG Summit drew a packed house of more than 1,400 sports-production professionals at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel for two days of informational panels, star-studded keynotes, in-depth workshops, cutting-edge technology showcases, and plenty of networking opportunities. With 50 sessions featuring 155 speakers as well as more than 70 exhibits, the 2018 SVG Summit was the largest yet and offered a little bit of something for everyone — no matter their role in the sports-production business.

DAY 1 WORKSHOPS: SVGW, IP, Cloud, Audio, Venue, MAM, and SVG Digital

Day 1 of the SVG Summit once again featured a full day of workshops designed to provide attendees with a deep-

8

dive look at the industry’s latest technology trends. The annual SVGW meeting kicked off the morning with a look at “Planning and Managing the Year’s Biggest Events” featuring top female execs from Major League Baseball, MLB

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

Network, NBC Sports Group, and the USTA. Later that morning, a pair of workshops addressed two of the hottest topics in the industry: IP Production and Cloud & Virtualization. The IP Production Workshop took an in-depth look at how networks, leagues, and remoteproduction–service providers can develop a series of best practices with respect to their compound IP and IT network infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Cloud & Virtualization Workshop focused on cloudbased production, contentmanagement, and distribution workflows currently deployed by sports-media organizations, including a comprehensive look by representatives of MLB Advanced Media at “How the Cloud Will Power the MiLB Media Revolution.”

The third-annual SVG Digital Workshop featured a keynote detailing The Mike’s On app; a first-of-its-kind direct-toconsumer media service that places a single personality — veteran New York sports-talkradio host Mike Francesa — as its star. In addition, Bleacher Report took the stage for a Digital Content Case Study, and speakers from the New York Giants, Madison Square Garden, Big East Conference, and a variety of tech vendors participated in streaming-centric sessions.

The SVG Venue Production Workshop was headlined by a case study detailing how the NBA is leveraging state-of-theart technologies to improve the speed, quality, and transparency of statistical data from courtside to beyond. In addition, the opening panel, titled “The Latest in Fan Engagement” was a New York-centric affair with production leaders from the Giants, Knicks, Mets, and New Jersey Devils.

NBA’s Chris Halton presented a case study during the Venue Production Workshop.

The Sports Content Management Workshop was anchored by a Keynote Presentation that went “Inside NFL Media’s MAM Overhaul”.

The workshop also featured sessions on AI and machine learning, NVMe and nextgen storage technology, LTO roadmap and applications, and a brand-new concept to close out the day: “Vendor-Broadcaster Q&A,” in which MAM leaders from MLB Network, SVGW’s annual meeting A+E Networks, PGA TOUR featured a panel discussion with Entertainment, University of (from left): Major League Baseball’s Notre Dame, and VICE Media Marla Miller, USTA’s Kirsten Corio, MLB Network’s Judy Acone, engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with vendors Avid, and NBC Sports Group’s Anne Grotefeld.

CatDV, Primestream, and Vizrt.

Day 1 also featured a pair of DTV Audio Group Workshops focused on audio production/distribution and issues related to spectrum.

The Audio Production & Distribution morning session dealt with Dolby Atmos in Live Production, Real-World IP Integration, Expanding Assisted Mixing Capabilities, Automated Beam-Forming Mic Tracking, and Challenging Conventional Sports Sound Design. In the afternoon, the Spectrum Workshop addressed 600 MHz Carrier Rollout, Production Implications of the Spectrum Crunch, Quantifying

500 MHz Crowding, and Practicalities of Leveraging Alternative Spectrum.

DAY 1 GENERAL SESSIONS:

The Latest in RemoteProduction Technology Monday’s General Sessions track highlighted IP-based workflows, SMPTE ST 2110 developments, and how these new ways of signal transport will transform the way the industry works and serves content to sports fans.

The session kicked off with a deeper look at “New Standards

KEYNOTE CONVERSATIONS: Lazarus, Ebersol Headline Star-Studded Tuesday

Tuesday was topped by Keynote Conversations with NBC Broadcasting and NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus and Alliance of American Football

DAY 2 GENERAL SESSIONS:

co-founder/CEO Charlie

State of the Industry

Ebersol.

Lazarus took the opportunity to

On Tuesday, the SVG Summit unified into a single general session featuring panel discussions and keynote conversations with leaders from the sportsproduction community that took a high-level look at HDR workflows, esports, REMI/athome/home-run production, augmented reality, and more.

highlight NBC Sports’ successful — and extremely busy — 2018, which featured Super Bowl LII, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and Telemundo’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup. In addition, he touched on the biggest topics facing the industry today, including Disney’s upcoming sale of 20-plus regional sports networks as part of its deal to buy 21st Century

That Will Make a Difference”

by SMPTE President and MediaKind SVP, Technology, Matthew Goldman. Other topics included “NextGeneration Graphics and Data Visualization” (featuring ESPN, Mixon Digital, MLB, Ross Video, and Sportradar), “The Virtualized Truck” (featuring Aperi, Fox Sports Detroit, Mobile TV Group, and NEP Group), “1080p HDR Production Workflows” (CBS Sports, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and Sony), and “Remote Production Design Update” (Game Creek Video, Grass Valley, Mobile TV Group, and NEP Group).

From left: Haivision’s Ghislain Collette, Limelight’s Fritz Seifts, Aspera (an IBM Company)’s Jonathan Solomon, and SVG’s Brandon Costa during an SVG Digital Workshop panel discussion

The day featured the following sessions: “What’s Next in Sports Tech?” (speakers from CBS Sports, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Turner Sports, and Univision Networks), “The Business of Remote Production” (Dome Productions, Game Creek Video, Mobile TV Group, and NEP Group), “OTT, Social Media, and the Impact on Production” (DailyMotion, NBA, NBC Sports Digital, and Twitter), “Artificial Intelligence and Automated Production” (CBS Sports, ESPN, and Fox Sports), and “Esports, Broadcasting, and Why It Matters” (MLB, Riot Games, Esports Arena Arlington technology solutions provider Simplynew, and Turner Sports/ ELEAGUE). < A Day 2 panel on esports featured (from left): SVG’s Jason Dachman, MLB’s Jamie Leece, Riot Games’ Mitch Rosenthal, Simplynew’s Marc Scarpa, and Turner Sports/ ELEAGUE’s Ben Winter.

Above: Lazurus; below: Ebersol

Fox assets, Comcast’s acquisition of Sky, and the impact of legalized sports betting.

Earlier in the day, Ebersol previewed the upcoming launch of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February. Ebersol, whose father Dick Ebersol co-launched the XFL more than a decade ago with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, detailed why he believes a spring football league will be successful and how viewers can expect plenty of next-gen technology and gambling integration in AAF coverage.

Relive the SVG Summit with editorial coverage, video interviews, full panel audio, photos, and much more at www.thesvgsummit.com SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

9

> TRANSPORT

UPDATE

continued

OCTOBER 16 NEW YORK CITY SVG’s TranSPORT event drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 275 to the Microsoft Technology Center for a day of panel discussions and case studies addressing the current state of sports-video contribution, transmission, exchange, and distribution.

Among the top-of-mind issues discussed and debated throughout the day-long forum were the current state of the fiber- and satellite-transmission sectors, the potential impact of ATSC 3.0, the upcoming launch of 5G mobile services, the explosion of OTT streaming, 4K and HDR delivery, the growing use of IP and bonded-

SVG’s TranSPORT drew a packed house of more than 275 attendees.

cellular technologies, and the growth of at-home production workflows.

Fox Networks Group VP, Global Operations and Transmission Services, Keith Goldberg, returning as TranSPORT Committee Chair, kicked off the event with an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today.

“The past few years, we’ve heard words like disruption, 10

transformative, convergence,” he said. “One look at some of the major players [in the media industry] today shows the tremendous forces that are at play right now in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and how we’re really turning the broadcast world upside down.”

Following his opening remarks, Goldberg joined the first panel discussion of the day: “The State of TranSPORT: Broadcaster Perspectives”. The panel featured the annual SVG TranSPORT Survey, which provides data on the methods used by major broadcasters to backhaul video feeds from live coverage of sports events.

Although projections for 2019 suggest that use of IP/public internet will rise, many on the panel were hesitant to deem the method ready for primetime.

“For a live Tier 1 event, it’s about getting over the fear of the internet,” explained David Chilson, director, broadcast distribution operations and engineering, CBS. “You realize the internet isn’t the problem; the last mile [is].

It’s that last mile that allows you to get to the internet. We’re slowly getting over that fear by realizing that the internet is a reliable vehicle if you can get that last mile and you can get the infrastructure in your plant to manage it.”

Bob Baker, senior media transport architect, Turner Broadcasting, provided an

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

inside look at Turner Sports’ remote production for the 2018 Ryder Cup, for which the broadcaster transmitted 16 feeds over the open internet from Le Golf National in Paris to a control room in Atlanta.

“It came down to cost,” he said. “We looked at multiple fiber carriers, and it was just really expensive, especially the first mile. We used the internet, and it worked really well.”

Onsite live productions of sports events demand ever increasing bandwidth for larger/ more file transfers between the venue and a broadcast center back home. Today, a reliable IP data-network connection is a given for large- and even medium-size shows.

“Any truck EIC would probably tell you at this point that the priority is internet, power, and then oxygen,” joked Adam Whitlock, associate director, remote traffic operations, ESPN. “You can’t live without the internet. For us, file transfer has been really helpful; we used to ship tapes around, and, when we produced something, we used to have to spend a good amount of time keeping transport in mind.”

One of the most significant challenges presented by the

Fox Network Group’s Keith Goldberg, the 2018 TranSPORT Chair, delivered opening remarks.

explosion in data needs for high-speed file transfer has been the lack of well-trained engineers and troubleshooting tools to manage these highly complex IP data networks.

“One of our biggest challenges is the EICs: they’re responsible for the truck, and now we’re asking them to work on transmission,” said Chris Connolly, senior director, transmission engineering and operations, NBC Sports and Olympics. “We’re asking them to work on networks where we don’t have IT [experts], and that can create problems.”

The event also featured a special Next-Gen Standards Update from Video Services Forum and ATSC and a series of case studies on Fox Sports’ delivery of the 2018 FIFA World Cup (sponsored by Aspera); esports (sponsored by PCCW Global); and Türk Telekom’s Turkish Football Federation’s VAR operation (sponsored by Net Insight). <

For in-depth reports, full audio recaps, and photos from all TRANSPORT panel discussions, visit www.sportsvideo.org

UPDATE

continued

> ESPORTS PRODUCTION FORUM NOVEMBER 6 LOS ANGELES SVG’s inaugural Esports Production Forum took over the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles to explore how videogame publishers, esports leagues and venues, and livestreaming outlets are bringing an entirely new mindset to live sports production. More than 380 attendees representing a cross-section of the sportsproduction industry joined the Forum to learn from esportsproduction leaders about the state of the industry and how they produce and distribute esports content for a rapidly growing fan base.

As the fastest growing livesports sector, esports has also emerged as one of the biggest drivers of technological innovation for live production.

Throughout the day, the art and craft of producing esports for fans around the world — and the technology behind the production — was the focus for the standing-room-only crowd.

In addition to a full slate of panel discussions and case studies, the day featured three keynote conversations with industry leaders. Yvette Martinez-Rea, CEO/managing director, ESL North America,

described her entry into the esports industry and reflected on the fanbase and athletes that make up this sector.

“One of the fallacies about esports is that it’s one thing. It is not one thing,” she said. “It is more akin to track and field than it is to one sport: it is every game, every platform, every publisher. Start to multiply the different combinations, and it is enormously complicated.”

In the second keynote, Turner Sports VP, Esports Products and Technology, Robert Occhialini shared his own lessons learned in transitioning from more-traditional sports to esports.

“One of the eye-opening things is just how much you have to ingest,” he said. “We do a lot of different games; we are not focused on a single game.

This year, we’ve done a bunch, and that means that my team and I need to know a lot about a lot of different games. And, in order to figure out what fan-engagement experiences to build on the digital side and what ways we can use to apply technology to the broadcast, you really need to understand the game, what the audience for

From left: Ross Video’s Kevin Cottam, Blizzard Entertainment’s Pete Emminger, Industry Consultant Robert Jordan, Artistic Resources Corporation’s Michael Little, and CBT Systems’ Darrell Wenhardt

that game likes and doesn’t like.

That’s not always easy. There’s no CliffsNotes version of FGC [fighting-game community].

You have to experience it.”

The day concluded with Drew Ohlmeyer, head of content, Allied Esports International, who discussed Las Vegas’s Esports Arena — now HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas — as well as his understanding of the passion and sense of community in the esports industry.

“Our job as broadcasters, as streamers is simply to get out of the way,” he said. “Catch it, push it, and let them consume it. We try to do more listening than talking when we’re producing these events. We immediately enlist our friends at Esports Arena and those at the publishers and the orgs. They know what they’re doing; they have their finger on the real stuff: the SVG’s Esports Production Forum drew a standing-room-only crowd.

heartbeat, the passion. It’s no different than being an [NFL] fan. Once you understand that and how real it is, everything else kind of takes care of itself.”

The Esports Production Forum also featured an array of panel discussions: “At the Front Bench: Inside Live Esports Productions”; “Remote Production: Safe at Home”; “Creating the Esports Arena Experience: A New Technology Frontier”; “Esports Technical Challenges: Asset Management, Postproduction, and Storage”; and “College and Amateur Perspectives: The Growing Role of Esports at Conferences, Universities, and Local Communities”. The event kicked off with “State of the Market: Understanding the Esports Revolution” by Nielsen Esports Managing Director Nicole Pike.

A series of esports-related case studies were also presented, sponsored by Akamai, Canon, and Avid. <

For in-depth reports, full audio recaps, and photos from all ESPORTS PRODUCTION FORUM panel discussions, visit www.sportsvideo.org 12

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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UPDATE > INITIATIVES & GROUPS SVG’s Venue Production Workshop was a popular destination at the 2018 SVG Summit, headlined by a New York Citycentric panel on fan engagement and plenty of discussion on the latest trends and challenges affecting systems integrators.

On June 26-27, SVG will travel to Detroit for a two-day SVG Venue Summit at Little Caesars Arena — home of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and NBA’s Detroit Pistons. Go behind the scenes at this stateof-the-art venue and learn about the latest production, technology, and integration trends that are having an impact on fan engagement and entertainment.

SVG’s division of talented and innovative college sports video production professionals will be meeting twice in early 2019. The latest edition of the SVG College Regional Event Series visited the University of Louisville for SVG College: Louisville. In May, we return to Atlanta for the 11th annual SVG College Summit on May 29-31 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center. This year’s program will include discussions on the Ivy League’s integration with ESPN+, the final preparations for the ACC Network, a hyper-focused look at esports at the collegiate level, and more.

MANAGEMENT SVG continues to serve the informational and networking needs of its members in the Sports Content Management (SCM) community through multiple events held in 2018 and a busy 2019 ahead. At the 2018 SVG Summit in December, the SCM Workshop featured a keynote presentation

by NFL Media, as well as panels addressing AI vs. Machine Learning, The Power

continued

of NVMe and Next-Gen Storage, LTO Roadmap and Applications, and an interactive Vendor-Broadcaster Q&A. In addition, the Cloud & Virtualization Workshop featured presentations from MLB Advanced Media and A+E Networks.

The SCM Roundtable will once again take place the SVG Chairman’s Forum in Las Vegas on April 7, while the 13th annual SCM Forum hits New York City on July 24.

streaming • social • mobile • data

Over-the-top distribution and direct-toconsumer live streaming packages are dramatically changing the world of live sports video. As the industry as a whole adapts to this new media ecosystem, the sports media sector faces its own unique challenges and opportunities. To cater to the community’s need for more solutions, the 2nd annual Sports OTT Forum will once again take place in July in New York City. Learn from the entire spectrum of sports-streaming experts, from traditional broadcasters taking linear into the digital word to emerging media companies building digital-first streaming experiences.

In an effort better serve the sportsproduction community coast to coast, SVG Regional Platinum Series meetups focus on major markets across the country. In January, Sneaky Big Studios hosted the latest SVG Regional Platinum event at its facility in Scottsdale, AZ. In recent years, SVG has visited Colorado, Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Toronto. Stay tuned for more meetups in 2019.

WOMEN IN SPORTS PRODUCTION

At the 2018 SVG Summit, the annual SVGW meeting welcomed more than 100 attendees and featured a panel discussion on “Planning and Managing the Year’s Biggest Events,” which included top female execs from Major League Baseball, MLB Network, NBC Sports Group, and the USTA. Next up, SVGW will travel to Las Vegas for the group’s annual networking lunch at NAB 2019 on April 9, which will feature a keynote conversation with Imagine Communications’ Dr. Glodina Connan-Lostanlen. SVGW will also host a networking meeting at the SVG College Summit in Atlanta on May 29. <

As network and content security continue to be a growing concern across the industry, the SVG Content Security Work Group has been created to strengthen the processes by which content is protected throughout the lifecycle of production, distribution, and archiving. Based on the input of SVG’s membership — including broadcasters, rights owners, and production service providers — this Work Group is developing an ongoing series of Recommendations and Best Practices that outline suggested controls for individual consideration within the sports-production industry.

The SVG Content Security Best Practices documents provide rights owners, rights holders, and third-party vendors a clear and consistent understanding of general security expectations and current industry Best Practices. Decisions regarding use of individual vendors or the use of these Best Practices by any company are voluntary and agreed to between individual business partners.

Current Best Practices include: • Scanning Removable Drives Version 1.0 • Wireless Networks Version 1.0.

For more on SVG’s Initiatives and Groups, visit www.sportsvideo.org/initiatives 14

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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he Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame expanded to 105 members on December 11, welcoming 11 industry legends during its 12th-annual induction ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. The evening was hosted by CBS Sportsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Lesley Visser, marking the first time that a woman and a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame has hosted the ceremony. In addition, all table sales, totaling more than $215,000 this year, were once again donated to the Sports Broadcasting Fund, which supports industry members in times of need.

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roster of honorees comprises famed on-air personalities Mary Carillo, Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, and Dick Vitale; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman; CBS Sports and ESPN production stalwart Bill Fitts; sports documentarian Bud Greenspan; BSI co-founder Peter Larsson; NBC Sports and Olympics technology guru David Mazza; video-control master Gene Mikell; and former CBS Sports President and master sports-rights negotiator Neal Pilson.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

17

> GARY BETTMAN FATHER OF THE MODERN NHL

S

ports is dominated by statistics. Bigger, faster, better, tougher are all measurable. Accumulating enough good numbers, a player is a sure bet to be elected to the sports league’s hall of fame.

Business success can be measured in some of the same ways.

That’s why NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman joined his league’s hall of fame this year and is being inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

In a media era, one of the big reasons for both honors must be how, under Bettman, the NHL went from a media non-starter to a staple on NBC Sports’ networks. The numbers tell that story.

In 1993, the year Bettman moved from the NBA, where he was general counsel, to the NHL, the hockey league collected a paltry $400 million in revenue. This season, it is looking at $4.5 billion.

In 2014, Sportsnet in Canada paid $5.2 billion for its 12-year contract. Three years earlier, the NHL had signed a 10-year $2 billion deal to keep the games on NBC-owned properties, an important deal then but, compared with other sports’ recent contracts, seems almost modest.

Under Bettman, seven new teams joined the league, most of them in oddly un-hockeyish cities. The Vegas Golden Knights? The Tampa Bay Lightning?

Who woulda thunk it? The NHL grew from 24 teams to 31.

Those are some of the numbers that earned him a place in the NHL’s Hall of Fame, under the “Builder” banner. He is also the first commissioner to be inducted into a sports hall of fame while still in office. And he is now the dean of pro sports commissioners: at 66, he has presided over the league for 25 years, longer than any of the other Big 4 sports commissioners.

Before Bettman, hockey was anything but must-see TV. Between 1976 and ’89, the NHL had no contract and tried to sell games on a station-by-station basis around the nation. In 1994, Fox, having bested CBS for rights to the NFL, won the NHL contract just as Bettman arrived. After that, ABC and ESPN showed a limited schedule, and, in 2006, NBC joined the party.

“When I came to the NHL,” Bettman (left) with former NBA Commissioner — and fellow Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer — David Stern

18

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

Bettman said, “it was underexposed. This great game, these great players deserved to be more than regional staples. I knew it was going to happen, but a big part of the problem was finding the [time] slots to handle us.”

About the time the NBC contract happened, something else happened: HDTV. The new sets were hot sellers by 2006.

With the more vivid and, most important, wider screen, the NHL caught a break. Fans at home could now see plays develop, see the passes set up, even see the puck more easily. The thrill of the sport was finally there.

“Everybody had the notion that there was nothing like being at a hockey game in person and that it couldn’t be replicated on TV,” Bettman said. “We were at a disadvantage. But, when it was in HD, all of a sudden, the clarity and especially the wide-aspect ratio changed that.” The games popped.

In his years as commissioner, Bettman has made lots of changes, not all of them endorsed by fans at first and some not even now.

Hockey fans have tribal traditions and, it appears, deep suspicions.

Bettman eliminated the quaint and historic names for conferences and divisions. Gone were groupings like the Prince of Wales Conference, replaced by geographic designations.

He instituted a shootout for deciding the winner of tied games.

Some fans still hate it, but few can deny that it’s exciting.

And he has presided over three work lockouts, nasty ones that set up and then adjusted the collective-bargaining agreement and the salary cap. The second impasse, in 2004-05, went on so long that Bettman canceled the season.

But Bettman also gets credit for making the NHL stable and growing. Players are paid much more. Franchises are worth much more. Thanks to a wise association with BAMTECH, NHL.tv thrives.

And look what he started on ice. The Winter Classic, Heritage Classic, and NHL Stadium Series are now massively popular games: hockey played in the (hopefully, cold enough but not too cold) outdoors. Games are now played in China, too, with hopes that the league can construct a predictable yearly schedule of games in foreign locales.

Bettman expects to be around to see it happen. “I don’t love being commissioner as much as I used to; I actually love it even more,” he said at the NHL induction ceremony. “For those who think I might be getting ready to retire, forget it.”

– PJ Bednarski

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> MARY CARILLO GLOBETROTTING CORRESPONDENT, BORN STORYTELLER

S

afe to say, there aren’t many professional tennis players that expect their career to take them to China to feed bamboo shoots to panda bears. But there’s no athleteturned-broadcaster quite like Mary Carillo.

Born in 1957 and raised in Douglaston, Queens, Carillo knew from a young age that she would be an athlete. A childhood spent playing all kinds of sports depending on the season eventually transitioned into a career playing one sport: tennis. In 1977, she teamed up with her longtime friend — and future broadcast partner — John McEnroe to win the French Open mixed-doubles title, and she continued to play professionally through 1980, when knee problems forced her early retirement.

However, knee problems couldn’t keep Carillo from the sport she loved. While competing professionally, she provided pickup commentary for the occasional tennis match. A producer from USA Network, hearing her commentary during year-end championships at Madison Square Garden, invited her to commentate on the network’s coverage of women’s tennis.

Soon, Carillo added men’s tennis matches to her broadcast responsibilities and would go on to serve as a tennis analyst for a variety of networks: NBC, ESPN, CBS Sports, Turner Sports, Tennis Channel, HBO, PBS, and MSG Network.

Although tennis analysis earned her accolades from the industry, her work at the Olympic Games made her a household name. Her Olympic career began during the 1992 Albertville Olympics, when CBS Sports assigned her to cover skiing, a sport she knew nothing about. It would be the first of many assignments where Carillo’s can-do attitude and always-say-yes mantra resulted in insightful, candid, and entertaining commentary.

“I always said yes,” said Carillo.

“Somebody would ask me, have you ever covered skiing? Are you interested? And I would say, Carillo (left) with tennis legend and close family friend absolutely! My attitude has always been yes, the answer is yes, until Billie Jean King proven otherwise.”

She continued to cover skiing at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer (1994) and Nagano (1998) and added bobsled, luge, and skeleton to her repertoire in Salt Lake City (2002). For

CLASS OF 2018

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SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

the Summer Olympics in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), she served as a tennis analyst. With every Olympics, she took on additional hosting and reporting duties.

However, it was at the 2008 Beijing Games that Carillo found her Olympic niche: as a feature correspondent. Dick Ebersol, then chairman of NBC Sports, sent her and her production team to China ahead of the Games to see what they could find. They returned with stories about young Chinese acrobats, about a 14th century monastery, and, perhaps the highlight of the trip, pandas.

“Feeding pandas bamboo shoots was one of the great assignments of my life,” she laughed.

From then on, Carillo’s mission at every Olympics was to find stories that hadn’t previously been told during NBC’s coverage.

“She has a great sense of adventure and a great sense of curiosity,” said Bob Costas, who worked alongside her on many Olympic Games. “She’s up for anything. She’s up for going to Siberia to find out how people actually live year-round in one of the coldest inhabited places in the world. Or she’ll find the actual girl from Ipanema, who’s now in her 70s, on the beaches in Rio. She’s good at serious stuff and quirky stuff. She has a good sense of humor. She can say something funny herself, but, if you get off a good line, she’s the best audience. She has always been wonderful to work with.”

In 2018, Carillo wrapped her 11th Olympic assignment with NBC, her 14th overall. She continues to serve as an analyst on NBC’s tennis coverage and as a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, a post she has held since 1997.

“Mary has always brought a unique skill set to the show, one that enables viewers to emotionally connect with her stories,” said Gumbel. “[She’s] a superb listener; Mary’s open and generous nature has often helped her elicit honest responses from normally reticent interview subjects. Although she can boast of an enviable record of athletic and journalistic success, she has been the definition of a team player.”

A desire to see new places and meet new people is not just a professional calling but a personal passion, one she has passed along to her children. And, although tennis remains her first love, Carillo’s innate curiosity for every sport and athlete she encounters has made her one of the most beloved voices in the business.

“If there’s one thing I have in my favor,” she said, “it’s that I love sports. I love the athletic heart, and I’m always curious about anything at all athletic or competitive. I’ve gotten very passionate about some sports just from covering them over the years and getting to know who these athletes are and how much they give to their sport. Their commitment, their dedication is, to me, very fascinating.” – Karen Hogan Ketchum

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> BOB COSTAS SPORTS’ POETIC VOICE AND CONSCIENCE

I

t’s a scene that brims with prophetic romance but, in retrospect, may have been a little peculiar.

It’s the early 1960s in central Long Island, and sitting alone in his family’s suburban driveway is a little boy. No more than 10 years old, he has swiped the keys to his father’s car. It’s a hot, clear summer night: the perfect kind of night for a young Bob Costas.

The kind of night when the big 50,000-W radio stations of the day streaked across the skies and landed in his father’s dashboard like commercial jets touching down at Idlewild Airport.

The baritone voice of Bob French poured in from KDKA Pittsburgh, Ernie Harwell streamed in on the waves of WJR Detroit, and, on the best of nights, between the static, there was Jack Buck and Harry Caray all the way from KMOX Saint Louis.

“The games,” Costas recalled, “were inseparable from the voices that brought the games to me.”

Mickey Mantle may have been his hero, but it was the likes of Allen, Barber, and Glickman that would be his influences. Young Costas already had a dream, one that would see him become one of the most impactful broadcasters of the modern television era.

Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award winner, has been the face of many of the largest sports events that U.S. television has ever produced. Whether it was the play-by-play call of the World Series or the NBA Finals or sitting behind the desk for a big night in the NFL or the Olympic Games, he is a benchmark of sportscasting.

“I marveled at his composure and his sophistication on the air,” said Jim Nantz, veteran CBS broadcaster.

“Bob’s career has been absolutely remarkable; it is rich with so many great broadcasts and legendary experiences. He’s just been a tremendous part of the history of this business.”

Graduating from Syracuse in 1974, Costas quickly landed on the scene in St. Louis, calling games for the Spirits of St. Louis of the old ABA. Soon came regional swings of NBA and NFL broadcasts for CBS and then his big break, when he was hired by NBC Sports.

At just 28 years old, Costas was undoubtedly young for the national scene, and his new boss, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Don Ohlmeyer, Former NBC Sports colleagues and didn’t hesitate to let the kid fellow Sports Broadcasting Hall of know he looked more like a Famers, Mary Carillo and Costas

CLASS OF 2018

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14-year-old than a TV anchor. That baby face, however, quickly turned into boyish charm as U.S. viewers fell for the intelligent, well-spoken young man who would become one of the most respected minds in the history of sports media.

Costas has served as the face of many of sports television’s biggest blockbusters. He was NBC’s primetime host for a U.S.record 11 Olympics (1992-2016), including the 2012 London Games; the most-watched television event in U.S. history.

From 2006 to ’16, Costas also hosted Football Night in America, one of the most watched shows on television week in and week out, and hosted six Super Bowls.

“Bob appeared in our living rooms in the final years of network dominance of the television airwaves, when a single baseball broadcast each week thrilled fans and created legends,” said Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, who broadcast with Costas at NBC in the 1980s and ’90s, including the 1997 World Series that earned Costas his first Emmy for play-by-play. “Four decades later, Costas has maintained his presence as one of [sports’] great voices and erudite observers.”

Costas has maintained his elite standard for journalistic excellence. He hosted numerous interview and commentary programs throughout his career, including On the Record and CostasNOW, both airing on HBO. He even earned a News and Documentary Emmy Award for his riveting interview with Jerry Sandusky, which aired mere days after the former Penn State coach was accused of sexual child abuse.

“It was a phoner, and it was one of the most gripping interviews that any of us will ever see,” said Rome Hartman, executive producer of NBC show Rock Center, on which the interview appeared. “Bob was pitch-perfect. He was respectful on a human level, but he didn’t give a single inch.”

Throughout his storied career, however, there has been one constant: Costas’s love of baseball. In 2009, he joined MLB Network, where he still calls games, and, in 2018, received an honor that surely would have thrilled that little boy in that car: he was named recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, inducting him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I hold him in the highest regard,” said longtime NBC Sports colleague Mary Carillo. “He can do any sport, and he can talk about anything. He can talk to presidents of countries, not just presidents of the IOC [International Olympic Committee]. Bob is, to my mind, one of the all-time greats.” – Brandon Costa

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> BILL FITTS A CAREER OF FIRSTS, A LASTING LEGACY

W

hen your broadcasting career includes producing the first Super Bowl, launching The NFL Today for CBS, and then jumping aboard ESPN in its formative years, it’s easy to think that ego could take over. But that didn’t happen to Bill Fitts, a long-time production professional who credits those around him and takes more pride in their success than his own.

“I was very fortunate to have unbelievable acolytes,” he said of those he worked with, especially those at ESPN. “We all had an opportunity to do something that hadn’t really been done and to do sports that a lot of networks didn’t cover.”

Fitts began his career at WHUM-TV Reading, PA, and soon after went to WCAU-TV Philadelphia (at the time, a CBS station), where he had a chance to wear multiple hats while creating children’s programming. In 1962, he moved to New York City, where he played a key role in national sports programming.

During his career at CBS, Fitts was executive producer on five Super Bowls, including Super Bowl I. He was involved with another important first in sports-TV history: the use of videotape at the 1963 Army-Navy game. He was also involved with Countdown to Kickoff, a production with NFL Films that took isolated coverage to a new level.

And then there was NFL Today, a franchise that Fitts created in 1973.

The show also led to Fitts’s being noticed by Chet Simmons, then head of NBC Sports. Simmons hired Fitts to help studio operations. When ESPN became a reality, Simmons joined as president and soon called Fitts.

“By the time ESPN started,” said Fitts, “there wasn’t much in sports that I hadn’t done. ESPN was a huge opportunity for me because I knew I would be able to teach as well as do it.”

Those early days gave him a chance to both impart wisdom and influence a generation of talent at ESPN (and beyond) and also to enjoy the process of figuring out how to televise sports that might never have been on TV before.

At ESPN, he served as production architect for many of

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Fitts (right) with ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro

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its signature programs. He also found John Colby to compose its music, including the popular SportsCenter theme, and to build a music library.

“It is not an understatement to say that Fitts is among the truly influential figures in modern sports TV,” said Colby. “In addition to his CBS and NBC achievements, he built the production department at ESPN, a team that shaped sports TV for years to come. His protégés are to be found everywhere in the highest levels of sports TV.” Among the people whom Fitts has influenced are Sandy Grossman, Fred Gaudelli, Drew Esocoff, Bryant Gumbel, Chris Berman, Gayle Sierens (the first woman to do play-by-play on an NFL game in 1987), and Gayle Gardner, who joined SportsCenter in 1983.

“At the very beginning of my career, I had the tremendous fortune of working for Bill Fitts,” said Gaudelli, who worked with him at ESPN from 1983 to 2001. “He pioneered how to cover the entirety of sports, not just what was happening with the ball. He was really teaching us how to keep advancing the production. And,” he added, “he was deploying women into major production roles far sooner and more sincerely than the rest of corporate America.”

Tina Thornton, ESPN SVP, production and office of the president, called Fitts a force.

“Regardless of the event,” she said, “he demanded the highest quality and performance. His drive and energy, even in the later years of his career, was hard to match. While he helped shape the sports-media landscape, I credit him more with shaping a collection of future leaders. Bill’s legacy continues in all of us.”

“He put me in production positions when very few females were given such opportunities,” said former ESPN Director of Production Ellen Beckwith, who worked for Fitts at CBS, NBC, and ESPN. “He trusted me, along with him, to make hiring decisions in our early days at ESPN, successful decisions that led to my being named director of production.”

Through it all, there has been his wife, Frances. She recalled when Fitts was sent off to basic training for the Korean War in 1954 and, 11 days later, she gave birth to the first of four children. Although the two-year hiatus interrupted not only family life but his career, Fitts was able to make up for lost time both professionally and personally.

His management philosophy was to make sure that people were not assigned tasks they couldn’t accomplish.

“Any of us who were touched by Bill’s brilliance and leadership owe him a tremendous debt of thanks,” said former ESPN EVP Steve Anderson. “There is no doubt in my mind, Bill Fitts deserves to be in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.”

– Ken Kerschbaumer

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> BUD GREENSPAN OLYMPIC STORYTELLER

L

ate TV-journalism pioneer Don Hewitt titled his autobiography Tell Me a Story. That would also be an apt title for a book about the late Bud Greenspan, whose legendary Olympic documentaries were less about the heroes than they were about the often heartbreaking, often exhilarating stories of athletes in competition and away from it.

“We don’t do sports as much as we do people,” Greenspan used to say. And he didn’t do sadness or defeat as much as he did victory: victory of spirit, if not always the kind that earns medals.

The proof of that was in the documentary Lillehammer ’94: 16 Days of Glory, his chronicle of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Those Games will forever be remembered for the Nancy KerriganTonya Harding figure-skating fracas that shocked the world. But, in Greenspan’s 209-minute film, that grimy crime got 30 seconds.

Greenspan ran the company from his early days with his beloved wife, Cappy, who died of cancer in 1983. After her death, he ran the company he named after his wife with his business partner and companion Nancy Beffa.

Greenspan documentaries also captured Olympic Games in Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Torino (2006), Beijing (2008), and, released after his death, Vancouver (2010). He also produced many other Olympic-themed works, such as Jesse Owens Returns To Berlin, his 1964 documentary about the visit by the African-American runner whose four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games mocked Adolf Hitler’s claims of Aryan superiority.

He also directed 100 Years of Olympics Glory.

Greenspan, who was born in 1926 and died in 2010, used to joke that he really hadn’t been to all of them; it just seemed like it.

Beffa recalled, “Bud always said, ‘Every Olympic athlete needs four things: pride, talent, courage, and the ability to endure.’”

That philosophy didn’t necessarily set him aside from others who covered the Games.

But some circumstances did.

For one, Beffa says, Greenspan didn’t care where the athletes were from. For another, he didn’t particularly care if the sport they played was well Greenspan’s business partner and known. And he didn’t care if companion Nancy Beffa accepted they didn’t win. the award on his behalf.

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The best example of all of that happened at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City. John Stephen Akhwari, representing Tanzania in the Marathon event, was seriously injured during the run. But he kept on, in obvious pain, limping on a bandaged right knee and finishing the race more than an hour after everyone else.

Later, Greenspan asked Akhwari why he didn’t quit. “I don’t think you understand,” the runner told him. “My country didn’t send me 9,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 9,000 miles to finish the race.”

Greenspan, forever with a pair of glasses on top of his bald head, came to sports documentaries in an odd way.

After serving in World War II as an intelligence officer, he returned to his native New York and quickly forged a career in radio at the old WHN, becoming its sports director in his early 20s.

But he also loved opera and thought he could sing. To make extra money, he got work in 1952 as a spear carrier in the chorus.

While in the chorus, he met John Davis, an African-American baritone, who, despite having won Olympic gold medals in 1948 and ’52 as a heavyweight weightlifter, was unknown to most sports fans. Greenspan was astonished. And that led to his first documentary, The Strongest Man in the World.

He couldn’t sell it, though. Luckily, he learned that the State Dept. was looking for something to show at consulates to counteract Soviet propaganda about U.S. treatment of black athletes.

Financing Greenspan’s documentaries took a lot of angel investors and shrewd negotiations. And the big networks worldwide tried to claim the best camera berths and other perks from Olympics organizers.

But Greenspan made friends around the world by covering athletes from different countries. They tipped him to interesting stories; in fact, that’s how he heard about the marathon runner.

When negotiating with host countries, Greenspan reminded them that his film mission was to celebrate, not denigrate. That helped.

Greenspan was among the first to popularize documentary styles like showing crowd reactions to tell the story. He died before the ease of creating videos via smartphones reached just about every corner of the world.

How would he react to that? Beffa said, “I think he would see these short pieces and say they are well-edited. It would be nice.

But they would be forgettable. They wouldn’t tell a story.”

– PJ Bednarski

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> PETER LARSSON WIRELESS-CAMERA PIONEER

T

oday, sports-TV viewers sit in the driver’s seat with Jimmy Johnson as his No. 48 car tears around Daytona Motor Speedway. Or peer over Tiger Woods’s shoulder as he crouches to read his final putt at Augusta National. Or sail aboard Oracle Team USA’s yacht at the America’s Cup. Without the efforts of Peter Larsson, however, these mindblowing perspectives would never have been available to viewers at home. The co-founder of Broadcast Sports Inc. (BSI) and the wireless-camera and -audio systems he has helped create over the past four decades have brought sports fans inside the action in ways never thought possible.

“To be able to create equipment and technology that actually change the way we watch a sport is very rare. And Peter Larsson [has accomplished that] in two sports in particular: NASCAR and golf,” said Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Chairman Ken Aagaard, who has deployed BSI systems on countless CBS Sports productions.

The Sydney native earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of New South Wales. To fulfill the three months of industrial experience required to complete his degree, he landed a job at Australian broadcaster Channel Seven.

By the late 1970s, Larsson had begun working with fellow Channel Seven engineers John Porter and Dave Curtis to develop wireless microwave camera systems.

In 1979, the trio deployed the RF system during the Bathurst 1000 as the first-ever on-board Racecam.

Larsson, Porter, and Curtis’s big break came in fall 1980, when a CBS production executive on location Down Under spotted the onboard camera system and saw it as a perfect tool for the Tiffany Network’s live NASCAR coverage.

“Racing coverage was never the same after that,” said longtime CBS Sports director Bob Fishman.

A year later, Larsson, Porter, and Curtis deployed their onboard cameras for CBS Sports’ live coverage of the 1981 Daytona 500. The in-car camera became a sensation two years later, treating viewers to a driver’s-seat perspective of Carl Yarborough’s win in 1983.

“Peter had the passion and vision to develop and impleLarsson was joined by his family ment a technology that took a at the 2018 induction ceremony.

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sport from minor-league status to major-league status,” said veteran Fox Sports director Artie Kempner. “I don’t believe NASCAR would have attained the same level of prominence in American sports without the in-car camera.”

Today, NASCAR coverage would be almost unrecognizable without on-board cameras. “He truly revolutionized the sport with on-board cameras,” said longtime NBC Sports auto-racing director Mike Wells. “He is truly a pioneer in the industry.”

In late 1983, the triad pooled their funds and moved permanently to the U.S. to launch their own company, Broadcast Sports Technologies (BST). By 1986, the company was expanding beyond its work with CBS Sports, which renewed its deal with BST that year without the exclusivity clause included in the original contract. That year, BST began providing on-board cameras for IndyCar races on ABC and NBC and for ESPN’s NASCAR coverage. With more systems deployed on more events, BST opened a fully staffed engineering facility and office in Hanover, MD. In 1996, CBS Sports was in search of a vendor to provide reliable wireless cameras, microphones, and comms without the need for massive — and unsightly — antenna towers. BST won the contract in a competitive vendor shootout and has been a staple on golf coverage for CBS and others for two decades.

1996 also marked another major transition for BST. The company was purchased by Wescam, a provider of gyro-stabilized aerial cameras, and changed its name to Broadcast Sports Inc. (BSI). In 2002, L3 Technologies acquired Wescam and BSI; in 2015, Slate Capital Group acquired BSI from L3 Technologies.

BSI has continued to innovate since the turn of the century, transitioning from analog to digital systems in the mid 2000s and debuting its first HD wireless camera systems in 2007. In 2011, the company launched dual-path in-car systems for auto racing.

Despite 40 years in the business, the eight-time Emmy Award winner isn’t done yet — not by a long shot. He says he’s excited for BSI to confront the oncoming challenges presented by technologies like 1080p and 4K, as well as how to create new RF systems to confront the ongoing spectrum squeeze.

“Every single series we do has some different aspect to it, and we have to be able to serve all those [customers] flawlessly,” said Larsson. “The only thing that’s constant in this business is change, and we’re always making sure we’re ready for what’s coming next.” – Jason Dachman

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> DAVID MAZZA NBC’S GOLD-MEDAL TECH VISIONARY

T

here aren’t many people who can turn a childhood passion for taking things apart into a Hall of Fame career, but David Mazza has done just that.

“I was very lucky to start developing a passion for this in elementary school, which then led to the AV club, building a TV studio in junior high, and then an internship at WPSX-TV in Penn State and working on Penn State Football while in high school,” said Mazza of his formative years.

Getting from being passionate about the industry to working in it required a lucky break, and that came in 1977, a year he spent in Colorado washing dishes at a ski lodge and playing the role of ski bum.

“At the end of the season, I saw an ad in Ski Racing magazine that read ‘Wanted: good skier with an electronic background,’” he said. “I got the job with Omega Timing, and they taught me how to run timing systems.”

He traveled on the World Pro Skiing tour for two seasons and, in 1979, also started dabbling in being a freelancer in TV production. From 1980 to ’86, he was a full-time freelancer and found himself working as the TD for HBO on boxing and Wimbledon, CBS Sports, NBC golf, and the first two MTV Music Awards, in 1984 and 1985.

Mazza made the leap to the Olympic Games in 1984, serving as technical director for the rowing and canoeing venue at the Los Angeles Summer Games. By the end of 1985, he was considered one of the top freelance sports TDs in the business.

“I still miss the adrenaline of sitting behind the switcher and getting only one shot to do it correctly,” he said of a lifelong love of being truly live to air.

However, it was soon time to find something more stable: he had recently married his wife, Taylor. In 1987, he moved to Boston, where he was hired to build a new technical TV facility for the Christian Science Monitor Channel. During the time in Boston, Mazza continued to fulfill his liveproduction passion by working on HBO’s boxing and Wimbledon coverage as well as the Seoul, Albertville, and Barcelona Olympics for CBS and NBC. He and Taylor also Mazza (right) with NBC

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Olympics President Gary Zenkel

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had two children: a daughter, Niven, in 1989 and a son, Lundun, in 1991.

In 1992, he went to work for Sony on design and construction of DirecTV’s playout plant in Castle Rock, CO. That experience served him well when he made the move to NBC Olympics.

In 1994, Mazza joined NBC as director of engineering. By the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he was director of engineering for NBC Olympics and, in 1997, opened the NBC Olympics Engineering office. Since then, he has worked on 11 Olympic Games for NBC (15 overall), and each Olympics is unique, with each host city posing new cultural differences, new languages, and a new approach to completing a task.

“It takes a few days for things to settle down after the Opening Ceremony,” he noted, “but it is gratifying to see the number of things that have to go right to get to that point.”

Former NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol said that, in the 10 Olympics they worked on, Mazza handled all those challenges and then some.

“In my two decades-plus of running NBC Sports,” Ebersol noted, “there was no single person as valuable to me and to our entire unit as Dave. In the 10 Olympics I did with Dave, I cannot think of a single incident when he was not our most valuable performer.”

Former NBC Olympic host Bob Costas spent plenty of time over the years making good use of the efforts of Mazza and the technical team.

“Without Dave figuring out what for most of us would be an unsolvable Rubik’s Cube,” he says, “the Olympics would never get on the air.”

Since 2000, every Olympics has seen a technical advance that makes a difference to millions of viewers across the U.S. or to the team producing the coverage.

Said Mazza, “I love how we have to take a lot of very complex technologies, some newer and less mature than we’d like, and get them to work halfway around the world, often in difficult conditions, with thousands of staff freelancers who have had less than a week to understand them all. That whole process is incredibly gratifying.”

When asked what he is most proud of, he cites the strength of his marriage, the love of a large extended family, and having raised two amazing kids. He readily admits that it is his wife who should get the credit for the kids. “For that, I feel incredibly blessed.”

– Ken Kerschbaumer

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> GENE MIKELL SIX DECADES OF MASTERFUL VIDEO CONTROL

G

ene Mikell will enter the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame not just as an octogenarian but as an octogenarian who still spends a day or two a week working in a remote-production truck for Fox Sports.

“I work with a bunch of guys in their 40s and younger, and I try to keep up with them,” he said. “And, if they do something I don’t like, I’ll tell them.”

Born near Jacksonville, FL, Mikell spends much of his time on a farm far removed from the high-tech world of the video-control area he calls home on the road. Odds are, you don’t recognize his work, but you have seen it: he sets the course for the video-control department at Fox Sports. Video control includes the role of camera shader, making sure that all the cameras match and the images they provide to the production team are realistic in terms of color and lighting.

“If you don’t have pretty cameras, you don’t have a good show,” Mikell observed. “Because I worked on them, I know what is going on internally in the camera, and that helps an awful lot with color.”

His interest in technology began when his father sent him to a six-month technical school in Atlanta in 1956.

“I had no idea why he sent me there. I just figured he wanted me to be able to fix TVs,” he recalled.

“But, when I got home, I registered with a job agency in Jacksonville and interviewed with a TV company. It was the local NBC affiliate, and I got the job on the spot, beginning as a mail boy.”

Mikell quickly took on a number of tasks, including moving studio props, camera operator, and even film editor and engineering.

Working with cameras kicked off an interest that has served him well in his career: his work in camera shading and video control has put him at the top of his field.

