Live from Champions League: Visions, Fox Sports innovate

A temporary wall is allowing two networks to operate from the expando area in NEP1.

Fox Sports US is once again at the Champions League final, but this year with a twist as the production team is overseeing unilateral feeds for Fox Sports, Fox Sports Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports Latin America. “Every year this gets bigger for and it’s because, unlike the World Cup or Olympics we, and 20 other broadcasters, land on the ground and built it up over a week,” says Mike Davies, Fox Sports, vice president of engineering.

While Fox Sports and Fox Soccer Channel operations will operate together, the two Spanish language networks have completely separate operation with their own commentary positions, studios, and staffs operating in the Visions production unit. More »

Live from Champions League: Sky Deutschland increases domestic coverage

The Skycam for the coverage of the Champions League final gets some final tweaks.

It was a little more than three weeks ago when FC Bayern München defeated Real Madrid to qualify for the final of the Champions League that Sky Deutschland realised it would need to increase the domestic production efforts. “We normally would have six cameras for a domestic Champions League Final,” says Allesandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, head of sports production. “But we decided that if Bayern made the Final we would build out the domestic show. So we have a total of 12 unilateral cameras and we will begin broadcasting at 1800 and stay on for six hours.” More »

Live from Champions League Final: Inside Look at Sky Deutschland’s World Feed Efforts

Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, head of sports production, with one of the 3D camera rigs that will be used for Champions League final tomorrow night.

More than 300 million viewers from 250 countries are expected to tune into the Champions League final tomorrow night as Chelsea Football Club and FC Bayern München face off in Bayern’s home stadium, Allianz Arena in Munich. And for Sky Deutschland, and director Knut Fleischmann, the international stage provides an opportunity to work with 20 international broadcasters on site and provide a viewing experience that reflects the host nation in a positive light.

“The Champions League Final is growing every year and there are always new demands,” says Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, head of sports production. “The resources needed are enormous and you need six months to plan it.” More »

Eurosport to carry French Open in 3D for third consecutive year

Eurosport will broadcast the 2012 French Open live in 3D via Sky in the UK market. The global sports channel will broadcast a live 3D feed from Centre Court at Roland Garros from May 28th to June 10th and it will be available to UK sports fans, non exclusively, via Sky 3D TV. The announcement follows Eurosport previously announced commitment to broadcast over 100 hours of 3D content from the London Olympic Games this summer.

More »

MDR Germany selects Aveco for master control support

Germany’s MDR has selected Aveco to supply a suite of automation tools for their new master-control room.  The ASTRA MCR system will be used to control Omneon videoservers, Miranda ImageStore mixers, and Chyron graphics. Aveco’s German dealer, Logic Media Solutions, sold two complete ASTRA MCR systems to MDR’s prime contractor BFE as a part of the building of MDR’s new master-control room. MDR selected Aveco’s ASTRA system because it easily fulfilled all of the tender requirements and was within their budget.

MDR was also impressed by Aveco’s reputation in Germany for quality and reliability as well as Aveco’s market share of 75 percent with public-service broadcasters in Germany. Another key selling point was ASTRA’s new multi-platform user interface with its new look and feel as well as operator-friendly features.

MDR will have two independently mirrored ASTRA systems to control two complete broadcast chains (mixer, graphics, videoserver, etc.). One mirrored ASTRA system will be the primary system and will be used to broadcast their main channel. The second mirrored ASTRA system will be used as an emergency/test system.

“Aveco designed this unique configuration for MDR to provide maximum flexibility and reliability,” says Roger Crooks, Aveco VP of Sales and Marketing. “If any piece of equipment in the main broadcast chain fails, MDR can immediately switch over to the backup chain and continue to stay on-air.”

For preventive maintenance, upgrades, or operator training, the two chains can be used simultaneously without impact on MDR’s main playout channel.

“We work closely with our customers to make sure we meet all their special needs,” adds Crooks.

After lengthy discussions between MDR and Aveco’s system engineers, a number of special features were added, including variable-speed playout, simultaneous playout while transfer, automatic import of scheduling data, and predictive failover.

Telecom Italia, Emitel Poland tap Signiant for file-based transport

Telecom Italia and Emitel Poland are two of the most recent telecom operators to adopt Signiant products for secure, accelerated file movement in support VOD, content aggregation, and distribution services. Italy’s largest telecommunications provider, Telecom Italia, has purchased Signiant Managers+Agents and Signiant Media Exchange for aggregation and distribution of content to support its new services and workflows. Likewise, Polish telecom provider Emitel has installed Signiant as the basis of a complete content-distribution-management infrastructure to serve its national television market.

“Today’s leading-edge telecom service providers are looking beyond their traditional business models to expand into new types of managed-service offerings for their media and entertainment customers,” says Rick Clarkson, Signiant’s VP of Product Development. “To make these services viable and efficient, a growing number of telecom operators are using software from Signiant to move rich-media files in a fast, secure, and automated fashion while also providing complete management control over the transfers.”

