SVG Sports Tech Journal — Spring 2020

SPRING 2020 SPORTS IN THE COVID-19 ERA

VOLUME14 ISSUE 1 PUBLISHED BY

Fox Sports’ Mike Davies, SVG’s Ken Kerschbaumer Weigh In

ADVANCING THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, & DISTRIBUTION OF SPORTS CONTENT

Inside Fox Sports' Super Effort for Super Bowl LIV

PLUS THE CRYSTAL BALL: LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT DECADE OF SPORTS PRODUCTION INSIDE SVG UPDATE: Recaps of the 2019 SVG Summit, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and More WHITE PAPERS: The Switch, AJA Video Systems, Cobalt Digital, Pixellot,

Signiant, Object Matrix, and Pliant Technologies

GET IN TOUCH!

The Latest Updates From 250+ Leading Sports-Technology Vendors

WE ARE WHAT YOU SEE!

From above and beyond, directly to homes, the web or stream, MEDIAPRO delivers the best results using its innovative production systems. MEDIAPRO's innovation in sports production includes mobile units, remote production, special cameras and sports automation systems.

www.mediapro.tv | www.mediaprous.tv | mediaprocanada.tv Email US: sales.us@mediapro.tv | Email Canada: sales.ca@mediapro.tv Follow us on Social Media

YOUR NETWORK. OUR SOLUTION. IPTV | Digital Signage | Menu Boards | Video Walls | Mobile Player

VITEC’s IPTV & Digital Signage solution extends the action on the field to any screen, by harnessing the power of a venue’s existing network. With low latency streaming and cutting-edge video walls, VITEC’s EZ TV platform ensures that fans will stay hyper-engaged from entry to exit.

sports.vitec.com

in this issue SPRING 2020 Volume 14 Issue 1

upfront 4 FROM THE CHAIRMAN An Industry Perseveres in Crisis 6 COVERING THE FIELD A Digital-Only First for SVG

SVGupdate page 8

8 SVG SUMMIT 10 SVG@ESPORTS STADIUM ARLINGTON 12 TRANSPORT 14 ESPORTS PRODUCTION SUMMIT 19 SPORTS BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME

specialreport 40 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

page 40

SVG at

SPECIAL REPORT page 46

SUPER BOWL LIV

COVER STORY page 60

THE CRYSTAL BALL: LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT DECADE OF

SPORTS PRODUCTION white papers 70

THE SWITCH: UNLOCKING THE SMARTER REMOTE PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITY

74 AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS: EMBRACING A SINGLE MASTER HDR WORKFLOW FOR LIVE SPORTS PRODUCTION 78

COBALT DIGITAL: BIT-RATE EVALUATION OF COMPRESSED HDR USING SL-HDR1

82

PIXELLOT: RESPONDING TO THE DEMAND FOR A PERSONALIZED OTT FAN EXPERIENCE

86

SIGNIANT: INNOVATIONS TO WATCH IN LIVE SPORTS PRODUCTION

90

OBJECT MATRIX: HOW DO YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR SPORTS ARCHIVE?

94 PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES: OPTIMIZING RF SPECTRUM USAGE FOR PROFESSIONAL WIRELESS INTERCOM OPERATION 98 SVG SPONSOR UPDATE

The latest production technology and news from 250+ SVG sponsors

154 SVG SPONSOR DIRECTORY 160 2

FINAL BUZZER

Where We Go From Here

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

AN INDUSTRY PERSEVERES IN CRISIS

By Mike Davies Sports Video Group, Advisory Board Chairman Greetings from interesting times, and best wishes and health to everyone in our community.

This column should have been about the countless accomplishments of our industry over the last year. It should have included the many things we have achieved together, and how we have worked as a business to move the sports production industry forward yet again.

And, essentially, it still can be as we forge new ground daily in this uncertain future.

Technology is the engine of our storytelling vehicle in normal times, but technology is now put to the test in light of our challenges. IP production, software-defined solutions, communications technology, and encoding now take the center stage — sometimes being pushed out into the world much sooner than expected — as we try the best we can to get our industry working in a productive way.

But we have spoken a lot about these things, and I do not want to pile on and simply say things that have been said, so it is also a time to look back, as not to forget the huge year we have had together: the PGA Championship; the College Football Playoffs and Championship; and, of course, an unforgettable Super Bowl were just a handful of things we all worked on this year.

The challenging times we navigate today put these accomplishments against sharp relief. And while this is going on, I am impressed daily with the energy and ingenuity of the people in our business — vendors and clients alike keep things moving forward, while keeping eyes on the prize of returning to doing what we love.

Let us not forget that the last 12 months had been a seminal moment for elements we aren’t thinking about right now, but hopefully will be thinking of soon: UHD production, HDR, 5G, 8K, augmented reality, player tracking, and so much more. Moving into the future, the drinking game buzzwords like “artificial intelligence” and “computer vision” are cropping up over and over — some of which are actually starting to bear fruit.

Most of all, there are the women and men who make it happen across the board, without whose passion and desire to make whomever they are working for look the best. Crew, producers and directors, vendors, drivers, utilities, production assistants; all of whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude and whom we cannot wait to come back and work with side by side again.

All told, during this time of challenge, we look to make ourselves better, to spend time with our families, and to ensure the continuity and even reinvention of our collective business. While things are different now, we are all lucky that we work in the world of sports, and when sports comes back, it does so as a predictor of good things to come.

I wish you all the health and best wishes. < 4

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

>SVG CHAIRMAN

Mike Davies, Fox Sports, SVP, Technical and Field Operations

>EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ken Aagaard, SVG Chairman Emeritus and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Chairman Andrea Berry, PRG, SVP and GM, Broadcast and Television Eric Black, NBC Sports Group, SVP and CTO Digital Jason Cohen, CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network, VP, Remote Technical Operations Mike Connelly, Fox Regional Sports Networks, SVP, Production Scott Gillies, SkyRae, President Steve Hellmuth, SVG Chairman Emeritus and NBA Entertainment, EVP, Media Operations and Technology Jeff Jacobs, Skyline New Media, Managing Partner Patty Power, CBS Sports, EVP, Operations and Engineering Tom Sahara, SVG Chairman Emeritus Susan Stone, MLB Network, SVP, Engineering and Operations

>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 of Broadcasting Dylan Boucherle, Warner Media/Turner Studios, VP, Technology Strategy and Media Workflows Chris Brown, Turner Sports, VP, Sports Production Tech 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, 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, VP, Postproduction and Digital Workflow Robert D. Jordan CVE, 1337 Facilities, CEO; Venue Road, Founder John Kvatek, University of Central Florida Knights, Senior Associate Athletics Director/External Operations 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, Broadcast Consulting 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, iNDEMAND, EVP and Chief Technical Officer 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

Talkback Communicate with camera operators and production staff.

USB Connection For updating switcher software and settings.

Program Mix Listen to the program audio mix.

Source Select Buttons Input buttons for PGM/PVW or cut-bus style switching.

Reference In Supports black burst or tri-sync reference for use with large broadcast systems.

Source and Control Downstream keyer, media players, fade to black and transition selection.

Source Inputs Connect up to 40 x 12G-SDI inputs for HD and Ultra HD or 10 Quad Link 12G-SDI inputs for 8K.

Spin Knob Control Scroll through on screen menus or adjust audio levels.

Independent Assignable Outputs 24 x 12G-SDI outputs for HD and Ultra HD or 6 x Quad Link 12G-SDI outputs for 8K.

Lock Button Locks front panel settings to protect against changes during production.

Multi View Outputs 4 multi view outputs for HD and Ultra HD or 1 Quad Link 12G-SDI multi view output when working in 8K.

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With a built in Fairlight audio mixer, the ATEM Constellation makes it possible to do complex live sound mixing. You get a massive 156 channels, for the biggest audio mixer in a live production switcher! Each input features 6 band parametric EQ, compressor, limiter, expander, noise gate and pan. Plus you can mix with an external Mackie compatible panel or full Fairlight Audio Console.