Working in Jacksonville gave Gene a unique opportunity: working on many rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, from Alan Shepard’s first until the days of the Shuttle launches. “NBC Network news would ask for me,” he recalled, “and I would do video for the space shots.”

He would spend 28 years at the NBC station and, in his late 40s, walked out and entered the freelance world.

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“I didn’t know if I could make it or not,” he said, “but I had a desire to go out and do something different.”

His work at NBC Network also gave him a chance to work on the sports side as a freelancer for Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers like Frank Chirkinian and Don Ohlmeyer. Golf, tennis, college football, and IndyCar were among the events he worked, and his efforts led him to Miami-based World Sports Vision Group, for which he installed on-board cameras for NASCAR races. In that role, he met Hall of Famers Fred Aldous, Jerry Steinberg, and Ed Goren, who were then at CBS Sports and would bring him on board to work at Fox Sports in 1994.

One of his favorite jobs has been working with WTVJ Miami.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II was coming to visit, and Mikell was assigned the task of putting a camera on the “Pope Mobile.”

The camera was a hit and even traveled with the Pope across the Atlantic to Europe, and he eventually saw shots from its use in Europe.

“That was a highlight,” he said. “There is no better feeling than knowing that everyone in the world would see it.”

Mikell’s wife, Sandra, died 15 years ago, but he has two daughters, one of whom lives with him on the farm, making sure everything is okay while he is on the road. And, on the road, he has the Fox Sports team and people like Aldous keeping an eye on him.

“Freddie and I work on different ends of the truck,” said Mikell, “but he doesn’t let a day go by without asking me if anything was wrong.”

Said Aldous, “I first met Gene in the mid ’80s working with CBS. The thing that most impressed me was how he handled any situation with ease, as well as his interaction with others.

He has a great eye for detail and has mentored many video shaders throughout the years. And he is, by far, the nicest man in television.” – Ken Kerschbaumer

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> JIM NANTZ THE FAMILY MAN WHO BECAME SPORTS TV’S FATHER

“H

ello, friends.”

That’s far more than a calling card or a catch phrase. It’s a daily reminder that, in the sportsbroadcasting industry, we’re family.

For 35 years, Jim Nantz has been family to millions of U.S. television viewers who have welcomed the legendary broadcaster into their homes for some of sports TV’s biggest events, including countless NFL and March Madness games, as well as thrilling major golf tourneys.

It’s a rare and special feat to achieve an entire career’s worth of successes at one network, but that is what Nantz has done. After graduating from the University of Houston and serving brief stints at CBS affiliates in San Antonio and Salt Lake City, he got his big break with the network. It was obvious from the get-go that he was where he belonged.

“He just blew everybody away with his audition,” said Ed Goren, who was an executive producer at CBS Sports at the time. “The guy was 25, 26, and smooth as could be.

It was a pretty easy decision to offer him the job.”

In his 34 years (and counting) at CBS, Nantz has, so far, been honored with three Emmy Awards and named National Sportscaster of the Year five times.

He started at CBS as studio host of the network’s college-football coverage in 1985. He moved to the booth to call play-by-play in 1989 before moving to the NFL scene in 1991. By ’93, he was on the No. 2 NFL crew before becoming host of The NFL Today. In 2004, he went out on the road as the network’s lead voice for The NFL on CBS, calling four Super Bowls (Super Bowl LIII was his fifth).

Nantz’s class and style are forever ingrained in the minds of fans of The Masters and the NCAA Final Four. It was Neal Pilson, then president of CBS Sports, who gave Nantz his shot at the tournament he loved in 1985. He has been an integral part of the iconic event’s coverage ever since.

As for the Final Four, Nantz

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Nantz (right) with his longtime NFL on CBS director Bob Fishman

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has leant his voice to the crowning of a college basketball champion every year since 1991, calling the action for many years with his counterpart Bill Packer. Over the past four years, he has been teamed with former NBA All-Star Grant Hill and with Bill Raftery, who once compared Nantz’s style with that of Walter Cronkite. “[Nantz] was the voice of reason on TV for the public,” Raftery said. “There’s a comfort people have.”

Nantz’s career has been marked by several extraordinary feats.

Annually, he gets to take part in a week that any broadcaster would dream of: he goes straight from the Final Four to Augusta for The Masters. In 2007, in fact, he became the first broadcaster in history to complete what has been dubbed “The Triple”: calling the Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, and The Masters — all within about 60 days. He did that three more times and will do it again in 2019.

His career has also given him the chance to call the shots at the US Open Tennis Championships for nearly a decade, broadcast from the booth of two college football national championship games (1996, 1997), and even host his network’s coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.

Nantz’s story is a charmed one, but, to him, it’s one highlighted not just by great accomplishments on the air but by love and friendships. There’s Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Jim McKay, one of his childhood heroes. In college, Nantz wrote him fan letters and then got to know him so well that he was asked to give the eulogy at his funeral. Jack Whitaker was such an idol that Nantz never imagined attending Whitaker’s wedding, but, today, Nantz says, if he’s within 50 miles of Whitaker, you can bet he’ll make the effort to go see him. Even former President George H.W. Bush called Nantz “one of the nicest and most generous people we know.” “[These men are] one of the last links to my youth,” reflected Nantz. “[They] made such an indelible impression on me and then to be able to have the gift of friendship from them, that’s a pretty amazing thing. I’ve never taken it lightly.”

And, of course, there was his father, Jim: the man who was Nantz’s real hero and inspired his son’s iconic phrase. Leaving a visit with his father to go call the 2002 PGA Championship, Nantz explained to his dad, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, that, when he opened the broadcast of that event with “Hello, friends,” he was talking specifically to him.

For years and years, Nantz has extended that kind of hospitality to all of us, making us feel like his family and making us feel right at home, even on sports’ biggest stages. – Brandon Costa

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> NEAL PILSON PRODIGIOUS LEADER AND SPORTS-RIGHTS NEGOTIATOR

W

hether in the boardroom, at the negotiating table, or evaluating a telecast, few sports TV executives in history demonstrate such a preternatural knack for making the right decision at the right time than Neal Pilson.

During 19 years at CBS, including 13 as president of CBS Sports, Pilson helped transform the Tiffany Network into a livesports-programming goliath. Departing CBS in 1994, he launched consulting firm Pilson Communications Inc. (PCI) and has played an integral role in negotiations for billions of dollars in sportsrights deals over 25 years.

“With rights deals [for] the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, The Masters, NCAA football and Final Fours, the Olympics, and NASCAR, Neal’s legacy of building and upholding the tradition of CBS Sports during his two stints as president is as much a part of our long and storied history as are the great events and moments we have broadcast,” said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus.

Pilson joined CBS Sports in 1976 as director of business affairs. He was immediately tasked with building up its live sports properties.

An early accomplishment proved to be one of the most important rights deals in the history of sports TV: an agreement with NASCAR for flag-to-flag live coverage of the 1979 Daytona 500. The move was a windfall for CBS and elevated NASCAR from a regional property to one of the most popular sports in the U.S. “Neal played a critical role in the development of the sports-rights [business],” said Barry Frank, who was president of CBS Sports at the time. “He was extremely successful in bringing new rights to the network and making deals that were extremely fortuitous.”

By 1981, CBS was seeking stability atop its sports ranks, which had seen four presidents in five years. The network turned to Pilson, who, at age 41, became the youngest president in CBS Sports history.

“Before Neal, it seemed

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Pilson (left) with former CBS Sports head and IMG executive Barry Frank

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like we had a new president every couple years,” said Fox Sports pioneer Ed Goren, a producer at CBS Sports throughout most of Pilson’s tenure. “Neal brought stability. I look back at Neal’s run as the golden age of CBS Sports.”

As president, Pilson continued to bolster CBS Sports’ portfolio, adding the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1981 and inking one of the first $1 billion deals, for exclusive rights to the entire NCAA Tournament beginning in 1990. He boosted CBS’s college-football rights throughout the 1980s and led CBS’s successful $643 million bid for the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Games. Pilson brought the PGA Championship to CBS in 1991 and negotiated renewal agreements for the NFL, The Masters, NBA, PGA TOUR, and US Open tennis.

“We developed a very strong live on-air presence and were very competitive in [negotiating for] just about every major property that came up,” he recalled. “Between 1979, when we [secured the] Daytona 500, and 1993, when we lost the NFL, we were first or close to first among all the [broadcast networks] when it came to sports.”

Between 1983 and ’86, Pilson served as EVP of CBS Broadcast Group before transitioning back to president of CBS Sports.

“I have tremendous respect for Neal and what he did in procuring so many massive events. At one point, we had basically everything,” said Jim Nantz, who was hired at CBS Sports during Pilson’s regime.

“He has touched this business and many careers in so many ways.”

In 1994, Pilson left CBS Sports and served a short stint as SVP of CBS Broadcast Group. Retiring from CBS in June 1995, he immediately launched PCI, with NASCAR as his first client.

Though esteemed most for his work at CBS Sports and PCI, he views his role in launching the annual March of Dimes Sports Luncheon as one of his prime accomplishments.

“Neal’s leadership, wisdom, and grace have made our association stronger and our long relationship always pleasant,” said March of Dimes NY board member Joe Cohen.

Today, Pilson operates PCI out of his office in Lenox, MA; serves as a selectman in the town of Richmond, MA; and is an adjunct professor for the Columbia University Graduate Program in Sports Management. He and his wife of 56 years, Frieda, have three grown children and six grandchildren.

“When people ask, ‘What would you do differently?,’ I’m probably one of the few people who would not change a single thing,” says Pilson. “I’ve been lucky in many ways, and I’m truly happy with every move that I’ve made and the wonderful relationships that I’ve made along the way.” – Jason Dachman

> DICK VITALE COLLEGE-BASKETBALL WORDSMITH

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master of wordplay that has enhanced the lexicon of sports broadcasting, Dick Vitale has inhabited the TV screens of college-basketball fans for four decades. With a résumé that includes numerous Hall of Fame inductions (notably the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Hall of Fame), eight movie appearances (including Blue Chips and He Got Game), nine books, and countless iconic calls, he has always had a simple motto that has kept him grounded.

“My parents told me to never, ever believe in the word can’t and to always be good to people,” said Vitale. “I used to hear at the dinner table every day that, if you’re good to people, a lot of good things are going to happen for you.”

Growing up in East Rutherford, NJ, Vitale graduated from Seton Hall University after four years at East Rutherford High School. In athletics, he was involved in all sports, but basketball presented a unique opportunity.

“I realized that, if you want to get ahead in the coaching profession as a guy that wasn’t a great player or had a recognizable name, the quickest way to the top was basketball,” he said. “I went to as many clinics and camps as I could and studied as much as I could about the game.”

Beginning his coaching career at the high school level, Vitale found his first taste of success at his alma mater, earning two consecutive state titles during a seven-year tenure. He rose through the coaching ranks and became head coach at the University of Detroit. He excelled at the helm, leading the Titans to a 21-game winning streak and capturing the school’s second NCAA-tournament appearance in 1977.

Before a Sweet 16 matchup against defending national champion University of Michigan, then-NBC Executive Producer Scotty Connal approached Vitale with an opportunity to speak to the broadcast team of Emmy Award-winning announcer Curt Gowdy and five-time AP College Coach of the Year John Wooden, who served as analyst. The men on the call noticed his largerthan-life persona.

CLASS OF 2018

Fellow Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer inductees Vitale (right) and Jim Nantz

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Vitale recalled, “Scotty told me [after the game] that both guys on their way out of the arena, said, ‘Man, we really like that guy’s energy and enthusiasm. You should think about him in TV someday.’”

The NBA’s Detroit Pistons came calling in 1978, but the gig lasted only one season. Soon the coach crossed paths again with Connal, who had recently been named VP of sports programming and operations at the fledgling ESPN. “When Scotty called me to do my very first game, I told him I didn’t want to do it and I wanted to get back into coaching,” said Vitale. “He called me back a week later, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

He traded in his whiteboard for a microphone and called his first college-basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979.

“Back then, he was just unbridled enthusiasm,” recalled ESPN anchor Bob Ley. “I say this with affection, but he was like an untrained colt. You were trying to get him into the gate and teach him what broadcasting was because what he had to offer beyond that was infectious.”

With exposure and experience, Vitale gradually found his voice and became the face of ESPN’s college-basketball coverage. An eclectic mixture of exuberance, excitement, and expertise, he began captivating viewers with nicknames like “Diaper Dandy” (a promising freshman player) and “PTP” (a primetime player) as well as such phrases as “awesome with a capital A!” In more than 1,000 games, Vitale has teamed up with other prominent personalities on the sidelines, such as Brad Nessler, Brent Musburger, and Jim Simpson. Throughout the years, he has never strayed from what makes him great.

“He’s one of a kind because of his love, knowledge, and passion for the game,” said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “People want to hear him. There will never be anybody like Dick.”

Although his on-air presence and lighthearted personality have left their mark on the world of sports, Vitale’s efforts in fighting childhood cancer have changed lives across the nation.

“One of his great friends was [late coach/broadcaster] Jimmy Valvano,” said Steve Anderson, former EVP, content operations and creative services, ESPN. “He has done everything he can to keep [the V Foundation for Cancer Research] and that fight for cancer going.”

Vitale’s status in sports-broadcasting lore remains secure through his unwavering passion for the game and his philanthropic endeavors. He credits many individuals for helping him.

“Some beautiful people have played a vital role: the incredible inspiration and drive of my parents; my second family at ESPN; my wife of 47 years, Lorraine; my daughters,” he said. “I’ve been a very blessed and lucky guy. I’m not in these halls of fame if these people weren’t so good to me.” – Kristian Hernandez

SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIII

CBS Sports Raises Bar on AR During Super Open; 115 Cameras Capture Game From All Angles

By Ken Kerschbaumer

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uper Bowl LIII is in the books and, for the production team at CBS Sports, it was the culmination of years of work, site visits, and planning.

As usual, it was a massive effort and provided plenty of innovation, including a one-of-a-kind show open that featured an impressive technical undertaking.

Patty Power, EVP, operations and engineering, CBS Sports, said the entire production and related efforts over the past couple of years were a fantastic team effort. Mike Francis, VP, remote engineering and planning, and Jason Cohen, VP, remote technical operations, played key roles in Super Bowl planning. Power said Francis brought the engineering expertise and Cohen, who joined CBS less than a year ago, brought trying different things to a new level.

“I think we make a great team,” she said, speaking prior to the Big Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Feb. 3.

The efforts, as usual for a Super Bowl, were impressive. The CBS presence in the compound comprised 14 mobile trucks and 12 office trailers. There were 115 cameras shared among 332 channels of record and playback, and 2,000 channels of local intercom (and 50 channels trunked to New York) ensured that production and technical operations ran smoothly. CP Communications handled all frequency coordination as well as wireless comms, wireless IFB mics, supplemental audio gear, and all audio efforts on the field and all five sets.

Francis said that having access to dark fiber to the sets gave the team control with respect to sharing resources wherever they were needed. There were also 29 transmission and receive paths, five uplinks, and 10 Gbps of data circuits for file transfers as CBS leveraged the team back home. “[For Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA,] we had 12 edits onsite. For this Super Bowl, we still have 12, but six of them

For in-depth reports from Super Bowl LIII, check out SVG’s SportsTechLive Blog: On Site at Super Bowl LIII on www.sportsvideo.org 40

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

Inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the host venue of Super Bowl LIII.

From left: CBS Sports’ Mike Francis, Patty Power, and Jason Cohen led the operations and technical efforts for Super Bowl LIII. are here in Atlanta and six are back in New York,” said Power. “It’s been up since Monday. It has been going pretty well so far with file transfers and communication between the two teams [onsite and in New York].”

ThumbWar provided the six edit systems, and they were located in NEP’s CBS D unit, which is the edit truck CBS relies on for golf and postseason football, and two Game Creek Video edit trucks.

“We were able to save a lot of setup time as opposed to setting up in a production trailer,” said Francis. “Everybody has the same visibility and ability to share media, and having 10 Gbps of bandwidth between the two cities obviously helps with that.”

This year’s efforts actually included an impressive technical undertaking for the opening of the show. For the first time ever, augmented reality was deployed in a multicamera environment, bringing AR graphics to four camera angles that, combined, delivered a new and exciting look to the big game and also lay the groundwork for similar innovations.

Cohen worked closely with The Future Group, Ncam, and AVS to bring AR to not only the Skycam but also a technojib, an all-22 angle, and a wireless Steadicam, which he described as “a bit of a science project.”

“The production team had the idea to do a multicamera AR open, but AR has been done in a pretty conservative way for a long time,” he said. “While the wireless Steadicam is cool in and of itself, it’s having four very different camera rigs all working in sync as a four-camera cut to open the game that is most interesting.”

The Future Group-built animatic for the open was loaded onto an EVS and featured an audio track with sound effects and music, as well as an audio cue that used timecode to trigger four AR servers running The Future Group’s Pixotope software, and the four AR servers in sync with the audio cue began their playout of the graphics effects, which was simply four cameras being played through them.

Said Cohen, “The TD built an auto timeline in the switcher so that, when he says, ‘roll the embedded cue,’ the switcher cuts all four cameras by itself. It goes for 20 seconds; then we have the big tease, and off we go with the game.”

The AR innovations extended beyond the show open. The main set on the concourse level also had two AR cameras that brought a new look to coverage, and SMT once again played a key role in AR efforts. SMT supplied its Sportcg scorebug, virtual first and 10 line, virtual cameratracker on the two SkyCams, live, realtime stats via QBStat, telestration technology, and virtual goal post extensions.

The multicamera application of AR at the top of the show, however, is what Cohen thinks will have a lasting impact. “Now we can see how AR productions can be taken to other sports,” he explained.

“It is a bit of a science project, as the Steadicam operator is on a wireless rig and he has a computer technician who is tethered to him. That computer takes the tracking data off the lens and then sends it wirelessly to the Ncam server in the truck. Ncam and AVS have been working on this in London for about four months.”

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIII NFL Media Expands Presence; Bexel Tapped To Build 25,000-Sq.-Ft. Facility

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uper Bowl Week was a busy week for NFL The team in Culver City worked closely Media in both Atlanta, where the Big Game with the team in Atlanta and made sure the was played, and Culver City, CA. In Atlanta, intercom system (a massive RTS Adam intercom a team of more than 400 covered every angle with 880 ports) and all other signals got to the ahead of the game and worked closely with a team right location. When nasty weather hit Atlanta of more than 250 people at NFL Media’s facilities on Tuesday and production plans had to be in Culver City, where three control rooms produced adjusted for programs set to shoot in Centennial all the coverage for programming from Tuesday to Park, for example, ensuring communication Saturday. And new this year, a fourth control room between the team in Culver City and the one in was fired up on game day.

Atlanta was critical.

For the NFL Media team, each year provides NFL Media studios and sets in Atlanta its own set of challenges and opportunities because comprised a presence in Centennial Park; a twoeach host city is unique. Atlanta arguably provided the way set on the floor of NFL Experience; a Total most compact Super Bowl footprint in some time.

Access set; four positions in the Media Center “I can’t be prouder of our team,” said Dave for the linear network, digital, social, and original Shaw, VP, production, NFL Media, prior to Super content; and a set along one of the primary Bowl LIII. “We developed a plan taking advantage thoroughfares the fans took to reach the stadium. of the unique, centrally located venues in Atlanta, “Capturing the feel of Atlanta was most with Opening Night at State Farm Arena, Super evident in our set at Super Bowl Experience,” Bowl Live at Centennial Park, Super Bowl said Shaw. “[NFL Media Director, Media Experience at the Georgia World Congress Center, Operations,] Adam Acone has again led and Media Center at GWCC, all in close proximity coordination of the overall production plan, to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.” including all set locations, with our set-design The close proximity gave Shaw and the team team led by Rick Qualliotine, Jennifer a chance to build a 25,000-sq.-ft. production hub Love, and Carlos Aguero, along with Jesse NFL Media’s Dave Shaw said the within the GWCC. Bexel was tapped to supply Medeiros on scenic design.” team in both Atlanta and Culver and engineer a prebuilt system customized for Filmwerks was tapped for set structure, City, CA, did a great job.

NFL Media’s engineering core, transmission hub, intended to highlight the looks of Super Bowl and control room. The only standalone production Experience, Super Bowl Live in Centennial Park, was NFL Honors, with Game Creek’s Apollo supporting NFL Media’s Media Center Radio Row, and an outside set near Fan Plaza. coverage of the red-carpet show.

Inside the stadium, there was a set on the field level as well as “The beautiful thing about Atlanta is [that] everything is so close, in Section 119, where a coaches show, a Twitter show, and a digital and having everything in the same vicinity allowed us to have a central postgame show were produced. And, on Monday morning, Good hub for the operational and production teams,” said Shaw. “I don’t know Morning Football set up shop with the stadium as a backdrop. when we’ll see something like this again.”

The NFL relied on one truck in Atlanta: Game Creek’s Nitro, which Added AJ Wainwright, director of technical operations, NFL, “If was used for the production of the NFL Honors on Saturday night from there are any real issues, you are within a five- or 10-minute walk of the Fox Theater. each other, and we enjoy that. Conceptually, we’re thinking about Miami This was the third year the team at the game made use of the and next year.” at-home approach to produce content. But it’s the first year that Bexel was Coordination is key, especially with production facilities so far involved, providing the equipment, integration, and technical support to keep apart. Said Shaw, “[Director, Studio Operations,] Jessica Lee in Culver the production-control room, audio area, EVS replay-playback area, and City oversees the studio operations and control rooms and is working graphics area online and operating properly. Because Bexel is now part of with [VP, Broadcast Operations,] Leon Schweir on the trafficking of NEP Group, its team was able to leverage the rest of the NEP team. which show is done out of which control room. We want to use the “We love this annual opportunity to showcase the Super Bowl,” exact control room they use all year, so they are comfortable.” said Shaw. “It’s still the greatest single sports event every year.” – KK

CBS deployed 115 cameras, including 10 4K Sony HDC-4800 cameras with high-speed recording and zoom. And, in a true innovation, three Panasonic AK-SHB800 8K cameras were deployed around the field, with one above each end zone in the cat walk and then one at the all-22 position. The three Panasonic cameras played out via Evertz DreamCatcher replay systems; the Sony 4K systems relied on Sony PSW-4500 replay servers.

The Panasonic 8K cameras connected to an AK-SHU800 cam42

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

era-control unit via two single-mode fiber lines like a regular studio camera, but the CCU outputs the 8K signal as four 12-Gbps 4K signals. Each of those four signals was converted to four 3-Gbps signals and passed to the DreamCatcher via 16 3-Gbps inputs. The team also mounted three Pico cameras on the goalposts.

Another barrier that CBS broke was the use of three Skycams in a stadium. The third Skycam flew over the concourse, where CBS’ main set was located.

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIII “It was a tricky rigging,” said Francis, “but Skycam did a great job of finding out how to get it done, and they had to set up the operator position in a catwalk.”

Also helping with the coverage was an 8K C360 Live camera mounted on a catwalk at the top of the stadium. Located above the Halo videoboard, it opened up the possibility for dramatic shots that resembled those captured from a blimp rather than a small, 4-lb. camera. Moves could be programmed for the C360, giving it the ability to zoom into the stadium and add yet another angle to coverage of things like player introductions.

The production team also used some of the newer lenses on the market, including Canon’s new 122X lens and four 111X lenses. Fujinon 107X lenses were also used.

Even the booth got a bit of technical innovation with a JitaCam mounted on a robotic rail, which gave some movement to shots of the announcers and even of the field.

The final imaging innovation was a tethered drone from Measure, which was located a little more than half a mile from the stadium. It used a LiveU transmitter and a cable modem to send exterior shots of the stadium with the Atlanta skyline in the background. Because it was tethered, it was powered continuously and was able to get a shot that otherwise wasn’t possible.

“The highest we could get on a building was just under 100 ft.,” added Cohen, “so we went through a bunch of different concepts.”

With all the cameras, Francis was confident heading into Super Bowl LIII that the team would be ready to supply all the correct angles.

“With the three 8K cameras, the 10 4K cameras, and 28 pylon cameras in each end zone, there isn’t one square inch of the field that we don’t have covered,” he pointed out. “And, on the low Skycam, we have a Sony P43 with 6X super-slo-mo, and we have one of the first Sony P50 4K cameras on the high Skycam, so we have the ability to zoom from there as well.”

Out in the truck compound, NEP’s SSCBS A, B, C, and D units were at the center of the effort. The A unit housed game production, game graphics, and goalpost–robo-camera operation. The B unit had game audio and IPG distribution headend; the C unit housed the majority of EVS game replay operators, ChyronHego operations, and SMT firstdown-line operations. The D unit, meanwhile, handled tease edits.

Game Creek Video’s Encore A unit was on hand for additional game video, pre/ postgame audio and video, and 8K operations; the B unit handled pre/postproduction, graphics, and C360 operations. The C unit was home to pre/post EVS, the Sony server operators who worked with the Fletcher-provided HDC-4800 4K cameras, and 8K operators.

F&F Productions’ GTX17 handled tape-release production, backup production, additional game EVS, and additional game video, and GTX18B was home to comms, Pico replay operators, a second pylon operator, augmented-reality operations, and EA Sports.

Game Creek Edit 3, 4, and B-5 also played key roles. Edit 3 handled ingests, game and pre/post editing, color tease, game After Effects operations, and MAM. Edit 4 housed pre/post After Effects, pre/post Duets, and graphics management. And B-5 was home to pan-bar robotic operations and all other Fletcher robos except for those on the goalposts, which were handled in NEP SSCBS A. NEP’s TX/ESU trailer was onsite for router distribution, transmission control, and distribution to the world feed, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, halftime show, and all other outside vendors.

And the AVS RF truck managed all RF cameras for game and pre/post as well as camerafeed distribution to SSCBS B, Encore A, and video-paint control in those trucks. <

Top: CBS Sports’ main set, located on the concourse level of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, had a variety of cameras on hand, including two AR cameras and — for the first time — a Skycam that flew overhead.

Bottom: An overhead shot of the concourse-level main set 44

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

ESPN’s Technical Team Innovates in Santa Clara

By Ken Kerschbaumer

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t the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship, ESPN once again went all-in for the big game, deploying more than 310 cameras to cover all the action at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, and providing 17 viewing options via the MegaCast over 11 TV and radio networks and via the ESPN app.

Inside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide.

For more 2019 CFP National Championship coverage, check out sportsvideo.org 46

“The thing that makes this event is the volume and magnitude of what we put behind it but also the time frame,” said John LaChance, director, remote production operations, ESPN, prior to the January 7 game. “[There are] other marquee events, which stand alone, but, with the volume and viewer enhancements being done here in a 72-hour window to get everything installed, this

event [is] in a unique classification. Trying to integrate everything into place was a herculean effort.”

The game wrapped up a season in which ESPN’s production team delivered more than 160 games to ABC and ESPN and more than 1,000 games to various other ESPN platforms.

“To watch that volume and make sure all the pieces are in place is a highlight for all of us, [seeing] it go from plan to working,” said LaChance.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

“You always have things that are challenges, but it’s about how quickly you can recover, and I think we’ve done it well.”

The core of ESPN’s production efforts were done out of Game Creek Video’s 79 A and B units with Nitro A and B handling game submix, EVS overflow, 360 replay, robo ops, and tape release. ESPN’s team that created 17 MegaCast offerings was onsite, housed in Nitro and Game Creek’s Edit 3 and Edit 4 trailers and TVTruck.tv’s Sophie HD. Game Creek Video’s Yogi, meanwhile, was on hand for studio operations, and Maverick was also in the compound.

All told, 70 transmission paths (50 outbound, 20 inbound) flowed through the compound, and 40 miles of fiber and cable was deployed to supplement what already exists at Levi’s Stadium.

Also on hand was Fletcher, which provided robotics; BSI, which handled wired pylons and RF audio and video; 3G, which was in charge of the line-to-gain PylonCam and the first-and-10– marker camera; Vicareo, with the Ref Cams; and CAT Entertainment, for UPS and power. SMT was on board for the 1st & Ten lines; PSSI, for uplink; Bexel, for RF audio and other gear; and Illumination Dynamics, for lighting.

“It’s a team effort,” said LaChance. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team we assembled here and the vendors, technicians, leads, and staff that have, over the course of the last several months and weeks when it gets to a fever pitch, put it all together.”

A large part of the 300-camera arsenal was comprised of 160 4K DSLR cameras deployed for the continued on page 50

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Clemson Digital Media Team Delivers Unrivaled Access as Tigers Take Home Another CFP National Championship

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ith a pair of College Football Playoff National Championships in three years, Clemson University has not only thrust the names of Deshawn Watson, Trevor Lawrence, and Dabo Swinney into the spotlight but has also given the ultimate playground to one of the undisputed leaders in modern video production, the Tigers’ digital-media and video team.

Clemson’s talented media-production outfit has been going “full send” since Week 1 of the season, so, when a College Football Playoff berth presents itself, it’s all about sticking to the plan and continuing to execute, showing the world what you can do when the lights are at their brightest.

“It falls under the pillar that this is another football game,” said Nik Conklin, director of creative solutions, video production, Clemson Athletics. “There’s a beginning, middle, and end. Within that, you’ve got a new venue, a new locker room, and a new context that needs to be provided by us. Although the team arrives in some form or fashion the same way they do any other game, the backdrop of the National Championship provides a unique experience to try to tell the story in a different and unique way.”

Jonathan Gantt, associate athletic director, creative solutions, Clemson Athletics, said, “We treat all football games the same. We have an event-coverage content plan, and the good news about that is that we’ve been doing it all season long. It’s really just taking that plan and putting it in a setting that gets a lot more attention and executing the same plan that we have all year.”

A team of 15 (four full-timers and a handful of students and contract employees) was onsite at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, to tackle the job of covering this National Championship for Clemson fans.

With the luxury of so many hands on deck, Clemson was able to supply a feast of content to feed the hunger of fans back home in South Carolina and around the country.

“We want to make sure that we are proving value and showing that it makes sense to have so many people here by having the output be very high,” said Gantt. “When it comes to publishing, it’s fire at will. There’s no such thing as oversharing when you are in a National Championship Game. Fans who didn’t make the trip want to see as much as they possibly can. I’m not worried about clogging somebody’s feed.”

He noted that, given the West Coast location of the game and the three-hour time difference from campus, much effort went into strategizing what content would go out when. There was a desire to avoid pushing out content at a time many fans would be sleeping on the East Coast and, instead, to save some content for fans to wake up to in the morning.

On the gear end, the crew came fully equipped with gear perfectly suited for the run-and-gun nature of an event like this. Videographers were shooting with a lot of mirrorless cameras, mostly from the Sony Alpha series. There was also one shoulder-mount camera, a Sony FS7, used on the sidelines to shoot primary game action with a cinematic flair.

The Clemson video team has found a lot of positives with the newer device format. According to Conklin, it fits perfectly with the group’s need for smaller file sizes, as well as the necessary speed and efficiency of workflow. They’ve also found that the training curve on the mirrorless cameras hasn’t been a substantial challenge.

One of those mirrorless cameras is being used to capture Clemson’s signature content this year: The Vlog. Using a selfie-style rig, Clemson’s media team has spent all season putting the rig into the hands of coaches and players to speak directly to fans following a win. The content is used

48

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The Clemson football digital-media team in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl for the College Football Playoff Semifinals.

A Clemson student uses the team’s Vlog rig to capture Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney’s press conference.

in individual chunks on social media and within its popular Facebook Watch series, The Vlog, which gives fans all-access to the team.

Clemson’s Vlog rig is a Sony a6300 with a 10-18mm lens and a Røde microphone mounted to a Manfrotto stabilizing gimbal. Clemson’s videographers have worked hardest at establishing relationships with the players and coaches and getting them familiar with the unit. The content delivered from it plays perfectly in the insider feel that Clemson’s digital team wants to offer fans.

“It’s really a testament to [our] videographers that they’ve built quality relationships with the players and staff,” said Gantt. “That’s what makes our stuff different. Everybody has got really great shooters and great touchdowns to capture, but what we have been able to do to establish relationships gives us great access with top-notch production quality plus speed, and that combination is pretty unique, I think.”

So with another championship to add to the trophy case, what’s the most important lesson Gantt has to impart? At an event like this, he says, it’s critical to not take one’s eye off the ball when the clock hits 0:00.

“The biggest thing I learned the first time around is, if you win, you’ve got to keep the intensity up for the next week,” he said. “That leads into Signing Day. Mentally, you get through what you think is the finish line of the season ending, but you can’t look at it that way because there’s going to be a whole lot that comes after it. It’s a big part of my job to make sure the team is set up for success.” – Brandon Costa

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP continued on from 46 4D Replay system that provided definitive looks at every play from every angle. Those cameras were mounted around the stadium and, combined, provided images that could be merged on computers and enable an operator to zoom around a play and show any angle.

One place where the 4D system shined was the Red Zone. The 4D Replay team and ESPN created templates that can cut the time needed to synthesize the images for plays around the goal line and pylons to eight seconds.

Besides the 160 4D replay cameras, plenty of cameras were focused on the game action, including 90 dedicated to game coverage. Among those were 10 super-slo-mo cameras, nine 4K game cameras, 15 RF cameras, two Skycams, and two aerial cameras in a blimp and fixed-wing aircraft. The vast majority of cameras were Sony models (mostly Sony HDC-2500 and HDC-4300 with one HDC-4800 in 4K mode) coupled with Canon lenses, including five 100X, two 95X, 21 wide-angle, and 14 22X and 24X lenses. Seven 86X lenses and a 27X lens were also in use.

The game-coverage cameras were complemented by specialty cameras. Four Vicario Ref Cams were worn by the officials; a line-to-gain RF PylonCam moved up and down the sideline with the first-and-10 marker, which also had a camera; and eight PylonCams around the end zones provided a total of 28 cameras.

The RefCam was new this year, having been tested during last year’s final in Atlanta. The MarkerCam debuted last year, and LaChance said it has been improved: “It has a c360 Live camera in the target portion of the marker to give a 180-degree perspective in 4K. The operator can push in and get a great perspective; we are taking it to another level with the push in.”

A second c360 camera was also in use on the second Skycam, again giving the ESPN team the ability to zoom in and capture images.

Another exciting new offering was AllCam, a system designed by ESPN’s in-house team and ChyronHego. It stitches images from three 4K cameras placed alongside the all-22 camera position and gave the production team the ability to zoom in anywhere on the field to capture events that might have taken place away from the action. For example, in a test at a bowl game, the system was used to show an

ESPN’s Championship Drive set on the field at Levi’s Stadium unnecessary-roughness violation that took place during a kickoff far from the other players, who were focused on the run-back.

“It’s another good example of the partnerships we have and working for a common goal,” said LaChance.

Beyond the game-coverage cameras, there were 20 cameras dedicated to the various MegaCast feeds, 29 for ESPN College GameDay, and nine for the SEC Network. ESPN Deportes also had two dedicated cameras.

All told, the production team had access to 320 sources via 170 channels of EVS playback as well as 32 channels of Evertz DreamCatcher playback. There were also two Sony PVW-4500 servers in use, a Sony BPU-4800 4K record server, and two c360 record servers.

The game wrapped up a busy time for the production team as well as for those who work at Levi’s Stadium. LaChance credited Jim Mercurio, VP, stadium operations/GM, Levi’s Stadium, and Nelson Ferreira, director, technical operations, San Francisco 49ers, with being an important part of the process leading up to the game.

“It’s a solid venue and great group of folks to work with, and that helps,” said LaChance. “They have done the Super Bowl here, and they do a lot of great events, so they are wellequipped. We had to supplement with some fiber, but they had a great infrastructure to start with.”

As for the ESPN team, everybody worked on one of the two semifinals as well as an additional bowl game.

“Folks that did the Cotton Bowl headed on to the Sugar Bowl, and those that did the Orange Bowl headed to the Rose Bowl,” said LaChance. “A lot of the people here have been non-stop since the Christmas Day offerings for the NBA, then right into a semifinal assignment, then the second of the New Year’s bowl offerings, and then making their way here to Santa Clara for one of the largest events the company does every year.” < Van Wagner and the San Francisco 49ers handled the in-venue show from the Levi’s Stadium control room.

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SVG FOCUS

YEAR OF

ESPORTS W

hen it comes to live production, no sector is creating as much buzz as the esports industry.

With the market estimated to surpass annual revenues of $1 billion this year and growing to $1.79 billion in revenue by 2022, esports is the belle of the sports-media ball. With that in mind, SVG has spent the past 12 months extensively covering the latest liveproduction innovations taking place in esports.

Game publishers like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games are pushing the technological envelope with their Overwatch League and League of Legends Championship Series productions, respectively.

Meanwhile esports-specific venues like Esports Stadium Arlington and HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas are revolutionizing the way esports fans experience live events. Check out these in-depth, behind-the-scenes looks at the most leading-edge esports productions and stay tuned to sportsvideo.org for our continuing coverage of esports production.

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SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS

Blizzard Entertainment:

Inside the Home of Overwatch League, the Hottest Property in Esports

By Jason Dachman

W

ith teams dishing out $20 million apiece to join and Twitch inking a two-year, $90 million streaming rights deal, Blizzard Entertainment doesn’t just believe Overwatch League can be among the elite esports properties in the world — it believes it can be among the elite sports properties of any kind. In order to be a first-class league, you have to have a first-class production facility, and that’s exactly what the videogame titan has endeavored to create with Blizzard Arena in Burbank, CA. Opened in October 2017, Blizzard Arena has served as the home of Overwatch League competitions since its inaugural season began in January. What was once home to The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson in Burbank Studios is now a modern 11,000-sq.-ft. studio dedicated exclusively to esports. However, the Arena itself is just one portion of Blizzard’s sprawling 74,000 sq.-ft., five-level facility (including the basement), which also includes a second studio for additional programming, two control rooms and an “observer room”, a shoutcaster announce booth, nine edit suites, private practice rooms for each Overwatch team, “dugouts” for both competing teams, multiple press rooms, vast stretches of office space, and much more.

“We’ve been planning this project for a couple years, so it was a very extensive buildout and we tried to account for everything,” said Pete Emminger, senior director, global broadcast, Blizzard Entertainment. “Right from the beginning, we built out all the necessary infrastructure to support everything that Blizzard does — not just Overwatch League. So, it’s been very flexible for us.”

Inside Blizzard Arena, home of Overwatch League (Photo credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment) 54

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS The Blizzard Arena soundstage, which has seating for up to 450 fans, is centered around the primary stage, where the two six-player teams compete against a 13,000-pixel-wide 4mm LED wall. In addition, a LED halo display hangs above the stage and tracks the payload progression for each Overwatch match. All LED panels are wired redundantly throughout the facility and driven by a custom graphics/playout system developed in-house by Blizzard.

“All the LED is completely reactive to the game,” said Emminger. “We have a number of custom game software elements that drive all this LED. All the hero panels and other [elements] up on the LED are all driven directly from the game engine and the Halo [above the stage] is totally reactive to the game [to visualize] the Overwatch payload progression.”

A four-analyst set is located in front of the main stage.

(Photo credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment)

Blizzard Entertainment Rolls Out Its Largest Esports Production Ever for Overwatch League Grand Finals

W

ith a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center and 10.8 million viewers tuning in online and on TV, the Overwatch League Grand Finals represented one of the largest live esports events in North America to date and the culmination of a whirlwind first Overwatch League season for Blizzard Entertainment.

“From a Blizzard Entertainment perspective, this is the largest standalone esports production that we’ve produced,” said Pete Emminger, senior director, global broadcast, Blizzard Entertainment. “We have an internal term ‘adding the Blizzard polish,’ which means all of us are constantly driving to make every single [element] better for every single show.”

With an operation involving more than 100 crew members, Blizzard aimed to replicate its production workflow at Blizzard Arena in Burbank, CA. NEP’s EN3 mobile unit (A and B) served as home to the main production, with A housing the primary control room, audio, EVS replay, and camera shading while the B unit housed the edit, transmission, and IT teams.

In addition, NEP’s BT-1 auxiliary unit was fully customized

by Blizzard to serve its observer-room needs. The show’s main control room inside EN3’s A unit handled the overall show, while the observer room produced the in-game Overwatch action, including live first-person POV, Free Cam, cinematic-style, and “bullet time” (following a bullet frame by frame) coverage.

The auxiliary unit was rolled out prior to the tournament and integrated onsite to become a fully functional observer room.

EN3 and the observer unit were fully integrated, with all the signal flows — a hybrid of HD-SDI broadcast feeds and DDI digital computer feeds — integrated through same router.

Not surprisingly, the LED video complement inside Barclays for the Grand Finals was monumentally large, headlined by a massive newly constructed 165’x’36’ LED wall above the stage with 10x 4K resolution. Blizzard Entertainment worked with NEP Creative Technology to deploy the main board along with the plethora of additional LED boards scattered throughout the arena.

Blizzard also leveraged the Barclays in-house infrastructure and all its LED ribbon boards and concourse monitors (the center-hung board was not used because of sightline constraints). Prior to the event, Barclays updated its graphics system to add the capability for live playout in order to serve Blizzard’s needs.

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Blizzard’s Overwatch League stage inside Barclays Center.

Blizzard uses a custom software program (similar to the platform used at Blizzard Arena) to operate its entire show.

The in-venue production and the live broadcast were heavily integrated, sharing the same control room and outputting the same live-coverage feed. The in-venue LED show graphics were played out using a custom-designed TouchDesigner system, while the broadcast show relied on Vizrt graphics.

In addition to constructing a new stage and LED wall, Blizzard debuted a new three-person studio set located in the back of house right — just a few feet away from the shoutcaster commentary area. ESPN also rolled out a small set, where it hosted a pre-game show on Twitter using a small flypack.

The production used 10 hard cameras, four robos, one RF camera, and 12 Blackmagic Micro Cinema POV player cameras (six for each team). On the audio side, the operations team replicated the customized tournament audio system deployed at Blizzard Arena, with well over 100 audio inputs.

Blizzard Entertainment had approximately 20 producers, editors, graphics producers in EN3 and a dedicated edit space delivering a cavalcade of post-produced content at Grand Finals — highlights packages, social content, additional promos and marketing elements — to its distribution partners.

In addition, the operation at Barclays Center was fully connected to Blizzard Arena via multiple diverse fiber paths for redundancy. Back home, editors and media managers were on hand to help produce content and exchange files. – JD

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS Just a few feet in front of the stage is the primary desk set, where four analysts break down the action throughout each match.

In terms of in-arena audio, the house PA system utilizes a Yamaha QL1 mixing console and one EAW line array PA with subs for tiered seating.

Both teams utilize analog headsets (custom-modified from a pilot headset to ensure noise cancellation) and totally independent comms systems (driven by two Yamaha QL1 audio consoles backstage). Via these noise-cancelling headsets, players can hear one another and the comms feed is piped into both “dugouts” located behind the stage so the respective team managers can hear and provide feedback at halftime. The comms feeds are also recorded for postgame analysis during the week.

Since competitors play at 144Hz, necessitating short cable runs between the player and the hardware, all of Blizzard’s HP gaming hardware is located in small racks next to both team’s areas on stage.

Blizzard also has a second studio at the facility, which is utilized for its weekly look-ahead studio show Watchpoint, its smaller esports events, player interviews, standups, and other multipurpose needs.

The production team has 16 Grass Valley LDX86 (eight of which are outfitted with six 22X lenses and two wide angle lenses) cameras at its disposal to cover action inside the Arena (Stage 1 at Burbank Studios), as well as for Blizzard’s secondary studio (Stage 5). In addition, the primary arena has four Sony BRCH800/1 1080p PTZ cameras.

On the stage, Blizzard deploys a dozen Blackmagic Micro Cinema POV cameras with SLR Magic 8mm lenses for close-ups of each player’s face during competition. Blizzard has a single shading room to shade both the Grass Valley cameras (painted with traditional CCU’s) and POV cameras (using Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve coloring software).

Blizzard Arena is equipped with two control rooms and two audio rooms, as well as an observer room, which produces the in-game action itself. A Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame 9 M/E switcher is split across two suites to support both control rooms — 4 M/E per room with a flex fifth M/E as needed. On the replay side, the EVS workflow consists of two EVS XT4K and two XS3 replay servers systems (configured as 24 channels in/12 out), as well as IP Directors and XT Access transfer/transcode engines. The facility also features an Imagine Communications Platinum router, Riedel intercoms, and Boland monitors.

Both control rooms are outfitted with two Viz trio real-time graphics systems and one Viz Libero telestrator system apiece — all of which are fully integrated with Blizzard’s custom stats system.

The same stats engine drives the streaming experience on Twitch, the LED walls in the arena, and also feeds OverwatchLeague.com and the Overwatch app.

All 24 channels of EVS are recorded to Dell EMC Isilon storage in AVC Intra 100 MXF format, while 64 audio channels record discretely to Isilon storage. Tertiary records are handled by Cinedeck ZX Recorders (PIX recording for 64 channels of audio and for player team comms). Studer Vista 5 M3 42 audio consoles sit in both audio rooms along with four JBL LSR4328P Studio monitors and four playback computers (primary and backup) running Ableton software.

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Blizzard deployed a dozen mobile units (including A and B trucks) and distributed 211 broadcast streams at BlizzCon 2018.

NEP’s US Mobile Units division built and manages the two control rooms and also provides on-site broadcast engineers.

The most unique aspect of live esports production is the presence of an observer room, which produces the in-game action while the main control room handles to overall show. Unlike the primary control room, all workstations are on wheels and fully mobile, allowing the observer team to be flexible from show to show.

“Essentially, it’s as if there are two parts of the broadcast: the main broadcast and the game broadcast,” said Emminger. “That is just because the game moves so fast so that it requires this whole team of dedicated people. We have a coordinating producer in the front row [of the main control room] tying it all together and then the director, observer director, and the TD work together to create the whole show.”

Inside the room, the observer director sits at a switcher panel that comes off the primary K-Frame switcher (the observer is setup as a subswitch for the game M/E) and “cuts cameras” for the in-game show.

In addition to the director, the room features four observer positions: two observers handle the “freecams” [third-person views] and two observers oversee the first-person views. Meanwhile, a team of five people is also housed in the observer room to create cinematic and slow-mo content. This area is integrated with Blizzard’s overarching EVS replay and player-comms infrastructure to allow for integration of in-game and in-arena video content for replays.

Blizzard Arena’s transmission facility is fully integrated with the Blizzard Operations Center in Irvine, CA, which manages all global network operations and network infrastructure. All of Blizzard’s transmission infrastructure is IP-based and handles a whopping 2.9 exabytes of traffic monthly (on average). Overwatch League is currently being transmitted to regional partners English, Chinese, French, and Korean.

“It’s funny when you think about how big other [TV] networks are, but it turns out video game companies can have even bigger networks,” said Emminger. “We handle all of our own transmission. For all of our Overwatch League programming, we actually have somebody from that facility sit here with our whole transmission staff, so that we can foresee problems coming ahead in the tech stack. Because we’re so reliant on game servers and IT infrastructure, it’s critical that we’re fully integrated with the Ops Center.” < Note: Information included in this story was compiled in March 2018.

SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS

Riot Games:

League of Legends World Championship Final Shows Off At-Home Possibilities

By Jason Dachman

R

iot Games’ largest esports production of 2018 came to its epic finale in November with the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship Final in Incheon, South Korea. Always one of the most watched live esports shows each year, Riot Games outdid itself once again in terms of technology. Having been deployed to create a virtual dragon flying through Beijing National Stadium in 2017, AR was factored into the 2018 Opening Ceremony at Incheon Munhak Stadium, allowing in-game band K/DA to be virtually inserted onstage into the opening musical performance.

Of course, the Opening Ceremony’s K/DA performance in AR was just the first in a parade of cuttingedge technologies and production workflows deployed by Riot Games to serve the massive audience tuning into the LoL World Championship Final. Notably, Riot Games continued to push the at-home–production envelope at this year’s Worlds, producing both the world-feed show and the English-language show from its studio in Los Angeles and reducing the number of mobile units onsite from four in 2017 to zero in 2018.

“We believe a reliable at-home production strategy is integral to grow globally and maintain longterm sustainability,” said Mitch Rosenthal, head of production and operations, Riot Games. “Now hosting an event in Europe or Asia or North America doesn’t force us into region-specific tradeoffs and allows all of our shows to hit the high bar our players and fans deserve.”

Riot Games’ LoL World Championship Final production in Incheon featured a far bigger and more complex staging and LED setup than previous rounds.

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS Over the past four-plus years, Riot has been at the forefront of athome production and continues to leverage its Riot Direct network (the ISP used to service all LoL gameplay) to efficiently send feeds from tournament remotes to its Los Angeles production facility.

Riot sources local ISPs for the last mile to connect the closest Riot Direct ingest point. During the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) from Paris in May, the company successfully transmitted 34 live sources in 1080p60 from Paris to L.A. over a 1-Gbps pipe.

“Reducing four [production] trucks onsite to zero in a single year has been an incredible achievement for us,” said Rosenthal.

“Similarly, bringing bandwidth [to deliver video/audio feeds back home] down to 1-GB allows us to do four complete productions offsite. We have been working hard to accomplish this goal, and it’s gratifying to see us going to a modified flypack and truly take advantage of our remote capabilities. We will continue to look to push the envelope and reduce our footprint as much as we can.”

At the MSI, Riot used its English-language feed as the main program and produced a mix-minus version as an output for the world feed so that other regions could share the resource.

However, in Korea, for the first time, Riot used the world feed as its

Invictus overtook Fnatic in the 2018 LoL World Championship Final baseline, with the English-language show serving as a client of the world feed, increasing the value of the world feed for all regions.

Although Riot produced more content in Los Angeles (both the world feed and the English-language feed), it was still able to reduce its transmission needs from a 10-Gbps pipe at last year’s Worlds to less than 2-Gbps this year.

Riot Games Boosts At-Home Production at League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational

T

he concept of at-home production is nothing new for Riot Games, which has been leveraging its West Los Angeles esports-production facility in some fashion for its live productions around the globe for several years.

However, the videogame publisher has taken the productions to the next level with a new low-bandwidth IP contribution scheme that allows more than 30 sources to be sent to Los Angeles in near real time from countries around the world.

The fruits of these efforts were realized during last year’s League of Legends (LoL) Mid-Season Invitational in Paris: throughout three six-hour days of competition, Riot Games successfully transmitted 34 1080p60 live sources to L.A. at a latency of just 175 ms. The show was cut and produced live out of Riot Games’ control room in Los Angeles and distributed around the world on streaming platforms Twitch and YouTube, linear broadcast, and simulcast in 12 languages around the globe.

“One of the big topics in the entire broadcast industry is sustainability, and Riot is leading the charge with the tech needed to achieve this,” said Mitch Rosenthal, senior manager, broadcast operations, esports, Riot Games. “Our company goal is always to be the most player-focused company in the world. This [drives] us to build solutions that cater to all of our players.”

As a global brand, Riot Games produces live esports events all over the world every year, making at-home production a logical game plan. However, the cost of securing the 10-Gbps fiber circuit necessary to deploy the at-home model (using J2K compression) and the total lack of such connectivity in many less developed countries spurred Riot Games to begin searching for a workflow in which it could transmit 30-plus sources over a 1-Gbps pipe.

“Fundamentally, if we want to continue to do events all over the globe long term, then we need to figure out ways to work towards better sustainability and global compatibility,” said

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Ray Panahon, technical lead, esports, Riot Games. “[Many] countries simply can’t always provide the reliable 10-gig connection we need for [at-home production] and, when they can, it is commonly cost-prohibitive.”

Riot Games’ technical and engineering teams explored multiple vendors’ MPEG-4/H.264 encoding/decoding solutions in an effort to overcome the primary obstacle: minimizing or eliminating video drift and maintaining lip sync over tens of encoder streams. Riot eventually collaborated with Haivision and devised an H.264 compression scheme capable of transmitting three dozen 1080p60 video paths using 1 Gbps or less while synchronizing audio and video within a single frame.

The workflow went live for the first time at the LoL MidSeason Invitational, where 34 sources were sent 5,500 miles from Paris to L.A. over an 800-Mbps point-to-point MPLS IP path with just 175-ms lag.

“The impact on the production team was zero,” said Rosenthal. “They had to work through it at first, and the test we did in Japan was a huge step forward, but it had no impact whatsoever for [Mid-Season Invitational in] Paris.”

Riot also tested remote camera shading for its Grass Valley remote-control panels by creating a wide-area network that allowed the Grass Valley cameras in Paris to be shaded from L.A. via IP. In addition, the 10 POV cameras (Blackmagic Design Micro Studio 4K) hanging over the player’s monitors were remotely shaded from Los Angeles via Blackmagic IP software for the Blackmagic ATEM switcher. On the audio side, Riot successfully tested remote audio mixing using a Calrec RP1 production system in Paris and a Calrec Artemis console in L.A. Although, for the LoL Mid-Season Invitational, a SAM Kahuna switcher was deployed onsite in Paris and operated by a TD for in-venue–screen switching, at future events, Riot will explore deploying a switcher frame at the remote site with the panel and TD back home. – JD

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS The LoL World Championship comprised five stages: the Play-In Stage (Oct.1-7 in Seoul), the Group Stage (Oct. 10-17 in Busan), and the Knockout Stages comprising the Quarterfinals (Oct. 20-21 in Busan), Semifinals (Oct 27-28 in Gwangju), and Finals (Nov. 3 in Incheon).

The Play-In Stage took place at Seoul’s recently built 56,900-sq.ft. LoL Park aren. The state-of-the-art esports facility was the result of a close collaboration between the Riot Games central team in Los Angeles and the local team in Korea.

Instead of trucks onsite, Riot Games leveraged LoL Park’s brand-new control room to produce the local Korea feed and content for the in-venue LED screens. For the world feed, Riot sent audio and camera feeds back to its L.A. facility, where the show was directed/cut by the production team and observers and then distributed to streaming/broadcast partners across the world.

“One of the advantages of remote productions for esports is that the most important feed can be rendered natively at the home studio with no compression,” said Riot Games Global Technical Director Maxwell Trauss, who architected the company’s remote systems. “This lets us have full-quality gameplay, graphics, and playback and compress only cameras. Both the viewer and production benefit from this workflow.”

Despite delivering the Play-In Stage in 18 languages and to more than 20 digital platforms and television channels across the globe, Riot was able to deploy a fairly lean production team at LoL Park: roughly 100 crewmembers were onsite. In addition, Riot teams around the world integrated their own language-specific feeds from the broadcast out of their respective regional studios.

In terms of the onsite LED show, the arena at LoL Park features three main viewing screens for the audience, an LED display at each player’s position, and a center floor LED circle. The venue marries this with an in-arena LED ribbon screen behind the audience and projection walls both inside and outside the venue.

The new 56,900-sq.-ft. LoL Park arena hosted Play-In stages for the LoL World Championship and will serve as home to LoL Champions Korea (LCK) beginning next year.

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Any operation spanning more than a month and five drastically different venues in five cities is going to evolve. Although the camera complement varied depending on the venue, Riot generally deployed about 30 cameras at each stage leading up to the Final, including 10 pro-player POV cameras and several jibs and Steadicams. As always, the Riot production team reacted and adjusted broadcasts on the fly based on live audience feedback throughout the tournament.

The size of each show and equipment levels grew gradually throughout each stage before exploding into the Final, always among the biggest shows on the esports calendar. The production featured a far bigger and more complex staging and LED setup than previous rounds, taking a crew of 260-plus (excluding stage hands) eight days to build before rehearsals could begin (which meant that load-in dates for the Final and the Semis were the same).

Riot erected three massive 32- x 18-meter LED screens for the stadium’s large audience. The players were located in their own pods to protect them from the amount of audio needed to pump into the stadium and any potential weather-related issues.

Riot also added a Spidercam (for the second consecutive year) and an RF Steadicam to the complement of more than 30 cameras.

Although the show was bigger than ever, Riot continued to maintain its at-home production and leverage its L.A. facility to integrate the world-feed show. There were 30 transmission paths to Los Angeles and 14 return paths to Korea. In addition, there were eight inbound/outbound paths going to Korea Riot control room at LoL and four to the China Riot control room.

“The Final is always more complex for a number of reasons,” said Ray Panahon, technical lead, esports, Riot Games. “We have a ton of router I/O to consider: multiple send and receives; we have highways of signals going everywhere, some coming back. Being remote is also challenging, with the TD, director, and observers in Los Angeles and the [players], game servers, and cameras onsite.”

To achieve the massive scale of the Final and maintain the marathon run of the World Championship production, Riot enlisted many of its long-time technology vendors and service providers: NEP/Bexel for broadcast equipment, CT Asia for LED, Serame Design lighting, Concom for production services, ANP for front-of-house activities, Haivision for encode/decode, Workshop for sets and scenics (with additional help from Show Design and JK Design and local partner Dream Maker), LG U+ for fiber connectivity in South Korea, and CAT Entertainment Services for power.

“League of Legends is played in every corner of the world, and we feel that we have an obligation to deliver a best-in-class show to every one of our fans,” said Rosenthal. “The remote capabilities we have developed allow us to deliver a top-tier product anywhere in the world.” <

SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS

ELEAGUE:

Turner Expands Esports Business Through Groundbreaking Partnerships

By Jason Dachman

T

urner and IMG’s ELEAGUE may have resembled a grand “Esports on TV” experiment when it burst onto the scene in 2016 but today — nearly three years later — the brand has taken leaps and bounds in growing its content and event business across all platforms, with recent momentum helping it continue to hit its stride inside Turner Studios.

Featuring 25,000 sq. ft. of LED lighting, the ELEAGUE facility is both television studio and gaming arena.

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Since ELEAGUE’s inaugural summer, the brand has spread its wings and developed a reputation for best-in-class esports content and fan-centric live events, setting consumption records and helping to grow esports’ footprint as a mainstream entertainment category along the way. Over the last several months, ELEAGUE has formed deep partnerships with major publishers EA SPORTS, Psyonix, Activision/Call of Duty, Nintendo, and Riot Games. Add to that the bonafide business momentum signaled by a 300% jump in cross-platform advertisers and doubling its official marketing partners — with a majority of sponsors being non-endemic to the esports industry — and the excitement surrounding ELEAGUE becomes even more clear.

ELEAGUE production operations are handled by Turner Sports, which began developing plans for the studio — dubbed “ELEAGUE Arena” — and necessary infrastructure at Turner’s Techwood campus in late 2015, after the effort was announced. Although much of ELEAGUE’s production team and leadership has a sports production background via Turner Sports, esports veterans — including Interactive Coordinating Producer Ben Winter and its various teams of expert commentators — help ensure that the results ring true to the core gaming audience.

“The way we have approached it is, you have a group of professionals in the esports space, like our business leaders, talent, production staff, and observers, who are pros and are extremely passionate about esports and have been in it since the inception,” said Turner Sports VP/Coordinating Producer Steve Fiorello, who oversees ELEAGUE production. “Then you have the traditional Turner Sports people, who bring the same passion and experience on the linear side. And we’ve put them together with no egos so that we can all understand each other’s respective spaces. It’s the best of both worlds.”

The slick ELEAGUE arena features 25,000 sq. ft. of LED lighting and serves as both television studio and gaming arena. The facility, designed and integrated in-house by Turner, has two dedicated soundproof areas for the competitors, a pod for the casters (commentators) to call the action, and a movable desk for studio programming.

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS “First and foremost, the goal was to make sure the players had a space and an environment that created equal opportunities in terms of competition,” said Fiorello. “We wanted to make sure that they were comfortable. Second, we wanted a space that was going to create a great experience for viewers coming into the space for the first time, which is why you see so much LED and technology in the studio. And last was the functionality of it: what are we going to use it for? We’re going to obviously have competitions in here, but we also want to use this for studio programming and possibly other events, so the set is really designed to be multipurpose.”

The studio features 26 cameras, including a POV camera dedicated to each of the 10 players and one focused on the collective team, a JITA (jib in the air) suspended from the ceiling for 360-degree shots of the event floor, two handhelds, and a Steadicam.

“We went through several [esports] tournaments and watched how they were put together and the experience that they provided for the audience,” said Tom Sahara, Turner Sports’ VP, Operations and Technology. “We developed this studio based on what we saw and some of the feedback that we heard from others who’d participated in those tournaments. We really looked at trying to incorporate the best of what had been done in the past.

“Could you do it cheaper?” he continued. “Yes. But [would] you have the same level of quality and the same level of commitment from the people? No way. The talent and the players see the level of our commitment and then immediately buy in. They saw our dedication from the beginning. They know we are taking this seriously.”

The control room powering ELEAGUE live streams and telecasts has a largely traditional setup, led by a producer, director, and technical director at the front bench. The real difference for esports is in the back of the control room, where two “observers” are located. They serve as the director of the gameplay action itself, cutting between the first-person POVs. The primary observer has a monitor displaying a mosaic of all 10 player POVs and an additional monitor showing the in-game map to indicate where each player is located within the game.

In addition to ELEAGUE arena, Turner Studios built out an IT network dedicated to ELEAGUE at Techwood, with servers and a 10-gig circuit separate from those used by Turner Broadcasting.

“Rather than trying to bring ELEAGUE onto our network, we elected to build an entirely new network, which was a huge undertaking and investment,” said Sahara. “At this level, we can’t have a little hiccup that stops play. That was a huge consideration.” <

Turner Sports Achieves First-Ever 1080p Remote Production at ELEAGUE Major: Boston

S

oon after the announcement of its expanded live-streaming deal with Twitch, Turner and IMG’s ELEAGUE hosted the conclusion of the first CS:GO Major Championship of 2018 —The ELEAGUE Major: Boston — live from Boston University’s Agganis Arena. The event, which streamed live on Twitch, wasn’t just one of the largest ELEAGUE productions to date for the Turner Sports operations team; it also marked Turner’s first end-toend 1080p live remote production to date.

“This is the first full 1080p remote we have ever done, and it should be a really exciting viewing experience for the fans,” said Chris Brown, senior director, tech ops, Turner Sports, prior to the event. “That was one of the requirements from [CS:GO game developer] Valve because gamers have come to expect looking at shows like this in 1080p. In addition to [the Twitch live stream], there are numerous 1080p displays that have to be fed at the venue, so it is a pretty big [undertaking], but we’re ready for it.”

To create the 1080p production, Turner rolled in NEP’s TS2 mobile unit (A and B), which serves primarily as its East Coast NBA game truck. Turner and NEP made a handful of modifications to make the truck 1080p-capable, most notably increasing the number of Ross Video XPression graphics systems to six.

On top of producing a 1080p show for the Twitch live stream, Turner helped upgrade the in-arena control room at Agganis to 1080p-capable for the event. In addition to the streaming production, PGL, which handled the event-organization aspects of ELEAGUE, was located on the PT bench of the A unit.

The TS2 B unit housed a variety of operations for Turner’s production: transmission (six paths leaving Agganis, one path returning), graphics, design EFX, and IT. Turner split a 3-GB data fiber pipe from Level 3 across 10 VLANs, supporting vendors, gameplay, administrative networks, graphics, design EFX, and all file-based workflows for edit operations in Atlanta and New York.

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Inside Turner Sports’ T2 production truck in Boston

“The other interesting part has been bringing the gaming culture along into the world of television broadcast and how we do shows,” Brown noted. “[In Boston], it’s all streaming on Twitch, but we’re using the same techniques that we would if this was on TBS or any other network; it’s just a different outlet.”

Turner deployed 12 broadcast cameras to cover the action inside Agganis Arena, including two jibs. In addition, 12 Marshall POV cameras covered the players along with a down-the-line camera to cover each team. Although coverage of the players is important to tell the story, live esports coverage chiefly revolves around the gameplay itself and replays, making the 1080p enhancement all that more important.

“That’s what people are tuning into it for; they want to see the actual gameplay,” said Brown. “That’s why we have replays baked right into the gameplay. And that’s where the 1080p replays make a big difference, because when you can slow that down and see gameplay in slow motion in 1080p, it looks beautiful. Being able to do that out on the road, I think, is a big step for us.” – JD

SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS

Esports Stadium Arlington:

North America’s Largest — and Most Adaptable — Esports Venue

By Jason Dachman

W

hen Esports Stadium Arlington officially opened in November 2018, the $10 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. facility represented the most significant commitment to esports by a municipality to date.

Located in the Arlington, TX, Entertainment District, is it the largest dedicated esports facility in North America.

“This is the most flexible and adaptable esports stadium in the world,” said Corey Dunn, executive producer, NGAGE Esports, which manages all events at the venue. “One of our main goals was to create a space that could bring in many different types of users. The [show] we produce one weekend is probably going to be very different from what we’re doing the next weekend. So, from a production standpoint, the biggest difference with what we’re doing in our facility compared with other esports or [traditional sports] venues is, we have to take different approaches for almost every event we do.”

ES Arlington — which is a joint venture of the city of Arlington and Esports Venues LLC (an arm of Infinite Esports, which is owned by Texas Rangers co-owner/COO Neil Leibman) and was designed

by Populous — is much more than just an arena to host live esports competitions. Besides a stateof-the-art competition space, it features a Gaming Center with 50-plus gaming stations open to the public seven days a week, as well as retail and social spaces (including food and beverage), premium hospitality offerings, broadcast and production studios, and ultramodern team training facilities.

The project to transform an underutilized space at the Arlington Convention Center into an esports-specific venue was completed in just six months. Populous enlisted Shawmut as its construction partner and systems integrator Simplynew to build out the technology for the venue’s media and IT architecture, broadcast studio, and A/V. The Esports Stadium Arlington project transformed an underutilized space at the Arlington Convention Center into an esports-specific venue in just six months.

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS “I think that the number-one thing that’s important for people to realize about this facility is that it’s a fully immersive experience — not just a place where you watch a game and leave, which is what most sporting events are,” said Simplynew co-founder Marc Scarpa. “This is a fully immersive experiential entertainment center, and it starts the moment you walk in the door of the building.”

The competition arena itself boasts an 85-ft-long LED board and features an immersive, 5.1 surround sound system built on a Dante IP audio network and a dynamic theatrical lighting system.

To serve a wide variety of competitions, the main stage can accommodate events ranging from 1 v 1 to 7 v 7 and up to 100 game stations for battle royale competitions. The venue can also host conferences and corporate events outside of esports. Seating can be scaled from 250 to 2,500 spectators.

Dunn, a veteran of the esports scene for more than a decade and one of the industry’s most experienced producers/directors of live esports events, is overseeing all production at the facility and sees its flexibility as key to its success.

“One of the key things that we have to be cognizant of is knowing how to integrate our local resources into [customers’] ecosystem because every [show] is different,” he explains. “You’ve got people that are extremely technical and highly proficient in [esports] production, and then you have others that are still learning. You’ve got people that need a lot of our resources and others that have every resource and just want to be able to come into the space and load in. We’ve got to be able to serve both equally well.”

Eight Grass Valley LDX 86N 4K-capable cameras are on hand for in-arena coverage: two handhelds, three long-lens cameras, a jib, and two studio cameras. The long-lens cameras are outfitted with the new Canon UHD-DIGISUPER UJ 66X9B box zoom lenses, the camera manufacturer’s first 4K-compatible medium telephoto broadcast lens.

Focal length on the telephoto end was a priority for ES Arlington, and it was the first facility in the world to receive the new Canon lenses.

On stage, up to a dozen Blackmagic Design player cameras can be deployed and subswitched separately via a Blackmagic ATEM switcher. Three additional Blackmagic POVs provide wide shots and Esports Stadium Arlington features a Gaming Center with 50-plus stations open to the public seven days a week.

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The $10 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. Esports Stadium Arlington is the largest esports-focused venue in North America to date. beauty shots of the entire area. Three Sony PTZ cameras are also on hand: one for the caster studio, two for down-the-line shots on stage.

The entire production facility is 1080p60 (an absolute must in esports) and is 4K-ready should the venue opt to upgrade in the future. The main control room features three benches, which can be leveraged at different scales, and produces the live feed for both the streaming and in-venue experiences. The observer room produces the in-game action while the main cntrol room handles the overall show.

At the heart of the production is a 4M/E Grass Valley Karrera K-Frame S-Series switcher (64 inputs/32 outputs), as well as Grass Valley Densité and enterprise-class NVISION 8280 routers.

The main stage LED, player pod displays, and the pre-event lobby LED display are driven with Ross Video products, including a Carbonite Mosaic video processor, XPression Tessera real-time 3D graphics render engine, and DashBoard control system.

Other equipment includes a Grass Valley LiveTouch replay network (15 input, four output), Riedel intercom system, and a Vizrt three-channel CG system for graphics. The 5.1-surround audiomixing room features a Yamaha console and Genelec speakers.

Other key production areas include the caster studio, where shoutcasters call the action from a studio desk with a chroma key greenscreen background, and a postproduction area.

The equipment room houses 19 racks of gear, and more than 200,000 ft. of fiber and copper cabling has been laid throughout the facility. ES Arlington also has full encoding capability to all streaming broadcast platforms and is fully compatible with a mobile unit should the client require it.

The stadium opened with a bang; its first event, FACEIT’s ECS Season 6 Finals, became the most-watched CS:GO live stream ever on YouTube. With plenty more events to come, Dunn and company foresee a thriving esports community in Arlington.

“Our No. 1 goal right now is building a community, which then builds up our audience base. And I think we’re already seeing that happen,” Dunn says. “What’s really been exciting has been the impressions from our audiences. One of the coolest things I saw on social media was, a father and son came to the venue together and both loved it. Seeing how we are making an impression on gamers and non-gamers has been really great.” <

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HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas:

Flexible Venue Opens With RecordSetting Fortnite Tournament

By Ken Kerschbaumer

A

llied Esports opened Esports Arena, a 30,000-sq.-ft. venue and production studio in the Luxor Hotel and Casino, in early 2018, expanding the relationship between esports and the event-production community. Later that year, HyperX inked a multi-year, multimillion dollar deal to rebrand the state-of-the-art facility to HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas.

HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas is the first dedicated esports venue on the Las Vegas Strip.

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Head of Content Drew Ohlmeyer sees a real opportunity for Allied Esports to be a force. Many of the game studios and arenas are built for a specific game title or game publisher, but the Allied Esports model is open to all, giving its production team a chance to quickly become experts in a multitude of game styles.

“We’ve done seven nights of shows, and we’ve done five different games while most other production groups are doing one game for long periods of time,” he said, when the venue first opened. “This is a unique opportunity to get good at doing a lot of different games, and that will pay off down the road.”

The arena is modular, allowing the space to be transformed to fit any game. Player pods, for example, can be set up on the stage for one-on-one battles or any configuration up to six vs. six. In creating the stage, Jeff Hall Design Group designed a row in the back where the pods are tucked away when not being used.

The arena’s grand opening highlighted the flexibility of the space, with three games played. Smite, Dragonball, and Rocket League each required a different configuration, and getting the stage ready for the next competition takes only 20 minutes.

Shortly after opening its doors, the arena hosted an event around the game Fortnite: Ninja Vegas 18. Ninja is the superstar of the game, with 1.76 million followers. Fortnite is a multiplayer game with as many as 100 people competing in the same match, and close to 750 people turned out for the event (capacity is 1,200). The arena floor had 75 gaming stations, allowing 233 competitors (including Ninja) to compete in three separate heats.

“The arena is designed for people to play, so there is a constant balance between how many people are on the floor and its being a spectator event,” said Ohlmeyer. “We also have two bar areas and a couple hundred seats on the second level, which is a dynamic space.”

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS The back-of-house area includes a production-control room, a 1,000-sq.-ft. studio, and an observer area. CBT Systems was involved with much of the project, with President Darrell Wenhardt guiding the engineering and facility build.

The two systems share core equipment, according to Wenhardt, including an Evertz 3-Gbps HD-SDI video and IP/AV router, Lawo audio router, AJA and Ross video processing, Riedel intercoms, and an Evertz KVM system.

“Both systems also share Sony cameras with Canon lenses and Panasonic robotic cameras and Shure wireless mics and IFB systems,” he added. “Another common element is the Lawo audio consoles for both front-of-house and broadcast production, both sharing the resources of Lawo compact stage boxes and Lawo audio routing.”

A Grass Valley switcher for broadcast and a Ross switcher for streaming support a combined five channels of program release. Broadcast monitors are from Sony; other displays in the venue are from LG.

“All the pods and communications are wired with player cams so you can tap into the conversations between the players,” Ohlmeyer explained. “An Evertz router is also a key component, as there are more than two dozen cameras and feeds coming in. We also have an Abekas Mira for playback and a robocam operator.”

The observer area is key to the show, allowing four or five observers to watch the game, keep track of the action, and help guide the production.”

The front-of-house tech ensures that fans in the venue have a great experience, thanks to a Ross Carbonite switcher with a hybrid Ross Expression and Reality Check/Vizrt graphic engines that pixel-maps images to the arena’s DST LED screens.

“We have a broadcast-quality production facility without the need to rent a truck or infrastructure, and it is a one-stop shopping experience,” said Ohlmeyer. “We also provide all the staff and are looking to produce original content for the publishers as well.” <

Riot Games Caps Off League of Legends Season With Vegas-Style All-Star Event at HyperX Esports Arena

R

iot Games closed out its 2018 League of Legends campaign in style. With fans clamoring for a party-like atmosphere during the annual League of Legends All-Star event, Riot Games shifted this year’s event from from its North American LoL Championship Series (NA LCS) studio in Los Angles to HyperX Esports Arena in the party capital of the world: Las Vegas.

The 2018 LoL All-Star event emphasized fun over gravely serious competition, with 72 pro players and key esports influencers from across the globe participating in a range of tournaments and alternate game modes.

“Last year’s All-Star event was much more serious and competitive,” said Adam Mackasek, who serves as product lead for the event. “We learned from fan surveys that that’s not really what people want out of an All-Star event; they want it to be fun and more of a celebration of the league’s most beloved personalities. And we felt that holding it in Vegas would be a great way to [bring out] the fun nature of the event. That was the [reason] for going to HyperX Esports Arena, which has been a really good partnership.”

Riot Games produces events at arenas and stadiums across the globe annually. Most of them are new to esports production, but the HyperX Esports Arena team is well-versed in live esports.

“It’s really nice going to a venue where they do specifically esports, instead of having to go teach people about esports,” said Mitch Rosenthal, head of production and operations, Riot Games. “They already know what you need, and they already have [equipment] in-house to do it. “It’s a turnkey solution for us.”

HyperX Esports Arena also made sense from an internalbandwidth perspective, given that the All-Star event took place just a month after Riot’s colossal LoL World Championship production in South Korea. Heading to Vegas rather than to its own NA LCS studio, Riot was able to maintain a high level of production value without overtaxing its already busy production and operations teams.

“All-Star presents a really interesting challenge for us because it falls so soon after Worlds in our calendar,” said Mackasek. “We

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In an effort to create a party-like atmosphere, Riot opted to shift the LoL All-Star event to HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas.

knew [HyperX Esports Arena] would be plug-and-play for us in a lot of ways, which was very appealing considering the shorter production timeline compared with our other shows throughout the year. This way, our team had some time to recover [from Worlds], but we aren’t losing anything on the production end.”

Because the event featured a multitude of alternate game modes, the Riot and HyperX Esports Arena production teams had to think outside the box in terms of both onsite and livestreamed shows.

Riot added an extra Steadicam to the arena’s existing camera complement in an effort to create a more intimate feel and has also developed a new system for player comms.

Riot rolled out an analyst desk located just to the side of the stage at HyperX Esports Arena, while the casters utilized a remote studio desk on-site throughout the event.

Off-stage, Riot used the analyst studio at HyperX Esports Arena and set up a backstage interview area in one of the VIP boxes, which look out into the arena.

Said Rosenthal, “Nothing against our [L.A.] studio, which is absolutely amazing, but being able to bring people to a new city and a new venue is very exciting for our players and fans.” – JD

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS

Esports Roundup By Jason Dachman NBC Sports Group

N

BC Sports Group continued its push into the esports realm in 2018 with the second season of Universal Open Rocket League, its joint-venture tournament with FACEIT. The Grand Finals at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, CT, in August was the culmination of a month-long, company-wide effort that utilized resources from both the NBC

league. To stream the entire 15-week regular season plus Playoffs and Finals on Twitch, the league launched its NBA 2K League Studio in Long Island City, NY, in May and has continued to evolve its production style and workflows on a week-to-week basis.

“If you watch our first broadcast and you watch now, they don’t even resemble each other,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue. “We’ve added more camera angles and microphones during the season, and we’re going to continue to evolve with a few different things next season. Whenever we talk to people who come to the studio to watch, it’s electric, and there’s so much passion and energy from the players. Every single week, we’re making adjustments trying to make it better.”

Madden NFL 19 Club Championship NBC Sports Group leveraged both its Stamford facilities as well as four RSNs for the Universal Open Rocket League productions.

Sports mothership and NBC Sports Regional Networks across the country for regional productions leading up to the Grand Finals.

“The Universal Open Rocket League is a terrific example of the power of the NBC Sports Group working as one team,” said Jon Slobotkin, SVP, content and live programming, NBC Sports Regional Networks. “NBC Sports regional networks, long a model of executing successful productions in a sufficient manner, bring the same level of effort and dedication to the UORL as they do MLB, NBA, and NHL productions during the year. The NBC regional group is a tightly knit team that constantly communicates on many company initiatives. They fit seamlessly within the NBC Sports Group as there are regular production synergies throughout the year between the [RSNs] and the national group.”

S

uper Bowl Weekend isn’t just about the biggest game in the pro-football universe; it was also the pinnacle for the Madden NFL esports scene. The Madden NFL 19 Club Championship featured 32 competitors (one for each NFL team), who were whittled down from hundreds of qualifiers, competing for a record $700,000 prize pool.Last year’s edition of the marquee Madden NFL Championship Series (MCS) event was played as part of the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl LII festivities in Orlando and Minneapolis, respectively. This year, however, EA brought the Madden NFL 19 Club Championship home to its Redwood City, CA, headquarters, having transformed a large basketball court inside its facility into a custom-designed esports studio.

NBA 2K League

T

he inaugural season of the NBA 2K League drew to a close in August 2018, with Heat Check Gaming and Knicks Gaming meeting in the Finals.

The best-of-three series closed out the first chapter in what had been the most ambitious esports effort by a major U.S. sports The commentator table inside the NBA 2K League Studio. (Photo courtesy: Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) 78

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

The single-elimination live tournament featured 32 competitors vying for the title of Madden 19 Club Champion.

“We built out the studio from scratch, and we’re really happy with how it came out,” said Joseph Lynch, head of broadcast, EA Sports.

“Also, bringing it home is a big very deal for us. Being on campus so that EA employees — who may not have an understanding of exactly what we do on the competitive-gaming side — can come by and watch it the event has been great. This is our biggest Madden event, so we want to make sure it feels and looks special.” <

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Your source for in-depth conversations with the most influential minds in the sports video production business.

CHECK OUT THE SVG PODCAST: ESPORTS WEEK In November, SVG surrounded its inaugural Esports Production Forum with daily episodes of The SVG Podcast that featured in-depth discussions around the exciting technology and storytelling present and future of the exploding world of esports:

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WHITEPAPERS

Advances in Second Generation Long Zoom 4K UHD Field Lenses

By Yasuyuki Tomita,

Yotaro Sanjo, and Laurence Thorpe, Canon

> INTRODUCTION

Significant 4K UHD outside broadcast coverage of major sporting and other events have taken place on a global scale over the past few years. Overall, a considerable breadth in experiences was gained. More recently, explorations in wide color gamut (WCG) and high dynamic range (HDR) have been added to many ongoing 4K UHD productions. A broadening discussion on how 4K UHD augmented by WCG/HDR might be exploited to differentiate imagery from the traditional HDTV productions is underway. The association of the significant image enhancement with steadily increasing screen sizes in living rooms has inevitably led to discussions of new possibilities in image framing that might enhance sports viewing, and more creative imagery in coverage of concerts and other major events. Challenges have been directed to optical manufacturers to develop 4K field lenses that could more fully exploit the full imaging potential of 4K UHD/HDR/WCG. This paper describes a major development project that sought to produce a second-generation 4K UHD long zoom lens that would offer a number of innovative operational enhancements and breakthroughs on 4K optical performance — allowing them to address the highest production levels.

> LONGSTANDING BARRIER FOR 2/3-INCH LONG ZOOM FIELD LENSES

HDTV Broadcast HDTV long-zoom field lenses supplied by the major optical manufacturers are now in their third generation.

A longstanding implacable design challenge in such lenses has been the achievement of extensions to the telephoto range while simultaneously attempting to extend the wide-angle end.

Significant optical conflicts are entailed in attempting to extend both in a single lens. Typically, an extension of the telephoto range beyond 900mm is accompanied by a curtailment of the wide end to approximately 9mm. Similarly, achieving a 1200mm telephoto limits the wide end to approximately 12mm.

4K UHD Broadcast 4K UHD long-zoom field lenses have only been around for less than four years and are still first generation. The quest to achieve extensions of the focal range at both extremities poses an even greater challenge than the HDTV long zoom lens — because of the greater demands on optical performance.

Paradoxically, the optical manufacturers have been hearing a global plea for more telephoto AND wider angles field of view from a diverse production community who seek to better exploit the imaging potential of 4K UHD on ever-larger consumer displays.

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> SECOND-GENERATION BREAKTHROUGH IN ZOOM RANGE

Fortunately, recent years have seen dramatic advances in a variety of optical sciences — encompassing optical design theories; more powerful computer simulation tools; innovative new glass materials; new processes; greater use of aspheric elements; new strategies and techniques in optomechanics; advanced coating technologies; and significant refinements in manufacturing, optical assembly, and alignment.

A mobilization of all of these technological advances supported the breakthrough that oversaw the development of two long-zoom 4K UHD field lenses that simultaneously extended the focal range at both extremes: LONG ZOOM 4K UHD LENS #1: 8.2mm at the wide end (60.7 degrees horizontal) to 1000mm telephoto — a zoom range of 122:1 (extends to 2000 mm with 2x range extender) LONG ZOOM 4K UHD LENS #2: 8.3mm at the wide end (60.1 degrees horizontal) to 925mm telephoto — a zoom range of 111:1 (extends to 1850mm with 2x range extender)

> MULTIPLE NEW OPTICAL TECHNOLOGIES ENTAILED

To achieve the dramatic extension in focal range — while simultaneously achieving a level of UHD optical performance that is defined by Canon as 4K Premium (clarified in the next section) — required a total re-visit of the overall optical system design. Figure 1 outlines the innovative new lens optical groupings that make up the total optical system.

Figure 1 Red arrows indicate movements of three lens subgroups G2, G3, and G4 when zooming from wide end to telephoto end

Inner Floating Focus System (G1) is comprised of three separate lens element groups with a differential movement of the two groups within G1 implementing the focusing action.

Multi Group Zoom Optical Subsystems (G2, G3, and G4) is comprised of G2 (known as the Variator) and the two groups G3 and G4 (collectively known as the Compensator) that move differentially with respect to each other during the zooming operation. This is a highly sophisticated system whose overall design was critical to minimizing the movements of system MTF during zooming and to curtailing both monochromatic and chromatic aberrations.

Rear Group (G5) are critical to the compensation for various lens aberrations.

The following summarizes the high-level design strategies required to achieve the leap forward in focal range and the enhanced 4K UHD optical performance: • New advances in optical design theories aided by powerful computer simulation capabilities • Innovative new multi-group moveable lens elements for reduction of zoom fluctuations in MTF

• New inner floating focus system design contributing to optimization of falloff of MTF across the total image plane • Greater use of aspheric lens elements • Fluorite, Super-UD, and UD glass elements in new configurations to help significantly tighten control over chromatic aberrations • First use of Air Sphere Coatings (ASC) in a broadcast lens • Advances in material technologies, processing technologies and polishing technologies Considerations of HDR and WCG necessitated the deployment of new multilayer coatings to ensure clean black reproduction (HDR) and an augmented spectral transmittance (WCG). The new Air Sphere Coating (ASC) technology is an additional layer on top of the normal multilayer coatings that comprises sub-nanometer spheres that implements an ultra-low refractive index layer that is powerful in its ability to remove any residual reflection.

> CLARIFICATION ON 4K PREMIUM OPTICAL PERFORMANCE

The highest priority was given to meeting the challenging operational goals while simultaneously achieving 4K optical performance that would fulfill the highest performance contemporary 4K UHD field cameras. In the context of the small 2/3-inch image format this demanded close attention to picture sharpness and minimization of optical aberrations — most especially chromatic aberrations.

In a 4K optical system it is critical to maintain a high MTF across the 16:9 image plane, over the total focal range, and over the range of anticipated subject distances Numerous optical strategies that center about selection of glass materials, lens group designs, judicious placement of aspheric elements, and in manufacturing, exceedingly tight control of element surface tolerances were mobilized to sustain an elevated MTF. By way of illustration, Figure 2 outlines two pivotal new technological advances that contributed to achievement of 4K performance out to the picture extremities.

Significant advances in lens polishing technologies allowed nanometer level control over surface tolerances — critical for 4K sharpness — and illustrated in the top of Figure 2.

Figure 2 Two technological advances in controlling lens surface tolerances • Powerful computer simulation capabilities have greatly

reinforced the capabilities of design engineers to optimize optical performance. Prediction by simulation of the tiny degree of deformation of a lens element by its mechanical retaining system — a deformation that can impair the

accuracy of ray transmission required for 4K resolution — shown in the lower part of Figure 2.

> IMAGE STABILIZATION

A field lens having a 122x zoom range is subject to image blur caused by even the smallest physical perturbation or vibration.

This is even more acute when dealing with 4K resolution in the small 2/3-inch image format size. Accordingly, the highest attention was paid to significantly improving the built-in image stabilization system for these two new lenses.

The challenge of long focal length lenses had earlier spurred development of the Shift-IS technology, which lends itself very well to correcting modest amplitude disturbances and vibrations.

In this technology, a lens group is placed near the rear of the overall lens system and the correcting action entails a horizontal or vertical (or both) very fast physical shifting of that lens group to implement the requisite change in the path of the light rays.

Voice coil motors (VCM) constitute an actuator having excellent control characteristics when movement with precision force is required over short distances within an electronic control system.

They constitute a direct drive having high force and acceleration, with no overshoot or backlash. The voice coil motor can develop a strong force in either direction by reversing polarity of the exciting current through the coil and its inherent zero hysteresis renders this action ideal.

Improvements in the degree of minimization of image blur, and handling of higher vibration frequencies that can be caused by wind and vibrations on towers, were achieved by new refinements to the many components that form the closed loop correction system — augmented by new innovations in the digital algorithms entailed. A parallel breakthrough was achieved in the virtual elimination of image “drift” long associated with the sudden cessation of normal lens panning and tilting operations are embodied in both lenses.

> NEW CREATIVE “BOKEH EFFECT”

Long-zoom field lenses are used to cover major concerts and other events, and here creative aspirations seek effects that can possibly add to the visual storytelling. In anticipation of this continuing trend, a totally new operational control was introduced in these two new field lenses — that is termed “Bokeh Effect”. The term “Bokeh” is known as a descriptor for the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. This new operational control moves the rear optical group G6 in the lens to implement the precision degree of defocus.

When close to the wide end focal length of the lens — where the focus control has little effect on actual scene focus — this new macro control allows the camera operator to introduce a variety of controlled blurring effects into the image. Both the degree of blur and the speed of its implementation are adjustable by the camera operator. There is zero angle of view alteration. The effect can be switched off at will and precise focus is restored. Of special note is that the introduced blur is equally effective at the extreme telephoto focal range. < To read this White Paper in its entirety, visit www.sportsvideo.org.

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WHITEPAPERS

What Traditional Sports Leagues Can Learn From Esports Success With Youth Audiences

By Jason Dvorkin, Sr. Solutions Architect, Levels Beyond

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ith the global esports audience projected to reach 453 million and generate revenue of $1.1 billion this year, the esports phenomenon is rapidly redefining the rules of youth audience engagement, and reshaping the future of fandom across all sports.

To capture the imaginations, free time, and entertainment dollars of more young people, America’s traditional professional sports leagues, teams and players must find new ways to compete for the attention and loyalty of the 35-and-under crowd.

Following the lead of those on pace to take over the spotlight would be the wisest strategy to adopt.

The good news is, traditional sports have access to deep reservoirs of legacy content to fuel engagement, even as emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) continue to improve and bring new presentation possibilities.

This white paper will examine how the winning ways of top esports companies could be the ticket to attracting younger fans, and expanding audience reach on a global scale, to future-proof traditional American sports.

To date, the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS, along with a growing number of famous mainstream sports figures, have already stepped into the esports arena with investments and

virtual versions of their sports. Household names like Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Fox, Alex Rodriguez, and Magic Johnson, and teams including the New England Patriots, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat have been bought in as investors hoping to cash in on the craze.

But, in terms of content and experiential offerings, there is more professional sports could be doing beyond simulated games and competitions to attract drifting demographics.

• NFL has been in the gaming scene since 1988 with its Madden NFL franchise, and runs annual tournaments culminating in the Madden Bowl • NHL debuted its NHL18 esports league in September 2017 • NBA launched a virtual esports league in May 2018, based on its long-running video game series NBA 2K • MLS started eMLS to compete in the FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs leading up to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 • MLB is the only major sports league producing its own video game through its MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) company, which owns the R.B.I. Baseball franchise

> THE INCLUSIVENESS FACTOR

Esports challenge the skills of players who have spent countless hours playing Fortnite, StarCraft, Halo, Call of Duty, Streetfighter, Super Smash Bros, and the list goes on. These mostly young men, with made-up monikers worthy of rap stars, not only love watching the action, but love playing the games themselves, perhaps fantasizing how they too could rise to the level of YouTube fame and fortune like pro-gamers Shroud or Ninja, or become the next TKbreezy or Coneyzz spouting witty commentaries that entertain and educate spectators around the world.

And it does occasionally happen, like when 15-year-old Pakistani player Syed Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan won the Dota 2 Asian championship for a $1.2 million prize and was recruited to join esports team Evil Geniuses. Sumail made the move from Karachi to Chicago to play professionally, signaling to young players everywhere that good gaming skills could lead to lucrative careers.

More and more schools like Columbia College and University of California, Irvine are creating esports programs and offering scholarships to students who are serious esports competitors. The NCAA and participating schools are leveraging interest in esports to attract young athletes and freshen up the image of college as being relevant and responsive to youth interests.

In March, Orlando media-arts college Full Sail University opened an 11,200 square foot esports arena to train students in the production skills needed for live streaming esports competitions.

Full Sail University’s new esports venue, “The Fortress,” is the new home of the school’s collegiate-level varsity esports team, Armada.

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> THE GAMIFICATION EFFECT

Millennial and Gen-Z members value the convenience and connectedness of social media and mobile devices, and quickly embrace new platforms designed to facilitate free access to content.

More so than television, esports has tapped into online platforms Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit to cultivate young audiences. The interactive, on-demand nature of social platforms enables brand communities to form and grow organically.

Insights gathered from these community discussions help inform the next iteration of offerings in a co-creative way that further deepens the bond between fans and esports organizations.

• Apex Legends recorded 8.28 million hours of viewership on Twitch, setting the platform’s single-day record on February 12, 2019, according to The Esports Observer.

• League of Legends World Championship 2016 was held in four US cities including sold-out crowds at Madison Square Garden and Staples Center.

• CS:GO ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 hosted nearly three weeks of competition, and was watched for 50 million hours via live streams.

• Super Bowl LIII averaged 100.7 million viewers across all platforms according to CBS Sports. 2019 was the fourth straight year of television viewership declines and the lowest linear viewership of any Super Bowl since 2008. At the same time, streaming viewership rose more than 20% over last year, with viewers watching more than 560 million total hours of live game coverage.

• NFL’s Thursday Night Football coverage of 11 games in the 2018 season on Twitch and Amazon Prime Video streaming services saw a viewership increase of 33% with a total of 24.4 million viewers in over 200 countries and territories, compared to 18.4 million in 2017.

> THE BOTTOM LINE

Traditional sports must consider providing experiences that are actively inclusive and inspirational to younger audience; making the cost of attending or remotely watching games affordable or free; designing live events to be visually exciting, immersive, and accessible via Internet; and incorporating sponsorships and advertising in ways that are discreet and/or clever.

What traditional sports has that esports doesn’t is a lengthy history of content. They also have infrastructure that could inspire compelling shoulder content for development into nontraditional programming that integrates with the core sport season’s central focus.

This will require creative thinking, but the payoff of engaging with a young fan base to ensure the future success of traditional sports is crucial as older generations of fans decline.

> SOME IDEAS

Traditional sports players and stars are close in age to those who watch and aspire to play professionally. When storytelling centers around the experiences of those enjoying success, it is compelling and inspirational to young viewers.

•T he MLB has 256 Minor League teams. Could those players provide the basis for true story-based content to engage young

Source: Newzoo.com, 2017 fans? Could Minor League players become ambassadors who attract larger crowds to attend games?

•T he NBA turns 75 in 2021. Could the league pull together throwback content to create a story-based game that teaches younger generations about the history of the sport, while allowing them to enjoy a vintage experience in a modern way?

• The NHL was founded in 1917 and has the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The Stanley Cup is legendary for being the most-travelled championship trophy in the world. Might the NHL create a treasure hunt style AR game (a la Pokemon Go) that requires players to rescue the missing Cup before the next playoff season begins?

• NFL Films has been producing content since the 1960s. How could the best stories of the past 60 years be repurposed to allow gamers to participate in a vintage football experience?