Until now, issues such as network latency, a lack of tools for asset tracking, and inadequate network security have hindered service providers in their efforts to implement file-based media workflows, both to support their internal processes and to deliver profitable, managed services for their media customers. Signiant addresses those issues with a complete family of software-based solutions for automating, accelerating, and managing the secure exchange of high-value media assets.

Signiant’s enterprise-class software solutions address all aspects of file-based media movement across global networks. The compatible product suite includes Managers+Agents, optimised for automated batch file transfers, advanced resource management, and workflow integration. And Media Shuttle offers enterprises cloud-based workflows without the file-size limits or security risks associated with storing media assets in the cloud.

“By accelerating workflows for secure content exchanges, Signiant’s software adds value on many levels. First and foremost, it supports the ability of telecom service providers to expand their portfolio of services and add incremental revenue beyond their traditional base,” says Clarkson. “Also, they’re able to pass significant benefits along to their customers in the form of operational cost savings, new efficiencies, and the peace of mind that comes with enterprise-level security of their video assets.”

Qatar TV chooses Grass Valley for new master-control facility

Grass Valley will provide a complete master-control system for a new broadcast centre being built in Doha by the Qatari Television Support and Development Committee (TVSDC) for Qatar TV. The design for the Qatar TV Broadcast Centre focuses on adaptive and flexible workflows, while being future-proofed for emerging technologies, such as 3 Gbps 1080p. This ensures that Qatar TV will be able to serve its viewers for years to come, without fear of technical obsolescence.

Grass Valley is providing the systems integration, installation, and commissioning for this multimillion-dollar project.

“This project is core to the development of Qatar TV, and we needed a technical partner with a track record of proven technology,” says Samer Younes, consultant engineer of Qatari TVSDC. “We want to build a world-class playout center that is flexible and supports evolving requirements, uses the latest service-oriented architectures, and is enabled for future technical growth in order to provide our audience with continuous, high-quality service.”

This initiative calls for the turnkey development and delivery of the broadcasting centre. Grass Valley system architects scoped the requirements and designed the complete system, with support from a third-party system integrator. The project also includes training Qatar TV staff on the new technologies and workflows, as well as a continuing service agreement.

“Grass Valley is a world-class company with vast experience in delivering this type of project in a timely and cost-effective manner, which is why we selected Grass Valley as our trusted provider on this modernization project,” says Younes.

Technologies include the Trinix NXT router with integrated multiviewers alongside a Maestro master-control system.

“Qatar TV required a state-of-the-art broadcasting centre to match its ambitions to serve its audience with high-quality service,” explains Alan Wright, senior VP, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, for Grass Valley. “We have great experience in completing this sort of project, and we understood their innovative ambitions for the future. Qatar TV’s new home will be a showcase for modern broadcast workflows.”

BBC lays out Olympic programming plans; 1,000 more live hours than the Beijing Games

The BBC has detailed its ambitious plans for multiple-network coverage of the Olympics as well as a new streaming player that will deliver up to 24 live streams of content. “The London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to be the biggest sporting event in the UK in our lifetimes, and the BBC’s coverage will ensure that our audiences need never miss a moment,” says Roger Mosey, BBC director, London 2012. “As the nation’s broadcaster, we are committed to ensuring that viewers get the most from their Olympic experience, and our comprehensive coverage will deliver on that promise.”

Mosey says the BBC will have live coverage of every Olympic Sport from every venue, through a combination of BBC One and BBC Three, plus up to 24 simultaneous streams live online on PC, mobile, tablet, or connected TV. More »

Swiss-based Wire Team meets client needs with busy fleet

Wire Team, based in Lagano, Switzerland, has more than 20 OB units equipped with a wide variety of equipment for sport production needs, including the ability to broadcast from mobile or fixed uplinks. The company is definitely “sports oriented” since they are all sports specialised and do not own any other traditional TV facilities like theatres or fixed control rooms. And more than 80 per cent of the company’s income is derived from sport programming.

“In 2009, after incorporating part of Valerio Maioli, [the OB firm based in Ravenna], we could finally tackle a new market, since we previously owned only small and medium vehicles,” explains Severino Albertoni, Wire Team, CEO. “From that date on we could finally be engaged in larger operations with bigger OB vans and we could even be host broadcaster for some events.” More »

Nordic NHL fans get quality experience courtesy of Snell, TeliaSonera

Nine of Snell’s Alchemist Ph.C-HD TX50 motion-compensated HD standards converters are helping ensure that National Hockey League (NHL) fans in the Nordics who are watching the matches on Viasat have a top-quality viewing experience. The systems, used by telecom provider TeliaSonera and supplied by Snell’s Swedish channel partner, Danmon Svenska AB, are handling 60-Hz to 50-Hz frame-rate conversion of live ice-hockey matches from the United States for distribution to Nordic territories in partnership with Encompass Digital Media.

More »