ATEM Constellation features 4 independent Ultra HD DVEs that all work together as a single full resolution 8K DVE when you switch to 8K formats. The DVE lets you create picture in picture effects with customizable 3D borders, shadows and lighting. DVEs can also be used to create amazing DVE transitions with squeeze, push and swoosh effects for adding excitement to your programming.

Includes 8K Multiview with Audio Meters The built in multi views let you view multiple sources in a single monitor. You get 4 independent multiview outputs that can each be individually customized or transformed into a single full resolution 8K multiview when you switch to 8K. Each multiview can be set to 4, 7, 10, 13 or 16 simultaneous views. Each view also has on screen status including a custom label, VU meters and tally.

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COVERING THE FIELD

PLATINUM SPONSORS

A DIGITAL-ONLY FIRST FOR SVG

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

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6

Welcome to the Spring 2020 edition of the SVG SportsTech Journal. For the first time in the 14-year history of this publication — our semiannual reflection on the sports-production industry — the SVG SportsTech Journal looks a little different. Due to the COVID-19 crisis that has changed not only our industry, but our world, forever, the road warriors responsible for delivering sports television are staying at home. In order to meet you where you are, the Spring 2020 edition is digital only.

When we set out to produce this edition of the SVG SportsTech Journal, our industry and world looked very different. Fox Sports had just made history in Miami with its groundbreaking UHD/HDR production of Super Bowl LIV (page 48). A month earlier, ESPN outdid itself in the Big Easy, delivering the College Football Playoff National Championship (page 40). On the SVG side, we had just come off of our largest SVG Summit to date (page 8) and inducted 10 industry legends into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame during a memorable ceremony (page 19).

In addition, for this edition, SVG’s Ken Kerschbaumer and Jason Dachman peered into the crystal ball and laid out their predictions for the next decade of sports production (page 60).

Then, on March 12, our industry came to a halt as one professional league after another postponed their major events indefinitely. We wondered whether a publication celebrating those major events was the right call. We questioned whether highlighting our past events was tone deaf. We especially considered whether the predictions made in our cover story would even be possible in this new world, much less probable.

But, we decided, it was important to highlight the amazing work accomplished by the men and women of our industry. The coronavirus doesn’t erase the incredible strides made by sports networks this year, nor does it change the events where we’ve gathered to share ideas. And those predictions? Some — like at-home production — are coming to fruition faster than any of us could have expected.

We did, however, want to address the coronavirus pandemic within these pages.

On page 4, SVG Chairman Mike Davies reflects on the accomplishments of our industry, both before and during this crisis. And on page 160, SVG Executive Director Ken Kerschbaumer writes about where we go from here.

We also reconsidered our 2020 NAB Preview section. Traditionally a staple of the Spring SportsTech Journal, we opted to remove the section entirely and invite those sponsors who had planned to exhibit at NAB to submit a new sponsor update. Many of them responded with updates on their product launches, upcoming projects, and company news. Turn to page 98 to read up on the latest from more than 250 SVG sponsors and, if you see something that catches your eye, reach out directly with the contact info listed on pages 154-159.

Lastly, this edition is rounded out by seven white papers written by industry leaders on a wide variety of topics, ranging from top-of-mind issues like remote production to forward-looking issues like HDR and the OTT fan experience.

Beginning on page 70, read what The Switch, AJA Video Systems, Cobalt Digital, Pixellot, Signiant, Object Matrix, and Pliant Technologies have to say.

Thank you for taking the time to check out the Spring 2020 edition of the SportsTech Journal. While the book may look a little different this year, our commitment to the industry remains the same. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and we look forward to seeing you at a future SVG event. <

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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UPDATE

SPORTS VIDEO GROUP CONFERENCES IN REVIEW REVIEW

> SVG SUMMIT

DECEMBER 16-17 NEW YORK CITY The 14th-annual SVG Summit brought together a record crowd of more than 1,500 sports-production professionals at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel for two days of star-studded keynotes, informational panels and workshops, and an inside look at some of the most groundbreaking productions of 2019 and coming up in 2020. With 50 sessions featuring 170 speakers and 75 cutting-edge technology showcases, the 2019 SVG Summit was the largest yet.

DAY 1: Ten Tracks

The SVGW Networking Breakfast kicked the morning Include SVG Digital and off with a panel of top female a Look at the Future of execs from Dome Productions, Live Production USTA, and Eluvio. The morning also included workshops The first day of the SVG addressing IP production and Summit once again featured engineering, live HDR produca full day of workshops — a whopping 10 in all — offering a tion, and cloud services.

The fourth-annual SVG deep-dive look at the industry’s Digital Workshop was headlatest technology trends.

lined by a State of the OTT Business report by William Mao, VP, Global Media Rights Consulting Division, Octagon; Keynote Conversations with Sinclair Broadcast Group Distinguished Engineer Jason Justman and fuboTV CTO Geir Magnusson Jr.; and panels addressing the next generation of the OTT stack and the promise of what’s to come in 2020 for sports betting.

The DTV Audio Group hosted a workshop covering production audio for Tokyo 2020, workflows for Atmos in live sports, audio and communications for virtualized remote production, meeting the challenges of esports audio, and much more.

This year’s general sessions kicked off in the afternoon of Day 1 with a focus on the future of live production, which got underway with the annual “State of the Remote Production Business and Technology Trends” panel, comprising execs from Dome Productions, Game Creek Video, Lyon Video, Mobile TV Group, NEP, and Program Productions. The afternoon From left: AWS's Bryan Samis, Zixi's Sergey Maliuk, Eluvio's Michelle Munson, and Comcast Technology Solutions' Matt Smith discussed the next generation of the OTT stack during the SVG Digital Workshop.

8

Blizzard Entertainment’s Chris Scoggins talked MAM at BlizzCon. The SVGW panel featured (from left) Eluvio's Michelle Munson, Dome Productions' Mary Ellen Carlyle, USTA's Patti Fallick, and SVG's Karen Hogan Ketchum

also provided an inside look at NASCAR’s at-home productions, a look at cybersecurity in the compound, and a closing Keynote Conversation with SVG Chairman Mike Davies, SVP, field and technical operations, Fox Sports, and SVG Europe Chairman Alessandro Reitano, VP, sports production, Sky Deutschland.

The afternoon also offered the annual Sports Content Management Workshop (which was headlined by a keynote by Blizzard Entertainment), along with brand-new workshops focused on sports graphics and AR and blockchain and sports advertising.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

KEYNOTE CONVERSATIONS Peter Hutton, Director, Global Sports Partnerships, Facebook Peter Hutton is no stranger to the sports media landscape. As the former CEO of Eurosport and co-CEO of MP & Silva, the veteran executive now finds himself at the center of sports and social media at Facebook as the platform’s director, global sports partnerships.

In this wide-ranging keynote conversation, Hutton discussed how Facebook is looking to unlock sponsorship opportunities; drive ticket, merchandise, and subscription sales; as well as its efforts around live rights and much more.

Joe Markowski, EVP, North America, DAZN In 2019, DAZN regularly surprised the sports content and distribution industry — particularly in the United States — with its big and brash boxing productions and its creative deal making to make impacts in sports like Major League Baseball.

Whether with new rights deals or exclusive studio programming, the direct-to-consumer production and distribution juggernaut has built upon its successful international pedigree to lay the groundwork for a media company that could truly prove to be a disrupter in the American sports scene in the near future.

At the SVG Summit, Joe Markowski, EVP, North America for DAZN shared his thoughts on the company’s business strategy, predicted how aggressive the company would be when big rights deals begin coming up for bid, and even shared why piracy and streaming security are a topic that he’s extremely passionate about.

Activision Blizzard Esports, NBA 2K League, and ESR 24/7 Esports Channel).