How could the league’s 100th anniversary be commemorated with an esports experience to welcome new fans?

> IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM

The International Olympic Committee is considering adding esports to its list of competitions in response to exploding demand.

The world’s oldest sporting tradition has arguably survived over the centuries because of a willingness to adapt to changing preferences.

While traditional sports has adjusted to a degree through offering simulated versions of their games, the opportunity to create engaging new youth-friendly experiences with exclusive archival content will keep America’s professional sports going, with a broader geographic audience than ever before, for generations to come. < SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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WHITEPAPERS

Hub-and-Spoke Remote Production for Esports and Live Event Broadcast

By Sean Lee, OpenDrives Evangelist > BROADCAST IS ALL ABOUT IMMEDIACY

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he undeniable benefit of live broadcast lies in its immediacy.

From a technical workflow perspective, live broadcast captures footage as it occurs using onsite equipment and then feeds that content to audiences with little or no additional overlay of postproduction refinements (such as editing or color correction).

With postproduction comes the overhead of time — time for creatives to access the content, perform the necessary or desired postproduction work, and repackage the content specifically for distribution downstream. In this context, “time” is just another word for “delay,” and any delay stands in the way of that immediacy which is the goal of live broadcast. But with the right workflow and supporting infrastructure, you can greatly reduce that postproduction turnaround time.

> CONTENT LIVES ON AFTER BROADCAST

The broadcast mindset accounts for this element of time, the need to capture and distribute content immediately so as not to miss the more broadly evolving storyline as it occurs in real time. The guiding principle here, which makes perfect sense for broadcast, is that you capture what you can within the constraints presented by the situation and push it out as fast as you can, because once the moment is over, well, the content also expires. Or does it?

The fact of the matter is that the lifecycle of content does not end when the live event, show, or game is over and has been broadcast

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live. On the contrary, its life has just begun once the live broadcast is complete. For example, when a person leaves a live sports event, she may be watching content about the game immediately after leaving the stadium, the next day, or even weeks down the line.

The popularity and prevalence of retrospective shows and programs prove that sports footage has a life far beyond the confines of the game itself. She may be watching various aspects of the game days or weeks later.

Monetization of content and brand is so much more than just the initial broadcast footage and the act of broadcasting an event live. Having more content — more of the story or event captured from different angles and perspectives — increases the overall monetization potential. So too does the ability to perform postproduction editing quickly to create more variety of deliverable formats to distribute downstream as quickly as possible. Change up the traditional broadcast workflow and support it with the right technology infrastructure incorporating a backhaul feed to central postproduction, and you extend the lifecycle of broadcast content indefinitely, with increased ROI down the road.

> BLIZZCON SHOWCASED A REMOTE PRODUCTION WORKFLOW

Last November, OpenDrives participated in one of the most exciting logistical additions to BlizzCon that helped alleviate previous inefficiencies while aggregating content, which was a Post Hub that facilitated a centralized postproduction workflow. Rather than all the stages doing their own separate postproduction at the edges, all stages fed content — like the spokes of a wheel — into the centralized Hub which was supported by an OpenDrives high-performance NAS storage solution including an all-flash OpenDrives Apex system and an OpenDrives Summit hybrid system. Onsite editors at the Post Hub worked from the massive centralized pool of content located on OpenDrives storage, performing rapid postproduction from within the event (and within the challenging time-box itself) before final distribution to many different outlets.

> THE BENEFITS OF HUB-AND-SPOKE STYLE REMOTE PRODUCTION

We believe that a centralized remote production workflow for live events like BlizzCon, supported by editors and a high-performance storage solution driving the workflow from a central hub facility, wherever it’s best to locate it, provides tangible benefits. It gives you the flexibility to send as many or as few people onsite as needed, keeping costs down while ensuring a full complement of creatives at the centralized hub. Having as many content feeds as possible catching activities occurring in different places (such as separate stages in the case of BlizzCon) — or capturing different angles of the same activity — at the edge and pushing the content to the central hub for postproduction reinforces the immediacy of the live event. For stakeholders all around, this model maximizes efficiencies in terms of cost outlays while simultaneously minimizing idle resources.

For creatives at the hub, it approximates being at every edge point at the same time, creating a simulated but total immersion in the overall atmosphere and

giving them a much better feel for what’s really happening all around the event. This promotes a greater sense of empathy experienced by the creative for the broader event, which in turn results in more effective and appealing postproduction editing. That increased empathy will resonate with audiences. Lastly, it also means that all editors have access to the superset of content, not just a smaller portion captured from one edge standpoint (from one stage or one location).

A hub-and-spoke remote production workflow actually works seamlessly with live broadcast, too.

With personnel at the edges feeding content into a central hub, you not only can broadcast live but you can also have postproduction output as a fast follower to the live-broadcast content. The longer the gap between live coverage and edited content, the greater the chance that you lose the attention of the audience.

> THE BEST PRACTICES OF REMOTE PRODUCTION

So if you’re interested in implementing a centralized hub-andspoke remote production workflow like this, we can suggest a handful of best practices that will help ensure success and extend the life and viability of your content. Remember that the whole point is to have creatives working at the centralized hub (either onsite or back at the facility hub) experiencing the totality of the event, producing more empathetic and impactful content to convey more fully the atmosphere and mood of the live event. You must have the right infrastructure to capture and handle more content, all the while minimizing or alleviating inefficiencies and time-consuming manual processes. This will result in a better audience experience and a quicker content monetization. Your brand will reap the benefits!

Aggregate content streams into a centralized pool.

Rather than simplifying things, the whole notion of having different content silos introduces complexity and inefficiencies into postproduction.

Merging all content streams from the edge into a single pool at the hub and enabling editors to work simultaneously from the same project files eliminates the need to shuttle content between editors and project teams. Creatives need access to as much content as possible. Merging content provides them with that, giving them more raw materials to work their creative magic without logistical distractions.

Ensure the highest resolution for your content upfront.

So many mistakes are made for the sake of cutting costs. One of the primary mistakes is capturing lower-resolution content to keep the cost of equipment and storage down. What really happens, though, is that more time and effort is really spent trying to up-res video (and perhaps audio that is captured in mono rather than stereo).

The quality of up-res video never reaches that of video captured at the highest resolution possible. We recommend capturing video in 4K — or RAW if you can (though for broadcast this is undoubtedly

Inside the production truck at BlizzCon. out of the question) — which gives you the ability to scale down resolution if needed. Also, try increasing the temporal resolution, too. For example, you can capture ISOs at 60 fps in case you want to implement 29.97 slow-motion playback later on.

Embrace an IP-centric infrastructure. Ethernet-based networking with attached storage utilizing the same network infrastructure eliminates the need to deploy complex and expensive SAN-based storage solutions. With Ethernet-based NAS, you eliminate the need for complicating elements such as metadata controllers and fiber channel transmission. What you want is a storage architecture and supporting network that is simplified, as plug-and-play as possible.

This will dramatically reduce onsite setup time.

Implement the most robust and high-performance storage.

For data integrity and the most robust throughput and speed, try a highperformance NAS storage solution that’s designed specifically for media and entertainment applications and the most demanding workflows, incorporating value-add features such as intelligent caching of data, data integrity checks, and a RAM-memory-first approach to reading and writing data. This dramatically speeds up both read and write operations and accelerates performance and throughput.

View content and its lifecycle as a long-term thing. If you get anything out of this, remember: your content is not a one-and-done artifact, even if its initial or primary usage is live-event broadcast. You need to see content as a living artifact capable of repurposing in myriad ways through postproduction editing. All of this ultimately adds up to your brand, and a culture, and an audience. To maximize the ROI inherent in your content and brand, make sure you think through your remote production workflow and support it with the right technology infrastructure. If you do, your content will pay dividends, and your brand will thrive, both now and in the future. <

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WHITEPAPERS

Unlocking the Potential of the Cloud Without the Commitment and Complexity

what is the relevance for sports video? Beyond the obvious data explosion that is currently underway as a result of UHD/HDR and the need to store that data more efficiently, utilizing an on-prem object storage system that speaks the same language as the cloud (namely HTTPS and the S3 API) allows cloud services to interact directly with your on-prem storage without first moving your data to the cloud. This is not possible with traditional storage technologies because they rely on file protocols (SMB/CIFS or NFS) or other forms of connectivity (like FibreChannel) that are not well suited for cloud interactivity.

By Vince Auletta

Director, Media Solutions, SwiftStack

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toring your data in an on-prem object storage system that has the same underlying architecture and speaks the same language as the cloud allows you to unlock the benefits of both private and public worlds.

> BACKGROUND

The growth and popularity of public cloud offerings from tech giants Amazon, Google, and Microsoft has put “the cloud” at the forefront of most technology decisions and that trend only seems to be increasing in 2019. We all know the public cloud providers would love for everyone to “lift and shift” the entirety of their infrastructure to the cloud without giving it a second thought, but there are often technological, operational, and/or fiscal considerations that prevent organizations from committing to such a strategy.

Within the Media & Entertainment — and specifically, sports video — industry, cloud adoption discussions tend to focus on real-time performance, workflow suitability, and, of course, cost.

Some organizations conclude that the cloud is too expensive or too slow to fit their needs, while others opt to leverage a “hybridcloud” approach in which relevant cloud services are (hopefully seamlessly) blended with on-premises systems and workflows.

The most forward-thinking organizations are evolving “hybridcloud” into “multi-cloud” in order to avoid lock-in and singlepoint-of-failure concerns that arise from utilizing a single public cloud vendor.

> ENTER OBJECT STORAGE!

Without getting into the gritty details, “object storage” is the type of storage technology behind massive products like AWS S3, Dropbox, and even Gmail. Object-storage systems can start as small as a few hundred terabytes in a single location and grow to many petabytes or even exabytes spread throughout the globe, all without any downtime or interruption to the users and applications interacting with them. This ability to scale out exponentially while maintaining a single global namespace is a key factor in the design and success of object storage.

You may be thinking that this all sounds great for the type of companies that need to store such a massive amount of data, but 86

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In addition to opening the door to cloudbursting (as described above), utilizing on-prem object storage can facilitate flexible strategies to take advantage of public cloud storage for things like sharing with partners, disaster recovery, and elasticity, while avoiding the high cost of egress and vendor lock-in. For example, an organization with their archive residing on object storage in a single location may choose to mirror that archive in its entirety up to the cloud for disaster recovery purposes. Some object storage vendors even provide the option to disable “delete propagation” to the cloud for extra security in case malicious or accidental deletion occurs.

> EXAMPLE WORKFLOWS

Some sports video organizations are already putting these strategies into practice, so let’s take a closer look at how object storage can benefit real world workflows by providing some examples of common problems and solutions to those problems.

Other than the example discussed above, how can cloud accessibility benefit on-prem workflows? Use the cloud to elastically scale your compute and/or storage on-demand while maintaining your on-prem systems and workflows. Cloud services can be used effectively without the need to “lift and shift” all underlying systems.

Example 1:

Problem: On-prem transcoding or rendering servers are insufficient to meet the deadline of a large project.

Solution: Burst transcoding or rendering to cloud compute resources that read/write directly from/to on-prem object storage.

This can either be done via the internet or via a direct connect (DX) to the cloud provider. There are pros and cons to both options.

no longer an issue for organizations that migrate to multi-region object storage.

Example 2:

TCO benefits: Running on standard x86 hardware and high-capac-

Problem: A large ingest is coming from a client, but on-prem storage is full.

Solution: Transparently expand/tier to cloud object storage while maintaining a single global object namespace. All applications will continue to function without interruption and without the knowledge that data is actually landing off-site with no reconfiguration required.

ity SATA disks forces commodity hardware vendors to compete and drives prices down. Object storage systems can be less than half the cost of traditional NAS systems because of their simple design and hardware neutrality.

> T HINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN SELECTING AN ON-PREM OBJECT STORAGE VENDOR

First, look for features that facilitate tiering and managing data in one or more public clouds — thus avoiding lock-in and allowing you to select the public cloud provider that offers the best service to meet the task at hand. This “tiering” should occur in real-time and be transparent to the application environment(s) in order to avoid any downtime or reconfiguration.

Second, the more closely the multi-cloud data management technology is integrated with the underlying storage technology, the better.

In addition to the above, consider the following criteria when selecting an on-prem object storage partner: • High performance/massive parallel throughput • Hardware neutrality and support for heterogeneous environments • Utilization of erasure coding for data protection • Multi-site/multi-region support

> OTHER BENEFITS OF PRIVATE OBJECT STORAGE

How do cloud strategies benefit on-prem systems? Utilizing onprem object storage allows you to realize the same reliability, scalability, reduced complexity, and subsequent TCO benefits as the cloud providers do without paying them a premium or trusting them with your data.

Reliability: Because object storage is designed to scale huge and run on standard server hardware, failures are common and expected.

Systems typically employ replication, erasure coding, or a combination of both in order to provide outstanding reliability measured in “number of nines” of durability. Even relatively small multiregion clusters are said to achieve 14+ 9’s of reliability/uptime.

Scalability: Start small and scale huge on standard server and networking hardware.

Reduced complexity: “General purpose” is a common way to describe object storage because it can effectively store all kinds of unstructured data. This means that storage silos for things like ingest, delivery, archive, and backup can all be broken down into a single globally secure system accessed simultaneously by many apps and tools. Slow tape drives and unreliable offsite backups are

• Ability to expand, update, and reconfigure without downtime • Frequent update cadence (AWS is constantly updating the S3 API) • Strong track record and established customer base in relevant industry. <

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NAB2019 PREVIEW

he 2019 NAB Show descends on Las Vegas April 6-11 and, once again, promises plenty of exciting new technology and product introductions.

Read on for previews from more than 175 SVG sponsors and stay tuned to sportsvideo.org throughout the show!

ADDER TECHNOLOGY

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SL8620

dder is excited to announce that NAB 2019 will host the exclusive North American launch of the ADDERLink INFINITY 4000 Series (ALIF4000) — the world’s first dual-head, high performance 4K IP KVM matrix over a single fiber. This launch follows the hugely successful introduction of the world’s smallest high-performance IP KVM transmitter — the ALIF100T — in 2018. Developed in response to customer demand, the ALIF4000 delivers pixel-perfect picture quality to single or dual 4K screens over a single fiber link. Full compatibility with the existing INFINITY range means the ALIF4000 can be phased into an existing INFINITY KVM matrix without disruption, downtime, or the costly need to rip and replace. The ALIF4000 will enable sports broadcast and production specialists to integrate KVM into their 4K workflows quickly and efficiently, giving them instant access to their live production tools. The ALIF4000 series simplifies the adoption and efficiency of 4K IP KVM by offering 4K, USB, and audio all through a single fiber connection. This makes it the ideal solution for anyone looking to implement single or dual 4K screens into an IP KVM environment.

ADORAMA C4446

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t NAB 2019, Adorama will have a selection of high-end broadcast equipment on display and in action for its real-world talk-show production right from the show floor. Attendees can visit the Adorama booth to see the full ecosystem of production gear, including cameras, lenses, support systems, lighting, and more from brands like Canon, Atomos, Arri, Blackmagic, and Sennheiser. Tech experts from Adorama Business Solutions — the company’s integrated B2B sales,

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product, and tech-support organization — will also be onsite to advise sports-broadcast professionals on the best equipment to meet their demanding production needs and the technical support options available through Adorama Access. Adorama Rental Company experts will provide information on the latest acquisition technology available from Rentals through the Rentto-Buy Program, and Adorama Trade reps will be available for those looking to trade in equipment for cash or new gear.

AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS

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SL2416

ince 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions, and professional cameras, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional broadcast, video, and postproduction markets. AJA products are designed and assembled at its facilities in Grass Valley, CA, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world.

ALDEA SOLUTIONS

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SU11321CM

ldea Solutions is a leading provider of highquality video services and solutions for the television and media industries. The company provides end-to-end worldwide transmission and content distribution services and operates an extensive fiber-based network, with points-of-service covering 35 cities and 25 countries throughout the Americas and Europe. At NAB 2019, Aldea will be showcasing its International Media Services portfolio, Media Cloud Platform, Ultra HD/4K capabilities, and its Sports Event Services used by leading major broadcasters and media companies around the world. Aldea brings forth close to 20 years of experience and innovation, and is best known for its deep-rooted experience delivering high quality,

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

ultra-low latency, and reliable video services for the transmission of live sports, news, and other media events. The company is building off its successes in South Korea and Russia during 2018 and looking forward to a very busy 2019 as it prepares for the Pan American Games (Lima, Peru) and the Copa America (Brazil) along with many other events. Aldea is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marcatel Group.

APERI SU13302

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ontent producers are recognizing that they can achieve fast, low latency remote operations through software-driven applications that deliver all necessary live production functions instead of needing to rely on just hardware. At NAB 2019, Aperi will showcase its V-Stack platform. This unique, low-latency Hypervisor for all live sports production and distribution broadcast functions runs on Aperi’s intelligent edge servers and any common FPGA-based COTS server.

Built on a containerized architecture, it spins up and down individual broadcast functions, which are available with flexible licenses through the Aperi app store. Aperi will also demo its remote sports production and referee solutions that enable broadcasters and sports officials to achieve 4K resolution remote IP-based production for the highest-profile live sports. The company will also showcase secure firewall and hitless protection protocols for SMPTE 2110 and 2022 compliant media, recent connected stadium deployments, and the latest broadcast functions now available in Aperi’s App Store.

APM MUSIC

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WYNN, SALON G

PM Music, a joint venture of EMI Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing, is the leader in sports entertainment music working with such clients as broadcasters (ESPN, Fox Sports, HBO Sports, NFL Network), profes-

sional franchises (NY Yankees, Houston Astros, New England Patriots, LA Rams, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics) and collegiate athletics (Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Georgia). Create cues with an award-winning APM Custom team or choose from over 680,000 high-quality tracks by legendary composers and today’s indie trendsetters. APM offers music from 100+ libraries, including the NFL Films Music Library and MLB Music Library, and is a mainstay in the sports industry providing themes for programs like Monday Night Football and This Week in Baseball. With the APM Search site, APM Custom division, Music Director service, Adobe Premiere Pro extension and more, APM provides unrivaled music and service to compliment sports productions.

ARISTA NETWORKS

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rista will be doing live demonstrations with industry leaders and customers involved in the real deployment and evolution of IP broadcasting technology and infrastructure in media and entertainment at NAB 2019. Two key areas being demonstrated at Arista’s NAB booth for sports broadcasting: streaming live sports broadcast content and sports broadcast/real-time IP networking.

ARTEL VIDEO SYSTEMS

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SU8107

rtel Video Systems’ media delivery portfolio offers flexible and scalable solutions to meet the growing requirements of sports broadcast and esports applications from SMPTE ST 2110, AES67 audio accuracy, and SMPTE ST 2022-7 hitless protection switching to ARQ Reliable Internet Stream Transport OTT streaming. The ARQ IP Streaming System is a scalable solution for delivery of high-quality media over internet, satellite, microwave, and other unmanaged broadband services and can quickly accommodate new streams to deliver multiple UDP unicast and multicast services.

ARVATO SYSTEMS

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SU10106

rvato Systems is unveiling its newest approach to digital content, with innovations including AI technology across its portfolio. At NAB 2019, you’ll experience the VPMSuite — with a MAM that’s as lighting fast as your live sports workflow, editor and logging tools made to scale to the size of any Adobe workgroup, and mobility that gives your team the freedom to work anywhere. See how major sports organizations are using Arvato’s solutions to manage digital media, increase fan engagement, and enhance player training. Try Arvato’s collaborative VPMS MediaPortal workflows and intelligent search capabilities to make highlight and compilation videos quickly and efficiently — and provide vastly more accurate logging for events, teams, players, and plays with the new, browser-based MediaEditor. And visit the booth to see the future of cloudbased production, with a SaaS demo of its VPMS EditMate solution, and Vidinet API-enabled scalable media services from Vidispine.

AT&T SU7916

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T&T is leading the way to the future — for customers, businesses, and the industry. The company continues to develop new technologies to make it easier for customers to stay connected.

AT&T envisions a world where everything and everyone work together, a world that works for you. AT&T Global Video Service features flexible, cost-effective connectivity tailored to suit your business needs. Available in over 200 points of presence globally, including sports venues, production studios, network bureaus, and virtually anywhere content originates, this service features a high-quality network designed to meet the rigorous requirements of the broadcast community — a network built to provide customers a “hitless” switching experience with quick access, more bandwidth, and dual and diverse end-toend routing connection arrangements to help ensure network survivability. All of which translates to an exceptional on-air customer experience.

ATEME SU6005

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TEME has and will continue to transform video delivery. ATEME was the first to market with a 10bit 422 solution, the first productionready HEVC and HDR, and, recently, the first true video delivery NFV software solution, designed to lead and win the service providers transition to video datacenter. To complement its cutting-edge technology, ATEME has partnered with leaders such as Intel, Apple, and Microsoft to create the best-in-class video delivery solutions.

AUDIO-TECHNICA C6012

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stablished in 1962, Audio-Technica is a worldwide group of companies devoted to the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of problem-solving audio equipment.

Initially known for state-of-the-art phonograph cartridges, A-T now creates high-performance microphones, headphones, wireless systems, mixers, and electronic products for home and professional use.

AV DESIGN SERVICES

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SL11505

V Design Services (AVDS) is an international provider of broadcast and professional AV systems design and integration services. The leader in engineering, design, consulting, project management, custom fabrication, system support, and post-installation services, AVDS systems engineers have been providing broadcast solutions and services to major media & entertainment companies for more than 35 years.

AVID SU801

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y streamlining the entire sports production workflow, users of Avid’s next-generation MediaCentral create better content faster, deliver to more outlets and devices, and maximize the value of their media. Users also benefit from MediaCentral | Cloud UX, Avid’s responsive and intuitive user interface that makes it easy to search, access, edit, collaborate, and publish content from the ultimate convenience of any workstation, laptop, or mobile device they choose. MediaCentral’s

groundbreaking modular design delivers a full suite of apps, services, and connectors, providing unprecedented scalability, extensibility, and speed on the job for media production, including television programs, news and sports broadcasts, films, or live TV and events. Every production team member is connected in a completely integrated workflow that offers a unified view into all media assets — whether on premises, or in a private data center, the public cloud, or a hybrid environment. At MediaCentral’s core is the next-generation MediaCentral platform engine that delivers powerful yet simple capabilities including automated content indexing, workflow orchestration, centralized administration, and streamlined software deployment. These major advancements enable customers to find and access media assets from any location, turn content around faster and deliver to diverse channels and devices, while automating their workflows.

AWS ELEMENTAL

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SU2202

t NAB 2019, Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, will feature advances in cloud-powered and on-premises content creation, media supply chains, and content delivery that provide enhanced customer experiences, such as CloudDVR, automated transcription, and content aware ad insertion. The company will demonstrate cloud-based and on-premises solutions that streamline and enrich live and on-demand video ingest, production, processing, and delivery.

To help customers retain more viewers and engage new ones, AWS will host demos that support better consumer experiences as well as increased video quality and lower latency for superior multiscreen viewing. Some of these demos include real-time multilingual transcription, live cloud video processing with Quality-Defined Variable Bitrate control (QVBR) and Studio in the Cloud content production workflows. To help customers efficiently secure new revenue opportunities, AWS will share demos for personalized content-aware ad insertion. AWS will showcase content and data lakes through serverless workflows for nimbler media supply chains and machine learning applications.

Attendees can also view AWS Thinkbox solutions, which help creative studios and artists harness the cloud as a conduit to on-demand compute and seemingly endless resources. AWS will host its fifth 4K 4Charity Fun Run at NAB 2019 on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 a.m. in Sunset Park, Las Vegas, NV, raising awareness and funding for non-profits focused on increased diversity and inclusion. Event proceeds will go toward Girls Who Code.

BECKTV SL5605

BeckTV will highlight its comprehensive services and ability to provide clients with a one-stop shop for all design and integration services, and for nearly any budget. BeckTV offers complete space planning, design, engineering, purchasing, and integration services, and leverages extensive in-house metal, composite, and wood fabrication capabilities to create truly customized client-based solutions.

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NAB2019PREVIEW Visitors to the BeckTV booth will also have the opportunity to discuss a variety of considerations for today’s design builds, including capital expenditure versus operational expenditure, cloud-based workflows, at-home remote production, and more, along with the broad range of approaches broadcasters can take when it comes to facility updates and greenfield projects. Brendan Cline, director of engineering at BeckTV, will be presenting his BEITC-selected paper titled, “Building the Right Broadcast Facility for Your Business.” Cline’s presentation is slated for April 6, 9:00 -10:20 a.m., in room N260-A.

BEXEL SU5405

Bexel provides control-room systems integration.

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or over 35 years, Bexel, an NEP Broadcast Services Company, has been a leading global provider of outsourced broadcast solutions and production equipment rentals for producers of sports, entertainment, and live events. Bexel continues to invest in the latest technology to broaden the company’s rental inventory to serve a variety of broadcast applications with technical expertise. The company has expanded its flypack fleet with 12G capabilities for UHD production, which includes Grass Valley switchers, Evertz routers, and Calrec Brio and Summa audio consoles. Bexel is proud to offer a wide variety of wireless intercom solutions that meet the demanding intercom requirements in this new limited RF spectrum. Options include Riedel Bolero and Artist, Pliant Technologies CrewCom, Clear-Com FreeSpeak II and Tempest, RAD UV-1G, and Telex BTR-800. Bexel ESS remains the choice vendor for custom systems integration, managed services, and fiber-optic solutions for permanent facilities, major events, and live game production. The specialty division has had involvement in building robust broadcast infrastructures for professional football stadiums across the nation including Mercedes-Benz Stadium, US Bank Stadium, StubHub Center, and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Bexel TSS continues to provide the industry with quality equipment — from acquisition to disposal. The business unit represents over 100 leading manufacturers of new gear, as well as a diverse inventory of pre-owned gear, and services that include broker and consignment options, asset liquidation through equipment auctions, and RF reallocation solutions.

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BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

SL216

introduce AstonWeather, an open, flexible, and customizable weather application; and Tactica, a software designed to explain tactical positions and strategies in sports by using a touch screen.

CALREC AUDIO/DIGICO

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C7408

Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

lackmagic Design will showcase its latest creative video products, including Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K switcher. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is a handheld digital film camera with full 4/3 HDR sensor, dual native ISO with up to 25600 ISO for incredible low-light performance as well as 13 stops of dynamic range for true digital film quality. It also features a unique new USB-C Expansion Port, which allows customers to record using the internal SD/ UHS-II and CFast recorders or directly to the same external disks they will use for editing and color correction. Pocket Cinema Camera 4K packs high-end imaging and professional features into a portable and affordable design that is perfect for shooting sports.

ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K is a new, professional Ultra HD live production switcher with integrated hardware control panel for working with all HD and Ultra HD formats up to 2160p59.94. It features eight independent 12G-SDI inputs, built-in Fairlight audio mixer, ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyer, multiview, auxiliary and program outputs, analog audio inputs, built in talkback, two flash-based media players, professional creative transitions, a DVE for effects, and more. All of the 12G-SDI inputs feature full re-sync and independent format and frame-rate conversions, meaning customers can connect up to eight different sources with various frame sizes and frame rates, and cleanly switch between them. The switcher automatically converts everything to the program’s output format and frame rate.

BRAINSTORM SL2812

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elebrating its 25th anniversary, Brainstorm will demonstrate its latest real-time graphics, augmented reality, and virtual set solutions at NAB 2019. The company will introduce InfinitySet 3.1, the new version of the acclaimed Virtual Set and AR solution, showcasing enhanced Augmented Reality features like MagicWindows, and also significant improvements in its already amazing rendering capabilities, including its unique Combined Render Engine with Unreal Engine. For the dynamic area of broadcast graphics, Brainstorm will showcase Aston 3.1, the latest version of its 2D/3D real-time motion graphics solution, featuring a new 2D-only version. When the most sophisticated tools for 3D graphics are required, Aston provides them all; but for applications that do not require such advanced 3D environments, Aston2D is the right choice. Brainstorm will also

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ImPulse core

alrec’s ImPulse core features a powerful audio processing and routing engine with AES67 and SMPTE 2110 connectivity, NMOS discovery and connection management, and mDNS/ Ravenna discovery. ImPulse will be at NAB 2019 and is compatible with existing Calrec Apollo and Artemis consoles, providing a simple upgrade path for existing customers. ImPulse was designed with sports productions in mind. The most obvious application is providing immersive audio. ImPulse adds monitoring, fully immersive mix busses, and channels of up to 7.1.4 as well as 3D panning controls. With 4,000 channels, ImPulse is the largest audio-processing engine available. On many of today’s large-scale sports broadcasts, many existing trucks are built with two audio consoles for main and FX, sometimes with a submix for the studio. Today, an Apollo or Artemis would be used for each mix, requiring 16RU in the truck, with interconnects between consoles and MADI to other devices. ImPulse brings more efficiency, allowing up to four independent mixing environments to run simultaneously, so both mixes can be achieved in 10RU of space with less interconnections through an IP network. Also, requirements for MADI connections diminish. One redundant 10GB connection to ImPulse provides 2,500 signals into the router, which is equivalent to 40 MADI connections, and is available to both consoles, further reducing duplicate cable paths. ImPulse can grow and flex to suit requirements — sports broadcasters can avoid bringing in additional consoles for one-off events by temporarily increasing the software channel license of the console.

CAMPLEX FIBER

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amplex fiber-optic cables and hardware deliver the signal quality and reliability demanded by sports broadcasters worldwide for the studio and for live productions. The company builds opticalCON, tactical, SMPTE, plenum, and hybrid fiber cables in their U.S. fiber facility, which is Neutrik opticalCON, LEMO, and Canare certified. At NAB 2019, Camplex introduces a new TAC-ALL tactical fiber-optic cable

Now taking the field...

The ZMT3-Flex is our latest advancement in wireless technology designed to capture the immersive on-the-field experience of live sports. Its fully encrypted stereo audio can simultaneously transmit a signal while recording internally to a memory card. Extremely thin and lightweight, its soft yet durable construction can flex, providing an elevated level of safety for the athlete while ensuring security and fidelity for the audio recordist.

• Transmits and records at the same time • Remote controllable - from across the field!

• Digital mono or stereo transmission

Check us out at zaxcom.com 230 West Parkway, Unit 9, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444 I 973.835.5000

NAB2019PREVIEW to include 12 channels of varied mode fibers in a single jacket: six single mode, four OM3 multimode, and two OM1 multimode. The compact TAC-ALL mil tac cable avoids the expense of separate cables for the use of mixed hardware and cable fiber modes, and simplifies installation and connections. With a cable diameter of 6.5mm/0.26 inches, the rugged, yet lightweight, assembly is ideal for harsh environments in outside broadcast and other applications with limited space, and where deployment and retrieval for reuse is required. Available with ST, LC, SC connectors, and several standard lengths, as well as preloaded on reels. Camplex fiber-optic cables are backed by a zero-defect, 100% inspection policy.

CANON USA

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CARTONI CAMERA SUPPORTS

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n the studio or in the field, Cartoni Camera Supports has you covered. At NAB 2019, Cartoni will showcase new products designed for all aspects of sports production. Designed for both studio and OB production, the Steering P70 Pedestal is an updated version of the bestselling P70, with a removable steering wheel. With a payload capacity up to 155 lbs., as well as full crabbing capabilities, this compact and lightweight pedestal is extremely portable. With an innovative design, the S200 sports tripod features a unique profile and is built for reliable performance for large camera and lens configurations. In addition, set up or fold your tripod in an instant with Cartoni’s Smart Stop Tripod. Cartoni offers a best-in-class five-year warranty on many products and, thanks to Italian engineering, you’ll never need it!

CATDV SL5421

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atDV brings order to the chaos of media file management by making it easy for content owners to repurpose and monetize their assets.

Offering a powerful, user-friendly toolset and streamlined integration with a multitude of media workflow vendors, the CatDV software runs UHD DIGISUPER 122 4K lens on Mac and Windows platforms and can be scaled anon will showcase the flagship UHD-DIGISU- from small workgroups to multiuser enterprise PER 122 and 111, two advanced second-gener- solutions managing millions of assets. ation 4K UHD long-zoom 2/3-inch field lenses at NAB 2019. The first-generation lenses had exposed CENTURYLINK SU5515 a variety of imaging challenges not so evident in HDTV. These experiences, coupled with broadening exploration on how 4K UHD is augmented by WCG/HDR, led to a growing quest to differentiate enturyLink Vyvx Linear Channel Distribution imagery from the traditional HDTV productions. delivers quick, easy, and flexible multi-point Steadily increasing screen sizes in living rooms led to discussions of new possibilities in image framing distribution of television channels. With Centuthat might enhance sports viewing. These second- ryLink Vyvx Linear Channel Distribution, a single generation 4K UHD lenses are the product of an high-quality feed can be replicated and delivered extensive development project that stretched all to multiple end points across our global fiber of the boundaries of 2/3-inch optical design. The network, reliably and securely. This fast, scalable longstanding challenge of extending focal range at solution provides both programmers and disboth the wide and the telephoto end was a central tributors with the ability to rapidly turn up new design imperative — and the UJ122x8.2B lens ex- channels. In addition to offering a simplified optends from 8.2 mm (61-degree horizontal viewing erational environment and increased visibility of angle) to 1000mm (2000mm with the 2x range channels, Vyvx Linear Channel Distribution can extender). The accompanying UJ111x8.3B ranges include built-in network-based redundancy to from 8.3mm to 925mm. A high priority was as- help meet today’s business requirements. signed to preservation of 4K image sharpness at CHYRONHEGO SL1208 picture extremities (vital for large display viewing), t NAB 2019, ChyronHego will highlight the which led to a radical new optical system design. latest versions of their Paint and Virtual The widespread plea to protect that sharpness Placement solutions for real-time data visualwhen the 4K lens-camera systems are subject to vi- ization in live sports broadcasting, in addition brations typically encountered in outside broadcast to Click Effects PRIME, a highly sophisticated environments was also a central design criterion. A graphics authoring solution geared toward vensignificant enhancement to the digital image stabi- ues. With Paint’s telestration toolset, broadcastlization control loop produces rock-steady imagery ers can generate engaging “Illustrated Replays” at full telephoto while also finally eliminating the by visually analyzing game-play and graphicalassociated image “drift” that traditionally followed ly highlighting the video to be replayed. In adsudden cessation of a pan/tilt operation. dition to full 4K support and integration with

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EVS and Grass Valley replay systems, Version 7.5 of Paint allows for the seamless and automatic publishing of telestrated clips to social media outlets including YouTube and Facebook.

Virtual Placement adds robust, tied-to-surface virtual graphics to live productions without the need for a specialist operator, expensive camera sensors, or lengthy calibration processes.

Virtual Placement 7.1 offers powerful, new capabilities for maximizing revenue opportunities. For sports teams and arenas, delivering an exciting in-venue experience is key to drawing fans away from their TV screens and into the stadium. ChyronHego’s Click Effects PRIME is a set of highly integrated and turnkey graphics authoring tools that make it easy to deliver live arena- and stadium-based AV presentations in any canvas size, in any resolution and aspect ratio, to any number of displays.

CINESYS-OCEANA RENAISSANCE,

PRESIDENTIAL SUITE

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edia IT specialists focused on solutions, integration, development and support for digital content creators. They listen to problems and provide solutions. CineSys-Oceana’s team of professionals has a broad base of experience designing and implementing media workflows. Their goal is to provide companies with improved efficiency, speed, and collaboration. From storage to archiving, backup, asset management, and more, they can build a solution that works with your existing infrastructure, helping you manage your media. CineSys-Oceana works with many sports teams and organizations across North America in storage and media asset management. How do you manage your new and aging assets? With a great MAM system in place, you can focus on the work at hand. Review, share, and deliver different versions to multiple channels with ease. For 20 years, CineSys-Oceana has remained at the forefront of technology. Get in touch to discuss how they can help improve your workflow.

CISCO SU8510

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isco designs and sells broad lines of products, provides services, and delivers integrated solutions to develop and connect networks around the world, building the Internet. As a global market leader in the industry, Cisco helps customers connect, digitize, and thrive. Together, the company changes the way the world works, lives, plays, and learns. For more than 30 years, Cisco has helped customers build networks, automate, orchestrate, integrate, and digitize information technology (IT)-based products and services. In an increasingly connected world, Cisco is helping lead the way by transforming businesses, governments, and cities worldwide with differentiated innovation.

WIRELESS SOLUTIONS WIRELESSVIDEO VIDEO SOLUTIONS forfor

Immersive Viewing Immersive Viewing

CAMERA CONTROL CAMERA CONTROL

MINIATURE TRANSMITTERS MINIATURE TRANSMITTERS

4K UHD/HDR-READY SYSTEMS

4K UHD/HDR-READY SYSTEMS

ONBOARDS

REFCAM

ONBOARDS

REFCAM

Today’s sports audiences want to do more than just watch events — they want to experience them as they happen, with exceptional clarity, and from innovative views and perspectives. We call this immersive viewing, and it’s a key building block in IMT Vislink wireless video technology.

For 50+ years, our solutions have been trusted to cover the most challenging and high-profile sporting events

Today’s around sports the audiences want to more than just Marathon, watch events — they experience globe, including thedo World Cup, London 24 Hours of Le want Mans, to America’s Sailingthem Cup, as they Volvo Ocean Race, MotoGP racing, and Formula E. We’ve also confi gured and delivered more integrated happen, with exceptional clarity, and from innovative views and perspectives. We call this immersive viewing, solutionsblock for MLB, the NFL, NHL,wireless NBA, College Sports and major entertainment events than and it’s acamera key building in IMT Vislink videoDivision technology. any other provider.

For 50+ Get years, our solutions have been trusted to cover the most challenging and high-profile sporting events to know the impressive range of IMT Vislink’s award-winning wireless camera systems, including HCAM— around the globe, including World single-frame Cup, London Marathon, Hours ofminiaturized Le Mans, transmitters; America’s Sailing Cup, the world’s first 4K UHD,the HDR-ready latency solution;24 drone-ready and Volvo Ocean Race, MotoGP racing, and Formula E. We’ve also confi gured and delivered more integrated RefCam body-worn video technology that helps bring viewers right into the unfolding action. camera solutions for MLB, the NFL, NHL, NBA, College Division Sports and major entertainment events than Toprovider. find out more, contact Jeff Daubert, Sales Manager for Sports and Entertainment, at any other jeff.daubert@imt-solutions.com or (717) 554-7304, or visit www.imt-solutions.com.

Get to know the impressive range of IMT Vislink’s award-winning wireless camera systems, including HCAM— the world’s first 4K UHD, HDR-ready single-frame latency solution; drone-ready miniaturized transmitters; and RefCam body-worn video technology that helps bring viewers right into the unfolding action.

To find out more, contact Jeff Daubert, Sales Manager for Sports and Entertainment, at jeff.daubert@imt-solutions.com or (717) 554-7304, or visit www.imt-solutions.com.

NAB2019PREVIEW CLARK WIRE & CABLE

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C5718

lark Wire & Cable, a leader in broadcast and professional AV interconnect technology, is announcing a touch screen update to their CWT-SMPTE cable tester. Designed to quickly identify working or faulty SMPTE camera cables in the field with a single test, the CWT-SMPTE simultaneously tests for loss in the fiber elements and all combinations of opens, shorts, or cross-wiring within the electrical elements. The results are displayed on a Touch Screen OLED on the transmitter unit as loss in decibels and a graphical pin-out of the electrical contacts, making it simple to identify the faulty element. The test set is comprised of two components, a receiver unit and a transmitter unit. This two-unit design allows for testing of cables that are already installed because the cable to be tested is not required to have both ends in the same location. Included with the test set is a hard shell padded case.

CLEAR-COM C6908

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lear-Com is a trusted global provider of professional real-time communication solutions and services. The company and its subsidiary, Trilogy Communications, innovate market-proven intercom solutions that link people together for a variety of vertical markets. Clear-Com’s products consistently meet demands for high-quality audio, reliability, and scalability. Clear-Com’s IP and wireless products are familiar tools for at-home (REMI/home-run) productions. The LQ IP interfaces, first introduced in 2014, have become the standard transport IP interface for remote PL and IFB. All LQ interfaces can support SIP, GPI/O, and iOS/Android mobile apps. Two-wire boxes can even supply power for up to 20 hardwired beltpacks. The LQ is the Swiss Army knife for today’s at-home production. New to the Eclipse HX line in 2019 is the E-IPA-HX SMPTE ST2110-30 compliant IP card. The E-IPA-HX card supports all legacy Clear-Com IP products including LQ interfaces, the Agent-IC mobile App for iOS/Android, and the FreeSpeak II wireless intercom with AES67 IP transceivers. Debuting at NAB 2019 and now shipping are the V-Series Iris panels, full-color, native AES67 IP user panels and user enhancements to EHX version 11.0. The Iris panels are available in configurations supporting any studio, OB, or athome production requirement.

CLOUDIAN SL6824

A

s the volumes of 4K, 8K, and higher-resolution video continue to grow, broadcast and production organizations need a storage foundation that enables them to manage and maximize the value of this content. Cloudian HyperStore, a software-defined object storage solution ideal for capacity-intensive media formats, provides limit-

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less scalability and enables content collaboration across multiple locations, including public clouds.

In addition, all storage is presented as a single pool that can be instantly accessed, searched, and monetized, regardless of where the content physically resides. HyperStore features built-in data protection and customized metadata tagging that allows users to capture important file attributes and rapidly search and find content. It is compatible with a broad range of MAMs and provides the fast performance of disk-based storage needed for compressed production workflows. Built on industry-standard, high-density servers, HyperStore is also highly cost-effective, delivering savings of up to 70% compared to traditional storage offerings.

COBALT DIGITAL

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SL9111

ith an array of cards designed for the openGear platform, Cobalt Digital offers a number of key components for live 4K production. Perfect for remote integrations (REMI), the 9992-ENC-MPEG broadcast encoder delivers dramatic compression efficiency with support for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and HEVC with an optional license, so it can be deployed today and upgraded as needs change. Distribution of 4K signals is simplified with the 9914DA-4x16-XPT12G quad-channel multi-rate reclocking DA. The digital video distribution amplifier can be a mix of quad 1x4, dual 1x8, or a 1x16. For monitoring multiple sources, the 9971-MV18-4K expandable UHD multiviewer accommodates up to 18 inputs and a variety of formats, and can output 12G-SDI or HDMI 2.0. Cobalt’s flagship 9904-UDX-4K up/ down/cross converter and image processor provides diverse input choices, plus an integrated frame synchronizer and multiple output formats.

Plus, it provides an ideal hardware platform for Technicolor HDR-to-SDR and SDR-to-HDR software. Cobalt allows broadcasters to ingest legacy SDR sources (cameras, graphics, etc.) into HDR productions, and eliminates the need for sports productions to use separate SDR and HDR cameras and processing paths. The 9904-UDX-4KDSP adds advanced audio DSP options, including Dolby automatic loudness processing and Linear Acoustic automatic upmixing.

COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

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WYNN, SALON D

omcast Technology Solutions serves the advertiser, content provider, global operator, and technology markets with a complete portfolio to meet the evolving needs of multiplatform content distribution and monetization. Built on Comcast’s know-how, proven facilities, platforms, and infrastructure, the company helps customers develop new business models and transform the customer experience. At NAB 2019, Comcast will launch new channel delivery, linear processing, and unified ad solutions. The new channel delivery and

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

processing service is a cost-efficient, high-quality method to acquire, process, and distribute linear content and manage metadata. The solution allows sports networks, operators, vMVPDs, and content providers to acquire, create, and distribute new channels to reach any device. The new ad solution is a comprehensive, global advertising distribution solution that drives efficiencies in a digitally converged world by simplifying complex media campaign and creative workflows to ensure your brand gets to the audiences you want, wherever and whenever they are.

COMREX C2330

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omrex will be showcasing EarShot IFB at NAB 2019. Now available for purchase, EarShot IFB is a hardware-based system that delivers live audio feeds to callers. EarShot IFB is designed to provide telephone-based live studio program and IFB audio to field-based remote broadcasts, like live sports broadcasts. Up to 30 callers can dial in and listen to the audio feeds — this makes it possible to replace up to 30 POTS lines with one simple box. Comrex will also showcase LiveShot.

Compact with a versatile interface that weighs only 3 lbs., Comrex LiveShot is a bonded cellular solution designed for the most demanding field broadcasts. LiveShot delivers live, two-way, HD video and audio over a range of IP and cellular networks with less than 200mS latency. Using sophisticated CrossLock VPN technology, LiveShot is able to make use of the most challenging 3G/4G, WiFi, and satellite networks to maintain a secure and stable connection. Additionally, Comrex will be showing its industry-leading ACCESS and BRIC-Link IP audio codec lines. Plus, the company will display Opal, a guest interview solution that allows users to send high-quality from a browser with the touch of a button.

CONNECT N4124

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ONNECT is an expert in media and broadcast network monitoring and management.

At NAB 2019, CONNECT will be showcasing the latest innovations of KYBIO Media, further enhanced to meet the critical challenges of broadcasters to capture, produce, and distribute quality content around the globe. KYBIO Media, previously known as WorldCast Manager, is a scalable and open NMS/OSS enabling broadcasters to oversee an entire ecosystem, centralize data, and streamline the management of IP-enabled, industry-specific or commodity, gear and technology.

With the latest 3.8 release, KYBIO Media includes a new generation of drivers enabling communication with any IP protocol such as SNMP, SOAP, REST, XML, JSON, and ModBus, and a new API module for advanced interoperability with existing customer ecosystems. KYBIO Media provides modern broadcasters with a powerful yet simple platform to improve operations and facilitate

Your content.

IBM Storage.

Deliver amazing content and optimize the fan experience.

A winning experience with delighted fans relies on innovative storage infrastructure solutions that accelerate sports production workflows and efficiently manage, protect and archive massive amounts of data.

Explore IBM Storage, with the broadest portfolio in the industry, including awardwinning flash, tape, cloud object and software-defined storage solutions. ibm.com/storage

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2019. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and ibm.com/storage are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies.

A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.

NAB2019PREVIEW strategic and operational data-driven decisions with advanced analytics.

CP COMMUNICATIONS

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P Communications can provide a turnkey production solution or a box rental, each will be custom designed based on your needs as the client and the wants of the production.

Whether it is a small audio or RF video package, a 120-channel wireless audio and communications package or full course HD coverage of golf, bike racing, or marathons, the company always approach them with the same level of professionalism that has come to be synonymous with the CP Communications name.

