Brazil. With video refereeing operations becoming more common in football, the Brazilian Football Confederation selected Broadcasting Televisão Ltda (BroadTV) to deploy a new VAR workflow based on EVS's Xeebra system. The new solution is being used in the playoffs of the Copa do Brasil, the country's national knockout competition.
The VAR workflow features four Xeebra systems, each of which allows an operator to review up to 16 HD cameras at a time using a simple user interface. BroadTV will be responsible for the VAR infrastructure throughout the playoffs along with a team of professional referees. It was BroadTV's previous experience with the Brazilian confederation and his extensive knowledge of the live production environment that rewarded him with the prestigious contract.
For the past two years, BroadTV and the Brazilian Confederation have worked together to solve the expectations of a VAR service technology provider and to implement the right system for the confederation's needs within professional football tournaments. The implemented solution has been designed with the full support of the local EVS team to create a VAR workflow that allows referees to work more effectively in major tournaments.
"As VAR has become more prominent, federations are increasingly discovering that live production expertise is an important factor contributing to the successful deployment of VAR workflows," said Salvatore De Luca, director of BroadTV. "Add to this the use of industry-standard playback technology instead of other proprietary systems, and we can benefit from a base of instant operators familiar with the technology that can train and work alongside match officials."
The four Xeebra systems will be paired with the new PMX server and will allow referees to review multiple camera angles live from venues. Using the system's intuitive touchscreen, users can zoom in on selected images with a simple tap-and-pinch gesture to review every angle in detail, quickly, efficiently, and in complete synchronization.
"Video officiant has quickly become a notable area of our business because many leagues and federations, especially in Latin America, want to adopt professional video systems for their VAR workflows. To achieve better arbitration processes, facility operators who are chosen as VAR service providers must implement a technology that has proven to be fast, robust and flexible enough to get the job done," said Alfredo Cabrera, Vice President of Latam Sales at EVS.
The Brazilian Football Confederation is commonly cited as the first to implement VAR technology in its professional tournaments and referee training courses have been completed prior to this latest release for the Copa do Brasil. As part of this, referees have been trained by a representative of IFAB, the Board of the International Football Association, which oversees the global implementation of VAR. During this session, referees were encouraged to take into account the philosophy of any VAR project that matches the benefits of users when using the Xeebra system: minimal interference, maximum benefit.