The day was headlined by a pair of Keynote Conversations addressing the latest developments in OTT and livestreamed sports with Peter Hutton, director, global sports partnerships, Facebook, and Joe Markowski, EVP, North America, DAZN. The afternoon was packed with a series of sessions discussing Fox Sports’ upcoming Super Bowl LIV production (including the announcement that the game would be produced in 1080p HDR and made available for distribution in 4K HDR), the launch of the ACC Network this year, how CBS Sports delivered every shot and every hole at The Masters, the NBA Summer League’s 5G smartphone production in July, and Sky Sports’ groundbreaking use of volumetric capture for golf coverage.

The Summit ended with an in-depth examination of the business impact of technology

From left: NBA's Matt Arden, Activision Blizzard Esports' Pete Emminger, and ESR 24/7 Esports Channel's Wendy Wang

virtualization with Devoncroft Partners Principal Analyst Josh Stinehour.

New this year on Day 2 was the SVG Content Security Workshop. <

Devoncroft Partners' Josh Stinehour delivered the closing keynote about the business impact of technology virtualization.

From left: SVG's Ken Kerschbaumer and Fox Sports' Kevin Callahan and Mike Davies provided a sneak peek at Fox Sports' Super Bowl LIV production.

To watch both Keynote Conversations, visit thesvgsummit.com

DAY 2: DAZN and

Facebook Keynote, Plus Inside Look at Super Bowl LIV and More On Tuesday, the SVG Summit offered a general session track featuring Keynote Conversations, panel discussions, and behind-the-scenes looks at some of the most

exciting recent and upcoming live sports productions.

In the morning, panel discussions focused on gambling and what it means to the sports-media business (featuring execs from ESPN, NBC Sports Washington, and Sportradar) and where the esports industry is headed in 2020 (with execs from

Relive the SVG SUMMIT with editorial coverage, video interviews, full panel audio, photos, and much more at www.thesvgsummit.com SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

9

UPDATE

continued

> SVG@ESPORTS STADIUM ARLINGTON SEPTEMBER 25 ARLINGTON, TX SVG took over Esports Stadium Arlington last fall, providing more than 100 video-production professionals a behind-the-scenes look at the largest dedicated esports facility in North America.

Opened in late 2018, the $10 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. facility represents the most significant commitment to esports by a municipality to date. The SVG@ Esports Stadium Arlington event offered attendees a full afternoon of informational sessions and an intimate tour of this state-of-theart esports venue.

The day kicked off with a keynote presentation from Esports Stadium Arlington President Jonathan Oudthone. Located in the Arlington, TX, Entertainment District, not only is it the largest dedicated esports facility in North America, it’s also extremely versatile with the ability to scale from 250 to 2,500 fans depending on the competition. Oudthone provided a deep dive into how the project developed, the vision of the city of Arlington and Esports Venues LLC, and the robust capabilities of this unique venue.

Next up was the “Esports Production: Telling the Story of the Game” panel, featuring a trio of esports-production veterans

with more than three decades of combined experience producing live esports events. Do Not Peek Entertainment co-founder Jason Baker; ES Arlington VP of Broadcast Corey Dunn; and Ross Video’s Cameron Reed (a longtime freelance esports director/ producer) detailed what it takes to create a high-level viewing experience for viewers — both in the arena and streaming at home.

The three dove into their techniques at the front bench, how they work closely with observers to produce the in-game feed, and how their production strategy varies from game to game.

After the production panel, the focus turned to technology with the “Esports Unwrapped: The Technology Behind the Show” panel featuring executives from three key vendors involved with the ES Arlington project: Kevin Cottam, director, global sports and live events, Ross Video; Robert Erickson, advanced technology director, Grass Valley; and Chris Hendrie, founder and CEO, BlackStar Group. In addition, Ben Grafchik, director of business development, Sneaky Big Studios, detailed how Do Not Peek Entertainment is launching

The event began with a keynote presentation by Esports Stadium Arlington President Jonathon Oudthone.

a brand-new virtual studio and production facility at Sneaky Big Studios in Scottsdale, AZ. With an esports-venue building boom expected in 2020 and beyond, the final panel of the day addressed “Home Stadium 2020: The Esports Venue Revolution Begins”. Coincidentally, the groundbreaking for the upcoming Fusion Arena in Philadelphia also took place on September 25 and Marvin Mastin, brand activation manager at Populous, which is designing the venue, was on hand to discuss the $50 million esports venue set to launch in 2021.

In addition to Mastin, Esports Stadium Arlington Marketing and Partnerships Manager Johnathon Angers, WJHW Managing Principal/VP Josh Beaudoin, and 1337 Facilities CEO Bob Jordan CVE took the stage to provide an overview of the rapidly evolving esportsvenue landscape. With Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League set to start home-andaway games during the 2020 seaMore than 100 attendees enjoyed a tour of the esports venue.

son (and the Call of Duty League soon after), the esports industry appears to be on the verge of a massive building boom. The panel provided insight into how to design an esports-specific facility and what to expect in the next 12-18 months in the world of esports venues.

In addition, the day’s program also included a Canon Case Study focused on “Choosing the Right Optics When Planning an Esports Arena” featuring Dunn and Canon’s Rich Eilers, as well as an Esports Technology Spotlight from Marshall Electronics Director of Marketing Jackson Root.

The day concluded with an in-depth tour of the facility from the ES Arlington staff, including behind-the-scenes looks at the mainstage, control room, observer room, postproduction and audio facilities, team training rooms, and more.

The event was made possible through the support of the Esports Stadium Arlington staff, as well as Title Sponsor Ross Video and Event Sponsors Canon and Marshall. <

For in-depth reports, full audio recaps, and photos from all SVG@ESPORTS STADIUM ARLINGTON panel discussions, visit www.sportsvideo.org 10

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

NEW NEW NEW

NEW NEW

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UPDATE continued > TRANSPORT OCTOBER 15 NEW YORK CITY SVG’s annual TranSPORT conference returned to New York City’s Microsoft Conference Center and welcomed more than 275 attendees for a day of networking and sessions focused on the current state of sportscontent contribution, exchange, and distribution.

TranSPORT’s speaker lineup addressed the industry’s most pressing issues before the standing-room only crowd, including the latest developments in terrestrial and satellite backhaul, IP and bonded-cellular contribution, the potential of 5G, OTT and streaming technologies, ATSC 3.0, cloud-based encoding, next-gen compression methods like HEVC and JPEG XS, 4K and HDR delivery, the rise of “at-home-production” workflows, and more.

“We’re living in some strange days here,” said Keith Goldberg, VP, global operations, Walt Disney Television; who also served as the 2019 TranSPORT Committee Chair. “The media landscape — the OTT (over-thetop) streaming providers and the mobile providers — are looking to collaborate and decode some of the complex consumption habits of viewers these days. So it’s a very crowded marketplace.”

The event kicked off with “The State of TranSPORT: Broadcaster Perspectives”, an annual “state of the industry” session featuring transmission-focused execs from major sports broadcasters sounding off on the most pressing issues facing the industry today. Industry leaders — and SVG TranSPORT committee members —David Chilson, director of broadcast distribution operations and engineering, CBS; Chris Connolly, senior director, transmission engineering and operations, NBC Sports Group; 12

A panel on the 5G revolution down the challenges and opporfollowed, featuring panelists tunities surrounding these nextfrom NBA Entertainment, IBM gen compression technologies.

Aspera, and LiveU in discussion Representatives from Nevion, about how 5G has been utilized MediaKind, VITEC, and V-Nova at events like the U.S. Open, NBA took part in this informative Summer League, PyeongChang discussion.

Winter Olympics, and more, as TranSPORT 2019 was once well as how the next-gen technol- again bookended by a pair of ogy could impact operations in “state of the industry” sessions, the near future. including a closing panel featurAfter a networking lunch, lead- ing execs from top terrestrial, ers from major broadcasters and satellite, and IP transmission Walt Disney Television's Keith OTT services — including Fox vendors — including Aldea Goldberg returned as TranSPORT Corp., Sinclair Digital, Endeavor Solutions, CenturyLink, and Chair for the 2019 event.