CREATIVE DIMENSIONS

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reative Dimensions is a team of industry experts, visionary designers, versatile project managers, and skilled craftsmen that has built a reputation as an innovative partner over the last 30 years. The team coordinates and produces a full range of signage, exhibits/tradeshows and broadcast studios, sets, and desks, including its sought-after VERSA Broadcast Desk line of products. Creative Dimensions delivers the outcomes you need, while striving to save you money and time. Whatever your project, Creative Dimensions’ passion for customer satisfaction, creative solutions, and quality products — as well as its innovation and problem-solving skills — will get the job done for you with style! Because Creative Dimensions listens, it is easy to zero in on your vision and provide that remarkable outcome.

Whether your needs are in the signage, exhibit, or broadcast worlds, Creative Dimensions uses its Emmy Award-winning skills to go the extra mile to help your project hit the mark.

DELL EMC

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ell EMC provides flexible, reliable, and easyto-manage storage solutions that help media companies create, maintain, and protect their most valuable digital media assets. With simplified management of storage media companies can focus on what they do best create and deliver great media content. With solutions that allow better collaboration, broader access, and performance that keeps up with even the most demanding media workflows it’s no wonder industry leaders and over two billion content subscribers worldwide rely on Dell EMC. The company’s comprehensive technology portfolio and extensive partner community can help transform your organization to meet the challenges of digital media.

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imetis is a developer of world-class tools for media workflow automation, remote production, broadcast management and control, scheduling, OTT monitoring and analytics, NFV/ SDN orchestration, and much more. Dimetis is a

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truly agnostic vendor as they interface with all vendors — hardware or software — and provide multi-vendor broadcast network management. mX Media Exchange is a powerful media management platform that provides media workflow automation, comprehensive management, automation, and transfer of large video and audio files while providing an elegant user experience.

BOSS BROADCAST Manager is an easy-to-use, comprehensive management software platform for monitoring, configuration, video workflow orchestration, and control of streaming facilities, multiplex centers, IPTV, DVB, and ATSC/HDTV. BOSS Stream Viewer is a video stream monitoring and analytics solution. BOSS Operations Manager is a transmission and resource scheduler for broadcast facilities.

DIVERSIFIED N214LMR

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onnect your fans with the game and amplify the guest experience. Diversified partners with venues nationwide including Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, Coors Field, and Wells Fargo Center to design and deliver expertly engineered and integrated sound, video, and networked broadcast systems. This first-string line-up of industry experts provides consultation, implementation, and management for all of your communications needs. With a comprehensive portfolio of solutions encompassing large-scale AV integrations, sound reinforcement, control rooms, managed networks, electronic security, sports network designbuilds, and large-scale mobile units, Diversified has more real-world experience than any other technology integrator. As your technology solutions partner, Diversified not only guides you through digital transformation, but their multifaceted expertise extends to IT and networking solutions, structured cabling, mobile connectivity, venue campus SOC’s for incident management and surveillance, and much more. See how today’s “smart stadiums” are connecting fans as never before, delivering immersive experiences while accelerating your ROI.

DOLBY SU1702

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olby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences.

Through its innovative research and engineering, Dolby develops breakthroughs that it shares with the world through collaborations that span artists, broadcasters, industry ecosystem partners, and consumers worldwide. Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision are the industry’s choice to deliver spectacular entertainment experiences — glob-

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ally adopted and widely available across the ecosystem, from content creation and distribution to devices. At NAB 2019, Dolby will demonstrate how Dolby AC-4, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Vision are easy to implement into all workflows and are ready to deploy now to enable broadcasters and pay-TV service providers to deliver the best entertainment experiences across all use cases, including live and on-demand delivery. Dolby will also show how it is empowering content creators to bring stories to life with dramatic imaging and moving audio, anytime, anywhere.

EASY LIVE

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FACEBOOK PAVILION

asy Live is launching a new distribution and transcoding hub for live broadcasting production. Ingest any type of protocol to Easy Live (UDP, TS, SRT, HLS, RTMP, WebRTC, etc.) and distribute to multiple destinations in multiple formats (4K, HD, 30 or 60fps), encoding profiles (up to 50Mbps) or protocols (UDP, TS, HLS, SRT, RTMP, WebRTC, etc.). From the same feed, you can easily feed your final control room and digital platforms at the same time.

EEG SL7610

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EG, the Emmy Award-winning live captioning solutions company, is continuing to add to its IP video and AI services product areas at NAB 2019. The show will see the debut of Lango, the latest AI-based application from EEG Cloud Services, which allows iCap-connected devices to instantly translate live captions and subtitles to and from eight different languages. EEG will also introduce the 492-IP, the first full hybrid SDI VANC and 2110-40 IP captioning encoder; and Lexi Vision, which makes use of AI image scanning technologies to provide enhanced caption screen positioning and innovative self-learning vocabulary and topic context information to the Lexi automatic captioning service.

ENCO N2524

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NCO will bring its complete range of audio playout solutions to NAB. The two solutions, HotShot3 (audio) and Dadtv (video), cover the gamut for live and automated playback of content that amplifies the fan experience. ENCO’s HotShot3 provides a sleek, intuitive interface for live, instant audio playout in broadcast and production. HotShot3 offers instant access to local and network audio assets, with immediate playout to air. In addition to fast and reliable playback, HotShot3 offers automated, customizable features across logging, compliance, rights management, and other pertinent workflow tasks. HotShot3 provides playback options on a pre-labeled 80-button keypad or touchscreen operation— as well as remote operation using an iPad — with stereo and surround sound support. Dadtv remains the most advanced audio playout and au-

This is not an empty stadium.

It just sounds like one with the Bose SoundComm B30 Headset.

Whether you’re on the coaching staff or broadcast crew, you’ll feel the roar of a packed house. But with Bose B30 headset active noise cancellation, you won’t hear it. Focus on the play – and get the shot, not the noise.

See more at Bose.com/B30

OFFICAL SOUND OF THE NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH © 2019 Bose Corporation.

All Rights Reserved.

NAB2019PREVIEW tomation system available for live broadcast and production. The latest version strengthens compliance, with automatic generation of “as played” logs to simplify rights reporting tasks.

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

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ncompass, a global technology services company delivering end-to-end video playout and distribution solutions, and DAZN, the world’s leading OTT disruptor in live sport, team up to provide high-profile events for DAZN’s OTT live sports platform. Encompass provides IP contribution services for live events to DAZN’s network as well as encoding and packaging of the content.

DAZN and Encompass not only deliver content from the sports field to the rights holder but also from the rights holder to the viewer! This end-toend managed solution is supported by full NOC monitoring for the entire platform. Want to reach additional markets by streaming your live events?

Encompass can help! Daily, Encompass services 1,200+ channels; processes 31,000 hours of TV/ OTT; streams 6,300 hours of TVE/OTT content; acquires/distributes 275+ live events for its clients worldwide. Services: global distribution; channel playout; OTT/TVE streaming and VOD; live events; radio; DR.

ENDEAVOR STREAMING WYNN, SALON C

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ndeavor Streaming is the global leader in premium video streaming distribution for live and on-demand content across the entertainment and sports industries. With complete and cutting-edge video streaming offerings, Endeavor Streaming enables clients to deliver their content in the highest quality on any device with the industry’s deepest feature set. As a trusted partner to the world’s largest brands including the NBA, NFL, WWE, UFC, BT Sport, Rogers, Univision, EFL, and others, Endeavor Streaming fundamentally understands both the value of their clients’ content and the most effective ways to deliver best-in-class innovations to the viewer experience. Endeavor Streaming brings a unique combination of the latest cloud-enabled technologies and years of streaming experience at scale. They specialize in removing technology as a barrier, helping clients grow their audience and maximize revenue in the increasingly digital media marketplace.

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ombining satellite and OTT delivery for simple video distribution anywhere, Eutelsat recently launched Eutelsat CIRRUS, a hybrid satellite-OTT delivery solution that will help TV operators better respond to viewers’ expectation for a flexible, seamless content experience across multiple screens. Eutelsat CIRRUS reduces the technical and logistical challenges faced by satellite TV operators seeking to launch or upgrade

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their service offer, whether they are using only satellite or both satellite and OTT networks.

Operators benefit from rapidly deployed video services, at a low operational cost, with the highest image quality and a consistent end-user experience. Through its dual offer of turnkey DTH services and OTT multiscreen delivery, the new service allows Eutelsat to further pursue the integration of satellite into the IP ecosystem. Eutelsat CIRRUS’ turnkey DTH service provides satellite TV broadcasters with end-to-end video distribution combined with cloud-based service management. Bringing together the strengths of traditional DTH with next-generation features, the fully integrated platform delivers an enriched viewer experience. A multiscreen offer complements the traditional DTH broadcast service with simultaneous OTT streaming through a native hybrid platform. Eutelsat CIRRUS is guided by an innovative roadmap to guarantee product evolution and ensure state-of-the-art features for viewers.

ogy enables content producers to create the most engaging live sports programming. The XT-VIA live production server’s onboard connectivity that uses the Xnet-VIA IP-based media sharing network, and the ability to virtualize EVS backend resources shows how facilities providers can maximize resources with EVS technology. Xeebra will also be on display showing how soccer referees can deploy the fastest and most reliable VAR solution with a new 3D offside line that relies on AI-driven field calibration — all integrated into a compact solution. Live showcase areas will feature presentations from the University of Miami — the first college to invest in Dyvi. EVS’ software-defined switcher is used to cut together programming for multiple sports from a central production hub on its campus. ESL will also be on the EVS booth, showcasing how, as one of the esports industry’s leading event organizers, it uses Dyvi and several other EVS technologies in innovative ways to output enriched sports programming for millions of fans worldwide.

EVERTZ N1503

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vertz, the global leader in media and entertainment technology solutions, will showcase its latest innovations for live sports production at NAB 2019. Leveraging the industry’s most comprehensive IP infrastructure, Evertz creates extremely agile and efficient workflows ideally suited for production in esports, stadiums/ venues, mobile, and studio environments. With over 400 global deployments since 2014, Evertz continues to lead the industry’s transition to IP with its Software Defined Video Networking (SDVN) IP-based solutions. Evertz’ Live Media Solutions combines SDVN with its DreamCatcher Production suite to create dynamic production workflows. This year, Evertz is introducing DreamCatcher BRAVO for individual or small team collaborative production. DC-BRAVO and its integrated video mixing, graphics insertion, replay, and highlight features are the perfect tool for cost-effective live production. DC-BRAVO takes advantage of the DreamCatcher patented network architecture to easily scale for any size of live production. DC-BRAVO is the ultimate production instrument for secondary sports markets and esports. Evertz continues to outperform by showcasing new DreamCatcher Production Suite tools, with impressive features that include: 8K support, intelligent scheduling/resource assignment, streamlined Avid, and Adobe workflows and video refereeing.

EVS SL3816

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hrough better connectivity, easier collaboration, and the ability to output content in more formats and resolutions, such as full HD 1080p, UHD-4K, and HDR, EVS’ demonstrations at NAB 2019 will show visitors how its technol-

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ingerWorks Telestrators, the leading live telestration solution for sports and esports broadcasters around the globe, will unveil its new FingerWorks VR 2.0 at NAB 2019. FingerWorks VR is a real-time 3D telestration software and graphics engine for live virtual- and augmented-reality applications. The updated software features live stats integration, live preview, improved masking, and a streamlined multi-camera VR setup.

Similar to the company’s legacy solutions, VR 2.0 is ideal for any application in which a wide-angle, stereoscopic or 360-degree camera is implemented, including live sports and tournament-style esport/gaming competitions. FingerWorks VR supports all popular VR geometry and stereo formats in addition to supplying a flattened user interface that makes it simple for analysts and operators to place graphics in the VR space. With V2.0, users can preview footage in a headset prior to setting up a CDN, giving them an undistorted view of the final output for home viewers.

FOR-A C5016

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OR-A leads the industry in its development and production of working 12G technology, including its 12G-SDI HVS-6000 (1-3 M/E) and HVS-1200 (1 M/E plus MELite) video switcher lines. The HVS-6000 is the world’s first singlelink 12G production switcher and requires no conversion. In addition to 12G-SDI, FOR-A will also introduce products that support 4K, IP, and HDR. 4K-supporting switchers in the FOR-A NAB booth will include the HVS-2000 and HVS490. IP video introductions include: the SOM-100 media orchestration platform, the USF-10IP IP Gateway, and the MBP-1000VS-IP video server.

An integrated baseband/IP control and monitor-

NAB2019PREVIEW ing system, the SOM-100 is designed for use in a mixed SDI/IP environment. The SOM-100 offers seamless operation of a variety of video equipment, monitored centrally from its interface. The new version of FOR-A’s popular FA-9600 multipurpose signal processor supports 3D LUT for advanced color grading and Sony’s SR Live workflow for live HDR production.

FORECAST CONSOLES

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orecast Consoles works with its partners and clients to create world-class control room environments. With over 40 years of experience, Forecast Consoles strives to develop cutting-edge solutions with built-in flexibility to incorporate the latest technologies and future trends.

FRAUNHOFER IIS

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t NAB 2019, Fraunhofer will show an MPEGH real-time broadcast chain with live production, metadata workflows, emission, and reception. MPEG-H Audio offers an immersive and personalized sound experience for new media services such as UHDTV broadcast, streaming services or virtual reality. MPEG-H has been on air 24/7 in continuous broadcast use in South Korea since May 2017. Together with broadcasters all over the world, Fraunhofer proved the superiority of MPEG-H during numerous live broadcast trials during major international sports and music events. Fraunhofer makes it easier for broadcasters to offer personalization features and to comply with accessibility regulations. At the same time, the advanced MPEG-H Audio metadata gives broadcasters the possibility to precisely control each feature they offer to their viewers. Besides MPEG-H, Fraunhofer IIS presents xHE-AAC, which is the perfect solution for adaptive audio and video streaming and natively integrated in Android Pie.

FUJIFILM OPTICAL DEVICES DIVISION/ FUJINON C7225

nounced at the show, bringing the largest line of 4K lenses to a total of 12. Additionally, the newly introduced economical UA70x8.7 field lens will join the UA107x8.4 and UA80X9 field lenses as well as the UA27x6.5 studio lens, along with their exceptional companion portable lenses the UA13x4.5B, UA14x4.5B, UA18x5.5B, UA22x8B, UA24x7.8B, UA46x9.5, and UA46x13.5. There are now 4K UHD/HDR lenses in every category, making them ideal for 4K or HD HDR live coverage of large-scale entertainment and sports events, studio applications, and all portable-lens applications, including sports, entertainment, program production, and news reporting. NAB will also be the venue for the introduction of several new Cine lenses joining the extensive line being featured in the booth, covering every application starting with the MK18-55 and MK50135 E-mount and Micro 4/3 lenses for emerging cinematographers. The ZK and XK Cabrio series of PL-mount lenses will also be on display, as will the HK Premier series of PL-mount lenses, all of which have been used to make some of the world’s biggest blockbuster feature films.

FX DESIGN GROUP

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alk in nearly any broadcast market in America, including San Francisco; Dallas; Hartford, CT; Charlotte, NC; and Orlando, and you’ll be looking at an FX-designed set. FX is a leader in set designs for professional sports franchises, including the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, University of Tennessee, and others. FX provides complete scenic design services for news, weather, sports, talk show, and entertainment sets — all backed by an industry-leading customer service team of experts. In addition, lighting design is more than just a job — it’s a passion. As virtual reality and augmented reality continue to increase in both quality and popularity, FX is on the leading edge of 3D design. FX is now placing VR studios along with hard sets for the utmost in flexibility and versatility in broadcast stations and sports networks.

G&D N3424

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UA46x9.5BERD 4K UHD/HDR lens

ujifilm is at the forefront in the development of 4K UHD/HDR and Cine optical technology. At NAB 2019, the Optical Devices Division of Fujifilm North America will showcase its entire range of Fujinon newly developed and existing 4K UHD Series lenses as well as the everexpanding categories of PL and E-mount Cine lenses. The Fujinon 4K UHD Series of 2/3-in. lenses optimized for HDR will be joined this year by a new groundbreaking lens that will be an-

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&D will showcase its all-new KVM-over-IP matrix system. The ControlCenter-IP combines the advantages of classic matrices with the flexibility of IP systems. Together with a series of IP extenders, the ControlCenter-IP forms a powerful matrix with which any connected operator station can be granted access to any remote computer. Operators benefit from the full performance of their computers even when operating them remotely and in real time. While the network infrastructure takes over the transport of KVM-over-IP using network switches and routers, the ControlCenter-IP contributes the logic.

Transmission takes place compressed via CAT

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cabling or optical fibers via standard IP-based networks on layer 3, with a data transmission rate of 1 Gbit/s per line. Being able to use standard network components makes G&D’s KVMover-IP particularly interesting because existing IT installations can be scaled more easily, flexibly, and cost-effectively. Almost all components are plug-and-play devices.

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ew for NAB 2019, Globecast debuts Server Side Dynamic Ad Insertion (SSDAI), a groundbreaking, advertising insertion technology. SSDAI is changing the media landscape by dynamically detecting and substituting the broadcast ads with more personalized or targeted ads and is becoming the leading solution in premium over-the-top streaming video environments. As part of a new partnership with SnifferCat patented cloud-based technology, Globecast’s expanded offering allows media owners and their service providers the ability to automate and simplify their OTT migration by employing sophisticated automated cue point detection, ad insertion, channel scheduling and advanced data analytics. The technology was designed to simplify and address market changes from consumer’s everevolving viewing habits. With no CAPEX infrastructure investments and virtually no learning curve for users, SSDAI is creating new revenue streams for content owners.

GOOGLE CLOUD

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oogle Cloud frees users from the overhead of managing infrastructure, provisioning servers, and configuring networks. The platform is secure, high-performance, cost-effective, and constantly improving. Tap into big data and machine learning to find answers faster, build better products, and fuel amazing applications. Grow from prototype to production to planet-scale without having to think about capacity, reliability, or performance. Google’s pricing innovations, like per-second billing and sustained-use discounts, save you money. Google’s backbone network has thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable, uses advanced software-defined networking, and has edge-caching services to deliver fast, consistent, and scalable performance.

GRABYO

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AWS PARTNER NETWORK STAND

t NAB 2019, Grabyo is excited to be introducing its enhanced video editing platform, Grabyo Editor, a set of browser-based editing tools for creating and distributing short video clips, highlights, and social video from live streams, VOD, and mobile sources. The new service combines the speed and flexibility of Grabyo’s cloud-based platform with simple, effective tools for video editors. Accessed using a web

REIMAGINE SPORTS PRODUCTION Avid is your smartest play in live sports production Creating the most compelling sports coverage and building brand loyalty has never been more vital than in today’s competitive market. Today’s viewers and sports fans expect a more engaging, interactive and fully immersive experience. Sports programmers need advanced, cost-effective solutions to deliver rich 4K/ UHD content, virtual and augmented reality, and appealing onscreen graphics enhancements.

With Avid MediaCentral® for Sports and the Maestro™ graphics family including Maestro | Live, the new all-in-one solution for creating and controlling real-time graphics and video playout, sports production teams are equipped to deliver the speed and end-to-end 4K/UHD production workflows needed to create captivating content from any location, and deliver a game-changing viewer experience.

Make the right moves with Avid’s sports production solutions to help boost your ratings by delivering a viewing experience that’s better than being there.

Learn more at: avid.com/sports

YO UR P L ATFO R M TO EXC I T E © 2019 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, the Avid logo, Maestro, and MediaCentral are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

NAB2019PREVIEW browser, Grabyo Editor significantly reduces the time it takes to produce high-quality video content by enabling multiple users to produce short clips and longer-form videos with multiple video inputs, graphics, imagery, and audio. These advanced editing features, combined with Grabyo’s live production platform, clipping tools, and publishing capabilities, will offer digital teams a complete cloud-based platform for fast flexible video distribution to social, mobile, and OTT platforms.

GRASS VALLEY, A BELDEN BRAND SL106

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roadcasters and media organizations want flexibility and scalability to create, manage, and deliver unmatched viewing experiences to consumers across a wider range of platforms, from live sports production and OTT delivery, to the growth of market segments like remote production and esports. Grass Valley offers customers the best and most efficient solutions for their needs, both now and in the future. That’s why the company recently collaborated with ChyronHego to deliver a new, integrated graphics creation, and switching solution for sports arenas. Designed for complex venue productions, this new, tightly integrated, one-stop solution puts TDs in the driver’s seat with technology they’re already familiar with and it gives them more control and greater efficiencies for the fast-paced high-pressure production environments they work in. Now they can apply this single-point-of-control solution to easily switch shows with game-in-progress graphics delivered simultaneously to multiple displays — including LED ribbon boards, scoreboards, and concourse/concession screens. In the remote production arena, Grass Valley is breaking new ground with its DirectIP capability, which enables remote production cost effectively and with greater flexibility. This innovative workflow is field proven in delivering uncompressed HD and UHD signals across large distances (up to 20,000 kilometers) with ultra-low latency and zero compromise on stunning image quality. Customers have been asking for solutions that deliver simple yet effective ways to handle complex production environments. Grass Valley is listening, and delivering next-generation technology that meets the requirements of any live production.

HAIVISION SU6714

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he newly released Makito X4 is Haivision’s next-generation HEVC/H.265 and AVC/H.264 encoder for ultra-low-latency streaming of live 4K and HD video over IP. Extremely powerful and highly versatile, the Makito X4 is available as a compact four-input appliance or a blade supporting up to 84 HD or 21 4K inputs in a 4RU rack. Designed for the most demanding real-time applications, the Makito X4 can encode and stream broadcast video with 10-bit

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pixel depth and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling. Based on Haivision’s new and powerful 8-core encoding engine, the Makito X4 can securely deliver simultaneous multi-bitrate streams over any IP network, including the public internet. The Makito X4 adds 4K UHD and high density HD broadcast capabilities to Haivision’s Makito X product line and is packed with the latest technologies to ensure secure, low-latency, broadcast quality video for live broadcast contribution, remote production, and enterprise video.

HARMONIC SU810

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armonic’s VOS360 media processing SaaS is perfect for OTT delivery, including live sports streaming. Hosted in the public cloud, VOS360 SaaS removes the need for a hardware infrastructure and offers pay-as-you-grow pricing, dramatically altering the economics of live content delivery to every screen. With the VOS360 service, broadcasters, content owners, and service providers can scale their streaming services up and down quickly based on actual needs, a capability particularly useful for live sports. Using VOS360 SaaS operators can deliver SD, HD, and UHD HDR from the cloud at low bit rates, with low latency comparable to broadcast using a wide range of formats, codecs, and encoding schemes, including the next-generation Common Media Application Format (CMAF) standard. By supporting the entire workflow from ingest to distribution, VOS360 SaaS makes it faster and easier than ever to deliver revenue-generating streaming services directly to consumer devices.

IBM ASPERA

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uilding on the success of its patented FASP protocol, the IBM Aspera team continues to disrupt the status quo with exciting new capabilities and advancements to its Streaming for Video solution. IBM Aspera Streaming for Video powered by FASPStream enables customers to centralize remote production of high bit-rate live programming, eliminating the need to co-locate costly production staff at remote venues. It supports in-line transcoding and packaging to accelerate live-video delivery and facilitates open file workflows for near real-time editing and production. By lowering the production costs for all kinds of events, broadcasters can create and deliver new content targeting new audiences.

During the FIFA World Cup 2018, Fox Sports sent more than 2,700 total live feeds over commodity internet between Moscow and Los Angeles, despite Russia’s unique challenges with international data connectivity. Fox Sports needed to televise all 64 matches in HD to a U.S. audience — without moving their state-of-the-art postproduction operation from Los Angeles to Russia. They used Aspera FASPStream technology to remotely

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edit content in near-real time, allowing them to shorten their production cycle by hours — an advancement that helped them deliver a seamless viewer experience at a fraction of the usual cost.

IBM STORAGE

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n this cognitive era, IBM is a premier end-toend partner for driving better business results through digital reinvention, cloud, technology, analytics, and consulting expertise. The company combines decades of storage technology excellence, experience, and expertise within the Media & Entertainment industry. IBM’s expansive storage solution portfolio, deep industry expertise, and strong ecosystem partnerships enable companies to build data-driven multicloud infrastructures that speed insights, accelerate businesses, and lower costs. Ideally suited for sports production workflows, IBM brings together comprehensive software-defined storage and innovative systems that are tuned for the cognitive era to deliver high speed and efficiency, deep archive management, metadata management, and more. IBM is a proud sponsor of NAB, where IBM Storage offerings will be highlighted with a focus on high-value solutions for storing, managing, protecting, and archiving structured and unstructured media data in data-driven multicloud environments.

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HSE has proven to be the go-to KVM provider in large A/B production designs since 2010. At NAB 2019, IHSE will introduce several new products focused on crucial aspects of the displaymanagement workflow for operators demanding real-time access to computer-based systems in broadcast-related environments. Based on IHSE’s TRUE KVM concept, the products let operators access a wide variety of devices across all domains — local, remote, and virtual. As more companies come to depend on network-centric solutions, IHSE’s TRUE KVM provides an effective way to integrate all types of workstations in a hybrid concept that can be easily and seamlessly configured to a physical yet unobtrusive KVM matrix system. Working with partners such as Avid, EVS, and Vizrt, IHSE will demonstrate KVM advanced computer sharing for audio mixing, video playout, and graphic editing in production trucks.

Other key promotions on display at NAB will be solutions for 4K, 5K, and HDR. For non-broadcast requirements, the company will also feature solutions for esports and military-grade extenders with the latest security grade classifications.

IKEGAMI C7925

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t NAB 2019, Ikegami will exhibit a range of innovations in HD, 4K, and 8K technology, including IP and HDR. In addition to new 4K camera and accessory products, Ikegami will

SwiftStack | Storage The new standard for your centralized media repository Massive Parallel Throughput (100+ GBytes/sec) Public-Cloud QC/Transcoding of On-Prem Assets Multi-Cloud DR, Migration, & Life Cycle in a Single Namespace

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NAB2019PREVIEW also be introducing virtual control capabilities for its new and existing camera lines. VCP (virtual control panel) is a software-based PC application providing operational control of multiple cameras, and VMP (virtual master panel) is another application providing centralized management of all cameras within the camera control network. Ikegami’s acclaimed monitors will also be at NAB 2019, with a new HDR option debuting for Ikegami’s affordable HLM 60-series of LCD color monitors. Also on exhibit will be the HQLM-3120W 31-inch and HQLM-1720WR 17inch 4K/HD multi-format LCD monitors, and the HQLM-3125X 31-inch 4K/HD multi-format LCD master monitor, employing a direct backlit 4096 x 2160 pixel 10-bit resolution 4K LCD panel with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, ideally suited for HDR applications.

IMAGE VIDEO

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mage Video is proud to showcase 40+ years of broadcast industry expertise at NAB 2019. The TSI and TXI line of Tally controllers continue to set the standard for Tally and GPI control. With over 4,000 systems deployed globally, Image Video’s Tally controllers are the industry’s bestselling Tally and GPI solution. NAB 2019 will see further enhancements with the launch of Tally Console 3 and the new WTL-1 Wireless Tally light. NAB visitors are welcome to drop in and see firsthand why this remains the preferred tool for broadcasters and discuss new ideas Image Video’s team of world-class engineers.

IMAGEN SL5021

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magen is renowned for its easy-to-use platform for navigating vast archives of video. Imagen has introduced intuitive new web page management tools to enhance the user interface and offer professional and consumer audiences more exciting ways to discover content with ease. There is a completely new ‘in-page’ editing feature that enables content owners to take total control of the user experience and easily customize page layouts and add menus and interactive elements using simple point-and-click editing tools. It’s now even easier to create new rich media components with new zone widgets to provide supporting content or information around content assets, including embedding social media or embedding payment forms for the monetization of content ready for broadcasters and fans.

IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS

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isitors to Imagine Communications’ NAB booth will experience the company’s latest sports and live production solutions through the real-world lens of next-gen customer deployments from around the world. The industry’s most advanced outside broadcast trucks, venues, and production facilities are using Imag-

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ine’s latest innovations, such as industry-first, high-capacity 100GbE network links and the first processing/compression platform to support every UHD transport scheme — including over a single SMPTE ST 2110 stream. The company has also tightly integrated its all-IP-capable Selenio Network Processor (SNP) with its EPIC MV multiviewer, enabling customers to address the bandwidth challenges and high costs associated with monitoring (uncompressed) UHD signals in live production environments. Recent SNP and EPIC MV deployments include the new 24-camera UHD1 HDR, which put Switzerland’s tpc on the map as the first media company to broadcast a live sports event from a SMPTE ST 2110, fullIP, uncompressed UHD HDR OB truck. Imagine systems also power Global Production’s new Ultra HD truck, which beat the competition hands down during the recent Ferrari color shoot-out at Monza — delivering the most accurate rendition of Ferrari’s trademark red to viewers watching on all standards, from SD and HD to Ultra HD in 4K and HDR.

IMT VISLINK

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MT Vislink will showcase the latest versions of its best-in-class solutions for reliably capturing, delivering, and managing secure, high-quality HD wireless video from sports and entertainment events. They will feature wireless camera systems including the ultra-low latency HCAM 4K UHD, MircoLite 2, IMTDragonFly, ClipOn 4, and small handheld receivers for use in arenas and stadiums. This year, IMT Vislink will give show attendees an inside look at its onboard video technology solutions, designed to immerse audiences into the riders’ experience. New to NAB 2019, the company will now be incorporating their 4K UHD technology into their latest generation onboard systems that are used at high profile global race events like MotoGP and MotoAmerica and Formula E. IMT Vislink has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with MotoGP and is their official RF systems supplier, providing onboard, aerial, and pitlane camera transmission and receive systems. It was at the 2015 UK MotoGP World Championship that Vislink delivered the world’s first 4K UHD live wireless transmission.

INTELSAT SU2010

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ntelsat operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network services. Thousands of organizations serving billions of people worldwide rely on Intelsat to provide ubiquitous broadband

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications, and seamless mobility services. The end result is an entirely new world, one that allows us to envision the impossible, connect without boundaries and transform the ways in which we live.

IPTEC SU7921

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Ptec’s VNP-400 contribution H.264 or JPEG2000 encoders and decoders provide the ultimate flexibility for REMI production models.

The system may be optimized for all network types: satellite, SDI and HD-SDI lease lines, dark fiber, and 1 or 10 Gb/s private and public Ethernet networks. The half-rack VNP-400 delivers dualchannel JPEG2000 up to 300 Mb/s approaching virtual lossless video at 150 Mb/s, or H.264 10bit/422 compression up to 80 Mb/s becoming virtual lossless video at 50 Mb/s and the highest uncompressed audio quality SMPTE 302 transmission. The units are capable of integrating IPbased intercom systems and also interface lowlatency four-wire analog or AES/EBU intercom systems enabling significantly less transmission latency, < 10mS improving the overall REMI system performance.

iSTREAMPLANET PALAZZO,

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StreamPlanet continues to expand internationally, adding Spark New Zealand and DirecTV Latin America to its list of customers. Both Spark Sport and DirecTV GO OTT products are built on iStreamPlanet’s OTT direct-to-consumer platform. This year, iStreamPlanet is focused on platform enhancements to increase transparency for their customers through APIs and dashboard monitoring. iStreamPlanet also plans to significantly invest in automation — furthering the stability and scale of their platform — and to enhance their personalization capabilities. Kicking off 2019 with a nod to what they do best, iStreamPlanet partnered with Turner to livestream NCAA March Madness Live. The company’s live linear channel business continues to see massive growth, with thousands of 24x7 channels for customers including NBC Sports, Hulu, fuboTV, Fox, DirecTV, and Turner.

JB&A DISTRIBUTION

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B&A’s Pre-NAB Technology Event is a muststop on everyone’s NAB itinerary. Get handson with the latest technology and trends in broadcast, production, and AV workflows.

Stop by the SLS Las Vegas on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Enjoy pizza and beer with your colleagues — surrounded by today’s latest, cutting-edge technology. Receive hands-on demos of endto-end digital workflow solution sets. Review roadmaps with CEOs in an intimate setting

NAB2019PREVIEW away from the hustle and bustle of the show floor. Whiteboard your workflow! JB&A’s experts will guide you through media workflows that solve key day-to-day problems. Unique specials available to attendees only. Networking with industry professionals just like you. It will be an event you don’t want to miss!

JOSEPH ELECTRONICS

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oseph Electronics (JE) has served the broadcast industry for more than 70 years, not only as an authorized distributor for more than 100 premier broadcast and pro AV brands, but as a specialist in custom fiber assemblies and transport solutions. Equipped with a state-of-the-art fiber lab staffed with Neutrik Certified opticalCON Cable Assemblers and Lemo SMPTE-certified fiber professionals, JE designs, manufactures, and supplies its own innovative fiber solutions and breakout cables using products from premium cable manufacturers such as Belden, Furukawa, and OCC. JE is also a certified fiber repair shop ready to work on any defective fiber cable assembly or breakout, regardless of manufacturer. With those resources in place, JE can quickly fabricate, terminate, or repair any connector, assembly, panel, breakout, or interface in use today. JE’s fiber solutions can be found in prominent fixed and remote broadcast operations throughout the U.S. To meet the demands of the growing IP-based market and provide a bridge to the networking world, JE now includes Dante- and SMPTE 2110-compliant products in its widely recognized custom tote series of configurable fiber-transport solutions.

JVCKENWOOD C4415

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ntroduced last year, the GY-HC900 CONNECTED CAM 2/3-inch broadcast camcorder will include upgrades at NAB 2019. Using a solid-state drive (SSD) mounted in the camera’s expansion slot, users can record HD in the popular ProRes format. Latency has also been reduced, improving the camera’s IP workflow that provides SDI quality streaming performance and Zixi error correction for the most resilient video transport over the internet. Plus, a new sports overlay provides integrated, high-resolution graphics for a number of sports. Camera operators can update scores using a WiFi-connected smartphone or tablet, or receive real-time data automatically in venues where a Sportzcast Scorebot is integrated with the scoreboard. JVC will also demonstrate its new 500 Series of CONNECTED CAM handheld camcorders — the GY-HC500 base model, GYHC550 with advanced streaming and graphics, and GY-HC500SPC sports-production camera — which are designed for live IP production and high-quality 4K acquisition.

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LAWO N2503

Distributed Multiviewer

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awo’s Broadcast 3.0 initiative supports both hybrid and fully IP-based live sports and entertainment production with a comprehensive portfolio unified by VSM and SMART, the industry’s most widely used control and monitoring solutions that enable tight integration between media fabric, core infrastructure, and video- and audio-edge devices. VSM abstracts the physical units from the user providing a single overall control solution featuring seamless baseband and IP integration, unrivaled third-party broadcast and AV equipment control capabilities, and a highly customizable and intuitive user interface. Lawo’s SMART range includes smartDASH vendor-agnostic enterprise software for network and media visibility across an all-IP, all-SDI, or hybrid WAN/LAN infrastructure, and smartSCOPE Deep Packet Inspection and Network Analyzer, a media-agnostic, high-density 24/7 analysis platform for IP flows in live production and delivery. If it’s on the network, SMART will find it, analyze it, and present it with clarity. Lawo will also showcase several new developments with its widely deployed V_matrix native IP scalable routing and processing platform renowned for software-defined functionality, including the infinitely expandable vm_dmv256-8 Distributed Multiviewer that scales linearly to any amount of inputs and heads (including 4K/UHD) with Lawo’s groundbreaking touch-operated configuration system “theWALL” providing an HTML5based drag-and-drop GUI for mosaic configuration with borders, colors, UMDs, tally, and audio metering. Also on-show: The Power CoreRP Remote Audio Mixing Engine, a brand-new range of WAN-capable AoIP nodes, the new mc²56 3rd Generation production console, A__UHD Core ultra-high-density network-based, softwaredefined audio DSP engine, Ruby console, and Power Core mixing platform for radio and audio production.

LEADER INSTRUMENTS

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eader will display waveform monitors and rasterizers that can not only monitor 3G/HD/ SD SDI signals but also have options for 8K, 4K/ UHD, CIE color space, HDR, test signal generation, eye pattern with jitter measurements, closed

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captions, customizable layout, IP and 12G SDI. All waveform monitors and rasterizers also come with Leader’s popular Cinelite and Cinezone to help with luminance issues in production. Leader will also display test pattern/sync generators that output 3G/HD/SD SDI test signals with embedded audio and have black burst, tri-level sync, AES, silence, and word clock outputs. GPS with time code, 12G SDI outputs with 4K, and PTP outputs are available as options. Having helped many customers manage the transition from analog to digital, SD to HD, HD to 4K/UHD, SDR to HDR, and from BT.709 to BT.2020 color space, they can now look to Leader as they transition from SDI to IP and 4K to 8K.

LIMELIGHT NETWORKS

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ports fans want to experience the action as it happens — wherever they are. At NAB 2019, Limelight will be featuring Limelight Realtime Streaming, the first globally scalable solution that delivers live broadcast-quality online video anywhere in the world in less than one second using standard web browsers without special plug-ins.

By integrating real-time data, you can make live sports viewing an interactive social experience that increases fan engagement and offers new opportunities to monetize live streams. Now, fans can receive real-time statistics about the game or their favorite players, vote for the player of the match, wager on who will score next, or choose which camera angle they would like to view — right from their computer or mobile device. Limelight will be demonstrating Realtime Streaming as well as highlighting new enhancements in forensic watermarking, integrated ad serving, and on-demand video delivery.

LIVEU SU4810

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Griiip Car with LU300 HEVC

ith the launch of the super robust, compact LiveU LU300 HEVC field unit and the award-winning LU600 4K HEVC solution, LiveU has created the new standard for video quality and performance. At NAB 2019, LiveU will showcase its full hardware-based HEVC product suite with enhancements such as 4K SDI offerings, built-in global roaming capabilities for hassle-free local and global operation, and video return. LiveU Matrix will take center stage in the booth with daily demonstrations of the next-generation IP cloud video management platform. Alternative sports productions featuring

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NAB2019PREVIEW HEVC and at-home production will also be featured in stage presentations throughout the week. LiveU will also showcase its collaboration with G1 Formula racing manufacturer Griiip, displaying the original G1 entry-level Formula race car with LiveU’s LU300 onboard. Learn how LiveU technology powered the highest speed multi-camera live stream ever and gave fans the ability to select from feeds of the whole race or an individual driver’s car. This year, industry insiders Philip Nelson of Nelco Media and Stream Geeks will take over LiveU’s studio and host daily live shows featuring broadcasters, sports teams, content producers, and NAB exhibitors covering hot topics such as HEVC, wireless at-home production, 5G, AI, and social media live streaming — all in front of a live studio audience. The live shows will be produced using a streamlined mobile production set up — powered by LiveU, PTZOptics, and NewTek.

LTN GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS SU12110

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t NAB 2019, LTN Global will showcase updates to LTN LEAF, a cost-effective, fully managed solution for transmitting or receiving broadcast-quality SD or HD video. Available in a variety of encoder/decoder configurations, the integrated appliance enables ultra-low-latency (<200 ms) live video transport with high reliability and exceptional quality. With recent updates such as HEVC and 1080p60 support, LTN LEAF brings even greater bandwidth efficiency and value to applications including esports broadcast and digital offerings, both linear and digital distribution. LTN LEAF produces high-quality MPEG4/H.264 encoding for fast-motion sports and complex tape playout content at bitrates up to 20 Mbps and supports both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint global transmission. The solution also supports news distribution, enabling access to video from across hundreds of sites across a mesh network. LEAF’s very low latency encode mode facilitates interactive interviews and live shots with lower end-to-end latency (SDI to SDI) than satellite.

MARKERTEK C4740

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ap your show to Markertek’s booth and learn about the unique advantages separating it from the average supplier. See how easy it is to create your own 12G BNC cables with a handson demo and speak to specialists about how you can create a reliable 4K/UHD and IP video infrastructure. Markertek will also feature its newest brand in 2019: My Custom Shop. Its in-house shop has brought over 25 years of experience serving the industry with the finest wall plates, rack panels, patch panels, stadium wall boxes and custom-built products. The time has come for its own name and identity under the Markertek umbrella of high-quality brands. Stock panels at custom quality, that’s My Custom Shop!

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MARSHALL ELECTRONICS

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arshall Electronics highlights the CV420CS 4K Compact Camera and CV380-CS Compact UHD Camera, both newly updated with HDR capabilities, at NAB 2019. The CV420-CS is a true 4K camera that can discretely capture detailed shots, while the CV380-CS is designed for any POV camera application in order to capture compelling angles and viewpoints at every corner of the field, court, track, course, and more. Capturing footage from hard-to-reach areas allows for more accurate game calls, and the ability to broadcast unique points of view that contribute to an elevated spectator experience. In addition to its new cameras, the new V-R241-4K Master Confidence Monitor will be at NAB offering stunning color performance with a wide variety of built-in features, including support for HDR. The V-R241-4K has an impressive 24-inch UHD panel with wide viewing angle that can display resolution inputs all the way up to 4K.

MASSTECH INNOVATIONS

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t NAB 2019, Masstech will demonstrate the flexibility of hybrid cloud with smart, content-aware workflows harnessing the nextgeneration of optimized, tiered storage environments, controlled by Masstech’s storage management solutions. Whether sports organizations are looking to the cloud as a logical next-step in expanding existing storage, or want to break free from the restrictive cloud options of a current archive provider, Masstech is the only video storage management vendor that can link together all storage tiers, providing seamless access to all of your content, across next-generation private and public clouds and existing on-prem archives.

Masstech’s agnostic approach provides users with ultimate flexibility, seamlessly integrating and managing storage tiers from providers that you choose, under a single control layer that interfaces with all of your existing management systems.

No vendor lock-in and no constraints, just proven automated workflows that ensure your assets are always stored in the safest, most cost-efficient location. MassStore enables users to rapidly deploy customized workflows designed specifically for sports environments, as part of an advanced media services framework that can be cloud or hybrid cloud resident. Integrated transcoding capabilities and support for all major wrappers and codecs allow for flexible generation and management of proxies, metadata, and thumbnails.

MAXON SL6324

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t NAB 2019, Maxon will be showcasing its cornerstone 3D application, Cinema 4D which recently received a Sci-Tech Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences specifically for its unprecedented motion graphics toolset. Cinema 4D is renowned for its

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ease of use, legendary stability, and worldwide use by all major sports broadcasting networks. The main stage at Maxon’s booth will feature hourly presentations by artists who will be showcasing their real-world workflows and techniques for creating cutting-edge motion graphics, visual effects, all types of visualization, AR, VR, and more.

MEDIA LINKS

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ith the theme of 100G IP Transport and Beyond, Media Links is launching its new family of 100G media-centric IP switches at NAB 2019. Designed specifically for greater network bandwidth demands and processing multi-cast media streams, these switches achieve extremely fast switching times using a combination of “flow” technologies and feature several unique capabilities including hitless data protection switching. Media Links is also introducing the MDP3040 IP Media Gateway with support for 4K/UHD. Incorporating TICO lightweight compression, broadcasters can use the MDP3040 for both remote venue transport as well as in-studio compression/decompression applications. IPbased transport, switching, and routing solutions from Media Links have continuously served as the backbone of the world’s highest profile live media events for over 15 years. The company’s proven technologies enable the conversion of mission critical, contribution-quality broadcast media signals onto multi-service IP LAN and WAN networks with impeccable transparency, robust resiliency, and zero packet loss.

MEDIAKIND

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t NAB 2019, MediaKind will speak on cloud, OTT, live 360o, platform analytics, latency, and 5G. On the show floor, the company will present the MediaKind Universe, a solution and service portfolio with industry renowned breadth and depth. MediaKind Universe enables content owners and originators, broadcasters, and pay-TV operators to efficiently deliver unique, immersive experiences. MediaKind will demonstrate its leadership in mobile video delivery and explain how it will enable new innovations with 5G through its continued partnership with Ericsson. MediaKind will share experiences from a successful multi-partner collaboration from the 2018 U.S. Open golf tournament, where live 4K HDR video was streamed via 5G. The company will also recreate a groundbreaking event from December 2018, which saw a multi-partner collaboration enable the world’s first multi-channel 6K 360o live sports event during a basketball match in Germany.

MEDIAPRO SL6827

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t NAB 2019, Mediapro will be showcasing a soccer-field-theme booth to demonstrate its integrated solutions for sports broadcasts,

TRUST THE EXPERTS FOR GLOBAL MEDIA DELIVERY

ULTRA HIGHDEFINITION / 4K REMOTE PRODUCTION

LIVE STREAMING

EVENT SERVICES

BRINGING ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER SO YOU CAN FOCUS ON THE CONTENT Aldea provides high-quality video services & solutions, in up to Ultra HD/4K, to any device.

Through its fully managed, end-to-end media technology platform, Aldea specializes in video distribution, contribution and production for the world’s largest sports & entertainment brands, allowing them to provide powerful experiences to consumers worldwide.

FOLLOW ALDEA CEO – LIONEL BENTOLILA AT CMIP Tuesday, April 9 at 12.20 pm & Wednesday, April 10 at 4.00 pm

aldea.tv

BOOTH SU11321CM

NAB2019PREVIEW production solutions, master control room, and delivery operations. With the sports automation system on-site, visitors will be able to test how Mediapro is leading the way in sports production automation innovation. Mediapro will also feature a new aerial camera. The company will also be showing its technology for real-time graphics formats and augmented reality. MediaPro will demonstrate its ability to deliver and integrate playout automation, on-air graphics and video controllers, sports scouting systems, render engines, media tools, MAM, social tools, and video servers systems. The company also provides Live production and master control room integrated solutions that are flexible, scalable, and designed to boost playout automation. Mediapro will feature its channel playout software that allows easy channel creation and optimization. Becoming one of the leaders in sports rights and production, Mediapro’s end-to-end services and capabilities, along with 25 years of experience within the industry, provide the knowledge to adapt to different broadcast necessities and come up with innovative and effective solutions.

MICROSOFT SL6716

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icrosoft and its partners will demonstrate solutions that are empowering new audience experiences with the intelligent cloud. Meet Microsoft and its partners at the Microsoft booth to experience how media companies can leverage the Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud and partner solutions built on Azure to gain sustainable competitive advantage in a changing media environment. Empower journalists and creatives with cloud-based news monitoring and collaboration.

Streamline production processes with cloud-based content management, transcoding, logistics, and editing.Extend reach across devices and platforms with cloud-based global unified playout to any device. Deepen audience engagement and power monetization with cloud-based audience insights solutions. Make the most out of your content by generating metadata with ready-to-use artificial intelligence services for media analytics.

MOBILE TV GROUP

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obile TV Group (MTVG) will be showcasing its latest fully IP mobile unit, 45 FLEX. 45 FLEX is one of the newest and most versatile mobile units, boasting a uniquely comprehensive IP infrastructure with native 2110 connectivity between the cameras, switcher, router, and replay. In addition to considerable weight savings, IP connectivity allows 45 FLEX to easily scale to 4K HDR, add far more sources and destinations, and increase replay capacity. IP 2110 also ushers in an era of substantial connectivity between the mobile unit, the venue, and, most importantly, regional, national, and international networks.

