The boom in the broadcast and live

By CARLOS MEDINA Audiovisual Technology Expert and Advisor

TV programs such as Big Brother, Survivors or Love Island, theaters of all kinds, religious sites, conference rooms and numerous events/concerts with multi-camera recordings have something in common: the use of PTZ cameras.

This type of camera has achieved the recognition of audiovisual professionals in the broadcast environment and in multi-camera coverage of live events thanks to the technology they feature and to the enormous benefits they offer nowadays.

But it hasn’t always been this way. The origin of this type of camera comes from the field of security and video surveillance: the use of cameras for closed circuit TV (CCTV); a camera that only offered the ability to capture from a single point of view, determined by the physical location of the device with respect to the space to be displayed. The result of these initial cameras were frames on a fixed plane, without camera movements, lacking in image quality and with little visual angle.

And yet they were key for video surveillance work due to their multiple and versatile placement in view of their compact size and their very simple operation and configuration. Not to forget the ability to have real-time images of what is happening and the option of having recording material 24/7 at a low cost, replacing the expense of security personnel.

A curious fact: the first use of a closed-camera TV circuit was documented to have been carried out by the German army thanks to Siemens in 1942. They were very basic black and white systems and were used for missile test observation in preparation for long-distance military strikes.

At present, after the different historical episodes that international terrorism has left us and the continuous dissemination of news on robberies and thefts, security cameras and video surveillance are all around us in our daily work: from those used in traffic, on the streets and squares, even in banks, stores and shopping centers (retail sector) up to the most private use in houses and homes.

At present time, the technology that has been developed is very sophisticated in order to obtain excellent results in video surveillance matters: night vision, sound activation, thermal imaging cameras with automatic tracking and face detection, among other features.

The use of PTZ cameras in the broadcast TV environment and live events has been the result of two circumstances. In the first place, the inception of television content based on reality television where the landmark audiovisual reference is Big Brother, born in September 1997 as an original idea of the John de Mol Produkties (Endemol) production company. This type of program saw the need to “watch” the contestants day and night through cameras that would go unnoticed in the contestants' home.

Secondly, an audiovisual production that is being increasingly enriched with points of view from numerous cameras with the aim of generating showiness at live events.

Canon CR-X500