Streaming, and TAG Video SES — who shared how they are Paul Spinelli, director of engiSystems — weighed traditional finding innovative new ways to neering, Sinclair Broadcasting vs. OTT distribution technolserve both client and fan.

Group; and Adam Whitlock, ogy, dissected their technological In addition to the packed slate associate director, remote traffic strategies, and offered a peek at of panel discussions, TranSPORT operations, ESPN, took part in where the business is headed. included a case study presented the discussion, which was moder“Cloud vs. On-Prem: The ated by Goldberg.

Shifting Future of Encoding, The opening panel also feaPlayout, and Distribution” tured the release of the 2019 SVG was next to take the stage, TranSPORT Survey results, which featuring cloud vendors and collects data from major U.S. encoding experts like AWS, sports broadcasters to determine Imagine Communications, contribution/backhaul trends in and Signiant discussing the the industry. This year’s numlatest technological developbers represented minor change ment and how to find a happy compared to the two previous medium between on-prem year’s: 63% of events utilized and the cloud.

SVG’s TranSPORT welcomed dedicated fiber for its primary Following a networking break, more than 275 attendees. backhaul, while 20% used IP/ industry leaders from ESPN, Public Internet and 17% leverHarvard University, LTN Global, by Net Insight, an update on aged satellite. That’s compared to MediaLinks, Teradek, and Zixi ATSC 3.0, and a technology spot63%, 19%, and 18%, respectively discussed the state of IP contribu- light on Microsoft Azure’s cloudlast year. Projections for next tion and internet-based producbased workflows. year indicated these numbers tion and how increased network SVG TranSPORT was made will change slightly again with reliability using both public and possible through the support of the major broadcasters predicted private internet — as well as the the TranSPORT committee and 62% of their events will be on introduction of future codecs — the event sponsors: Title Sponsor dedicated fiber, 22% on IP/Public promises to make IP the new nor- AT&T; Diamond Sponsors Internet, and 16% on satellite. mal for broadcast supply chains.

CenturyLink, IBM Aspera, and Perhaps the most encouraging A look at compression stanTeradek; and Event Sponsors number was the total sporting dards in 2020 — including JPEG AWS Elemental, LiveU, Media events being produced, as the XS, HEVC, and SMPTE VC-6 Links, Net Insight, Nevion, 2018 figure of 35,607 events pro- — was up next, giving experts in Signiant, TAG Video Systems, duced jumped to 40,293 this year the field the opportunity to break V-Nova, and Zixi. < and is projected to increase to 43, For in-depth reports, full audio recaps, and photos 348 in 2020.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

from all TRANSPORT panel discussions, visit www.sportsvideo.org

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UPDATE continued > ESPORTS PRODUCTION SUMMIT NOVEMBER 19 LOS ANGELES Esports isn’t just the fastestgrowing live-entertainment sector; it’s also one of the biggest drivers of technological innovation for live production today. At SVG’s second-annual Esports Production Summit, more than 400 attendees — representing a wide crosssection of publishers, leagues, venues, broadcasters, streaming outlets, technology vendors, and more — gathered at the Sheraton Universal Hotel to learn from esports-production leaders and technology experts about the state of the industry and get a behind-the-scenes look at how esports content is being produced and distributed to a rapidly growing fan base.

The day-long event began with an opening presentation on the state of esports viewership and consumption, featuring Esports Charts founder Ivan Danishevskyi, who provided an overview of the current trends in esports development and streaming.

Next up, a who’s who of esports-production leaders took attendees behind the scenes of some of the highest-profile live esports productions of the past year. On the panel were Matt Donovan, broadcast and technology manager, Riot Games; Simon Eicher, executive producer/director, broadcast, esports services, ESL Gaming; Andrew Lane, director, broadcast, FACEIT; Mitch Rosenthal, director, esports production operations, Twitch; Scott Smith, cofounder/managing director, Do Not Peek Entertainment; and Andrew Wagnitz, director, broadcast and technology, Next 14

Generation Esports.

The morning also featured a Keynote Conversation exploring BlizzCon and the Blizzard Entertainment Esports Content Factory. Pete Emminger, VP, global broadcast, Activision Blizzard Esports, and Saralyn Smith, BlizzCon executive producer, Blizzard Entertainment, shared an inside look at the recent BlizzCon production, as well as at how Blizzard produces and manages its massive content and broadcast portfolio.

Following a midmorning networking break where attendees were able to visit the Technology Showcases, the focus shifted to the technology behind esports production. Representatives from technology leaders Ross Video, Blackmagic Design, Canon U.S.A., Grass Valley, and SwiftStack discussed the nextgen technologies and workflows that live-esports producers are turning to enhance the fan experience.

A Spotlight Session, presented by The Switch, offered a look at ESL Gaming and the future of esports production.

After a networking lunch, attendees were invited to stay with the general-session track or attend the College Esports Production Workshop, which was dedicated to spotlighting top-flight collegiate esports programs like University of California Irvine, Boise State University, and University of Utah. Through this series of case studies and a comprehensive panel discussion, the workshop served to educate college and amateur esports programs and sports-video–content creators on the opportunities in

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

From left: SVG's Kristian Hernandez, Overwatch League's Kristin Connelly, Esports Stadium Arlington/Esports Locker's Corey Dunn, Allied Esports International's Jud Hannigan, 1337 Facilities/Venue Road's Bob Jordan CVE, and Populous's Brian Mirakian.

live esports production.

On the general-session stage, the conversation turned to esports venues. Esportsfocused venues are popping up across North America, and, with the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League set to start home and away games next year, the esports industry appears on the verge of a massive building boom. Esportsvenue experts from Esports Stadium Arlington, Allied Esports International, Populous, Overwatch League, and 1337 Facilities gave their best practices in designing and operating a venue, as well as what they expect in this rapidly growing sector.

Up next, the teams took center stage, with Heather Garozzo, VP, marketing, Dignitas, and Oluwafemi Okusanya, VP, content/production, FaZe Clan, explaining why creating content factories of their own will enable them to better serve the growing demand for live streaming to VOD. A panel discussion on Pro League Perspectives followed, with traditional sports

properties NBA and NASCAR Productions joining esports properties EA and Defacto Entertainment to discuss how professional sports leagues around the globe are embracing the esports revolution by launching their own leagues and teams, as well as partnering with key publishers to develop new initiatives.

Closing out the day was a Keynote Conversation with esports pioneer Mike Sepso, co-founder/CEO, Vindex, who discussed how the esports business has evolved and what he sees for this rapidly growing market in 2020 and beyond. <

Esports pioneer and Vindex co-founder/CEO Mike Sepso

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

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CLASS OF 2019

he sports-broadcasting industry came together on December 17, 2019, for the 13th-annual Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown. Industry legends from both in front of and behind the camera were inducted during a memorable, emotional evening hosted by Mary Carillo, a Hall of Famer herself. All table sales — totaling more than $200,000 this year — were once again donated to the Sports Broadcasting Fund, which supports industry members in times of need.

This year’s ceremony honored 10 sportsbroadcasting greats: ESPN and ABC Sports stalwart Steve Anderson, Dome Productions leader Mary Ellen Carlyle, late beloved tennis commentator Bud Collins, voice of U.S. hockey Mike “Doc” Emrick, trailblazing CBS Sports director Bob Fishman, industry visionary Jerry Gepner, revered ESPN commentator Bob Ley, auto-racing pioneer Roger Penske, groundbreaking ABC Sports producer Doug Wilson, and innovative camera operator/DP Ken Woo.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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> STEVE ANDERSON ESPN’S VERSATILE LEADER AND PRODUCTION POWERHOUSE

D

uring ESPN’s first 35 years, few individuals had a greater hand in crafting the network’s production philosophy and content strategy than Steve Anderson. From building SportsCenter into the gold standard of sports-news programs to launching new cable networks to overseeing thousands of ESPN’s live game productions, Anderson’s fingerprints can be seen today across ESPN’s expansive programming portfolio.