On board 45 FLEX is Grass Valley’s K Frame-X

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switcher with 25GB SFPs allowing for up to 196 4K inputs, Evertz EXE, LDX 86 super slo mos, Canon lenses, and a Calrec audio board. 45 FLEX runs with a B unit/VMU and is one of two pairs of mobile units launched every year by MTVG.

MULTIDYNE C5013

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AB 2019 marks the North American debut of MultiDyne’s next-generation BULLET series. The newest version of the patented, miniature fiber-optic link and signal conversion solution provides interlocked mounting, centralized power, and built-in OLED monitoring. MultiDyne’s BULLET transmitters and receivers are highly portable and economical, making them equally useful for fixed links or last-minute SDI feeds in live sports production. The latest BULLET generation is 12G-capable for high-bandwidth, single-link transport to and from any video source. Built-in cable equalization and re-clocking optimizes signal integrity across all short- and long-distance transport, removing the presence of jitter from existing signals. The product’s integrated OLED monitoring provides consistent performance readings. The daisy-chained mounting options and centralized power are key differentiators from previous BULLET generations and competitive products. Just three inches long, the BULLET connects to the back of any camera, monitor, or other video source, with the ability to add more units without additional cabling.

NAGRA SU3624

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AGRA is a global leader in pay-TV (520M+ subscribers) and Live OTT (28M+ subscribers) through network operators, distributors, and direct to consumers. The myCinema division is a leading supplier of infrastructure and content to the worldwide exhibition market. Through the portfolio of myCinema services and content library, customers embrace alternative, diverse content and other new ways like location-based entertainment (LBE) to increase traffic through their doors. NAGRA is launching a competitive SIM Racing Club comprised of multiple motion simulators, networked together for virtual racing competitions, supporting leagues and connecting brands with competitive gaming fans. The development of the Clubs and League is part of a nextgeneration ‘Location Based Entertainment’ effort across ‘myCinema’ powered theater locations, initially in North America. The turnkey offering includes ticketing, access controls (SKIDATA), loyalty management, and hardware for LBE and streaming content. All offered as a complete onestop solution and service for exhibition operators.

NCAM TECHNOLOGIES

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t NAB 2019, Ncam will present a significant upgrade to its flagship markerless camera tracking system, Ncam Reality. Version 2019.1 dramatically improves efficiency in setup/calibration/ use, replaces legacy components, and optimizes

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the current camera bar to reduce weight. Ncam will also present the latest versions of Real Depth, the unique automated technique for extracting depth data in real-time, and Extreme, which provides enhanced camera tracking for severe lighting conditions. Ncam recently achieved the first-ever example of a wireless RF Steadicam position being deployed to enable live, real-time AR graphics with marker-less camera tracking. This groundbreaking innovation was proven on one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, Super Bowl LIII. By opening up the possibility of this type of limitless tracking, broadcasters can embrace the opportunities of what can be achieved now that untethered AR is becoming a reality.

NEP GROUP

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NEP’s NAB Show booth

or over 30 years, NEP has been a worldwideoutsourced technical production partner supporting premier content producers of live sports, entertainment, music, and corporate events. The company’s services include remote production, studio production, audio/visual solutions, host broadcast support, premium playout, postproduction, and innovative software-based media management solutions. NEP’s 4,000+ employees are driven by a passion for superior service and a focus on technical innovation. NEP has supported productions in 87 countries on all seven continents. Stop by NEP’s new location in the South Upper Hall to see demos of its cloud-based media asset management platform Mediabank, augmented reality, and other services, or to learn more about NEP’s full suite of broadcast, live event, and media solutions including the company’s newest specialty capture and connectivity services.

NET INSIGHT

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et Insight will showcase innovations for more cost-efficient and smarter live transport, streaming, and resource management. The Nimbra 1060 for terabit media networks and world leading density, the key to meeting the shift to new remote and distributed workflows, to cloud resources and to IP-based technologies like SMPTE 2110. At-home production 2.0 solution paired with new technologies like SMPTE 2110 for standard IP connectivity and NMOS IS-06 for network control taking at-home production further with better workflows and easier deploy-

NAB2019PREVIEW ments for any kind of production. Sye, the world’s first live streaming solution, offering a True Live experience on any platform enabling live events to be streamed to millions of global viewers without losing sync and quality. ScheduALL enabling intelligent resource optimization resulting in the performance and flexibility to meet tomorrow’s media network requirements today. Net Insight also presents at NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference.

NEUTRIK USA

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t NAB 2019, Neutrik will introduce its latest addition to the opticalCON family of products. The revolutionary design of this new rugged fiber-optic connector will give users increased capability along with easy cleaning and maintenance. With the introduction of mediaCON, Neutrik brings to the market a true locking solution for USB Type-C connectors. mediaCON is eminently suitable for connecting together devices like hard drives, cameras, video monitors, media capture equipment, audio interfaces, computer hardware, etc. All mediaCON products are designed for data rates up to 10 GB/s (USB 3.1), 100 W of power and 10,000 mating cycles. Also featured will be the new True Outdoor Protection (TOP) range of products for demanding outdoor applications. This new range includes the popular powerCON TRUE1, etherCON, and XLR series.

These ruggedized sealed connectors feature IP 65 weather protection and UV resistance according to UL50E.

NEVION SU5510

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evion is showcasing its media transport, processing, monitoring, and management solutions, which are widely used in the sports production and broadcast industry. This year, Nevion is putting a special emphasis on sharing practical details of real-life case studies, focused around four main areas: IP in the facilities, remote production (REMI), contribution, and digital terrestrial distribution. For example, Nevion is showing how one customer remote produces seven NHL games simultaneously; how another has made horse-race coverage profitable through remote-production; or another is using an all-IP network to produce its top soccer league show.

These case studies also highlight how Nevion has worked with every leading switch vendor, including Arista, Cisco, Juniper, and Mellanox. Case study demos on the booth are based on Nevion’s flagship products: Virtuoso, the software-driven media node platform, and VideoIPath, the orchestration and SDN control software — both of which will feature their latest software upgrades.

NEWTEK SL5016

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DI 4.0: The world of video has moved to software, computers, and networks. In addition, with NewTek NDI, customers all over the world

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are enabling video devices to be automatically detected, linked, and made able to share content in real time across a network. Since its release 3.5 years ago, NDI implementation has focused on software applications running on computer devices and has received massive traction, bringing IP video to millions of users within thousands of products. NDI now includes an embedded software development kit (SDK) for manufacturers of video devices including cameras, monitors, converters, game consoles, video conferencing solutions, projectors, smart boards, and more. The NDI Embedded SDK extends the IP video revolution to content creators in multiple industries including broadcasting, AV, enterprise, media, gaming, and more. Now, NewTek will unveil its latest advancement, NDI 4.0 at NAB 2019 — the next leap in enhancing the NDI experience and furthering of end-to-end IP video.

NEXSAN SL15413

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exsan, a StorCentric Company, has been delivering storage solutions for media-intensive workflows for 20 years with a broad product line of unified storage, block storage, and secure archiving. The unique and patented technology addresses the challenges of performance, reliability, and security, providing complete storage support throughout the media lifecycle. Nexsan’s robust portfolio of storage solutions are designed to combat the ever-growing and changing requirements supporting multiple streams of 4K, 8K, and DPX workflows providing content creators the performance in various stages from video ingest, editing, postproduction, and archive.

NOVELSAT SU9505

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ovelsat will demonstrate the most bandwidth-efficient satellite modems, modulators, and demodulators. Learn more about the ProtCASTER, the PCIe OEM Modulator and Demodulator Cards that integrates into any PC-based headend platform; the NS4 waveform, which is up to 32% efficiency gain over DVB-S2X; the NovelNet NMS full-featured network management and bandwidth scheduling system; and the Interference Mitigation Package for the most consistently reliable satellite signals.

NTT ELECTRONICS AMERICA

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TT Electronics will exhibit HC11000 Series and MV7000 with Camera Control at the NTT Group booth, together with NTT R&D and friends. HC11000 is NTT Electronics’ HEVC multi-channel, 4K HDR real-time encoder. It has the capability to transmit broadcasting quality in low bit rate, low latency, with low power consumption. HC11000 has the scalable capability from SD to HD and to 4K 60p. MV7000 is the brand-new compact 1U half-rack size HEVC IP codec, which provides high-quality video IP/ASI transmission with low bit rate and low latency. It

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supports various IP-related functions, which enables stable and reliable live IP transmission and camera control. NTT’s promising stability and quality products supports the Olympics, World Cup, and other world-class sporting events. The company’s product can help reduce bandwidth and save operational cost while maintaining high quality. And the next Olympics will be in Tokyo.

See you again in 2020!

OBJECT MATRIX

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bject Matrix has pioneered object storage since 2003. Their combination of storage domain expertise and knowledge of the sports media industry has led to the new MatrixStore Hybrid solution being announced during NAB 2019. The solution combines media focused onprem object storage and public, or private cloud providing seamless access to sports archive content. Whether on-prem or in the public cloud, the interface provides a single view of assets, browsing of proxies, sharing options, metadata control, and much more. The new MatrixStore Hybrid solution enables sports organizations to benefit from working locally, sharing globally, and keeping control of operational budgets. Other announcements include a new petabyte MatrixStore node increasing density (10 Petabytes in a single rack) for customers migrating away from legacy LTO libraries in order to benefit from having high-speed access to all their entire sports archive. Customers include: MSG-N, DAZN, Sky, Miami Heat, and the WRU.

OOYALA SV1000

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oyala will unveil a whole new OoyalaMAM user experience at NAB 2019. This completely fresh look and feel is based on feedback from sports content creators, distributors, and other high-volume customers. State-of-theart search and filtering make asset discovery a breeze, and the updated architecture is perfect for remote production and redundancy. Integrated with the Ooyala Flex Media Platform, the new OoyalaMAM is the essential tool for today’s sports broadcast and production industry. OoyalaREACH, the leading OTT content prep and delivery solution, will unwrap new ways to prepare content for OTT delivery of custom experiences.

Also coming at NAB 2019: new features for the Ooyala Flex Media Platform, including stronger security and enhanced IMF support.

OPENDRIVES SL3824

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penDrives builds the highest performing shared storage solutions for postproduction, remote production and broadcasting workflows.

From Hollywood to healthcare, customers see significant workflow performance increases with OpenDrives. For creative production teams, storage has become the center of the workflow as the facilitator in shared content creation en-

Professional Solutions

THE STUDIO

TECHNOLOGY CENTER

THE TEAM

Building on B&H’s long history of superior service, The Studio is a unique solution-based environment dedicated to all professional market segments.

A revolutionary center created to provide a hands-on experience to high-end professionals. The Technology Center is a fully operational studio with an extensive display of high-end products and state of the art workflows.

A highly skilled team of applications specialists, sales engineers, project managers and account representatives, all assembled to create a formidable group of individuals, most of them active members of the professional community.

SERVICES CONSULTATION SYSTEM DESIGN SYSTEM INTEGRATION PRE- & POST-SALES SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY DEMOS

420 9th Ave. New York, NY 10001 212.502.6370 BandH.com/thestudio thestudio@BandH.com

Follow The Studio on Linkedin

Become a fan of The Studio on Facebook

Follow The Studio on Twitter

The Studio-B&H is a proud SMPTE member since 2009 NYC DCA Electronics Store Lic.#0906712; NYC DCA Electronics & Home Appliance Service Dealer Lic. #0907905; NYC DCA Secondhand Dealer – General Lic. #0907906 © 2019 B & H Foto & Electronics Corp.

NAB2019PREVIEW vironments enabling teams to deliver content faster than ever before. For BlizzCon in 2018, OpenDrives supported the global broadcast team in their master control room, know as the “Post Hub” with a reliable and stable 500 TB NAS (Apex, all flash and Summit archive, NVME hybrid) backbone for the production teams to work in real-time on high-resolution broadcast content. OpenDrives builds network attached storage (NAS) and workflow solutions that empower the world’s leading media and entertainment companies to push the limits of technology and discover new efficiencies in their creative workflows and business models.

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

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ounded in 1983, Optical Cable Corporation pioneered the design and production of fiberoptic cables for the most demanding military field applications, as well as fiber-optic cables suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The company’s current broad product offering is built on the evolution of these fundamental technologies, and is designed to provide end-users with fiber-optic cables that are easy and economical to install, provide a high degree of reliability and offer outstanding performance characteristics.

PANASONIC C3607

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anasonic, the leader in live production, is showcasing solutions to change the landscape of sports production. The innovative 8K ROI (Region of Interest) multi-camera system allows up to four different HD images to be produced from a single 8K camera. Demo the new AW-UE150, the industry’s first 4K 60P integrated PTZ camera, and the AG-CX350, the industry’s lightest 4K 10-bit camcorder. Review Panasonic’s full line of 4K and HD studio, cinema, field, pan/tilt/zoom, and handheld cameras.

PCCW GLOBAL

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CCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, provides high speed, on-demand media connectivity with its Console Connect service, the industry’s first software-defined interconnection platform powered by a Tier 1 global network available in 150 countries. Console Connect’s intuitive software allows sports media companies to create direct, private, and secure connections instantaneously to key media hubs, studios, remote production sites, data centers, and key cloud service providers globally. PCCW Global’s Tier 1 global IP network lets you to bypass the public internet, connecting you to key partners over an uncontended, low-latency network connection.

Console Connect enables customers to fire up Layer 2 network connections seamlessly

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to other users and eliminates the complexity of standard network configuration. Complex media workflows and bulky video data transfers can now be managed efficiently with flexible bandwidth, on demand, and pricing options suitable for those covering short-term sporting events

PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES

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liant Technologies’ CrewCom wireless intercom system features excellent voice quality, the industry’s smallest fully featured professional full-duplex radio packs, multiple simultaneous frequency bands, as well as a host of user features.

The latest version of CrewCom will be on display at NAB 2019, featuring the system’s new Fiber Hub as well as enhanced firmware enabling numerous new features. Pliant will also demonstrate the latest model of the SmartBoom LITE headset, which includes enhancements to overall audio quality.

CrewCom is based on a technology platform that offers the highest wireless user counts, unparalleled range, and unprecedented scalability for a range of broadcast, live sound, installation, and industrial projects. The system’s reliability and award-winning ergonomic radio pack design have been proven in use in award shows, broadcast environments, and live events. CrewCom wireless products give the ability to easily put globalfriendly, dependable RF coverage where needed, with a consistent user interface throughout.

ductionHUB has grown beyond a simple directory into the most trusted resource for finding qualified and experienced crew, vendors, and employees. ProductionHUB is your film and video production partner.

PSSI/STRATEGIC TV

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QUANTUM

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SSI Global Services is the leading provider of transmission, event management, and engineering solutions for live broadcasts around the globe. With an impressive fleet of more than 70 satellite uplink/production trucks, 24/7 teleport services, and the ability to support at-home, multipath, and 4K productions, PSSI is a trusted partner for the world’s most prominent broadcasters and content producers, including WWE, Golf Channel, and NASCAR. PSSI’s contributions to NASCAR’s groundbreaking at-home productions earned a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award this year. PSSI continues to expand its connectivity and infrastructure at the PSSI International Teleport, recently completing the installation of a full-time, bidirectional circuit between PIT and Sydney Teleport. Through its strategic partnerships with AT&T and Nextologies, the company has significantly expanded its fiber connectivity and data storage capabilities and has launched the PSSI IPx platform for cutting-edge IP transport solutions.

PRIMESTREAM SL7920

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uring an explosion in content production that is ushering in a new era of media production, Primestream will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new market-focused vision, technology updates, and an overhauled brand identity, all parts of a new strategy that builds on Primestream’s existing strengths. At NAB 2019, Primestream will feature product enhancements and innovative workflow to optimize media creativity and improve productivity. Visitors will be able to see first-hand how Primestream has improved 4K UHD workflow, updated its IP capture technology, and rolled out a 64-bit end-to-end architecture bringing increased performance and reliability for capturing, rending, and transcoding media. Primestream is also opening up its API beta program to everyone for the first time, paving the way for customized workflows using Primestream tools already delivering over 100 integrations with leading third-party solutions.

PRODUCTIONHUB C8632

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roductionHUB is a global network of local crew and vendors that serves the film and video production industry. Find and hire anything you need, whether it’s a camera operator for one day, a video editor for one month, or a full-time producer. Since launching in 1999, Pro-

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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F-Series

ntroduced in 2019, Quantum’s new F-Series storage solutions based on NVMe technology will drastically change the economics of flash-based storage — offering organizations both greater performance and significantly improved cost-effectiveness. Quantum’s new Fseries offers customers over 20GB/s read and write performance — best-in-class for this kind of solution. And, just as important, are the new levels of affordability for flash-based devices.

As the sports broadcast industry is increasingly producing high-resolution, high-frame-rate video content, significant demands are being placed on the underlying storage infrastructure supporting these workflows. To keep pace with these requirements, many organizations are turning to all-flash storage solutions that can power high stream count and 4K/8K content workflows. However a majority of these solutions are extremely expensive for the capacity they offer, and are therefore most suitable for compressed content that takes up less storage capacity. By leveraging NVMe over fabrics (NVMeoF), now multiple clients can utilize

NEVER MISS YOUR SHOT CAPTURE ALL OF THE ACTION WITH Tactical | SMPTE | Cables & Hardware Delivering the signal quality demanded by Sport Broadcasters worldwide.

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sales@camplex.com

800-445-7568

NAB2019PREVIEW pooled NVMe storage devices across a network at local speeds and latencies. The underlying storage is presented as a dynamic block volume, yet as the entire environment is tightly integrated with Quantum’s StorNext file system, all data is accessible by multiple clients in a global namespace. F-Series solutions offer the best of both worlds — extremely high-performance NVMe flash-based storage, with the cost-efficiency of shared resources. When coupled with StorNext’s ability to provide access to this data in a coordinated manner across economical ethernet networking, organizations will be able to extract the highest value from their storage infrastructure.

QUANTUM5X SYSTEMS

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uantum5X Systems develops and manufactures innovative wireless microphone solutions for sports broadcasting, TV and film production, and live entertainment. New for 2019 are the true diversity, ultra-wideband (470 MHz-698 MHz) QR-3200 Dual Channel Rackmount and QR-M3 Mobile (ENG style) receivers. Also new this year, Q5X RefMic’s with an integrated mute switch have been deployed to all 31 NHL arenas. Q5X PlayerMics remain the standard for NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, and Rugby, where mic’d up packages are expected in the broadcast. Q5X AquaMic “long life transmitters” (up to 16 hours runtime, and waterproof!) are buried in the field for MLB games and in golf holes for the PGA U.S. Open. Q5X wireless solutions all utilize RCAS, which provides wireless remote control of all transmitter functions. When size, quality, and safety matter, Q5X is the rugged, safe and comfortable choice for your most demanding wireless audio challenges.

QUMOLO SL12111

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umulo delivers the performance of SAN coupled with the efficiency, ease of use, and simplicity of NAS. Qumulo is rapidly being adopted as sports and broadcast productions deal with one of the most challenging digital workflows: absolutely zero tolerance for downtime while managing petabytes of data that is searched, clipped, and broadcast regularly. All being done while millions of people are watching. Qumulo’s high-performance file storage delivers all-flash performance with the economics of high-capacity disk storage. The linearly scalable solution can be tailored to meet increasingly demanding workloads by simply adding more nodes, with no disruption or downtime.

Qumulo provides the most cost-effective, failproof protection for production data through the use of erasure coding. This provides 100% utilization of purchased storage capacity, resulting in maximum capacity utilization. Unified

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tercom system, this year’s new products will enable entirely new workflows while bridging the gap between baseband and IP-based broadcast environments. And there may be a surprise or two, as well! Riedel will also feature their Bolero wireless intercoms in both Artist-integrated and standalone versions. The standalone version, when paired with the NSA-002A stream converter, allows for easy integration into existing systems while an integrated GUI provides for drag-and-drop configuration and programming. Finally, don’t miss Riedel’s MediorNet real-time signal network and the newest member of the MicroN App family, the Processing App. Featuring color correction; up-, down-, cross- conversion; and multiviewer capabilities, this app further extends the possibilities of the MediorNet ecosystem while eliminating the need for single-purpose accessories. The IP App, another of the five apps currently available for use with MicroN, transforms MicroN into an IP Gateway that allows users to easily bridge their MediorNet networks directly into SMPTE 2110 IP environments.

SU2202

ROSS VIDEO

data accessibility and real-time analytics are built in to provide visibility and insight into data usage and performance.

RADIO ACTIVE DESIGNS

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adio Active Designs’ UV-1G wireless intercom system features body packs that operate in the VHF band, freeing up valuable space for wireless systems that require limited UHF bandwidth. The spectrally efficient system offers seamless roaming for 600 meters with body packs that provide loud and clear audio even at the extreme end of the range. Scene Change feature allows each pack to have up to 40 talk paths and communicate with 20 wired comm channels. Base Linking affords matrix-like functionality with up to 18 inputs/24 outputs and comprehensive audio routing to/from packs. Users can easily change belt pack parameters including radio frequencies, button assignment, talk paths, and audio channel via software with intuitive UI. Radio Active Designs also offers a full range of VHF antenna products and accessories to compliment the system.

W

ith the latest version of its media production platform Reach Engine, Levels Beyond is tackling the challenge of building youth audiences for traditional sports teams and leagues. In supporting a busier content pipeline, and helping content creators expand into the VOD, OTT, and non-gameday production scenes, Levels Beyond is taking a page from the esports playbook and applying it to traditional sports with a tool that handles much of the heavy lifting. Far more powerful than a traditional MAM or DAM, Reach Engine brings game-changing automations and orchestrations to enable sports organizations to get more done with less human resources. Visit Levels Beyond reps for a demonstration at both the Amazon Web Services booth (SU2202) and at the Wasabi booth (SL14508), and to talk about how Reach Engine’s functionality addresses your biggest challenges.

RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS

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New MediorNet Processing App

t NAB 2019, Riedel will showcase its latest cutting-edge solutions addressing customers’ biggest technical challenges. Pivoting off the massive success of the Bolero wireless in-

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

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Ross Video solutions power the fan experience.

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nce again, the Ross Sports & Live Event Solution presentation will be a main feature at NAB 2019. The end-to-end Ross Sports & Live Event Solution includes everything from ingestion (PTZ cameras and robotic camera systems), to production (motion graphics, augmented reality, and production switchers), content and production management (video servers, facility and production control systems) and display control (multi-display real-time graphics and LED video processors); providing you with the highest possible quality content and operational workflow for fan engagement and sponsor messaging. Create stunning graphics and update them in realtime via Ross’ XPression 3D motion graphics system. Integrate augmented reality, scoring, around the league statistics, social media, closed captioning, and more. Unified production, LED display, and total venue control including lighting, audio, mechanical, and more are made possible via the Ross DashBoard Control System — and production management, including social media management is handled by Ross Inception Live. Ross’ Tria Production Servers and Mira Replay provide lightning fast clip recalls and super slow mo. Infinite canvas sizes are possible using XPression Tessera — the magic behind Mercedes-Benz Sta-

NAB2019PREVIEW dium’s impressive Halo Board. Ross Sports & Live Event Solutions are proven and scalable. Ross powers 58% of NFL venues in U.S., and 45% of combined U.S. venues for MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLS. And it’s not just professional teams.

Ross also has solutions for mid and small market franchises including colleges and high schools.

Software defined products let you change and update functionality via software license for the ultimate future-proof solution.

RT SOFTWARE

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AB 2019 will see two major product launches from RT Software with brand-new solutions for sports analysis and overlay graphics. Tactic Advanced is the first of RT Software’s next-generation family of sports analysis and telestration solutions and will be shown for the first time at NAB 2019.

Formed from years of experience working with the world’s largest sports broadcasters, ease of use is promised with features such as editable motion paths, composite graphics, and automatic keying and camera tracking. Users can easily change styles of graphics in interfaces to match their in-house style and guarantee their brand. The new on-air graphics solution “Swift” is built on the heritage of RT Software’s expertise in live 3D graphics, and creates live on-air overlay graphics of the highest quality but with an intuitive creation tool that is easy to master and one that designers will feel at home with straight away.

SANKEN/BRAINSTORM ELECTRONICS C6644

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erformance, reliability, and outstanding sonic quality characterize Sanken microphones for professionals in broadcast, film, live, and video applications. The COS-11D ultra-miniature lavalier mics with their legendary vertical capsule design are an industry staple. Introducing the new CMS-M50, an M-S version of the popular CS-M1 short super cardioid 4” mic, with the rejection of a shotgun and quality of a studio mic. Ten Sanken shotgun microphones offer a mic to meet every need: mono, stereo, and 5.0. Featuring superior off-axis rejection, they are the new industry standard for high quality production work.

Brainstorm Electronics products, from time code to sync and clocks, promote fast, reliable, and efficient workflow in the studio. The NEW DXD-16 universal clock is a PTP grandmaster clock and a multi-format legacy reference generator with 16 universal outputs. While working in a PTP environment, the DXD-16 keeps legacy equipment perfectly synchronized with the IP infrastructure, or vice-versa.

SENNHEISER C1307

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ennheiser has always been at the forefront of broadcast technology — from industry standard broadcast headsets to the legendary shotgun

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mics. The desire to push the boundaries of technology continues from the latest in digital miniature bodypacks (the new SK 6212) down to a new entrylevel digital wireless system that completely revolutionizes accessible wireless, XS Wireless Digital. Visit Sennheiser at NAB 2019 to see these products plus Sennheiser’s latest developments in audio for virtual reality (the AMBEO VR Mic) as well as some exciting new prototypes. Experience the future of audio.

SES SU1410

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nnovative pay-TV television networks and pay-TV distributors are launching their commercial 4K Ultra HD services on SES’ successful Ultra HD platform. SES, the world’s leading satellite operator and video distribution provider, will demonstrate its pre-packaged 4K Ultra HD solution featuring a compelling channel lineup, satellite delivery, and reception gear. The world’s largest single source of linear 4K content, SES will reveal the latest programming featured on the Ultra HD platform. The Country Network, Travelxp 4K, C4K360, Fashion One 4K, Insight TV, NatureVision TV 4K, 4KUNIVERSE, UHD1, and NASA TV UHD are among the first full-time 4K Ultra HD channels available today. RCN launched its 4K service on the SES platform in February, and Fox Sports introduced its first national 4K sports coverage with SES last fall, leveraging SES’ Live 4K Events channel to offer live coverage of Major League Baseball Postseason games and NCAA college football games. iNDEMAND also distributed live championship boxing last year on the SES 4K Ultra HD platform.

SHOFLO N3924

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hoflo is a real-time rundown software for sports game presentation teams and live event broadcast. Over 300 professional and collegiate production teams build their game scripts and rundowns in Shoflo every day and over 5,000 live events used Shoflo in 2018. Ditch Excel and start using Shoflo to build your production schedules and rundowns today!

SHOTOVER C1313

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HOTOVER is a developer of high-performance camera systems and UAVs for the motion picture and broadcast industries. The company’s line of gyro-stabilized camera platforms offers aerial cinematographers an unprecedented level of stability, control, and versatility in a compact package easily configured for 2D, 3D, and Ultra HD shooting with the world’s most advanced cameras and lenses. Developed in partnership with the motion picture industry’s top aerial cinematographers, SHOTOVER systems are fully user upgradable, allowing operators to utilize new professional cameras, lenses, and accessories as they come to market.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

SHURE C6015

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hure is a leading manufacturer of microphones and audio electronics. Over the years, the company has designed and produced many high-quality professional and consumer audio products that have become legendary for performance, reliability, and value. Shure’s diverse product line includes world-class wired microphones, wireless microphone systems, in-ear personal monitoring systems, conferencing and discussion systems, networked audio systems, award-winning earphones and headphones, and top-rated phonograph cartridges.

SIGNIANT SL10216

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t NAB 2019, Signiant will launch its brandnew Jet solution. Built on Signiant’s SaaS platform, Jet brings the company’s powerful, enterprise-grade system-to-system file transfer capabilities to small and mid-sized organizations. Companies with multiple locations, or that regularly exchange large data sets with partners will benefit from Jet’s unprecedented speed and intuitive visual interface. Jet makes the process of automating and monitoring file transfers simple, fast, and cost effective. Capable of multi-Gbps transfer speeds, Jet employs Signiant’s fastest transport yet; a new patent-pending, intelligent, self-learning mechanism that optimizes recurring, time-critical transfers. Jet’s lights-out automated file transfers bridge the gap between time zones and locations, allowing fast and reliable file transfers across any distance and easing the pressure of today’s fast paced content creation and distribution cycle. Offering the industry’s highest security and performance standards, Jet enables the next evolution of automated, global workflows for any sized business.

SIMPLYLIVE N3427

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implylive continues to lead the way with intelligent and intuitive solutions for content creators to establish new production models for programming across many delivery platforms.

Simplylive will bring the latest updates to NAB 2019 including the award-winning ViBox Production platform, which continues to deliver on cost-effective, professional results with a range of scalable configurations. The ViBox SloMo will highlight networking across servers and the latest editing advances around the dedicated replay remote and touchscreen user experience. The ViBox SloMo solution will be the next game changer in the replay market with full features at a fraction of the cost, including solutions for 4K and IP 2110. The Ref&Box system for officials, referees, and coaching review applications will also be on display with new updates including versatile user role management. Also come see the ViBox Mini and Micro platforms as well as the BMR and MMR media recorders.

NAB Booth #c2330

LIVE & LOCAL Local TV Station Newsgathering WDAY goes further with Comrex LiveShot. For everything from local news to sports coverage, LiveShot’s size and versatility makes it easy to do more.

The mobility that LiveShot provides is incredible. We can do a shoot at the drop of a hat. It’s made my job as a news director better, it’s made our reporters better, and it’s made our programming better.

- Jeff Nelson, News Director

LiveShot

LiveShot Features:

Real-time ENG that goes beyond bonded cellular

Live, two-way, HD video and audio over IP

• Two USB ports • Less than 200mS delay for two-way broadcast (depending on network factors) • Full-duplex cue channel

Want an in-depth look at WDAY’s setup?

Watch the case study at www.comrex.com/liveshot/wday

• CrossLock VPN technology for secure and stable broadcasting • Highly portable — 3 lbs, camera mounted, runs on phantom battery power • Works over 3G/4G networks, Wi-Fi, wired broadband IP connections, Inmarsat BGAN and VSAT terminals

1-978-784-1776 WWW.comrex.com

Proudly Made in USA

NAB2019PREVIEW SONY C11001

suite of media and entertainment storage solutions, including the new Spectra Stack, an awardwinning modern tape library, that safely protects and stores valuable content, while ensuring that it’s available and shareable, without the costs and complexities associated with legacy archives.

SPEEDCAST/GLOBECOMM SU13310

Sony cameras capture sports’ biggest events.

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ony will showcase the new HDC-3100/3500 shoulder and HDC-P50 POV Camera Systems.

The cameras feature the world’s first global shutter 4K 2/3-inch three CMOS sensor system (HDC3500/HDC-P50), and a newly developed global shutter HD HDR optical block (HDC-3100/HDC3170). All cameras offer Rec 2020 color space.

The cameras offer sports content creators unprecedented flexibility with a choice of form factors, fiber, triax, or wireless operation, as well as simultaneous HDR and SDR out from one production ecosystem. Sony will also present two new low-cost production switcher packages, the XVS-F1 and XVS-F2, designed for affordable live production.

These 3G-capable, 4K-ready, and IP-ready packages include the essence of Sony’s high-end XVS series switcher, but in a pack with features such as 8 keyers per M/E; 2 inputs with format converter and frame synchronizer; 24 outputs; 20-ch. frame memory; 2-ch. multiviewer; and tally, GPI/O, and device control. They also include a powerful key resizer (2.5D DME), input format converter and frame synchronizer. Another highlight is the BVMHX310, a 31-inch 4K HDR reference monitor for scene-referred live HDR workflow. The monitor supports all major wide color gamut and distribution formats. It also supports SMPTE ST 2084 and ITU-R BT.2100. It features 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, for the accurate reproduction of high contrast images. Beyond products, Sony’s interconnected Intelligent Media Services are solving real-world problems helping sports organizations, broadcast stations, and production companies streamline their onpremise and cloud-based workflows making them more efficient.

SPECTRA LOGIC

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odernize your sports video workflow in 2019 with Spectra’s BlackPearl NAS and object storage solutions. Easy to use and built to scale, BlackPearl provides sports organizations with efficiency, control, openness, collaboration, and ongoing value. The simple, cost-effective solution allows for the seamless staging of content on multiple tiers of storage according to business needs. It scales easily to accommodate environments ranging from small sports production sites to the largest sports networks, teams, leagues, and universities. Check out Spectra’s full

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riven by its customer-first mindset and passion for leveraging communications technology to advance the government and enterprise customers it serves, Speedcast has built an unsurpassed global satellite network and support infrastructure that spans across every region in the world. Speedcast know that it’s the people behind the technology that make the difference to the customers it serves. Combining its deep expertise with fast, reliable service is at the core of everything Speedcast does — ensuring that Speedcast always meets its customers’ communications needs, when and wherever required.

SPORTZCAST SL5616

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ince 2008, Sportzcast has been providing automated workflow tools for organizations ranging from major broadcast companies, to collegiate and high school education institutions, professional, and international sporting venues, to single camera streaming productions.

With venue connections reaching into the thousands, there’s a good chance you’ve already seen a Sportzcast score feed, but you would never know it. That is because Sportzcast puts the power of the data in your hands to increase the value of your product. Sportzcast prides itself on being the fastest, most accurate data source within your production environment.

TAG V.S.

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AG’s MCM-9000 software-only, all IP-based UHD Multiviewer and Monitoring system combines sophisticated technology with simple operation to deliver features and functionality crucial to sports broadcasters. The solution is uniquely optimized to address the SMPTE ST2022-6/2110 standard in HD and 4K/UHD sources at the input; with HD and UHD outputs available as 2022-6/2110 uncompressed, and/or MPEG-TS, and simultaneously HLS output to allow mobility/ viewing outside the MCR/NOC. Multiple formats are supported on the same platform at the input and output enabling the MCM-9000 to adapt to the whole ecosystem of sports broadcasters without changing equipment. Supported formats include: 2022-6/7 and 2110 SDI over IP uncompressed; MPEG-TS compressed (including TR-01 JPEG2000); and OTT (HLS and MPEG-DASH) sources. NAB visitors will see new functionality that supports UHD (4K) 60P 12G at the Mosaic output, and the addition of rich, colorful Tally/ UMD with TSL and/or TAG API protocols.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

TATA COMMUNICATIONS

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he media industry is shifting to an IP-led digital world and as consumers change the way they consume content. Tata Communications has been leveraging the world’s largest IP network infrastructure and its media solutions portfolio to partner with customers in their journey towards making digital work for their business. At NAB 2019, Tata will showcase its Media Ecosystem — a global media platform that provides an end-toend solution to customers’ media needs. Tata will also present case studies on how it is helping customers like Star, Sony, Formula1, MotoGP, etc. to make live sports production scalable and cost efficient through remote production; how content owners are leveraging Tata’s cloud infrastructure to deliver content to consumers anywhere, anytime; and how broadcasters are using Tata Communications global video network to reach audiences anywhere in the world.

TEDIAL SU1924

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edial’s big news for NAB 2019 is that SMARTLIVE, the world’s most comprehensive live sports and event solution, is shipping! Attendees got a peek at SMARTLIVE at NAB 2018 where it received a Best of Show award, and over the past months it has been beta tested and deployed in rigorous proof-of-concept demonstrations.

SMARTLIVE not only delivers better sports storytelling, it does it automatically! Featuring cutting-edge AI tools, SMARTLIVE leverages its unique metadata engine to automate media management tasks from remote logging and clip creation to distribution — including tight integration with digital platforms and social media.

SMARTLIVE is the only solution to automate the event metadata ingest process; automatically provision a production environment for your production team; provide multiple, instantaneous live searches to bring historical media and informational archives to the live event; and automatically generate personalized game and season highlights, and feed campaigns to social medias. SMARTLIVE also provides measurable financial advantages. It allows the production team to create more content leading to increased fan engagement and additional revenue. It also permits quicker access to content allowing a shift to more affordable digital models. It’s storytelling, at a fraction of the cost.

TEKTRONIX SU5006

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ektronix will showcase innovative solutions that ensure content quality, signal integrity, and regulatory compliance as the transition to next-generation networks, workflows, and delivery solutions. Visit the Tektronix booth to see the latest advances in hybrid IP and SDI media-

CREATING LARGER THAN LIFE MOMENTS EVERY MOMENT MATTERS | DAKTRONICS.COM/PROFESSIONALSERVICES

NAB2019PREVIEW analysis solutions, 4K UHD with HDR videomonitoring solutions, and quality assurance in a virtual or cloud environment. See first hand the PRISM hybrid SDI/IP platform and Sentry video-quality-monitoring software with real-time picture quality analysis. Tektronix delivers innovative, precise, and easy-to-operate test, measurement, and monitoring solutions that solve problems, unlock insights, and drive discovery.

Tektronix has been at the forefront of the digital age for more than 70 years.

open up an even wider array of communication possibilities. Dashboard Advanced adds support for multiple log-ins with user permission management, meaning each member of a team can have access to varying levels of functionality with full accountability. The new software also allows for an unlimited number of devices and groups, zone view and scenes, and AES67 and SAP discovery. Its integration with Telos VX phone systems even expands system reach to areas with existing hardware, reducing upgrade costs.

TELESTREAM SL3308

TELSTRA SU6110

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elestream will demonstrate significant new products and workflows that address key issues for content creators, owners, and distributors across the entire media life cycle from creation to distribution. These issues include growing revenue, achieving best-in-class cost structure, and reducing customer churn. Telestream’s Orchid Initiative will be demonstrated, enabling faster time to market for service providers and content creators with “instant” channel creation and integrated video monitoring throughout the solution to create smart infrastructures with dynamic scale. Video monitoring technology from Telestream iQ solutions, as well as streaming technology from Lightspeed Live Stream, are leveraged creating a unique, containerized, OTT video workflow orchestration and monitoring solution. Vantage Cloud Port allows seamless Cloud execution of Vantage processing actions. New hybrid media processing workflows will be demonstrated for content creators and distributors that can easily run processes on premises or in the cloud depending on where the media currently resides or will reside. Vantage Cloud Port builds upon Vantage, allowing customers to modify workflows at any time, without any workflow onboarding. Users can startup and scale quickly to the cloud whenever required using containerized micro services with engines identical to on-prem services all while having a pricing structure that is predictable and competitive.

TELOS ALLIANCE

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he latest advancement in IP intercom communication by The Telos Alliance, Telos Infinity Anywhere, will bring production teams — often separated by states, countries, or even continents — closer together by seamlessly extending the reach and usability of Telos Infinity IP Intercom through site-to-site connectivity over WAN, including the Internet. No longer bound by the speed or physical limitations of a dedicated network, Infinity Anywhere brings the rest of the world directly into the matrix-free Infinity ecosystem, making critical communication faster, easier, and more accessible than ever before. This, paired with The Telos Alliance’s powerful new Telos Infinity Dashboard Advanced software, will

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elstra will be showcasing one of the world’s most powerful networks along with innovative media solutions and broadcast services at NAB 2019. Visit the Telstra Broadcast Services team for an interactive demo of the Telstra Global Media Network, and to learn more about the worldwide Telstra GMN Alliance Partnerships.

Talk to Telstra about their remote production solutions, as well as check out the latest Globecam mini live cameras, including NetCam. The Telstra Stand will also feature for the first time a special LTE-B showcase demo brought to you by the Telstra media engineering team. Telstra Broadcast Services has had a great year delivering high value sports and special events content around the world in innovative ways for their customers. Meet with Telstra at NAB 2019 to see how the company can help take your content global.

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eradek is a global leader in live streaming, point-to-point, IP video, and wireless video technologies for the sports broadcast industry.

Teradek solutions are used by broadcast divisions in the NBA, NFL, MLB, U.S. Olympic teams, and much more. Live sports demands more from their technology than any other industry, and Teradek is committed to meeting those needs.

Teradek point-to-point video codecs deliver robust live video from the field to broadcast stations anywhere in the world over the public internet.

The latest solution, 4G LTE bonding, allows professionals to deploy redundant internet networks to guarantee rock-solid streaming from virtually any location, whether in congested areas or remote locations. Also manage an entire fleet of simultaneous video streams through Teradek’s integrated cloud platform, Core.

THE STUDIO – B&H

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uring NAB 2019, The Studio-B&H will showcase a wide range of solutions for all segments of the broadcast, digital cinema production, and postproduction industries. A small movie-type set featuring lighting, camera, and optics for digital cinema will be on display. This will include top-of-the-line Super 35 and large sensor camera technology available from ARRI, RED, Canon, Sony, and Panasonic. On-set work-

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flows and live production will feature an emphasis on HDR integration. One of The Studio’s bestin-show systems, the DynamiCam 3D-motion cable camera system will also be deployed, with all broadcast environments front and center. The Studio-B&H will strengthen its long-term commitment to the postproduction, visual effects, and computer graphics communities by being present in the South Hall in 2019. A wide range of solutions will be showcased, from 8K postproduction with Nvidia, RED, and HP, all the way to interactive VR with Silverdraft and Autodesk.

The Studio-B&H will also present solutions from other premier partners such as Avid, Assimilate, G-Tech, Apple, and SNS.

THE SWITCH

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t NAB 2019, The Switch will be exhibiting in two locations: in South Upper Hall and in the North Hall, in the newly created “Esports Experience”. The Switch will be showcasing new products and services including production and distribution services for esports and gaming, an enhanced at-home production offering, and a digital media pool port, which seamlessly and simultaneously delivers live events to social and over-the-top platforms. The Switch provides a managed, private cloud service that enhances live video production anywhere in the world. The company offers a scalable broadcast production and transmission platform that puts control exactly where the customer needs it: in their facilities, in The Switch’s, or both.

The Switch connects over 800 of the world’s largest content producers and distributors to each other and to professional sports and event venues, and provides a unique meet-me point for seamlessly connecting media outlets, streaming platforms, and web services. With The Switch’s unmatched combination of reach, scale, and capability, The Switch slashes the cost and complexity of producing live video and deepen its value to customers.

THE VIDEO CALL CENTER

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he Video Call Center believes smartphones make smart television. The company’s patented two-way video call acquisition technologies, comprehensive management platform, and expert video call production services make it possible to leverage the world’s billions of smartphones to enhance the coverage and lower the cost of today’s popular sports programming. With workflows for live remotes from anywhere, audience participation, and flexibility to support any contribution requirement, VCC is the choice for innovative sports leaders including Fox Sports and MLB.com, as well as content frontrunners Discovery, TLC, Tegna, and many others. VCC will debut a secure text-to-remote feature that lets VIP guests effortlessly remote into a production with one click in a text message. Expanded video call app support includes Facetime, Gruveo, Skype, and now Jitsi

Combining satellite and OTT delivery

Deliver your content simply anywhere

Eutelsat CIRRUS is the high quality, reliable and cost-effective answer for broadcasters to get their content into more homes.

Designed to overcome the challenges inherent in building a content distribution business, the fully-integrated hybrid satellite-OTT delivery solution enables you to deliver consistent quality content to customers with a flexible, seamless content experience across multiple screens.

Find out more at: NAB Show April 8-11 Booth SU1320 www.eutelsatamericas.com

NAB2019PREVIEW to give producers flexibility for the highest quality connection. Streamlined 1RU endpoint hardware and updated software adapt to studio, truck, stadium, or fully cloud configurations.

THE WEATHER COMPANY, AN IBM BUSINESS

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nfavorable weather and traffic can wreak havoc on your operations and fan experience. Engage with Watson leverages augmented intelligence (AI) and automation to aid in the detection of weather and traffic conditions and the production of customized mobile video content, so you can leverage them to your advantage. This recommendation platform powered by the most accurate and richest data sets allows you to reach your employees and fans with the weather and traffic events they care most about and need. Instead of just alerting them, you can post a mobile video offering welcome advice. This content can potentially drive ecommerce and monetization opportunities, so you are not only improving the experience, but also driving revenue.

TSL PRODUCTS

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s most equipment manufacturers are beginning to adopt either NMOS or Ember+ as the control standards to support SMPTE ST2022-6, ST2022-7, and ST2110, TSL’s adoption of these standards will be included within the eco-system on display at NAB 2019, allowing intuitive and powerful control and tally across SDI, hybrid, and fully IP infrastructures within a single package.

Meanwhile, the PAM-IP range now has full support for ST-2110, including essence-based monitoring of video, audio, and PTP. In addition to this, both ST-2110 and ST-2022-6 streams can be monitored on single PAM-IP unit. Lastly, as every person, production, environment, operation, and application is different, universal tools no longer work and versatility is key. NAB 2019 will see the launch of the SAM-Q platform, representing a new approach to audio monitoring, offering the most flexible and powerful audio monitoring platform ever provided to the broadcast market.

TVU NETWORKS

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VU Networks, the global technology and innovation leader in live IP solutions, will continue to push the limits of live video broadcast with its line-up of new and updated products at NAB 2019. The company will showcase a new version of its beloved TVU One mobile transmitter, which now supports 5G and transmits in UHD 4Kp60. Additionally, TVU Networks will exhibit an update to TVU MediaMind, an integrated, AI-based, automated workflow solution.

TVU also reintroduces its Remote Production solutions: RPS, complete with a new user interface, and TVU Producer, which now automates production to meet needs across various industries,

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including sports, news, and visual radio. Making its NAB debut is a TVU solution for monitoring highly secure low-latency return video feeds via a mobile device. Updated versions of TVU MediaMind Servers, TVU Grid, TVU Command Center, TVU Router, TVU Anywhere, TVU Producer, and CAS Integration will also be featured.

UTAH SCIENTIFIC

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tah Scientific is a leading specialist in routing switchers, master control switchers, and related control software, and it set the benchmark for the broadcast industry with the first no-fee 10-year product warranty. Since 1977, the company has provided industry-leading products and best-in-class service and support as recognized three times by Frost & Sullivan with its global Customer Service Leadership Award.

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-Nova is launching the PERSEUS platform.

Running in the AWS cloud, the PERSEUS platform enables any video service operator to rapidly deploy PERSEUS Plus for live and VoD. PERSEUS Plus provides higher video quality at up to 50% lower bitrates and therefore a step-change in quality-of-experience for viewers, resulting in reduced churn and a greater audience reach for operators. PERSEUS Plus is a codec-agnostic video compression technology that can be added to any standard encoder such as AVC/h.264, HEVC, VP9, and — in the future — AV1. PERSEUS Plus was designed from the ground up to deliver next-generation compression efficiencies at much lighter overall processing enabling the PERSEUS platform to offer some of the most competitive encoding costs in the industry. The PERSEUS platform can be accessed via web client or APIs and is instantly scalable to handle any volume of live channels or VoD content at resolutions up to UHD/4K.

