Products & Technologies
Six months after the 'initial whistle', channels and suppliers announce the technical and technological novelties that they will present with a view to the World Cup. For example, Sony Corporation and FIFA announced an agreement that grants Sony the media rights to the 3D World Cup – the first in history produced by FIFA.
Up to 25 matches of this tournament will be produced taking advantage of Sony's professional 3D cameras and, in addition to this, from 2010, Sony will incorporate 3D compatibility in a wide range of its consumer products such as Bravia LCD TVs, Recorders and Players in Blu-ray Disc format, VAIO computers and PlayStation3 equipment.
Viewers will be able to enjoy 3D experiences in these places:
- FIFA will host public television events called 'International FIFA Fan Fest' in seven cities around the world (Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney).
- Viewers will be able to watch promotional trailers for the World Cup film in 3D at local stores (including Sony stores) selling Sony products in different parts of the world.
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to produce and distribute the Official 3D film on Blu-ray Disc and other formats.
In advance of this novelty, Sony made in October 2009 the first live 3D transmission of a football match between the Mexican teams America and Guadalajara. This broadcast was screened in six Cinépolis movie theaters in Mexico City and complexes in the cities of Monterrey and Guadalajara, in addition to a private screening on Televisa San Ángel.
Cinépolis and Televisa used for the production of this sporting event Sony equipment prepared to operate in 3D, such as HDC-1500R cameras, MVS-8000G switcher , BVM-L170 monitors and SRW-5800 recorders. This technology was developed thanks to the projection of images projected at 60p that allow a greater naturalness of movement.
- 3D results
Grass Valley announced that its HD, Kalypso and Kayenne production switchers include features that make them ideal for the production of 3D sporting events. To date, at least three of the largest sports productions in the United States were made with the Kalypso switcher and more are planned for before the end of the year.
The two switchers include features such as DoubleTake, an M/E split mode that allows operators to partition primary and secondary M/E channels to synchronize images and produce real stereoscopic effects. Thanks to these tools, first introduced in Kalypso, the production of events in 3D is almost assured like 2D.
- Digital transmission
To facilitate satellite-based communications between the ten stadiums where 64 matches will be held, Sentech chose comtech's DVB-S2 broadcast standard and CDM-710 satellite transmission modem.
The CDM-710 modem is based on the latest DVB-S2 transmission standard and is ideal for HDTV transmissions. Users can customize a link for available bandwidth and power. A format is available to suit any application, be it a Direct To Home connection or Digital Satellite News.
The CDM-710 is offered with ASI or Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and supports current and upcoming generations of multiplexing and encoding platforms.
This modem will be used to power the video connection services between the ten stadiums and the International Broadcasting Centre in Johannesburg. By using the DVB-S2 standard, modems will be able to ensure optimal bandwidth to deliver signals on HDTV.
- Holographic technology
ESPN is experimenting with a new holographic 3D technology – deployed with software developed in-house – that will be used extensively during the World Cup in South Africa. This technology allows journalists located in the Bristol, Connecticut studios, to conduct interviews with personalities located around the world as if they were physically in the studio.
This technique is an extension of the EA Virtual Playbook technology currently used by ESPN to cover NFL games.
- Subtitling technology
Mexican network Televisa Deportes (TDN) and Supercanal, from Argentina, are the first broadcasters in Latin America to use SysMedia's WinCAPS subtitling technology as well as its advanced voice input tools.
TDN, part of Televisa, is a new paid sports channel that is initially available in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. This network successfully installed and is using WinCAPS software – including voice input technology – to create the subtitles of international sports content.
TDN transfers the full subtitles from WinCAPS to Final Cut Pro, which then combines the subtitles and the final video, offering a fast and inexpensive workflow.
For its part, Supercanal – the second largest cable operator in Argentina – installed WinCAPS to generate subtitles in news and for live programming, using the voice input option in Spanish.
This sale, which also includes the first delivery of SysMedia's SDO7-CC Line 21 close caption insertion unit, was also finalized by Icareus.
WinCAPS can be used to generate subtitles on any recorded material or a live program. The software combines the skills of the subtitler or translater with state-of-the-art audiovisual analysis and speech processing to provide accuracy, speed and productivity.
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