“Steve’s place in ESPN’s legacy is considerable and concrete,” said legendary ESPN commentator Bob Ley. “No one, in my experience, has ever been more respected, and rightfully so.”

Born in Brooklyn and reared in Tenafly, NJ, Anderson played basketball at College of the Holy Cross and served a short stint as an assistant coach at Fordham University before snagging a gig at the fledgling ESPN cable network as a SportsCenter PA in April 1980.

A year later, Anderson caught on as an associate producer and, over the next five years, worked his way up to producing NBA, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, college football, and USFL telecasts. In 1986, when ESPN won the rights to the NFL’s new Sunday Night Football package, Anderson took over as coordinating producer for the NFL, including ESPN Sunday Night Football, NFL GameDay, and NFL PrimeTime hosted by Chris Berman and Tom Jackson.

“Steve was one of a handful who helped put ESPN’s flag in the ground in 1979,” said Berman.

“His contributions at all levels were second to none. … There wasn’t anyone who didn’t like Steve Anderson.”

Anderson left perhaps his most indelible stamp on ESPN in his next role, teaming with John A. Walsh to manage the day-today production operations for SportsCenter.

“Steve, for 35 years, was the heart and soul of ESPN,” said Walsh. “Every significant decision in my time with SportsCenter we made together.

He knew and understood how to make everything we did better.”

During his four years at the helm with Walsh, Anderson

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From left: Steve Anderson with NFL SVP of Broadcasting and Media Operations Howard Katz

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brought aboard anchors including Robin Roberts, Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Mike Tirico, and Stuart Scott.

“Steve was instrumental to ESPN’s newsgathering success,” said former ESPN President Steve Bornstein. “He has brains, ambition, and integrity, and he taught the art of television to my dear friend John Walsh. Together, this tandem turned ESPN into a firstclass news organization.”

After four years co-running SportsCenter with Walsh, Anderson returned to the remote-production side, serving as SVP, remote production, and managing all remote/event productions (including the inaugural X Games), talent, and production personnel.

“Steve Anderson is one of the most understated superstars this industry has ever known,” said NFL SVP, broadcasting media operations, Howard Katz, who was ESPN’s EVP, production, at the time. “A tireless worker who combined exceptional intelligence with common sense and a warm, self-deprecating sense of humor, he’s also one of the most honest and ethical people I’ve ever worked with.”

In 1996, when ESPN and ABC came under the same corporate umbrella at Disney, Anderson was tapped as ABC Sports SVP, production, managing all talent and production personnel for Monday Night Football and ABC’s other properties.

“Across the landscape of broadcasting — talent, production, and technical — Steve Anderson set a standard of excellence at ESPN and ABC,” said former ESPN Coordinating Director Chip Dean.

Anderson would return to ESPN in 1999, and stay in Bristol for another 17 years, taking on senior-management roles as EVP, news, talent, and content operations (2007-14) and EVP, content operations and creative services (2014-16).

“Steve was a very important player in the growth and success of ESPN for 35 years,” said former ESPN President/Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer. “The sheer number of shows, franchises, and responsibilities he touched — including ABC Sports — stretched through the entire content spectrum of the company.”

In addition to managing the exponential expansion of ESPN’s operations, Anderson also helped cultivate the network’s next generation of talent and executives.

“Steve Anderson is one of the most talented production executives in the industry: smart, creative, and a tremendous leader,” said Jodi Markley, who took over as EVP, content operation and creative services, when Anderson retired in 2016. “He was the driving force behind key accomplishments and innovations at both at ABC and ESPN.” < – Jason Dachman

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> MARY ELLEN CARLYLE TRAILBLAZING TEAM LEADER

W

hen your grandfather was a pioneer at CBC radio in Canada, testing microwave links through train tunnels, and your father was a producer for the CBC, broadcasting is in your blood. The question for Mary Ellen Carlyle was whether blood would overcome her father’s advice.

“My dad said, ‘Don’t get into it,’” said Carlyle of her early years in college. “But, in my second year, I decided I was going into it, taking TV and film and ending up with a master’s in communications from the University of Windsor.”

Carlyle began her career in 1985 as a freelancer (working at TSN, taking ESPN content from the U.S. and putting in blocks for Canadian commercials) and did everything from camera to master control and even TD. But, when she got involved with scheduling, she found an affinity for the remote-operations side.

“I was doing things like booking phones and satellites, and that was it,” she said of finding her passion. In 1988, she worked for TSN at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (“I worked my butt off but learned so much”), which, to this day, remains a top career highlight.

The next year, she became an original employee of Dome Productions and started off on her road to the Hall of Fame. Launched as a sister company to TSN, Dome intended to use its two control rooms to edit episodics and, when the Toronto Blue Jays were playing, have one room produce the Canadian feed and the other the U.S. feed.

“After a couple of years,” Carlyle explained, “we realized that didn’t work too well when the postproduction guys would put up a two-hour reel. We eventually moved postproduction into another building so we could do the live-event side.”

In those early years, Dome Productions produced 81 Blue Jay home games, 10 CFL games, and a few other events. It also operated a government-owned HD mobile unit in 1990-91, which was years ahead of other HD efforts (eventually, Dome purchased the truck). In 1992, the From left: HOF Chairman company also bought two mobile Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports' units from Challenger Productions Patty Power, and Mary Ellen and has never looked back.

Carlyle “If you had told me back then that we would go from 81 to 2,500 events, which is where we are now, I would have been in shock,” said Carlyle. “Now we have 18 trucks,

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consider ourselves forward-thinkers, and have a great reputation worldwide. I had the chance to go from analog to digital, SD to HD, and then HD to 4K. The leap from HD to 4K has been nothing compared with going from SD to HD, which took a whole leap forward for the workflow.”

She noted that technology drives her forward and considers herself a “doer” with both the good and bad that comes with that.

“It’s my biggest strength and weakness, as I will sometimes do something before I manage it,” she said. “And I love to learn every day. If we hadn’t changed at Dome and expanded beyond two control rooms, I would not have stayed. But senior management wanted to change and look for the next new thing.”

Throughout her career, there have been her husband, Brian, and children, Robbie (23) and Jamie (20).

“My mom passed away when I was 8, and, when I had children, I said I was going be there for them and they were either going to come with me or I was going to take time off. So I have balanced work and family really well and made the time. I’ve been very fortunate.”

Besides her family, there is the Dome Productions team, which receives a lot of credit and praise. Bell Media President Randy Lennox notes that Carlyle and her team consistently deliver the superior services, ingenuity, and leadership that Bell Media relies on.

“As a Canadian, I couldn’t be more proud to have Mary Ellen representing us in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame,” said Lennox.

“She has been blazing a trail for women in the industry and the industry itself, and we’re fortunate to get to work with her.”

TSN President, Media Sales, Marketing, Stewart Johnston described Carlyle as one of the most passionate and empowering behind-the-scenes people in television. “She has had the benefit of great teachers and herself has become a great teacher, passing on her love of live production and devotion to details to the teams that are lucky enough to work with her.”

Carlyle said her success “is 100% a team effort. The key is having people that want to work at Dome.” < – Ken Kerschbaumer

> BUD COLLINS TENNIS’ GREATEST ADVOCATE

I

t’s hard to believe that a sportscaster who had a closet full of the wildest pants on the planet and wore them at tennis tournaments around the globe isn’t remembered just for that.

When people talk about Bud Collins’s legacy and his importance to tennis, those blindingly loud fashion statements might not be mentioned until deep into their reminiscences. But they aren’t forgotten, of course, and explaining how they became a trademark says something about the man, who died in 2016.

Collins’s widow, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, recalled, “Sometime early in the ’60s, his tailor in Boston, Charlie Davidson, told Bud, ‘You look awfully boring on TV. You look like a yachtsman.’

Charlie said he would make him a pair that people would remember but he had to promise to wear them. And Bud kept his word.”

Spectators shrieked when they saw him in that first pair at a Davis Cup match in the ’60s. He also discovered they thought it was, well, fun. And so did he.