VERITONE SU4324

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eritone is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and solutions. The company’s proprietary operating system, aiWARE, orchestrates an expanding ecosystem of machinelearning models to transform audio, video, and other data sources into actionable intelligence. In addition to aiWARE, the company’s white-label digital asset management solution, Digital Media Hub, in support of their Live Event Services, gives enhanced access to curated content and a rich set of resources to members of the media and other stakeholders interested in the coverage of sporting events. Authorized members can search, preview, download, and license approved sporting content — both in near real-time and archival — to help enhance their coverage of events. Content can be event footage, press conferences, or individual video sound bites and photos. Veritone solutions ensure the capture, curation, and delivery of content.

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VERIZON DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES SU3605

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erizon Digital Media Services’ integrated platform is the simplest way to prepare, deliver, display, and monetize your content. It’s built for the future of media with a comprehensive streaming service that meets consumer-demand for speed, reliability, and TV-quality viewing experiences. The platform’s built on the world’s most connected delivery network with 70+ Tbps and more than 130 points of presence, so it can handle delivery of millions of concurrent streams to devices around the world without any degradation in viewing quality. Verizon has helped sports broadcasters capture global audiences for years with its Live Event Streaming Solution. It’s delivered tens of thousands of major live events and millions of hours of broadcasting. From regional football games to international soccer matches, it can deliver your entire event, from pre- to live to post-event and VOD using a single URL.

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urner Sports recently used the AVIWEST HE4000 HEVC encoder to transports 20 live camera feeds from Paris to Atlanta for the Ryder Cup. Designed for the distribution and contribution of contents over unmanaged networks such as the public internet and cellular, the HE4000 uses AVIWEST’s Safestreams transport protocol to cuts costs in multicamera, live-action REMI, and at-home productions. The HE4000 is a reliable and more cost-effective alternative to satellite, fiber, and telecom. The challenge is maintaining perfect video genlock and lip sync across multiple cameras. AVIWEST’s HE4000 4K UHD and HD HEVC live encoder and PRO Series bonded cellular transmitter with SafeStreams technology do just that. Bonded cellular capability can be added to the HE4000 using the optional QUAD CellLink active antenna.

VITEC SL6005

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ITEC, a worldwide leader in advanced video encoding and streaming solutions, will showcase its award-winning EZ TV IPTV and Digital Signage Solution for Sports Venues at NAB 2019. The comprehensive, modular, and cost-effect platform enables sports facilities to offer the most advanced fan experience while reducing CAPEX and OPEX often associated with legacy video solutions. Sports teams can stream high-quality live and on-demand video, create dynamic digital signs, and then deliver it to every display over the existing physical and wireless network infrastructure. With onboard administration and analytics tools, it also allows organizations to pull in vital campaign information and tap new revenue streams.

Furthering the value of the system, the video

NAB2019PREVIEW wall capability simplifies the deployment and management of IPTV, digital signage, and video wall projects. VITEC’s 100% hardwarebased video wall processors can manage more than 50 displays; feature ultra-low latency native playback of IPTV streams up to 4K; and support interactive content, video, and imagery transformations. Other features include VITEC’s mobile app for streaming live video and playback of IPTV content, certified interoperability with the latest content-protection and DRM standards, and Media Library capabilities to tag, edit, organize, store, search, and share media files.

VIZRT SL3316

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izrt, the world’s leading provider of visual storytelling tools for media content creators, will showcase at NAB 2019 new technology that reinvents how powerful stories are told in the studio, in the stadium, and for every live production. To be unveiled at NAB, the next generation Viz Engine — Viz Engine 4 — will become the most advanced platform on the market. In an all-new Big AR Show, the largest augmented reality show in Las Vegas, Vizrt will display Viz Engine 4’s new capabilities for rendering photorealistic data-driven graphics blended with a physical studio. Vizrt’s Viz Virtual Studio, combined with the best-ofbreed sports analysis system, Viz Libero allows presenters to join players virtually on the field, or the game can be brought virtually into the studio — both creating in-depth analysis in the studio that amazes audiences. Vizrt’s solutions allow sports rights holders to monetize their production with unobtrusive virtual advertisements embedded into the game footage that can be customized for multiple regional outputs.

Vizrt provides the media industry with creative power, made easy with augmented reality, IP, and efficient live workflows with the ability to publish to every platform.

VSN SL7606

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SN specializes in providing advanced software solutions for media and workflow management within a wide range of businesses, including broadcast and media companies, private corporations, sports venues, and educational institutions. Its flagship platform, VSNExplorer, allows users to effectively manage their media and automate their business processes either on premise or in the cloud, allowing a facility to optimize their efficiency and develop their daily tasks faster. VSNExplorer is an openended solution comprised of several optional modules: MAM for media management, PAM for production environments, BPM for work-

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flow optimizations, Business Intelligence for data analytics, and Wedit for low-res web video editing in the Cloud. Some of the innovations that will be launched at NAB 2019 include VSNExplorer integration with AI tools for automatic metadata detection and cataloging and a MOS web plugin 100% HTML5 to access all the advanced features of MAM directly from an NRCS software interface.

WAVE CENTRAL

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ave Central clients are among the top names in the industry who trust all their wireless needs to Wave Central for sports, news, education, worship, and entertainment coverage, and have gone on to receive achievement awards in excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Wave Central aims to impress and wow by providing the highest quality full range of world-class production equipment and services, and looks forward to customizing a plan based on your specific needs.

WESTERN DIGITAL

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estern Digital is a company with strong values and a passion to innovate and lead the charge in the transformation of data. Creating the right environment where its employees can thrive is key to how the company does business.

Quality products, exceptional customer service, and industry-leading solutions all come from a culture that’s inclusive, forward-thinking, and bold enough to imagine the possibilities of data.

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owza Media Systems is the recognized gold standard of streaming, with more than 22,000 customers in 170+ countries. By reducing the complexities of video and audio delivery to any device, Wowza enables organizations to expand their reach and more deeply engage their audiences, in industries ranging from sports to broadcasting. Wowza will demonstrate its new Ultra Low Latency service, CMAF for HLS on Wowza Streaming Engine, SRT workflows and real-time production capabilities for social streaming at NAB 2019.

ZAXCOM C2030

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o you care about the quality of your sound recordings? Zaxcom has been creating innovative audio technology for the feature film, television broadcast, live performance, and postproduction industries for over three decades and is proud to be honored with technical achievements from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Television Academy, and Cinema Audio Society. The New Jerseybased company specializes in wireless systems, recorders, mixers, and interruptible foldback (IFB) products to meet and exceed the most

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complicated workflows in production and post sound. The ZMT3-Flex is Zaxcom’s latest advancement in wireless technology designed to capture the immersive on-the-field experience of live sports. Its fully encrypted audio can simultaneously transmit a signal while recording internally to a memory card. Extremely thin and lightweight, its soft yet durable construction can flex, providing an elevated level of safety for the athlete while ensuring security and fidelity for the audio recordist.

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he Emmy-winning Zixi Platform enables live video across unmanaged IP networks at broadcast quality equal to, or better than, satellite and fiber. ZEN Master is a control plane that provides valuable monitoring and automation controls allowing broadcasters to safely rely upon IP networks for contribution and distribution at scale. Exciting new features to debut at NAB 2019 will include Business Impact Analysis, AI-driven Content Quality Analytics, and Dynamic Bitrate Adjustment.

ZEN Master tools have expanded to manage multi-tenant control, monitoring suitable for large-scale live-linear applications, contribution management, precise ingest into CDN or storage, expanded transcoding controls, and large-scale distribution administration. Sports broadcasters appreciate Zixi’s tight integration with AWS MediaConnect, ATEME, and the many other integrated partners of the Zixi Enabled Network. The Zixi Platform continues to improve upon control of ingest and egress clusters, and DNS load-balancing, and hitless failover in live content workflows.

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earn how Zype Playout can help your VidOps teams create, monetize, and distribute broadcast-quality linear live streams to increase audience engagement and grow your distribution footprint. Zype Playout offers easy-to-use workflows for transforming playlists of videos into IP-delivered linear live streams, including slate and ad timing management, as well as scheduling and broadcasting tools. Zype Playout supports distribution to not only your owned and operated websites and video apps, but also popular video streaming destinations such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Periscope, and other custom destinations. Zype is the video content management and distribution infrastructure. Zype connects your content with your audiences where they are — handles monetization, analytics and so much more. You’ve produced great video content, now let Zype worry about the rest!

SPONSORUPDATE S

ome SVG sponsors won’t be exhibiting at the 2019 NAB Show, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy over the past year. Read on for these companies’ recent projects, new products, and technology, and services for the sportsvideo production industry. For a complete listing of contact information for each sponsor, turn to the Sponsor Index on pages 146-151.

3G WIRELESS

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g, the leader in providing RF solutions, has been busy collaborating with ESPN’s CFB team on a number of groundbreaking initiatives. The RF Line to Gain Camera System and the RF c360 First Down Marker Camera were designed and manufactured by 3g and successfully deployed in season and on the CFB National Championship. They utilize the latest RF technologies to transmit 4K and 1080p/60 video flawlessly. Additionally, 3g is introducing new breakthroughs in on-board camera systems for the IMSA series on NBC. These innovations include the new “nose camera” that meets the exacting demands of the premier IMSA Prototype class.

ADVANCED SYSTEMS GROUP

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ot too long ago, professional sports used to have an off-season. Today, even when there are no games scheduled, viewers still want content. Sports news has become a 24/7/365 business, with networks dedicated to particular leagues. Even on a slow news day, content needs to be available to fill network schedules as well as on-demand streaming requirements of online viewers.

As a result, content providers need access to footage and data from across the country and beyond. Advanced Systems Group, a leading media technology and engineering firm, works with sports-related cable and satellite networks to improve workflows and manage the ever-growing library of assets. Their solutions include automation for live ingest and transcoding to help build efficient workflows for production and distribution. Plus, they help design archive solutions to provide content creators with easy access to game footage from last week or the last century.

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AE GRAPHICS

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E Graphics is recognized globally as one of the leading providers of television graphics and data solutions. Founded in 1992, its head office is based in the UK with subsidiary companies in South Africa, India, and Australia. With over 25 years of successful delivery in the broadcast industry, AE Graphics’ reputation has been forged upon an ability to consistently deliver a reliable yet innovative service in demanding environments around the world. In 2018, AE Graphics successfully delivered a multi award-winning virtual studio solution for BBC Sport’s presentation of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, which also included a range of presentation graphics and augmented reality content. 2019 is a huge year for AE as it prepares to deliver host broadcast graphics and data services for both the Cricket and Rugby World Cup events being staged in the UK and Japan, respectively.

AERIAL VIDEO SYSTEMS (AVS)

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VS is a leader in wireless 4K, HD, and aerial production with more than 90 HD and 4K RF systems by Vislink/Link Research, including the compact Link L-1700 and GoPro HEROCast systems. AVS has two GSS 4K gyro-stabilized aerial camera systems, four Cineflex camera systems, and three Partenavia fixed-winged aircraft for aerial coverage.

AVS was the first to integrate Sony’s new P-50 to a RF Steadicam system with RF video return and prompter on Super Bowl LIII. The AVS Steadicam package has become the preferred system for Dancing with the Stars, The Voice, America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, World of Dance, Shark Tank, Grease Live, The Wiz, Hairspray, Rent Live, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, NFLN Thursday Night Football, the Super Bowl and Halftime Shows, and the NBA Finals.

ALL MOBILE VIDEO

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ll Mobile Video is the premiere provider of live video solutions to leading broadcast and new media production outlets. AMV continually strives to remain forward thinking, integrating IP, 4K/UHD video ingest/ encoding/streaming/delivery, HDR, virtualreality/augmented reality, direct-to-theater distribution, cinematography/broadcast hybrid workflows, and e-gaming services to its expanding list of conventional services. Other offerings include control room equipped sound stages, broadcast and uplink trucks, bonded cellular services, specialized railcam systems, encoding and live streaming, teleports, full-time OTT channels, colocation,

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event management, and software development. AMV provides insight and expertise, as well as turnkey end-to-end production/delivery solutions to networks, producers, production companies, distributors, and brands.

ALPHA VIDEO

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he Sports Group specializes in helping clients find ways to use technology to engage fans, enhance teams, and expand revenue like they never have before. Alpha Video recently completed major production facility upgrades for Louisiana State University and Oklahoma State University.

In addition, the company completed the control room and IPTV systems for Allianz Field, the new home of Minnesota United FC, along with a production studio for the Denver Broncos. Alpha Video is currently working on additional upgrades for Florida State University’s ACC Network production facility along with providing a new ACC Network production facility for Georgia Tech.

The company continues to work with a variety of NCAA and professional sports clients on upgrading the AV technology at their existing team facilities as well as complete ground up solutions for new facilities, including Louisiana State University’s new Football Operations Center.

ANTHONY JAMES PARTNERS (AJP)

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ombining roles of owner’s representative, AV consultant, and design consultant, AJP is a trusted leader, having completed 500+ large-scale technology projects for high-profile stadiums, arenas, entertainment facilities, and collegiate campuses. From North America’s largest custom LED scoreboards to stateof-the-art broadcast studios, control rooms, experiential spaces, concourses, and digital signage systems, AJP sets the industry bar for AV systems design, technology integration, and large-scale project development. With an exceptional track record for delivering complex technology projects on time, under budget, and without change orders, AJP’s endto-end solutions simplify process, maximize product value, and produce significant financial benefits for clients. Recent and upcoming project highlights: five major ACC Network broadcast production facilities; high-density WiFi for the Miami Heat and BYU’s Marriott Center; LED displays, video replay control rooms, audio, and DTV for Nashville Predators, Army at West Point Michie Stadium, Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium, and Memphis Redbirds / 901 FC.

ARCTEK SATELLITE PRODUCTIONS

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RCTEK Satellite Productions has upgraded its flagship C-band Sprinter uplink, ARCTEK Purple, with a 32x32 router, new programmable multiviewers, ST fiber ins and

outs and a new 2.4m antenna to streamline at-home production or MUX transmissions.

ARCTEK Purple and ARCTEK Magenta, Kuband uplink, are now both capable of providing a 10-path mux. ARCTEK Satellite Productions spent the fall and winter providing multiple muxed feeds as well as single source backhauls for college football, basketball, and hockey. ARCTEK was also tapped to produce and package five multi-camera football games for broadcast from the Minnesota Vikings’ new TCO Performance Center. ARCTEK Satellite Productions is the company you want to call when you need satellite and production reliability. ARCTEK’s well-equipped five Sprinter satellite trucks (three Ku-band and two C-band) with their talented team are ready to roll nationwide. When you think satellite, think ARCTEK. Nothing is more reliable than satellite.

AZZURRO GROUP

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he Azzurro Group is an integrated media services company that delivers the engineering and transmission services needed to keep your operations at the leading edge.

The company offers an intuitive, all-in-one broadcast quality production system with AzzurroCAM, a compact system that delivers broadcast quality, low-latency transmit and receive video over the public internet using minimal bandwidth with AzzurroTX, a fully managed and monitored 24×7 encoder/decoder solution transmitting over the Azzurro Public Internet Network (PIN) with Azzurro PIN Bridge, and an easy-to-set-up location with Azzurro Pop Up Studio.

BEACON INTERNATIONAL

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eacon International represents the Holland Specialty Vehicles division. Holland Specialty Vehicles has the expertise and capacity to do any TV production trailer refurbishment, repair, and service, including expando repairs, an on-site trailer pain booth, storage, and preventative maintenance. Since 2013, Beacon International has grown to be a worldwide provider of services and equipment to the medical industry and television production trailer industry with offices in Arizona; the UK; and Cairo, Egypt.

BLUEFRAME TECHNOLOGY

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lueFrame Technology continues to strengthen its position as the premiere end-to-end streaming provider for sports organizations across the United States with the addition of numerous NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III conferences and other sports leagues in 2018. BlueFrame’s end-toend solution starts with its Production Truck software, an application that allows one producer to create professional broadcasts with features like instant replay, graphics packages for multiple sports, NDI integration, and much more. Another crucial element in the BlueFrame platform is its full streaming

service and content management system, vCloud, which allows organizations to create and manage broadcasts easily with direct integration with Production Truck or third-party RTMP streaming. Finally, BlueFrame provides world-class distribution of content: HD 1080p video that can be streamed in a variety of ways on the web, on mobile, and through customized OTT and mobile apps.

BOSE

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ose has a simple mission: think of better solutions, create better products, and help people enjoy the things they love. It started when Dr. Bose founded the company in 1964 and continues today with innovative, passionate employees around the globe. Innovation is not a destination, but a journey requiring new ideas from new players. Bose invites creators, inventors, dreamers, and talented people from all walks of life to bring their big ideas, passion, and enthusiasm.

BRIDGE DIGITAL

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he solutions of Bridge Digital cover the entire digital media workflow, from ingest to final delivery. The company’s focus is on the strategic use of technology to accelerate your workflows, expand your capabilities, and improve quality for a better return on your investment.

BROADCAST SERVICES INTERNATIONAL (BSI)

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fter one of the busiest years in the company’s 30-year history, BSI is setting its sights on an even bigger 2019! BSI finished off 2018 with a successful project providing facilities at the World Cup in Russia and continued that momentum, winning projects at the Women’s World Cup in Paris and Copa America in Brazil. BSI’s recent acquisition of RF Wireless Systems increased its presence domestically and internationally as a leading-edge RF supplier. Additionally, BSI continues to establish itself as a global player in the sports-production landscape and provide production, integration, and wireless/ transmission solutions worldwide. BSI also recognizes the need for economical and efficient streaming packages, which it offers through its Simply Live Vibox System. BSI has also grown its equipment inventory, including a variety of fiber solutions, robotic cameras, gyro-stabilized and wide-angle lenses, the live Vibox system, 4K EVS servers, and a complete 19-position commentary system with multiple IP codecs.

BROADCAST SPORTS INTERNATIONAL (BSI)

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t Broadcast Sports International (BSI), the engineers and operations team are at the leading edge of turnkey custom broadcast solutions — they’ve done it for more than 35 years. From the largest sporting match-ups to history-making live events, BSI works with

its partners to produce compelling content through cutting-edge camera, wireless transmission, and microphone technology. BSI’s work is on the air around the world.

C360

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360 is a leading provider of add-on products, industry solutions, and development tools for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. c360 products are sold through a network of over global partners that have delivered c360 solutions to more than 2,200 Dynamics customers worldwide, representing a base of more than 500,000 users. c360 products have been widely adopted by customers in all industries including high-tech, financial services, manufacturing, distribution, professional services, and retail.

CAT ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES

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AT Entertainment Services (CES) is the go-to turnkey power generation and temperature control service provider for the event and entertainment industries worldwide. As a full-service provider, CES’ staff handles everything from start to finish so its clients can focus on other details of the event.

ESPN confidently put their trust in CES to provide power for 120 college football regular season (16 more than the previous year) and nine bowl games; 17 of these were a twin with 160-kVA and 80-kVA UPS’. These games include the Rose Bowl with 300-kVA of UPS/ power, Orange Bowl semifinal with 400-kVA of UPS/power, Cotton Bowl semifinal with a combined 400-kVA of UPS/power, and CFB National Championship in Santa Clara with 500-kVA and power. CES has also provided UPS/power in the emerging esports market to include the 2018 production of the League of Legends World Championship.

CBT SYSTEMS

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BT Systems provides consultation, design engineering, and systems integration for world-class digital broadcast and production turnkey systems. By adapting to open-space design and off-site IP-based solutions, CBT Systems continues to be an industry leader, ready for the next content delivery method.

CBT Systems is leading the esports revolution with the perfect fusion of broadcast quality and reliability with digital streaming.

Recent projects include Esports Arena in Las Vegas for Allied Esports, video media production studios for the Marlborough School of Los Angeles, production and event spaces for confidential client, and long-term facility planning for confidential client.

CHESAPEAKE SYSTEMS

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hesapeake Systems offers an engaged and embedded approach to engineering, implementing, and optimizing highly advanced media technology systems to support content creation, revenue growth, and asset monetization. From consultation, design, and integra-

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SPONSORUPDATE tion, to installation and support, Chesapeake’s expert team of media technology specialists understand the big picture. Chesapeake has helped the NFL, MLS, MLB, and other sports organizations harness their content to make it work for them. The company’s knowledge in systems design and longstanding relationships with a wide array of the best manufacturers and vendors allow clients to make informed decisions with confidence. Chesapeake doesn’t just implement solutions; as things change, the company is there by clients’ side to ensure functionality and efficiency, meeting the needs of corporate and IT as well as the creatives and engineers. Chesapeake is committed to designing and supporting clients’ systems to ensure a smooth user experience, no matter how novel the technology.

CHILEFILMS

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hilefilms is the TV production expert in Chile. With a complete fleet of seven HD trucks, Chilefilms has been involved in all major sports and events that have occurred in Chile, since 1990. Recent examples include providing national and international TV coverage for the Pope’s country visit and generating the official TV signal in three different locations with two of them separated by more than 2,500 kilometers, and also providing TV production to Festival de Viña del Mar, Lolapalooza, and UFC events. From 2019 to 2022, Chilefilms will be providing the national and international TV production for Copa Libertadores de America and Copa Sudamericana soccer matches in Chile, starting in February, a bid won and contracted directly with the South American soccer association (Conmebol).

CLARK MEDIA

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lark Media provides HD mobile trucks and broadcast equipment rentals including custom built HD and 4K production systems. Clark Media has a full-time staff of rental managers, engineers, and production professionals ready to provide outstanding support for your next project. The company has locations in Burbank and New York that allow for service nationwide. With a call to Clark Media, the company can discuss clients’ needs, provide the gear with crew and see clients on location. Clark Media’s goal is to let its clients concentrate on the big picture and let them handle the technical stuff.

COGNIZANT

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ognizant is one of the world’s leading professional services companies, transforming clients’ business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. The company’s

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unique industry-based consultative approach helps clients envision, build, and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant is ranked 195 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world.

CORESITE

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ince 2001, Coresite has built and operated secure, reliable, high-performance data center and interconnection solutions supported by customer service. Across eight key North American markets, more than 1,200 of the world’s leading enterprises, network operators, cloud providers, and supporting service providers choose CoreSite to connect, protect, and optimize their performance-sensitive data, applications, and computing workloads.

CREATIVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS

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reative Mobile Solutions Inc. (CSMI) is a Burbank, CA-based boutique postproduction company specializing in tapeless workflows for live events and studio-based shows. Providing workflow design, Avid, Final Cut Pro, and EVS rentals, plus on-location support, CMSI rises to any challenge. From sporting events to award shows to feature films, CMSI’s expert team can help save your production time and money.

CSP MOBILE PRODUCTIONS

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or over 30 years, CSP Mobile Productions has covered North America from coast to coast, delivering HD productions for clients such as ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and NBC. From sports and entertainment to large corporate and news events, CSP’s fleet has you covered. 2019 is looking to be a busy one for CSP. The company kicks off the spring and summer by providing mobile trucks and production services for professional lacrosse and rugby leagues, as well as multiple MLS soccer teams across the U.S. and Canada. Boxing and combat sports will also be a prominent theme. As summer winds down, CSP returns to hit the gridiron again for NFL preseason football. Over the past three decades, CSP has gained the trust and respect of the top networks and production companies in television. The company has designed, built, and continuously updates and maintains a topnotch fleet of mobile units.

CTG

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ounded in 1991, CTG is a recognized leader that brings extensive experience, resources, and know-how to each client. CTG’s quality approach has been consistent — provide the very best audio/visual and broadcast

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solutions. CTG designs, integrates, installs, and maintains individually tailored systems.

Regional and national in scope, the company offers a complete suite of products and services to businesses large and small.

DAKTRONICS

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t Daktronics, college football bowl season is a huge undertaking. It’s a large stage with multiple events using the company’s equipment and event support services to entertain audiences around the country. It makes for a busy time of year working for and with Daktronics customers. This year, Daktronics LED displays were used at 31 of 41 bowl and playoff games — 75% of the games being played. In addition, 20 bowl venues received event support from the Daktronics services team, including Levi’s Stadium, where the College Football Playoff National Championship was played. Three Daktronics Field Service Technicians, along with an Applications Engineer, were present for the national title game and ensured a flawless show and peace of mind for the stadium’s production team.

DALE PRO AUDIO

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ale Pro Audio has been a distinguished leader in the broadcast, live sound, contracting, and studio and postproduction markets since 1956. The company carries hundreds of pro audio’s top brands, stocks thousands of the best products, and has an expansive store and showroom in Queens, NY. Because of its commitment to excellence, Dale has earned the trust of television and radio stations, recording studios, contractors, and a wide range of individuals, businesses, and institutions.

DELAPLEX

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elaPlex is a global technology and software development solutions and consulting provider, deeply committed to helping companies drive growth, revenue, and marketplace value. Since 2008, the company’s objective has been to be a trusted advisor to its clients. By redefining the outsourcing industry’s business model, the innovative delaPlex Agile Business Framework brings an unmatched alliance of industry experts, across industries and functional skillsets, to clients anywhere around the world.

DIGITALGLUE

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igitalGlue has recently introduced an entirely new concept in media storage with its launch of creative.space. The platform is the first On-Premise Managed Storage (OPMS) service engineered specifically

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It provides high-speed, high-capacity, 24/7 monitoring, technical support, and next-day repairs without the burden of maintaining IT systems all for an all-inclusive, affordable, fixed monthly rate. creative.space was designed with a simple mission in mind: minimize the time it takes to turn vision into reality — in an affordable way. It targets collaborative workflows by optimizing the latest, most advanced hardware and software for efficiency and increased productivity. creative.space removes storage as a bottleneck, so artists can invest their creative energy in the quality of their content. The platform also prepares assets for the incoming wave of AIpowered analytics that can help unlock additional value from existing content.

DMC BROADCAST GROUP

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MC Broadcast Group represents manufacturers from all over the world. The company helps them sell, distribute, and market their hardware and software products for broadcast, cable networks, station groups, postproduction facilities, and studios.

DNA STUDIOS

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NA Studios provides mobile truck facilities and studios to major networks including ESPN, Fox Sports regionals, and many local stations. DNA’s recent acquisitions push their truck count to five mobile units.

New equipment includes new Canon lenses and Calrec digital audio boards. From 53-foot expandos to KU uplinks, DNA Studios has you covered.

DOCAPTION

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ontinuing on the path of successful zerodelay, frame-accurate ancillary data encoding, decoding, and information display overlaid on video, DoCaption is announcing the availability of its character generator enhanced rendering options for their LRBox platform. While keeping within the same small form-factor — together with comprehensive price range, real-time efficiency, and seamless operation — the LRBox platform is now able to display decoded ancillary data information with high definition, anti-aliased fixed sized and/or proportionally spaced characters. This enhanced embedded character display engine is available across the whole LRBox range of products, from closed captions encoding and monitoring to sports venues scoreboard data encode, decode, and overlay over the video, allowing both comfortable use by referees and situation rooms, and simple, yet synthetic and nice-looking scoreboard data overlay that can be used as an option for production.

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DOME PRODUCTIONS

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ome Productions continues its strategic and aggressive growth and expansion and now is actively involved in the esports, OTT, and digital space in a big way to support production, technical facilities, crew, and engineering for many high-profile events.

Dome operates a fleet of over 20 HD production mobile trucks, including three 4K mobiles. A number of Dome’s mobiles are outfitted to facilitate REMI productions and also supported by a state-of-the-art production control room in Toronto. In addition, Dome owns six B units including a purpose-built double expando that resembles a rolling IBC, one hybrid production/uplink mobile, three Ku-band uplink tractors, and a digital media HD production trailer. Dome continues to lead the way in North American 4K sports and entertainment broadcasting. Dome has facilitated over 700 4K live broadcasts, and recently produced and delivered an NBA Raptors broadcast in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos surround sound live to the home.

DX3 MEDIA INC.

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X3 Media Inc. is a media production management and consulting company based in Canada. The company takes pride in providing out-of-the-box thinking resulting in innovative solutions for clients’ projects.

Its reputation is founded on delivering higher than anticipated results and always under the clients’ budget. DX3 Media Inc. has a strong network of equipment and crew vendor relationships throughout all North America.

ES BROADCAST

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roadcast equipment rental specialist ES Broadcast Hire has opened its first office in the U.S., based in Orlando, FL. The company now operates seven rental locations in Europe and North America. The launch of the office gives U.S. clients full access to one of Europe’s largest 4K and HD broadcast rental fleets — including 140 Sony HDC-4300 camera channels, as well as Grass Valley channels, EVS replay servers, and a full array of Canon and Fujinon UHD lenses. The U.S. office is headed up by Bob Hawkanson, who joins the company as Senior Vice President. He has previously worked as Director of Broadcast Sales for VER, as well as holding senior operational roles for Crosscreek Television Productions and POKER PROductions.

EUROVISION SERVICES S.A.

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n January 1, Eurovision officially launched its business subsidiary, Eurovision Services S.A., a 100% commercial entity, separate from the EBU Members’ organization, focused on growing business worldwide. The establish-

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

ment of Eurovision Services creates a more streamlined organization, focused on expanding its range of services. This year has been a busy one from the start. In January, Eurovision Services began its 12th year of providing the PGA TOUR with global distribution of their live events, including the Champions TOUR and PGA TOUR Live, to their broadcast partners outside the U.S. Also in January, Eurovision Services provided four SNG/production trucks at the O2 Arena in London for the NBA’s Global Game between the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards, delivering over 65 hours of game content and press conferences back to the U.S. for NBA Entertainment, the Knicks, and the Wizards. In October, Eurovision Services will provide transmission facilities for the NBA’s Global Games between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets in games taking place in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Eurovision Services uses IP technology to link the NBA’s own network with its global network, providing back-up of the live games and entertainment programming it delivers to more than 200 countries and territories.

Eurovision Services continues to provide NBC Sports with live English Premier League soccer via 18 transatlantic HD circuits, which are standards converted in Washington, DC and delivered to NBC Sports Network in Stamford, CT for live broadcast.

F&F PRODUCTIONS

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ew builds and upgrades have recently occupied much of F&F’s engineering teams time and the growth continues. Launching its first double expando B unit in fourth quarter of 2018, F&F’s engineering team is currently designing and building a new 4K unit that is expected to debut in late summer of 2019.

B18 made its debut in early autumn 2018 and moved to its new home on SEC College Tour; built with tons of flexibility, B18 features its own edit and video rooms and is wired for 10 12-channel EVS’s and houses its own router and comms. It is designed to be multifunctional and can be a standalone unit when needed. F&F’s entire fleet will see additional upgrades this spring/summer 2019.

FILMWERKS

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ilmwerks had an enormous presence in Atlanta, GA, for Super Bowl LIII for CBS, NFL Network, and ESPN. Between structure, generators, HVAC, and lighting, over 23 tractor/trailers made their way south to provide Filmwerks’ turn-key solutions at the Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park, State Farm Arena, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With 30 technicians, Filmwerks built nine structures and sets, supplied HVAC,

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SPONSORUPDATE and UPS/generator power in 13 sites. The layout of every site posed its own difficulties with design, footprint, and logistics. However, Filmwerks navigated around the obstacles flawlessly by creating new ways to execute the job. For example, restructuring a set for clean camera shots, and modularizing UPS batteries to allow for optimal production and technical space. As the industry continues to advance in its scenic elements and power requirements, Filmwerks will continue to research and innovate sophisticated gear to fully cater to clients’ broadcast needs.

FLETCHER GROUP

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letcher Sports, now a proud member of NEP’s Broadcast Services division since October of last year, enjoyed a productive 2018. The industry has taken note of Fletcher’s exciting new Tr-ACE robotic camera tracking system, which featured in broadcast coverage of both Wimbledon and US Open tennis.

Tr-ACE, whose technology was developed inhouse at Fletcher, has also now produced the Fletch Follow System, which uses much of the same technology, and was recently utilized

by ESPN for their coverage of Hoophall West basketball invitational. Fletcher’s RailCam system, another technology that helps bring viewers dynamically closer to sports action, was featured in Fox Sports’ coverage of men’s college basketball. In February, Fletcher had its biggest presence ever at the Super Bowl, with CBS employing 23 Fletcher systems, including Sony, Grass Valley, Pico, and brandnew Panasonic 8K camera systems. Fletcher looks to continue delivering these and other new technologies to clients.

GAME CHANGER MVP

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ame Changer MVP provides postproduction, animation, graphics, event production, consulting, and interactive mobile app games. The San Antonio Rodeo partnered with GCMVP for all on-site production, content creation, social media, marketing, commercial production, and interactive gaming through their mobile app.

GAME CREEK VIDEO

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ame Creek Video continues to drive innovation in production services in its 25th year with an accomplished, dependable team of experts leading the world’s largest events in sports, entertainment, and news. Game Creek provides proven, dependable solutions using the industry’s most advanced technology with the logistical foundation to achieve new milestones for their clients. The decision in 2018 to design all facilities with 3G infrastructure going forward has placed Game Creek front and center with the recent expansion of 4K

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and HDR content production industry-wide.

Recent highlights include The 2018 Olympics, Super Bowl, College Football Playoffs, The Masters, US Open, CBS Golf in 4K HDR, World Series, and MLB NLCS and ALCS in 4K.

GEARHOUSE BROADCAST

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earhouse Broadcast brings in-house resources and over three decades of expertise to live events from the US Open of Tennis to Madden NFL. The company has been at the forefront of Action Sports and esports long before the terms became buzzwords and owns the team that brought REMI/at-home from proof of concept to realization for partners like Pac12. The Gearhouse Broadcast fleet provides scalable solutions from sprinters to full-size mobile units, purpose-built rapid deployment flypacks, and specialty camera systems including SkyTechno and SpiderCam. Gearhouse Broadcast’s global presence, through its parent company Gravity Media Group, allows 24-hour accessibility and solutions to empower the most discerning sports broadcaster or organization. Its top-of-the-line technology, accompanied by expert engineering knowledge and implementation, help provide client solutions that are second to none.

GIRRAPHIC

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irraphic knows the broadcast space front to back, partnering with high-end hardware and software vendors and scouring the marketplace on a regular basis to ensure that offerings are of the highest possible standards. Girraphic is rapidly becoming recognized as one of the world’s leading providers of broadcast graphics, data integration, and virtual implementations.

The company has successfully delivered largescale implementations on five continents in a dozen countries for hundreds of live events. Over the last five years, Girraphic has assembled a fantastic team of some of the most qualified professionals from all over the globe to provide its clients with the best service on the marketplace.

GTT

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TT Communications has expanded its global media transport services for ATP Media, the broadcast and media arm of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), to include distribution of select ATP 250 matches. The addition of ATP 250 tournaments expands GTT’s long-standing distribution of the ATP Masters 1000 and 500 tournaments as well as the Nitto ATP Finals. GTT will transport broadcast-quality video feeds of ATP 250 tournaments from ATP Media’s remote production hub in London to its licensees and rights holders. GTT leverages its global IP network to broadcast tournaments in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

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HIGH ROCK MOBILE TELEVISION

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igh Rock Mobile Television’s premier mobile unit, High Rock 1 (HR1) continues to deliver at the highest levels. Recognized for successfully meeting small to large production requirements, HR1 was selected this winter to assist with NBC’s domestic coverage of FIS World Cup skiing and the International Luge Federation’s production for FIL World Cup Luge from Lake Placid, NY. HR1’s compact 40-frame was the perfect solution to NBC’s need for coverage to supplement the FIS world feed, and on the other end of the scale HR1 fully met the extensive Luge production requirements, which included 14 manned, 15 remotely controlled POV cameras, and multiple EVS to produce the international broadcast signal. HR1 will also be used extensively through NBC’s 2019 coverage of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series horseracing season, providing the support, flexibility, and economy that networks are looking for in mid to large productions.

ILLUMINATION DYNAMICS

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llumination Dynamics provides power, lighting, and technical services for numerous sporting events across the nation, as well as supporting lighting in different parts of the world. Starting off 2019 with college football bowl games, golf in Hawaii, AMA SuperCross, CFB National Championship in Santa Clara, ID’s 17th consecutive year in Aspen for X-Games, Pro Bowl in Orlando, and two different shows in Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII, made for a very busy January for ID’s Broadcast division. Several generators were commissioned and put to use in the New Year providing redundant power for most of these jobs as well as our UPS system designed to work off of shore power with an integrated backup twin pack gen set. Illumination Dynamics is an ARRI Rental Company with combined locations in Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; Secaucus, NJ; and Atlanta, GA.

IMS PRODUCTIONS

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MS Productions is an industry leader in full-service video production, postproduction, studio rentals, satellite transmission, and live-event production. Creativity, technical reliability, and meticulous attention to exceed client expectations continue to drive the company’s brand and vision. In 2019, as part of a new partnership agreement with NBC, IMSP will provide all broadcast production facilities and technical personnel for NBC Sports Group’s exclusive coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series, including the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. Additionally, IMS Productions recently acquired the mobile trucking assets of Calhoun Satellite Communications,

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Juniper Networks is committed to imagining groundbreaking ways to deliver automated, scalable, and secure networks to move at the speed of business. The world’s biggest and busiest wired and wireless carriers, content and Internet service providers, cloud and data center providers, and cable and satellite operators run on Juniper Networks.

INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES

KAUFMAN BROADCAST

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ntegrated Media Technologies (IMT) is a digital media and technology company with offices in Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas. IMT serves the telecommunications, media & entertainment, institutional, and enterprise sectors with a broad range of solutions designed to drive new value and efficiencies from technology. IMT’s operations are segmented into three principal businesses: Consulting and Systems Integration Business, Video Collaboration, and IT Services.

INTERXION

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nterxion provides the infrastructure that supports the largest content platforms, broadcasters, and service providers as they deliver video and services to audiences globally. In the sports market, Interxion enables the contribution, production, and distribution of live feeds. Workflows can be combined with remote production and virtualization in private or public clouds to allow all sports to effectively monetize their content. The largest content platforms are becoming more involved in the sports sector and Interxion can expect them to be major players in the coming years.

INTOTO SYSTEMS

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ntoto Systems provides systems engineering services for media technology projects, including application integration, management, monitoring, and control systems. Intoto emphasizes DevOps approaches to achieve fast and sustainable configuration control for media systems. In 2018, Intoto used these techniques to manage the integration of six control systems supporting a U.S. television network’s FIFA World Cup coverage. Intoto’s approach assured a consistent configuration across these systems, seamless interoperability, fast but well-coordinated change control, and system documentation that remained accurate as changes were introduced.

JUNIPER NETWORKS

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uniper Networks brings simplicity to networking with products, solutions, and services that connect the world. Through engineering innovation, Juniper removes the constraints and complexities of networking in the cloud era to solve the toughest challenges its customers and partners face daily.

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aufman Broadcast is the Midwest leader of satellite uplink and encoding for sports, corporate, and live studio services.

IP is a hot growth area for 2019. Connectivity to spring training baseball and additional corporate networks has already occurred during the first quarter. IP and infrastructure upgrades at sports facilities will keep Kaufman’s technical staff engaged through the spring and summer. Fall collegiate and professional sports highlight a fleet of C- and Ku-uplinks and encoding over fiber designed for REMI and at-home broadcasts. Centrally located in St. Louis with more than 35 years of experience, Kaufman provides around-the-clock services for ESPN, St. Louis Cardinals and Blues, in addition to corporate and broadcast outlets from around the world.

KMH AUDIO-VIDEO INTEGRATION

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MH Audio-Video Integration is a fullservice systems integrator providing endto-end solutions to both the broadcast and postproduction environment and the retail, financial, and educational business segments.

The company’s subject matter experts deliver the highest quality of personalized service coupled with unmatched flexibility during all phases of each project engagement.

LEGRAND AV DIVISION

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he AV Division of Legrand is a leading provider of innovative mounting, racks, and display solutions for various audio/video technologies. In the commercial AV market, Legrand’s innovative products, sold principally under the Chief, Da-Lite, Middle Atlantic, Projecta, and Vaddio brands, are sold through numerous channels to over 6,000 global customers. Legrand provides the most comprehensive offering of commercial AV solutions in the market.

LH COMPUTER SERVICES

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H Computer Services offers solutions that provide next-generation platforms for content production, distribution, and archive with the performance and reliability needed to meet extreme production and delivery deadlines. The company offers solutions with file systems, optimized for video, in an end-toend solution from ingest to archive designed for performance from the ground up and built

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

on the foundation of high-performance collaboration to leading post and broadcast organizations. LH has a variety of manufacturers to draw from, providing direct-attached storage, FCSANs, and a traditional NAS to meet the demanding workflow needs.

LIVELIKE

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iveLike delivers the best interactive live experiences in sports. By blending social connectivity with emerging technologies that are redefining streaming models, LiveLike is at the forefront of the live broadcast experience. Over the past three years, the company has innovated upon the live stream with cutting-edge tools and methods for their broadcast partners. From easily adoptable workflows to on-brand advertising activations that excite the imagination of audiences, LiveLike’s teams are designed to push the broadcast forward in fresh and exciting ways.

LYON VIDEO

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elebrating 23 years of remote broadcast excellence, Lyon Video has earned the respect of industry leaders by delivering unparalleled live-event production and engineering solutions. As an employee-owned company, Lyon Video provides broadcast-quality video at an affordable price for all production formats — HD, 4K, UHD, HDR. The entire Lyon Video organization is committed to serving its North American clients. The brand not only provides technically advanced mobile production units, it also has invested in more than 30 Grass Valley LDX 86 advanced multiformat (3G/4K UHD) and multispeed ssmo (6X) camera chains and EVS XT4 servers.

This cutting-edge technology, together with Lyon Video’s highly regarded engineering personnel, reflects the company’s integrity.

M2 AERIALS

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2 Aerials is a complete aerial production company that can bring your vision to life. The company is a fully insured, FAAcertified UAV video and film service with an FAA nighttime flying waiver and Emmy-winning pilot experience. M2 Aerials’ expert cinematography delivers unparalleled visual experiences for broadcast news, sports, scripted productions, and special events. The company can also train and equip your broadcast team in drone videography.

METROVISION

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etrovision has been offering domestic and international clients a full spectrum of mobile production, mobile satellite transmission, flypacks, IP media, and live-event presentation services across North America since 1988. Along with having a fleet of mobile

We shape sports content into the ultimate viewer experience for any device anywhere in the world Sports organizations require customized treatment when it comes to managing and delivering high-profile live events. With 16 offices worldwide and state-of-the-art media centres on three continents, MX1 has the infrastructure and the scale to provide just that. Metadata in particular needs special attention on a per sport basis, and the new MX1 360 sports UI addresses all of an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs; providing a simple and effective end-to-end live event management capability for any sports rights holder, content owner, club, team or tournament.

We deliver nearly 600 hours of premium sports and live events content every day, including some of the biggest names to all possible destinations.

Find out more at www.mx1.com

SPONSORUPDATE units and an extensive equipment inventory, Metrovision takes a turnkey, solutions-driven approach — combining technical expertise with strong commitment to customer service.

MEYERPRO

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his year, Valve moved their biggest event of the year, DOTA 2 - The International, from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. Once again, MeyerPro was there to provide broadcast support for live productions done in four languages. With an extensive broadcast truck compound, multiple flypack systems, and miles of cable, MeyerPro provided the technology solutions to enable the cutting-edge broadcast that Valve was looking for. Fortythree cameras including seven jibs, two RF handhelds, an RF Steadicam, and a constant augmented-reality presence helped bring the event to life for the viewing audience. MeyerPro also provided a high-bandwidth, highcapacity solution for both archiving via EVS and providing real-time access to the footage for the editors. With a large catalog of esports shows under their belt, MeyerPro looks forward to continuing to support this growing segment of the industry.

MIXON DIGITAL

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ixon Tech DD1 is a turnkey product that provides live-event producers an affordable and dynamic graphics solution for all venue displays. Now, presenting any kind of team or player stats in a slick, cutting-edge look is affordable. Best of all, switching colors, logos, languages, and data is a breeze. Taking up just a 4RU of rack space, Mixon Tech DD1 is a plug-and-play solution that gives anyone from novice to seasoned professional the power to create exceptional graphics.

MPE

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hen it’s extra innings and the go-ahead run is on base, who do you want up to bat? When there’s only time to run one more play, who do you get the ball to? MPE! MPE (Motion Picture Enterprises) provides mission-critical postproduction video solutions for sports events across America. MPE makes sure that its fly kits are rock solid before shipping to your site. MPE packs items with care and pack spares, because folks in the field need contingency plans. If things start to unravel mid game, you can rely on MPE to bring them back under control. What does ‘postproduction video solutions’ actually mean? To keep it simple, think Avid Composer, Adobe Premiere, shared storage networks, and engineering. With a vast inventory, MPE can equip any situation quickly, thoroughly, and fit within any footprint.

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NECF

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ECF recently coordinated two successful live, “distributed production” telecasts for a major U.S. regional sports network using its sharing marketplace consortium. NECF’s deployed its marketplace model on two football games in the Midwestern U.S.; events that otherwise would not have been televised due to the expenses of either a traditional broadcast or at-home production. For both games, NECF coordinated a total of 24 marketplace partners. This provided the opportunity to eliminate significant logistical costs associated with moving, housing, and feeding production personnel on-site, as well as shipping the majority of production equipment to each venue or having a traditional and costly REMI control room. Only crew and equipment that was absolutely necessary at each venue or hub needed to be located there. NECF’s sharingeconomy collaborative of broadcasters and vendors offers new economies of scale, using patent-pending technologies and models to coordinate components of live video production from any location.

NEXTVR

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extVR is a leading virtual reality platform for delivering live sports and music in virtual reality to fans globally. Launched in 2009, the company has multiple patented technologies that deliver an unparalleled virtual reality experience, providing fans extraordinary access and immersion. NextVR has world-class partnerships with leaders in sports and entertainment including the NBA, NFL, Fox Sports, Live Nation, and more.

NUTANIX

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utanix is a global leader in cloud software and hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, making infrastructure invisible so that IT can focus on the applications and services that power their business. Companies around the world use Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS software to bring one-click application management and mobility across public, private and distributed edge clouds so they can run any application at any scale with a dramatically lower total cost of ownership.

The result is organizations that can rapidly deliver a high-performance IT environment on demand, giving application owners a true cloud-like experience.

PRG

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roduction Resource Group is the global partner of choice for the world’s leading entertainment and event producers, designers, and creative talents. PRG’s teams stage some of the most unique, challenging, and

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groundbreaking projects across a broad range of markets. From corporate, association, automotive events, live music tours and festivals, theatre, television, and film, to sports and other major public events, to permanent installations at theme parks, retails stores, and performing arts centers — PRG is on-site, from concept through execution, with the most creative and cutting-edge production solutions available.

PRIMEVIEW

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rimeview was launched in 1997 as a company specializing in visual solutions, with a focus on the corporate market. Primeview designs, produces, and delivers cutting-edge visual display technology for a wide variety of markets. The company’s production lines are tailored to meet the stringent needs of its clients in a reliable and continuous manner.

PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS

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rogram Productions’ labor management system, ProCrewz, is the industry’s most advanced platform for managing the day-today responsibilities of crewing live events.

ProCrewz is scaled to handle an unlimited number of live events and an unlimited number of technicians. Program Productions’ web-based client portal allows all of its clients to know, in real-time, the status of their crews, the technicians assigned, estimated costs, and invoices. Clients manage schedules and communicate job-wide with the ProCrewz Mobile App. Crews utilize the ProCrewz Mobile App to access their schedule, punch in and out from their mobile device in a geo-fenced area, upload and submit expenses, communicate to coordinators, and so much more.

RCN BUSINESS SERVICES

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hen companies choose RCN Business as their communications partner, they gain exceptional customer service, quicker installation, and issue resolution. With the ability to deliver facilities-based communication products and services — Internet, Ethernet, Voice, and Video solutions — over the company’s wholly owned fiber-rich network, RCN Business empowers small and enterprise businesses to excel.

REALITY CHECK SYSTEMS

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artnering with premiere federations and leagues, networks, and social media giants, Reality Check Systems create graphics packages and control solutions with live data integration for hundreds of hours of daily sports, news, and entertainment content worldwide.

RF WIRELESS

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F Wireless Systems is experiencing an exhilarating year of innovation. The new in-

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SPONSORUPDATE house Incite line of miniature and wearable cameras has been a big success for production groups! This is due to their range, image, size, and the simple fact that they can be shaded from the production truck in real time with an RCP. Patented two-way communication is the key to the success of this little product with big results. RefVu joined the NHL this season with a 30-game package for Rogers Sportsnet. It provided exciting angles during NHL All-Star and was also on the ice for the Winter Classic with NBC at Notre Dame.

RF Wireless is now working to develop this compact wireless broadcast solution into new configurations that are sure to change how POVs and wearable cameras are used.

ROCK-IT CARGO

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ock-It Cargo combines highly seasoned agents with the most trusted global network in the industry to deliver extraordinary events. The company has spent decades building relationships with the most reliable and accredited cargo agencies around the world to ensure that your shipments arrive safely and on time no matter the location. Handcrafted logistics means that meticulous care is given to every project and personal service to every client. From supply chain management, project coordination, and tour planning to ATA carnet processing, insurance procurement, and on-site staff, Rock-It Cargo provides complete logistical support tailored to specific customer needs.

SDTV

S

DTV has been a pioneer in remote satellite uplink and downlink with multi-camera television production for 25 years. The company was the first to design and build a multi-camera broadcast vehicle with Ku-band satellite uplink all packaged in a rapidly deployable format. SDTV has the capabilities to provide an instantaneous television or data feed to locations around the world.

SIXTY AS

S

ixty’s Ease Live platform is the result of 15 years’ experience in creating TV innovations. It delivers OTT broadcast graphics and interactivity into your programming, providing a solid base to develop compelling additions to your investment in content and technology, ultimately enhancing the viewing experience. Ease Live creates and distributes interactive on-air graphics on top of an existing broadcast workflow. The platform is cloud-based and scales up virtual servers automatically with the traffic load. Graphics are rendered locally on each user’s device through a set of SDKs. The Ease Live suite enables the creation, measurement, and monetization of user engagement.

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SKYCAM

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kycam continues to highlight the American football season with unequaled coverage. As part of Super Bowl LIII on CBS, Skycam expanded the use of dual systems for both its signature play-by-play coverage and as a broad replay-focused angle as well as a third system for studio show coverage. The dual systems have become a regular feature during coverage of the new Alliance of American Football league. Skycam continues to enhance SkyCommand, providing remote operating services as well as augmented reality to put Skycam on the forefront of providing audiences with a stimulating experience in sports viewing. Skycam continues to expand and partner with ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS on both NFL and college football as well as NFL UK International Series games to provide coverage with unparalleled views.

SMARTCART TECHNOLOGY

A

fter SmartCart Technology’s successful deployment of SmartCart SVX over the last three seasons, the company is proud to deliver on the 2019 PGA Tour season with CBS Sports. SmartCart SVX will be used to provide in-depth competition analysis and star interviews, which have contributed to increased viewing figures and higher fan engagement.

SmartCart Technologies has been providing the analysis segment of major live sports series since its formation in 2014, including F1 racing, Premier League soccer, Euro Champions, rugby, NFL, and Wimbledon. Designed specifically as an outdoor ‘where the action is’ adaptable pundit-driven presentation and analysis/interview hub for live productions worldwide, the system’s mobile interactive super-bright daylight touchscreen guarantees a reliable user experience and meets the rigorous demands of on-site sports production.

SMT

S

MT’s OASIS data aggregation platform and VIRTUALf/x puck- and player-tracking graphics system are revolutionizing the way data is consumed and analyzed in hockey for the 2019-20 NHL season. Introduced at the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, SMT’s OASIS platform aggregates data from microchips on each player to display in real-time and replay graphics to reveal player speed, ice time, distance traveled, and shot-speed data.

SMT’s VIRTUALf/x system produces virtual trails, player pointer graphics, and graphics connecting players on a goal, enabling viewers to follow every moment of action.

Commentators are aided by SMT’s CIS (Commentator Information Screen) displaying live tracking statistics. For the 2019 All-Star

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

Weekend, SMT’s systems were utilized for the NBC and Sportsnet broadcasts, on the NBC Digital streaming production and in-stadium at the SAP Center. SMT will also introduce the upgraded official NHL OASIS HITS scoring system for the 2019-20 season.

SNEAKY BIG STUDIOS

S

neaky Big offers full production, postproduction, and recording studio services including editorial, visual effects, color finishing, and audio in one location, and all for an unbeatable value. Having all these capabilities available at your fingertips ensures convenience and completion in a timely and cost-effective manner. Whether on-site or on-location Sneaky Big will bring your vision to life.

SONOVTS

s

onoVTS builds detailed requirement specifications, maps the workflow structure, selects the right providers, and delivers customer’s projects on time and with the projected costs. The departments include the internal existing project manufacturing, product manufacturing, electrical, mechanical, carpentry and cable technology, which work together to successfully build and realize customer’s projects to the utmost highest quality standards. Whether designing and integrating OB vans, broadcasting studios or live events for fixed installations, or mobile applications, sonoVTS delivers your project at no compromise at all.

SOS GLOBAL EXPRESS

A

s 2019 advances, SOS Global teams successfully closed out their chapter on the College Football Championship (Santa Clara, CA), Winter X Games (Aspen, CO), NHL All Star Game (San Jose, CA), and NFL Super Bowl (Atlanta, GA). The foundation of these yearly events many of which have been handled by SOS for over 25 years, continues to grow, including additional events as the PGA Championship, NCAA Final Four, NBA Finals, and an expanding esports presence. Teams built around these events worked around the clock on behalf of the broadcasters and numerous other clients to bring these events to a successful close. Later in 2019, the team amplifies its efforts on International events, France for Women’s World Cup, Peru for the Pan American Games, IAAF Championship in Doha, Qatar, and continuing to Japan for the Rugby World Cup and 2020 Japan Olympics.

Formed in 1986, SOS Global is a worldwide specialty logistics service provider in the TV production and major events space.

SPARK DIGITAL

S

park Digital is a full-service provider of technology consulting, software design,

Beyond the Boundaries of AoIP Our multi-award-winning Telos Infinity IP Intercom redefined modern communication solutions with infinite scalability, matrix-free design, distributed DSP architecture and seamless interoperability through standards-based Livewire+™ AES67.

But we’re not exactly known for leaving well enough alone.

The same pioneering mindset that allowed us to break the matrix now allows us to tear down physical and geographical boundaries, making communication with Infinity possible even in the absence of a dedicated AoIP network. Imagine any VoIP source from anywhere — even across the internet — on your dashboard.

We did.

VISIT US

AT

SU39 21

S H A P I N G T HE F U T U R E O F B ROA D C A ST AU D I O

TelosAlliance.com | inquiry@telosalliance.com | +1.216.241.7225 ©2019 TLS Corp. Telos®. The Telos Alliance®. All Rights Reserved. C19/17048

SPONSORUPDATE and development services. The company works with medium to large companies in the communications, media, and technology industries. But, given the proliferation of content being created and managed by companies in every sector from healthcare to finance and higher education, it’s easy to see how the experience might come to serve more companies in more industries.

SPORTRADAR

O

n the heels of a massive sports data broadcast partnership with Fox Sports in November, Sportradar has been working on exciting offerings to enhance sports broadcasts in 2019. Ahead of sporting events, Sportradar now compiles Game Notes, which includes a combination of text insights, charts, and data visualizations created by the research team to prepare broadcasters for upcoming games.

With Sportradar’s Graphics Library, broadcasters are able to bring real-time Sportradar data to life on-screen through partnerships with Vizrt and others. Finally, Sportradar’s Data Interface provides MLB broadcasters with access to a live data feed that has consistently proven to be faster than official data feeds. This data can be activated against in under 10 seconds and includes information such as standings, scoreboards, box scores, and situational data (i.e. a batter’s hitting percentage against lefties and righties), amongst other key insights.

STATS

S

TATS has dedicated the last 37 years to developing and implementing innovative solutions to enhance fan engagement, team performance, and broadcast support on a global scale.

STATS played a pivotal role in 2018 FIFA World Cup coverage, providing fast and accurate granular real-time scoring and updates across devices. STATS provided support across multiple networks, including extensive pregame storylines and player and team predictions. This summer, STATS also launched STATS Edge, a revolutionary AI-assistive soccer tool that analyzes team performance, compares playing styles, conducts game-changing set play analysis, and more, while linking purposeful data with video at the touch of a button. The product will change the way teams and broadcasters analyze team data and is backed by STATS’ award-winning AI and machine learning. STATS continues to invest in AI and advanced analytical tools to enhance the future of data-driven broadcast support.

STOREXCEL

S

torExcel provides professional services through a comprehensive service delivery offering called Content360°. The framework of the company’s services can be broken into five

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areas surrounding digital media supply chain and data lifecycle management environments: Content360°(consulting services, delivery services, support services, managed and hosted services, and development services).

SUPPONOR

S

upponor is a global leader in sports virtual advertising, with 15-years of experience in developing virtual advertising technology and solutions. Supponor’s award-winning solutions are commercially deployed by many European football leagues as well as active deployments by U.S. sports federations including the NBA, NFL, and NHL. For example, in Germany’s Bundesliga, Supponor’s virtual advertising solutions are used for Borussia Dortmund’s home games and many of its away games. In Spain, La Liga deploys Supponor’s technology for the away games of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.

In addition, The FA and ITV used Supponor solutions for England internationals in 2018 and many Premier League and Championship clubs are investing in virtual-enabled systems ready for future exploitation. Supponor leads the field in virtual placement and virtual replacement technology, transforming both perimeter and on-pitch advertising as viewed by international broadcast audiences.

SWIFTSTACK

S

wiftStack innovations power highthroughput on-prem object storage and multi-cloud data management solutions popular in media production. SwiftStack delivers the benefits of storage offerings from public cloud providers but runs behind the enterprise firewall on any choice of commodity hardware. Built on an open-source core, SwiftStack software is designed to be easy to install and manage, creating a scale-out cluster that can span geographic regions and eliminate the need for traditional offsite tape backups. With pay-as-you-grow licensing and freedom to choose preferred hardware infrastructure, SwiftStack enables the ability to start small and seamlessly scale huge.

SWITCHBOARD LIVE

S

witchboard Live provides collegiate and professional sports production teams the power to multi-publish live video. With their latest product, Switchboard Cloud, simultaneously stream live video to Facebook, YouTube, Periscope, Twitch, custom players, and more.

By implementing a multichannel approach to social streaming, teams are able to reach all of their fans no matter where they are watching. This creates great return on investment and engagement. Switchboard Cloud members include NFL and NCAA teams such as

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

the Villanova Wildcats, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and Tennessee Titans.

T2 COMPUTING

T

2 Computing is a technology solution provider focused on the creation, management, distribution, storage, and monetization of digital content. T2 provides highly skilled infrastructure engineering and strong technology product know-how to help design, procure, implement, manage, and support systems for the leading media companies in the world. T2’s client base covers a broad spectrum of business verticals, including industry leaders in media and entertainment, sports, financial services, advertising, and many more. T2’s belief that “every company is a media company” allows for it to bring innovative solutions to solve complex problems around how to maximize a company’s content creation, management, and distribution. T2 Computing’s technology partnerships include Apple, Dell, HP, Quantum, Avid, CatDV, Primestream, and ScaleLogic. T2 takes a collaborative approach when working with its clients, leveraging its strong internal engineering staff with the vendor’s specialists to provide a state-of-the-art solution to the content creation community.

THUMBWAR

T

humbwar is a creative and technical consulting agency based in Los Angeles. The company’s goal is to solve your problems in a new and innovative way — and make you and your brand shine. Thumbwar does this by fussing over the details, never settling, and always believing there’s a new and better way to do things. Thumbwar is a company driven by technology, but inspired by creativity. Whether it’s building an app, building a remote television production, or building a new way to tell a story — Thumbwar will provide the team, equipment, and collective knowledge to make your project a success.

TNDV

T

NDV’s Inspiration and Elevation mobile trucks are used for live sports production around the country, most notably for college and high school sports. More recently, TNDV accommodate a unique sporting event with these two trucks: Harley Davidson’s 115th Anniversary Celebration. TNDV provided facilities for live HD coverage of three motorcycle races around Milwaukee within an intensive, fastpaced 18-hour window. Throughout the weekend, thousands of motorcycles filled the streets, and spectators gathered at three venues to watch the Flat Out Friday, Hill Climb, and Beach Brawl race events on venue Jumbotrons. The events were also produced for distribution over Facebook Live. TNDV served as technical producer, managing two of the company’s high-end HD

linkpro.teradek.com

SPONSORUPDATE mobile units and TV crews. The technical infrastructure included Hitachi HD-1200 broadcast cameras, Ross Vision production switchers, Imagine Communications Platinum routers, Abekas Mira slo-mo instant replay systems, and various graphics systems to produce uncompromised HD quality broadcasts.

TV GRAPHICS

T

V Graphics, a broadcast graphics and data integration provider, continues to enhance its All-in-One solution — a flexible graphics CG solution for broadcast and streaming. The All-inOne includes traditional features such as clock and score and lower thirds, as well as full-screen, interstitial, and data-driven stat pages. Additional features include dual-channel functionality, multiple playlist support, and NDI-IP compatibility.

UNICOM

U

NICOM has been a leading provider of integrated solutions to commercial and public sector organizations. Understanding that data is the most important asset of any organization, UNICOM is dedicated to ensuring not only its security through physical and cybersecurity solutions but also extending its capabilities through intelligent analytics. The practice of intelligent video analytics allows organizations to transform their surveillance and broadcast video feeds into assets that improve every aspect of an operation.

From tracking customer patterns in a venue for marketing and security purposes to the analysis of players on a field UNICOM is transforming video data into business results in real-time.

VIDEOCITES

V

ideocites is the world’s #1 provider for automated machine-learning and video-based content protection and True Viewership analytics across all social and video platforms. Videocites has developed a video-by-video Search Engine (using the content’s visual information to perform each search) and cross-platform services that allow content owners to automatically track and claim their video copies throughout all major social and video platforms. Videocites is providing its customers with three product families for Automatic Scalable Rights Protection and Management system, Dynamic BI, and True Viewership Analytics to identify the real distribution patterns and engagement of video content, and on-premise or cloud-based automated video-based de-duping system.

VISTA WORLDLINK

V

ISTA, a leader and pioneer in the REMI production workflow, celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018 as the company continues to evolve and embrace emerging technologies.

VISTA provides the end-to-end solution beginning with the onsite facility footprint (cameras,

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lens, communications, etc.) with requisite onsite personnel. VISTA’s legacy within the transmission industry allows for efficient backhaul of isolated cameras via satellite, fiber, IP, or even bonded cellular technology to the VISTA facility where events are produced and/or integrated in one of the many downstream multi-camera control rooms at the VISTA facility. VISTA will open additional REMI control rooms and announce booths within the first quarter of 2019 to add to existing production footprint at the VISTA facility allowing for a large volume of concurrent downstream productions to commence simultaneously. The VISTA team is excited to discuss the ongoing growth and expansion of the organization with industry colleagues while attending NAB 2019.

VITAC

V

ITAC supports sports leagues, broadcasters, TV networks, OTT providers, stadiums, and arenas with reliable, high-quality captions for live and recorded sporting events. The company captions more than 550,000 hours of programming per year, and employs the largest team of qualified, trained captioners in the United States.

VITAC specializes in accessibility and compliance, helping sports-video providers meet FCC and ADA requirements, thereby reaching the one in three adults in the United States that benefit from captions. Recent successes include providing captioning services for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Super Bowl LII, 2018 World Cup, and the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament as well as in-stadium captions for Major League Baseball’s “Ballpark” mobile app. VITAC also provides quick-turnaround captioning for live clips of sporting events, simultaneous encoder and IP connectivity for web and TV captioning, and dual-mode delivery of captions to ribbon boards and handheld devices in stadiums, arenas, and convention centers.

WARNER/CHAPPELL PRODUCTION MUSIC

W

arner/Chappell Production Music is a leading production music rights service.

Warner/Chappell Production Music has over 35 years of experience uniting many of the most successful and respected independent brands in production music. The brands comprising Warner Chappell Production Music have been the recipients of many industry awards.

WESCO BROADCAST & NETWORK SOLUTIONS

M

ission-critical support on the first call: WESCO Broadcast & Network Solutions is the leading provider of infrastructure, connectivity, and tactical products for content acquisition and distribution, with a complete

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

selection of fiber-optic products designed to keep your broadcast on the air. For your entire installation, WESCO Broadcast’s own Fibertron and PanelCrafters have the expertise in customized copper and fiber solutions that provide key components for your project — including custom wall plates and panels and a wide variety of fiber solutions, which are designed to keep your data flowing. WESCO Broadcast’s Satellite Engineering Group (SEG) division provides design and engineering support for the integration, installation, and maintenance of satellite and digital TV head end networks. For the entire signal path... from camera to home... WESCO Broadcast & Network Solutions delivers!

WSC SPORTS

W

SC Sports’ has recently announced a new partnership with Bundesliga, aimed at reaching more fans around the world by utilizing WSC’s machine-learning capabilities to create localized clips of international stars who play in the league. Using advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies, WSC’s platform analyses live sports broadcasts, identifies each and every event that occurs in the game, creates customized short-form video content, and publishes to any digital destination. The Bundesliga is joining a lucrative line of WSC customers, including NBA, MLS, US Open, Cricket Australia, Turner Sports, and many more.

ZAYO

Z

ayo accelerates capabilities to bring freedom and prosperity to the world by providing enormous high-quality bandwidth for the world’s leading companies. These include wireless and wireline carriers, media and content providers, finance and healthcare organizations, and other large enterprises. Since 2007, Zayo has evolved into the leading global communications infrastructure provider, with calling cards such as high-performance connectivity, secure colocation, and flexible cloud infrastructure.

ZEGAMI

Z

egami is a Visual Data Exploration Platform.

Until now, the analysis of countless amounts of unstructured data has been done using outdated, disparate, and aggregated data tools that only look at numbers and text. The information captured from visual data is not just objective, but subjective and qualitative. As a result, vast amounts of hidden information contained in all this data are lost. Zegami’s Visual Data Exploration Platform turns visual data into information. It does this by combining visual content, artificial intelligence, and data. Zegami presents all your data on a single screen, giving you full access to all results.

Apr 5-7 CHAIRMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FORUM Red Rock Hotel, Las Vegas Apr 7 DTV AUDIO GROUP AT NAB 2019 Alexis Park Hotel, Las Vegas

Apr 7 2019 SVG NAB PRE-GAME PARTY

Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

Apr 9 SVGW NETWORKING LUNCH AT NAB 2019 LVCC, Las Vegas

May 15 AUSTRALIA SUMMIT

Telstra Customer Insight Centre, Sydney, Australia May 29-31 SVG COLLEGE SUMMIT AND COLLEGE SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta Jun 24-25

RSN SUMMIT Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver

Jun 26-27

SVG VENUE SUMMIT Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

Jul 24 SPORTS CONTENT MANAGEMENT FORUM

Westin New York at Times Square, New York City

Jul 25

Aug 20

Aug 21 SOCCER SUMMIT: AMERICAS Mediapro, Miami

Sept 14 SPORT PRODUCTION AWARDS NETWORKING RECEPTION AT IBC 2019 RAI, Amsterdam, Netherlands

SPORTS OTT FORUM NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, New York City IP PRODUCTION FORUM Miami

Oct 15 TRANSPORT New York City

Oct TBD DTV AUDIO GROUP AT AES New York City Nov TBD ESPORTS PRODUCTION FORUM Los Angeles Dec 16-17

SVG SUMMIT New York Hilton Midtown, New York City

SVG DIGITAL SUMMIT New York Hilton Midtown, New York City

Dec 16

Dec 16-17

NEWSTECH FORUM New York Hilton Midtown, New York City

Dec 17 SPORTS BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME New York Hilton Midtown, New York City

* Event dates and locations subject to change.

Go to www.sportsvideo.org to learn more about these events, including registration details and sponsorship information.

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Philippe Laurent

phil.laurent@goeasylive.com

415-310-1129

EEG ENTERPRISES

Corporate

Eric McErlain

ericm@eegent.com

516-293-7472 x502

ENCO SYSTEMS

Corporate

Ken Frommert

ken@enco.com

248-827-4440

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

Corporate

Joe Garzillo

jgarzillo@encompass-m.com

203-965-6334

ENDEAVOR STREAMING

Corporate

Kayla Conover

Kayla.Conover@endeavorstreaming.com

516-622-8381

Mobile

Alan Henry

sales@esbroadcast.com

[44] 1923 650 080

Platinum

Jim Scott

jim.scott@eurovision.net

973-650-9577

ES BROADCAST EUROVISION

CONTACT

CHESAPEAKE SYSTEMS

CHYRONHEGO

19

LEVEL

31

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

147

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

AD PAGE

LEVEL

EUTELSAT

123

EVERTZ

75

EVS

51

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Premier

Paul Kosac

pkosac@eutelsat.com

678-722-1107

Premier

Orest Holyk

orest@evertz.com

905-335-3700

Premier

Quentin Grutman

q.grutman@evs.com

973-575-2111

F&F PRODUCTIONS

Mobile

George Orgera

GeorgeO@fandfhd.tv

727-535-6776

FILMWERKS INTERNATIONAL

Mobile

Michael Satrazemis

michaels@filmwerksintl.com

910-675-1145

FINGERWORKS TELESTRATORS

Corporate

Bryan McKoen

bryan@telestrator.com

604-762-1477

FLETCHER SPORTS

Corporate

Dan Grainge

dan@fletch.com

312-932-2704

FOR-A

Corporate

Adam Daniul

daniul@for-a.com

305-773-7608

FORECAST CONSOLES

Corporate

Ryan Haberman

ryan@forecast-consoles.com

800-735-2070 x309

Corporate

Robert Bleidt

robert.bleidt@dmt.fraunhofer.org

408-573-9901

Platinum

Gordon Tubbs

gtubbs@fujifilm.com

973-686-2769

FRAUNHOFER FUJIFILM/FUJINON

23

Premier

Mack McLaughlin

mmclaughlin@fxgroup.tv

407-877-9600

G&D NORTH AMERICA

FX DESIGN GROUP

Corporate

Carlos Yañez

cyanez@gd-northamerica.com

786-456-5116

GAME CHANGER MVP

Corporate

Matt Coy

mcoy@gcmvp.com

602-625-1049

GAME CREEK VIDEO

Mobile

Pat Sullivan

psullivan@gamecreekvideo.com

603-821-2205

GEARHOUSE BROADCAST

Mobile

Marc Genin

mgenin@gearhousebroadcast.com

818-955-9449

GIRRAPHIC

Corporate

Grant Werle

grant@girraphic.com

917-903-5306

GLOBECAST

Corporate

Tim Jackson

tim.jackson@globecastna.com

310-849-3901

GOOGLE CLOUD

1

GRABYO GRASS VALLEY, A BELDEN BRAND

55

Platinum

Sarah Lum

lums@google.com

408-718-2678

Corporate

Mike Kelley

mike@grabyo.com

914-584-7324

Platinum

Arlene Campbell

Arlene.Campbell@belden.com

425-409-8209

GTT

Corporate

Neil Fender

neil.fender@gtt.net

310-989-8275

HAIVISION

Corporate

Karen McCone

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514-993-2683

HARMONIC

Corporate

Chris Sharkey

chris.sharkey@harmonicinc.com

201-825-2006

Mobile

Phil Engborg

phil@carr-hughes.com

518-584-0202

HIGH ROCK MOBILE TELEVISION IBM ASPERA

11

Premier

Laura Petrosillo

laura.petrosillo@ibm.com

510-849-2386 x222

IBM SYSTEMS

95

Premier

Scott Wig

swig@us.ibm.com

905-696-4945

IHSE USA

65

IKEGAMI ILLUMINATION DYNAMICS

Premier

Dan Holland

dholland@ihseusa.com

732-738-8780

Corporate

Erin Rice

erice@ikegami.com

859-333-4636

Mobile

Rich Williams

rich@illuminationdynamics.com

818-686-6400

IMAGE VIDEO

Corporate

Zach Wilkie

zwilkie@imagevideo.com

416-750-8872 x228

IMAGEN

Corporate

Nick Ashwin

nick.ashwin@imagenevp.com

857-574-9847

mary.schoof@imaginecommunications. com

703-869-2042

IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS

59

Premier

Mary Schoof

Mobile

Kevin Sublette

ksublette@imsptv.com

317-492-8770

93

Premier

Jeff Daubert

jeff.daubert@imt-solutions.com

908-852-3700

Mobile

Tom McGowan

tom.mcgowan@imtglobalinc.com

818-761-9770

IMS PRODUCTIONS IMT VISLINK INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES (IMT) INTELSAT

Corporate

Sales

sales.na@intelsat.com

703-559-6800

INTERXION

Corporate

Richard Craig-McFeely

richardc@interxion.com

[44] 7342 949 663

INTOTO SYSTEMS

Mobile

Stephanie Rowen

srowen@suitelifesystems.com

310-405-0839

Corporate

Glen Green

ggreen@iptec-inc.com

936-520-6042

ISTREAMPLANET

Corporate

Eric Weinstein

eweinstein@istreamplanet.com

718-732-0173

JB&A DISTRIBUTION

Corporate

Maria Casey

mariac@jbanda.com

415-256-2800

Premier

Chris Ahern

cahern@josephelectronics.com

516-428-1069

Corporate

Sam Scheffler

sscheffler@juniper.net

551-427-3537

IPTEC

JOSEPH ELECTRONICS JUNIPER NETWORKS

148

125

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

AD PAGE

JVCKENWOOD USA

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Corporate

Craig Yanagi

cyanagi@us.jvckenwood.com

973-317-5176

KAUFMAN BROADCAST

Mobile

Bill Kaufman

bill.kaufman@kaufmanbroadcast.com

314-533-6633

KMH AUDIO-VIDEO INTEGRATION

Mobile

Kevin Henneman

khenneman@kmh-integration.com

800-590-2520

Platinum

Jeffrey Stroessner

jeffrey.stroessner@lawo.com

[49] 7222 1002 5150

LAWO

16

LEADER INSTRUMENTS

Corporate

Scott Cannon

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800-645-5104

LEGRAND AV DIVISION

Corporate

Gordon Wason

gordon.wason@legrand.com

516-350-2327

LH COMPUTER SERVICES

Mobile

Doug Cole

dcole@lhcomp.com

954-752-5805

LIMELIGHT NETWORKS

Corporate

Ron Rosenthal

rrosenthal@llnw.com

203-515-0966

LIVELIKE LIVEU

21

LTN GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS LYON VIDEO M2 AERIALS MARKERTEK

127

MARSHALL ELECTRONICS MASSTECH INNOVATIONS

131

Mobile

Fabrice Lorenceau

fabrice@livelikevr.com

[33] 14 500 1949

Platinum

Dave Belding

daveb@liveu.tv

714-916-8275

Corporate

Rich Rozycki

rrozycki@ltndigital.com

646-832-1952

Mobile

Chad Snyder

chad@LyonVideo.com

614-319-4071

Mobile

Jon Ollwerther

jon@m2aerials.com

213-294-2299

Premier

Gregory DeCelle

greg@towerpower.com

845-246-2357

Corporate

Jackson Root

jackson@marshallelectronics.net

310-333-0606

Premier

Luc Tomasino

Luc.tomasino@masstech.com

918-605-3236

MAXON

Corporate

Paul Babb

paul@maxon.net

805-376-3331

MEDIA LINKS

Corporate

Tom Canavan

tcanavan@medialinks.com

860-206-7326

Corporate

Dan Burnett

daniel.burnett@ericsson.com

678-689-6535

Premier

Mario Sousa

msousa@mediapro.tv

305-357-5893

METROVISION

Mobile

Jim McGillion

jim@metrovision.tv

212-989-1515

MEYERPRO

Mobile

Steve Meyer

steve@meyerproinc.com

503-638-2096

Premier

Scott Bounds

sbounds@microsoft.com

646-225-4380

Corporate

Christina Mixon

christina@mixondigital.com

917-383-8121

Mobile

Philip Garvin

pgarvin@coloradostudios.com

303-542-5555

MEDIAKIND MEDIAPRO

MICROSOFT

133

27

MIXON DIGITAL MOBILE TV GROUP MPE

Corporate

Neal Pilzer

neal@mpenyc.com

212-245-0969

MULTIDYNE

Corporate

Frank Jachetta

frank@multidyne.com

516-629-0373

NAGRA

Corporate

Darcy Lorincz

darcy.lorincz@nagra.com

408-808-0077

NCAM

Corporate

Morgan Prygrocki

morgan.prygrocki@ncam-tech.com

310-941-4684

Corporate

Joseph Maar

Joseph.Maar@necfglobal.com

860-881-360

Platinum

Susan Matis

smatis@nepgroup.com

412-423-1339

Corporate

David Dellafave

david.dellafave@netinsight.net

201-669-2037

Premier

Jeff Lowe

jlowe@neutrikusa.com

704-612-2878

Corporate

Mike Root

sales@nevion.com

212-380-0550

NECF NEP GROUP

57

NET INSIGHT NEUTRIK USA

135

NEVION NEWTEK

61

NEXSAN NEXTVR NOVELSAT NTT ELECTRONICS

Premier

Ruben Ruiz

rruiz@newtek.com

210-370-8000

Corporate

Michael McDermott

mmcdermott@nexsan.com

732-616-4586

Mobile

Joe Garcia

joegarcia@nextvr.com

949-494-4321

Corporate

Sean Tietjen

sean.t@novelsat.com

201-284-2550

Corporate

Atsushi Takahara

takahara@nel-america.com

201-556-1770

Platinum

Jarrett Schwenzer

jarrett.schwenzer@nutanix.com

646-660-5898

OBJECT-MATRIX

Corporate

Nick Pearce-Tomenius

nick.pearce-tomenius@object-matrix.com

[44] 2920 382308

OOYALA

Corporate

Elliot York

elliot@ooyala.com

917-714-9574

OPENDRIVES

Corporate

Sandra Dunbar

s.dunbar@opendrives.com

310-923-4247

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

Corporate

Eric Altizer

eric.altizer@occfiber.com

800-622-7711

Premier

Carter Hoskins

carter.hoskins@us.panasonic.com

770-619-1779

NUTANIX

PANASONIC

LEVEL

C4

15

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

149

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

AD PAGE

PCCW GLOBAL PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES PRG

C3

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Mobile

Koby Zontag

kzontag@pccwglobal.com

212-389-6257

Corporate

Gary Rosen

Gary.Rosen@plianttechnologies.com

818-264-9730

Platinum

Brooke Hershey

bhershey@prg.com

818-252-2687

PRIMESTREAM

Corporate

Robert Lisman

robertlisman@primestream.com

305-625-4415

PRIMEVIEW

Corporate

Chanan Averbuch

chanan@prineview.biz

212-730-4905

PRODUCTIONHUB

Corporate

Steve Rotz

srotz@productionhub.com

877-629-4122

Mobile

Amy Scheller

ascheller@programproductions.com

630-792-9700

PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS PSSI/STRATEGIC TV QUANTUM

7

Mobile

Clint Bergeson

info@pssiglobal.com

310-575-4400

Platinum

Ruth Compton

ruth.compton@quantum.com

949-856-7793

QUANTUM5X SYSTEMS

Corporate

Paul Johnson

pjohnson@q5x.com

519-675-6999

QUMULO

Corporate

Molly Presley

mpresley@qumulo.com

720-940-5736

RADIO ACTIVE DESIGNS

Corporate

Geoff Shearing

gshearing@radioactiverf.com

402-477-0695

RCN BUSINESS SERVICES

Corporate

Sean Sullivan

sean.sullivan@rcn.net

571-623-4332

REACH ENGINE BY LEVELS BEYOND

Corporate

Kristen Kidd

kkidd@levelsbeyond.com

303-495-2424

REALITY CHECK SYSTEMS

Corporate

Jeff Heimbold

j.heimbold@realitychecksystems.com

323-465-3900

Mobile

Rob Bunn

rob.bunn@rfwireless.com

613-228-7171

RF WIRELESS RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS

73

Platinum

Joyce Bente

joyce.bente@riedel.net

818-559-6900

Corporate

Hillary Nosbisch

hillaryn@rockitcargo.com

940-465-0303

Platinum

Kevin Cottam

kcottam@rossvideo.com

613-228-0688 x4366

RT SOFTWARE

Corporate

Mike Fredriksen

mike.fredriksen@rtsw.co.uk

[44] 020 7384 2711

SANKEN/BRAINSTORM ELECTRONICS

Corporate

Jim Pace

jpace@plus24.net

323-855-1404

Mobile

Mark Parikka

operations@sdtv.com

619-293-7777

Corporate

Chris Clay

Chris.Clay@sennheiser.com

860-434-9190

ROCK-IT CARGO ROSS VIDEO

13

SDTV SENNHEISER SES

137

SHOFLO SHOTOVER

Premier

Richard Lamb

richard.lamb@ses.com

[31] 70 306 4211

Corporate

Stephen Bowles

stephen@shoflo.tv

[1] (866) 774-0026

Mobile

Fabio dos Santos

fabio@shotover.com

818-285-1654

SHURE

Corporate

Bill Ostry

ostry_bill@shure.com

847-600-6282

SIGNIANT

Corporate

Jon Finegold

jfinegold@signiant.com

781-221-4000

SIMPLYLIVE

Corporate

Gregory Macchia

g.macchia@simplylive.tv

484-273-0760

SIXTY AS

Corporate

Cecilie Hjortland

cecilie.hjortland@sixty.no

[47] 958 33 465

Mobile

Stephen Wharton

stephen.wharton@skycam.tv

719-963-4150

SKYCAM/CABLECAM

Mobile

Gil Cowie

gil@smartcartsvx.com

646-863-6263

SMT

SMARTCART SVX

Corporate

Patricia Hopkins

p.hopkins@smt.com

919-493-9390

SNEAKY BIG STUDIOS

Corporate

Ben Grafchik

bgrafchik@sneakybig.com

502.523.0268

Mobile

Ariana Luna

Ariana.Luna@sonovts.de

[49] 89419671304

Platinum

Deon LeCointe

Deon.Lecointe@sony.com

201-930-6926

SONOVTS SONY

49

SOS GLOBAL EXPRESS

33

Platinum

Stephen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell

soconnell@sosglobal.com

252-635-1400

SPARK DIGITAL

Corporate

Tom Schuyler

tschuyler@sparkdigital.com

401-787-3760

SPECTRA LOGIC

Corporate

Hossein ZiaShakeri

hosseinz@spectralogic.com

303-449-6444 x 1118

Mobile

Mike Scotto

mikes@globecomm.com

631-974-2311

SPORTRADAR US

Corporate

Stephen Byrd

s.byrd@sportradar.com

847-274-3322

SPORTZCAST

Corporate

Michael Connell

mike@sportzcast.net

321-888-3800 x101

STATS

Corporate

Matt Davidowitz

mdavidowitz@stats.com

847-728-4470

SPEEDCAST/GLOBECOMM

STOREXCEL

Mobile

Lance Hukill

lance.hukill@storexcel.com

303-884-8973

SUPPONOR

Corporate

Isabel Najera

Isabel.najera@supponor.com

[44] 77 8988 2431

150 SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

SWIFTSTACK

AD PAGE

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

103

Premier

Bert Condensa

bcondensa@swiftstack.com

415-625-0293

Corporate

Sandra Arber

sandra@switchboard.live

732-816-7262

SWITCHBOARD LIVE

Mobile

Ian Ash

iash@t2computing.com

212-220-9600 x367

TAG V.S.

T2 COMPUTING

Corporate

Abe Zerbib

abe@tagvs.com

315-646-8400

TATA COMMUNICATIONS

Corporate

Utkarsh Gosain

utkarsh.gosain@tatacommunications.com

917-499-0236

TEDIAL

139

TEKTRONIX

Jay Batista

jay.batista@tedial.com

424-645-5300 x602

Mike Wright

mike.wright@tektronix.com

818-200-3008

TELESTREAM

99

Premier

Scott Murray

scottmu@telestream.net

530-470-1306

TELOS ALLIANCE

141

Premier

Martin Dyster

martin.dyster@telosalliance.com

717-735-3611

Corporate

Anna Lockwood

Ana.Lockwood@team.telstra.com

877-835-7872

TELSTRA TERADEK

143

Premier

Jon Landman

jon@teradek.com

818-667-4258

THE STUDIO - B&H

113

Premier

The Studio Team

thestudio@BandH.com

800-947-9962

THE SWITCH

67

Premier

Christian Kneuer

christian.kneuer@theswitch.tv

212-239-3715

THE VIDEO CALL CENTER

Corporate

Larry Thaler

LThaler@thevcc.tv

212-235-7019 x720

THE WEATHER COMPANY, AN IBM BUSINESS

Corporate

Therese DeMatteo

therese.dematteo@us.ibm.com

917-318-8488

THUMBWAR

Mobile

Brian Carr

brian@thumbwar.tv

310-910-9030

TNDV

Mobile

Rob Devlin

rob@tndv.com

877-959-8638

TSL PRODUCTS

Corporate

Greg Siers

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301-272-0939

TV GRAPHICS

Corporate

Joseph Jopplin

josephj@tv-graphics.com

281-397-9100

TVU NETWORKS

Corporate

Ken Valdiserri

kvaldiserri@tvunetworks.com

312-316-3776

UNICOM

Mobile

Jon Kelly

jon.kelly@unicomgov.com

571-499-0101

UTAH SCIENTIFIC

Corporate

Chris Harmon

charmon@utahscientific.com

801-575-3233

V-NOVA

Corporate

Matt Hughes

matt.hughes@v-nova.com

[44] 7780 998 902

VERITONE

Corporate

Logan Ketchum

lketchum@veritone.com

818-519-0054

VERIZON DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES

Corporate

Jeff Casey

jeffrey.casey@verizon.com

908-559-2036

VIDEOCITES

Corporate

Eyal Arad

eyal@videocites.com

[972] 9-9749983

VIDOVATION

Mobile

Jim Jachetta

jimj@vidovation.com

949-777-5435 x1001

VISTA WORLDLINK

Corporate

Joshua Liemer

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954-838-0900 x210

VITAC

Corporate

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brenda.nowicki@vitac.com

303-468-4714

Premier

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geol.yeadon@vitec.com

650-230-2563

VIZRT

Corporate

Melanie Crandall

mcrandall@vizrt.com

506-988-7005

VSN

Corporate

Doug Wynn

doug@vsn-tv.com

608-345-1568

WARNER/CHAPPELL PRODUCTION MUSIC

Corporate

Jennifer Stowe

jennifer.stowe@warnerchappellpm.com

615-687-6859

WAVE CENTRAL

Corporate

Anthony Sangiovanni

anthony@wavecentralrf.com

973-222-5270

WESCO BROADCAST AND ENTERTAINMENT

Corporate

Mike Vivian

mvivian@wesco.com

256-604-6362

Platinum

Seth Cohen

seth.cohen@wdc.com

203-500-4099

WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS

Corporate

Brad Wright

brad.wright@wowza.com

720-608-4733

WSC SPORTS

Corporate

Galit Shiri

galit@wsc-sports.com

[972] 54 471 6862

Corporate

Colleen Goodsir

colleen@zaxcom.com

973-835-5000

ZAYO GROUP

Corporate

Michael Waters

michael.waters@zayo.com

918-978-1899

ZEGAMI

Corporate

Oliver Abadeer

Oliver@zegami.com

[44] 7500 104 133

VITEC

WESTERN DIGITAL

ZAXCOM

Premier Corporate

111

37

91

ZIXI

Corporate

Eric Bolten

eric@zixi.com

978-853-8482

ZYPE

Corporate

Chris Bassolino

cbass@zype.com

908-913-0880

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

151

THE FINAL BUZZER

REMOTE PRODUCTION WORKFLOWS EMBRACE THE BIG TIME

By Ken Kerschbaumer Sports Video Group, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Whether you call it home run, at-home, REMI, or remote production, it looks like new ways of working are here to stay.

The first couple months of 2019 could be remembered in the history of the industry as a time when the evolution of remote production workflows (at-home, home run, REMI, etc.) quietly made the leap from being seen as something best suited to smaller events to the big time.

As the saying goes, “three’s a trend,” so let’s fire up three things that definitely confirm that big shows can be done remotely.

The biggest of the events was the FIS Alpine World Cup, held in Åre, Sweden, approximately 450 miles north of Stockholm. SVT, Sweden’s national broadcaster, was in the role of host broadcaster and made the decision to have all of the audio and video signals (80 Grass Valley cameras worth) sent from the course and produced from SVT’s production center in Stockholm. Two Telia 100 Gbps circuits were used to transport HD uncompressed signals.

“In our office in Stockholm, we have the same equipment as you would find in an OB truck, so the goal was to figure out how to use that so that we wouldn’t need to rent trucks, as we don’t have our own trucks,” said Adde Granberg, director of technology and CTO of SVT. Meanwhile, in the U.S., NASCAR Productions fully embraced a similar concept for the IMSA Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona International Speedway. The 24-hour race can tax even the strongest production teams, but the decision to have 32 camera signals sent from the Speedway north to NASCAR’s production facility in Charlotte, NC, via 10 Gbps AT&T circuits lessened that burden. A smaller team of about 33 (including 18 talent) was on site in Daytona while the rest of the production team (front bench, replay, audio, and graphics) were in Charlotte.

Steve Stum, VP, operations and technical production for NASCAR Productions, said that the rest of the IMSA season will also be produced from Charlotte.

The third is the efforts of the NFL Network at Super Bowl LIII. This year was the third year that the Network has connected its three control rooms in Los Angeles to studios at the Super Bowl, a move that Dave Shaw, VP, production for NFL Media, said allowed for 250 people to work from home.

Whenever SVG writes up an article about new workflows in remote production, like those laid out here, the reaction is often mixed and sometimes angry. Some long-time road warriors see it as a threat to their livelihood. And it also creates some uncertainty around the design of traditional remote production facilities.

But there are plenty of positives, like a better work/life balance, improved health, and an industry that will be more attractive to younger production professionals who might be put off by all of the necessary travel. And, of course, there are the cost savings.

“It definitely changes the work routines of a lot of people, but it doesn’t change anything negatively for the viewer,” added Shaw.“I’ve had the pleasure of travelling around the world to work with big events since 1993. But how much is all that personal satisfaction worth when the viewers get nothing in return for the additional expense and environmental impact?”

The future of remote production is clearly going to change, but you can rest assured that SVG will make sure you understand all of the issues as well as have the opportunity to debate them. Our events in 2019 and beyond will focus more and more on the challenges and opportunities and the upside and downside of this ongoing evolution. <

152

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2019

PUBLISHED BY SPORTS VIDEO GROUP 19 West 21st St., Ste. 301 • New York, NY 10010 Tel: 212.481.8140 • Fax: 212.696.1783 www.sportsvideo.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS PAUL GALLO, Executive Director

paul@sportsvideo.org | 212.696.1799

MARTIN PORTER, Executive Director

marty@sportsvideo.org | 646.448.9570 EDITORIAL KEN KERSCHBAUMER,

Executive Director, Editorial kenkersch@sportsvideo.org | 646.205.1810 JASON DACHMAN, Chief Editor jason@sportsvideo.org | 646.861.2373 BRANDON COSTA, Director of Digital brandon@sportsvideo.org | 646.861.2370 KRISTIAN HERNANDEZ,

Assistant Editor and Social Media Coordinator kristian@sportsvideo.org | 646.880.4902 SUSAN QUALTROUGH, Copy Editor susan@sportsvideo.org RIVA DANZIG, Art Director riva@sportsvideo.org SVG SERVICES KAREN HOGAN KETCHUM,

Director of Production karen@sportsvideo.org | 646.559.0434 KATIE CHAMPION, Production Assistant katie@sportsvideo.org | 646.524.7497 ANDREW LIPPE,

Membership & Client Services Manager andrew@sportsvideo.org | 212.481.8133 CRISTINA ERNST, Events Operations Director cris@sportsvideo.org | 917.309.5174 ALICIA MONTANARO,

Conference & Organizational Coordinator alicia@sportsvideo.org | 646.880.4901 SPONSORSHIP ROB PAYNE, Managing Director,

Worldwide Sponsor Development rob@sportsvideo.org | 212.481.8131 ANDREW GABEL,

Manager, Sponsor Development agabel@sportsvideo.org | 646.998.4554 DYLAN DAVIDSON, Sponsorship Coordinator dylan@sportsvideo.org | 646.559.0435 SVG EUROPE CONTACTS FERGAL RINGROSE, Executive Editor

fergal@sportsvideo.org Tel: +353 (1) 294 7783 JOE HOSKEN, General Manager joe@sportsvideo.org Tel: +44 74290 90134 ABOUT SVG

The Sports Video Group was formed in 2006 to support the professional community that relies on video, audio, and broadband technologies to produce and distribute sports content. Leagues, owners, teams, players, broadcasters, Webcasters, and consumer-technology providers have joined SVG to learn from each other, turn vision into reality, and implement innovations, while sharing experiences that will lead to advances in sports production/distribution and the overall consumer sports experience.

SportsTech Journal is produced and published by the Sports Video Group.

SportsTech Journal © 2019 Sports Video Group.

PRINTED IN THE USA.

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