“He had 52 pairs when he died,” Klaussen said, many of them outrageous enough that an onlooker might not even notice the fancy bowtie he also wore. His famous strawberry-colored pair — the special one he always wore at Wimbledon — is now in the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club museum, which held a special event to celebrate the pants’ arrival.

Another pair, weirdly commemorating the “Rumble in the Jungle,” featured a drawing of Muhammad Ali on one leg and Joe Frazier on the other; it’s in the Smithsonian.

But, really, that’s sideshow. Broacasters and tennis fans and players loved Collins because he loved them. He loved the players, he loved the fans, and he loved the game.

“I don’t know if anyone has been more important to any sport than Bud Collins,” said Lesley Visser, whose friendship (and mentorship) with Collins went back all the way to the Boston Globe. Fresh out of Boston College, she joined a quintet of sports writers — Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, Will McDonough, Ray Fitzgerald, and Collins — whom Sports Illustrated described as “arguably the greatest collection of reporting talent ever assembled in a sports section.”

Collins took Visser under his wing. He showed her more ropes than she ever imagined existed, and having Collins as her mentor opened every door a young journalist could ever knock on. In 1977, she recalls, she was at her first Wimbledon Championships

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and had to introduce herself to the pros. “Some were more difficult than others,” she said, diplomatically. “But, when I said, ‘I work with Bud Collins at the Globe,’ the seas just parted.”

Collins never got too big for his britches, however outrageous they were. He called himself “a scribbler for papers and a babbler for TV.” He was, of course, much more. A sportswriter and TV commentator, mostly for NBC, he also reported about boxing, civil rights, and Vietnam. He had the comfort of being a man who just knew.

When NBC dumped Collins in 2007, fans and colleagues howled.

He joined ESPN and, later, ended his career at the Tennis Channel.

Ken Solomon, the cable network’s president, grabbed Collins as soon as he could. “I told people, ‘There’s not a Tennis Channel without Bud Collins,’” he recalled. “Before Bud, there was really no sports calling. The tennis announcer was just an extension of the TV picture, removed from having personality, just giving a technical account. Bud was just the opposite. Bud was at the forefront.”

Solomon’s not the only one who thinks that way.

“It is difficult for people to completely understand how much Collins has meant to tennis and to journalism,” wrote Washington Post columnist John Feinstein. “You know all those ex-print guys now working in TV, many making serious money? The trailblazer for all of them was Collins.”

His knowledge of the game was encyclopedic. He wrote the authoritative 795-page book on tennis, The Bud Collins History of Tennis, and he and Rod Laver wrote Laver’s autobiography, The Education of a Tennis Player.

New York Times sports columnist George Vescey wrote, “Across the decades, Bud Collins had a standard line when someone — typically, a newspaper competitor — would rush over and wonder if he had a moment to answer a question. He would look up cheerily from the keyboard and say, ‘Ask two.’”

Klaussen and Visser remember that generous spirit. When he traveled, he would bring back spectacular, thoughtful gifts for staffers where he worked. At tournaments, he always knew the fabulous restaurant no one else knew about and would take everyone after “work” was done.

But Collins is certainly remembered. Those pants in the Wimbledon museum, for example. In 1994, he was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1999, he received the Red Smith Award for distinguished sports reporting from the Associated Press and, in 2002, was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. Today, other accomplished sports journalists receive awards named after Bud Collins.

“He was beloved by people around the world,” said his widow.

“Bud’s life was five stars.” < – P.J. Bednarski

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> MIKE “DOC” EMRICK THE VOICE OF AMERICAN HOCKEY

S

hoveled. Finessed. Pitchforked. Galloped. Waffleboarded.

Most great sports announcers have an iconic phrase or two that followers of the game can recite from memory.

Only one, however, has an entire dictionary of terms that fans have adoringly linked to them.

Michael “Doc” Emrick is the preeminent American hockey broadcaster of this — or any — generation. A winner of six Sports Emmy Awards (the only hockey announcer ever to win one), he has been broadcasting hockey for more than four decades, supplying his voice to 18 Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN, Fox, and, since 2006, NBC Sports.

“Doc is the best ever,’’ Al Michaels said recently to the Boston Globe. “He’s brilliant. He’s one of a kind. It’s such a pleasure to listen to him. He makes the game so interesting. He’s got just the right level of excitement. And his descriptions of things are phenomenal. Every once in a while, he’ll come up with something you’ve never heard, and I’ll just laugh and go, ‘Wow, that’s great.’’’

Doc (yes, he’s actually a doctor, having earned a doctorate in radio and television from Bowling Green State University) has loved hockey since he was a teenager. The first love of America’s “Voice of Hockey,” however, was actually baseball.

His childhood dream was to call Pittsburgh Pirates games on the radio. But, when he was 14, an International Hockey League game between the Fort Wayne Komets and the Muskegon Zephyrs shot an arrow through his young heart. The sport would never be the same.

Having cut his teeth in the minors, Emrick got his first shot in the pros calling games for the Philadelphia Flyers.

It wasn’t long into his career, though, that a franchise residing in Colorado decided to pack their bags for a long trip to the East Coast. The Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils, and Emrick was given the call

by MSG Networks to become the team’s first television voice.

Who knew, when the team was drowning at the bottom of the standings for much of the 1980s, that Doc and the team 2019 HOF Inductees Mike “Doc” would become synonymous

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Emrick (left) and Bob Ley

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with winning by the 1990s. After ping-ponging back to Philly, Emrick returned to Jersey in 1993 and called all the Devils’ games in the team’s glory days through 2011, an era that included three Stanley Cup titles.

“Doc is among the rare few broadcasters who elevate the game and the moment simply by his presence,” former MSG Networks GM Dan Ronayne said when Emrick left the Devils to go fulltime at NBC in 2011. “We learned something new about the game of hockey and the players every time we tuned in. There is no finer ambassador for the game of hockey.”

Having worked NHL games for ESPN from 1986 to ’88, Emrick was thrust onto the national scene when he was tapped to be part of Fox Sports’ revolutionary coverage of the NHL beginning in 1995. Ironically enough, he was on the mic for the first Stanley Cup championship in Devils’ history. In 2005, he added national games to his busy slate, calling action on the NBC-owned Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was rebranded Versus and eventually NBC Sports Network.

Like in New Jersey, his time at NBC mirrored an era of mainstream success for hockey, including perhaps its biggest marketing splash: the NHL Winter Classic began in 2008 inside an iconic snow-globe–like scene in Buffalo. Of all the nights at the rink, though, the one that tops the list is the night USA and Canada battled into overtime of the gold-medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

“The sound of Doc Emrick’s voice is synonymous with hockey, and the genuine enthusiasm he brings to every single broadcast is infectious,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “His calls define this era of the National Hockey League and have elevated the profile of our game. Doc is incredibly deserving of this honor not only as a Hall of Fame broadcaster but as a Hall of Fame person as well.”

Sure, Emrick has branched out from the rink throughout his career, calling everything from the NFL to NCAA Tournament games and even water polo at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But so beloved by his sport is Emrick that hockey has broken barriers to show its appreciation. In 2004, he was the first member of the media to receive the NHL’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award (given to a person for contributions to hockey in the U.S.), and, in 2011, he became the first broadcaster ever inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, ensuring that his unique style and theatrical mastery of the English language will remain etched in hockey culture for generations to come. <

– Brandon Costa

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> BOB FISHMAN A DIRECTING VIRTUOSO AND CREATOR OF ICONIC MOMENTS

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hirty-seven NCAA Final Fours. 27 US Open tennis championships. 20 Daytona 500s. Three Olympic Winter Games.

Two World Series. Plus the NFL and NBA playoffs, college football, Triple Crown horse races, and so much more during 45 years at CBS Sports. Bob Fishman’s résumé speaks for itself.

However, what cements the longtime CBS Sports director as a true industry legend is not the raw numbers but the iconic moments he has etched into the memories of millions of sports fans: Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison duking it out on the track at Daytona, NC State coach Jim Valvano sprinting across the court looking for someone to hug, a weeping Tanya Harding showing Olympic judges her broken skate lace mid-routine, and Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the World Series for Toronto.

“I have one goal as a director, and that’s to capture emotional moments,” said Fishman. “Directing for me — whether it’s film or sports or anything else — is about capturing those moments that have true emotion.”

In the words of CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus: “Bob has distinguished himself as one of the great directors in the history of sports television. His ability to tell the story and set the scene through the camera’s lens is simply remarkable. He is both innovative and creative but never loses sight of his main job: to cover the action.”

After graduating from Boston University, Fishman landed a job at CBS News in 1972 as a production assistant and associate director. In 1976, he moved to CBS Sports and was tapped as director of CBS Sports’ new pregame show, The NFL Today, which blazed the trail for all NFL studio shows.

“Almost a half century [after I met Bob in 1976], Bob’s innovative and imaginative work has achieved Hall of Fame status,” said former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson. “But he remains the same kind, humble, and gracious person we have always known and loved.”

Fishman got his first big break in 1979 when he was assigned to direct the unforgettable 1979 Daytona 500 for CBS, Bob Fishman (left) with CBS marking the first time the entire Sports Coordinating Producer race had been broadcast live

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from flag to flag. Fishman captured the epic last-lap crash between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison that allowed Richard Petty to sneak through for the win, as well as Yarborough and Allison’s coming to blows after the race. Fishman would direct every Daytona 500 for the next two decades and, in 1981, he became the first U.S. director to use Race Cam on-board cameras.

After CBS Sports won the TV rights to the 1982 NCAA Final Four, Fishman was selected to direct the Championship Game.

“All of those highlights, all of those, pardon me, ‘shining moments’ have come through his cameras,” said CBS Sports lead announcer Jim Nantz. “He’s just the Coach K, if you will, of directors.”

CBS Sports Lead Reporter Tracy Wolfson added, “I see firsthand the talent he is, the incredible attention to detail, the love he has for sports, the feel he has for the game, and what a tremendous teammate and friend he is. He has set a standard not only at CBS but for so many in this industry.”

In addition to redefining the way auto racing and college hoops are covered, Fishman has proved to be one of the most versatile directors in the history of sports television, covering nearly every major sport during his 45 years at CBS, including nearly 30 years producing NFL games.

“Bob has directed of some of the biggest events over the past 40 years,” said Mike Arnold, lead game director, The NFL on CBS. “He has been one of the standard-bearers of our industry for almost half a century.”

Fishman is also a veteran of three Olympics, having directed figure skating at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, as well as the Opening Ceremony in Nagano.

“Bob is the man,” said Mark Wolff, Fishman’s longtime producer on college basketball and the NFL. “There is no better director in our industry. He possesses a keen eye and sharp editorial mind that he has brought to some of the world’s biggest sporting events.”

Fishman has also helped mentor dozens if not hundreds of successful directors, producers, and other industry stalwarts during his years in the production truck.

“Bob is not only a pioneer in the television-sports industry; he has been instrumental in almost every production person’s career at CBS Sports,” said Jim Rikhoff, lead game producer, The NFL on CBS. “He has been a giving mentor and leader at our sports division for as long as I can remember.” <

– Jason Dachman

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> JERRY GEPNER A VISION FOR SPORT

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or many Hall of Famers, the key to success was a strong understanding of what they wanted to do. Often, it was a drive to do one thing extremely well or being able to do that one thing better than anyone else.

Jerry Gepner is a bit different. His story begins like many Hall of Famers. He was hooked by, specifically, broadcast technology at the University of South Carolina, where he graduated in 1978 and then had the opportunity to work at South Carolina Public Television.

“I have always been fascinated by learning new things,” he said.

“It has an overpowering appeal to me.”

That fascination has given him a résumé that carries titles like EIC, tech manager, VP of field operations, president, and CEO at companies like Fox Sports, CBS, NMT, F&F Productions, Bexel, Vitec Group, Sportvision, and, way back when, Continental Color Recording (CCR).

Gepner’s time at F&F Productions was his first real exposure to life on the road with a production team. It also set him up for a move to the network side of things, and he joined CBS in 1988.

And then a thing called Fox happened. CBS Sports lost some key rights and some key executives, who helped bring Gepner over. He joined Fox Sports in 1994 as VP, field operations and engineering.

“It was a weird band of brothers: everything was new, there was chaos, and we wanted to reinvent everything,” he recalled. “But it was quality people with top talent, and the energy was pure adrenaline.”

Among the innovations that Gepner was involved with at that time were the concept of a B unit and creating software to manage crew and travel. But key among his accomplishments was the onscreen clock and score.

In 1995, Gepner worked with News Corp. CTO Stan Honey to create the FoxTrax Glowing Puck for NHL on Fox games.

Between them, they created the first augmented-reality television system from scratch in about four months.

Recalled Honey: “When David Hill asked me to develop the FoxTrax system to track Jerry Gepner (center) with and highlight the hockey puck HOF Chairman Ken Aagaard and

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in 1994, I figured out that I could build a team that could track the puck and compute the graphic overlay, but we didn’t know anything about working in TV production. Gep taught us all that we needed to know about building a system that would work with TV field operations. Gep had the unusual combination of huge practical field experience, but he was interested in technology. That was the perfect match for our needs.”

After several months working together, Gepner, Honey, and News Corp. attorney Bill Squadron decided to strike out on their own, and Sportvision was formed in 1998.

In 2001, it was time for a new challenge, and Gepner left Sportvision to serve as president of National Mobile Television (NMT), which was the largest mobile-production company in the world.

“We built the first multiformat HD truck in the world,” said Gepner, “incorporating a lot of innovations like using new materials and construction techniques.”

In 2005, he moved to the manufacturer side as CTO of The Vitec Group and, in 2009, was promoted to division CEO, overseeing Bexel and a group of other companies, an opportunity that helped him refine his management and financial skills.

In 2014, he joined Tekserve as CEO. The company was one of the original Apple retail and repair centers in the U.S. and the largest Apple reseller in the country. Gepner lead the transition from pure retail to media/IT VAR services and consulting and, ultimately, rebranded the company as T2 Computing.

Gepner is currently COO of CP Communications, a leading provider of wireless audio, video, and communications systems for the broadcast industry.

Looking back, he considers himself fortunate to have gone from exciting time to exciting time.

“Some people like the security and get a lot of satisfaction out of working for one company for their entire career,” he observed. “In my 30s, I learned that doors will open, and, if you choose, you can walk through them.”

“What I always loved about Gepner was that he has a mind which is not scared of the new, the unexplored, the dangerous,” said Hill. “It would be great to clone the Gepner mind — because it’s that innovative way of thinking which I believe is required more in our industry than at any time in the past.” < – Ken Kerschbaumer

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> BOB LEY PROFESSIONALISM UNMATCHED, CLASS PERSONIFIED

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SPN sportscaster Scott Van Pelt calls him “the Moral Compass.” Chris Berman dubs him ESPN’s “North Star.”

It’s one thing to be admired for the professional you become. It’s quite another to be beloved for the man you are. To many at ESPN — and the sports television industry at large — Bob Ley is both.

Winner of 11 Sports Emmys and four Edward R. Murrow Awards, Ley established himself as one of, if not the, preeminent anchors in modern sports television. One of the original employees when the network launched in 1979, Ley spent a spectacular four decades at the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

“Bob has been the conscience of our company from the moment it began,” said ESPN colleague Mike Greenberg. “No one ever meant more to ESPN.” A New Jersey native and graduate of Seton Hall University, Ley got his career started at a very young age, working at a local cable system near his hometown in northern New Jersey. He also groomed his voice as a public-address announcer for New York Cosmos soccer games at the old Giants Stadium.

In summer 1979, at age 24, Ley landed job interviews on back-toback days: one was to become a weekend anchor and weekday reporter for New Jersey Public Television; the other was at a channel that didn’t even exist. A primo gig in his home state that would also put him on-air in New York City and Philadelphia? Or who knows what at this E-S-P-N thing? Trusting in legendary execs Scotty Connal and Chet Simmons, who interviewed him, Ley decided to pack his car and head for Bristol, CT. “It was an opportunity to do something fresh and new,” said Ley of the decision. “I didn’t look at it as a major gamble. It’s tough to make a bad career choice at 24.

But it worked out well for me.”

Thus began an employeremployee relationship for the ages.

Many stars came and went from From left: ESPN's Bob Ley, behind the ESPN desk in the 40 former Executive Editor John A. years that followed, but one of the Walsh, and former Chairman/ great consistencies was the mea-

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President George Bodenheimer

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sured, even, and always informed tone of Bob Ley. Among his notable moments behind the desk, Ley hosted the first-ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show in 1980; anchored hundreds of episodes of the network’s iconic studio program, SportsCenter; and helped found ESPN’s muchheralded investigative-news program, Outside the Lines.

On OTL, Ley was able to flex the journalistic muscles that defined his career. The show has been showered with numerous awards, including a Peabody for its coverage of the NFL’s concussion crisis.

The show prides itself on diving into the murkiest waters of sports culture and played roles in shedding light on critical issues like the USA Gymnastics sex-abuse scandal, steroid use in Major League Baseball and its effect on children playing Little League Baseball, and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

In addition to his journalistic accomplishments, Ley also became the torchbearer for ESPN — and for much of sports media — for the sport of soccer in the U.S. He served as the primary studio host for ESPN’s telecasts of global tournaments like the 2012 and 2016 European Championships, the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, and the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups in South Africa and Brazil. Those international events have forever left a mark on Ley and remain some of his most treasured times in the business.

“When you work with [ESPN production legend] Geoff Mason, especially in an overseas location, the phrase that becomes synonymous [with that] is sense of place,” said Ley. “Bring [the location] to the people at home; it can be five seconds, or it can be 10 minutes. Remind them, they aren’t just watching a sporting event on their television; they are in this country. Those of us who worked on those Cups know this, but you become a family. Those are seminal moments in my career. I stay in touch with so many people and those friendships deepen over the years.”

Ley officially retired from ESPN in June, but his legacy is still felt within the halls of ESPN, with many at the network still beholden to the standard that he set not only for himself or his network but for all of sports television.

“He remained a journalist to the core even as our medium grew more fractured and yelling at each other became a way to attract eyeballs,” said Van Pelt upon the announcement of his retirement. “His dedication to and mastery of the craft has made him a legend in our shop, as well as the manner in which he carried himself: dignity and integrity personified.” < – Brandon Costa

> ROGER PENSKE DRIVER OF THE AUTO-RACING BUSINESS

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elevision and its constant innovation have changed sports, giving fans better and more opportunities and creating a potent platform for advertisers. With the possible exception of pro and collegiate football, the biggest beneficiary has been the racing industry, and probably no racecar executive did more to make it happen than Roger Penske.

In a real way, sport racing blossomed because of Penske. In 1973, he began Roger Penske’s International Race of Champions, featuring the biggest names in the sport from its various forms: NASCAR, Indy racers, Formula 1.

In a crucial liaison, he persuaded ABC Sports and Roone Arledge to feature it on Wide World of Sports. The first year, all the cars were Porsche Carreras, because Penske already had an association with the famed automaker.

Eventually, Penske and WWS became good for each other and for the racing business. He provided the expertise, and ABC brought the stage.

Fast-forward to today, and Penske has been deeply involved in the technological and philosophical evolution of racing.

Innovations like helmet cams, cameras embedded in cars, and access to the pit areas are now relatively commonplace. And, with those and other enhancements, auto racing on TV took off.

For Roger Penske, successful outcomes are an old story. In the past 53 years, cars owned and prepared

by Team Penske have produced 545 major race wins, 621 pole positions, and 37 championships. And Penske cars have won the Indianapolis 500 18 times.

He’s one of the most successful sports-business executives in history, but it goes beyond sports.

Penske Corp. comprises 150 auto and truck dealerships nationwide, a truck-leasing company (owned with Mitsui) with 320,000 vehicles, 3,000 U.S. locations, and distribution of engines and motor parts in Australia and New Zealand. According to the company, the privately held Penske business has consolidated revenues of $32 billion and employs 64,000 people around the world.

On top of all that, Penske recently acquired the IndyCar Series and, oh, yes, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions, which puts Roger Penske even more firmly at the center of racing as the proprietor of its most historic U.S. site.

It’s a challenge for any new owner, but people who know 82-year-old Penske know it’s a brilliant move.

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“When I heard the news about Indy,“ said legendary sports TV boss and producer David Hill, “I thought, why the hell didn’t this happen a long time ago? He’s perfect.”

Hill headed Fox Sports when it acquired, along with NBC and TBS/TNT, the rights to NASCAR in 1999. It was a time when technological innovation was changing the way the sport was presented to fans. Although in-car cameras began to be used in 1979, it was later that they became as common or complex as they are today.

“The view from the in-car cameras has helped bring the speed and intensity of racing to the fans,” Penske has explained. “It was so difficult on television to capture the feeling of going 200 miles per hour and racing side by side at that incredible speed. It revolutionized how racing was covered on TV.” Penske persuaded his team and then others to allow TV cameras into places they hadn’t been before. “The teams,” he said, “saw how beneficial it was for them to have a good relationship with our broadcasters and give their sponsors more vis and more exposure.”

His fans in the sports business realize that Penske has one attribute few other sports-business executives of his stature can claim: he can talk the talk because he has walked the walk. Drivers and other business people in the racing business know he’s the real deal, because he was a driver himself.

Growing up in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Penske was mesmerized by racing. He won his first race in 1959, the year he graduated from Lehigh University. He never stopped racing, even after taking a job as a sales engineer at Alcoa Aluminum — a job he kept until 1963. By then, though, he was already an emerging star in the race-car business, winning the Sports Car Club of America’s Presidents Cup in 1960, 1962, and 1963. By ’63, he won NASCAR’s Grand National Series race, too.

“He was a driver,” noted long-time sports-TV executive and producer Howard Katz. “He knows that of which he speaks. His business is racing. There’s no part of it that he hasn’t done and excelled at.”

Katz also called Penske “an incredibly loyal person. People who work with or for Penske do so with pride. He’s a brilliant man.”

What impresses him is Penske’s way of paying attention to what would seem to others to be “the little things.”

Said Katz, “His management style is the personification of excellence, even down to the details. One thing that always impresses me: you go into a Penske garage, and it’s spotless. You could eat off the floor.” < – P.J. Bednarski

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> DOUG WILSON A LIFETIME OF STORYTELLING

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hen the Director’s Guild of America gave Doug Wilson its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the word Lifetime must have seemed adequate. By 2008, when he retired, it seemed an understatement.

Wilson worked on ABC’s Wide World of Sports as a director or producer for 50 years — nearly the entire existence of the landmark show. He says he covered 51 sports for that show, traveling the globe.

He produced and directed 10 Olympic Games for ABC and Roone Arledge. Most of all, though, he made his reputation for excellence directing figure-skating competitions. He says he witnessed 360 performances featuring some of the Olympics’ most beloved American heroes: Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamel, Peggy Fleming, JoJo Starbuck.

“I tried to make the camera part of the performance,” he said.

He would go to rehearsals and, at the end of the day, ask the coaches if the skaters could talk to him rinkside. “I’d have them play their music and start a stopwatch, and they’d draw what they are doing at certain points in the song on special paper I had made.”

That worked to a point. But it was tough to decipher all those chicken scratches. So Wilson began watching the performances and speaking camera directions to his assistant. She would furiously write down what he said at what point in the music and in the routine. Later on, they would decipher them and, by the day of the performance, decode that into instructions for the crew.

It worked. One of his favorites, and one that brought him much acclaim, was Brian Boitano’s Gold Medal performance at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Wide World of Sports revolutionized television, letting people learn about the real lives of the athletes they saw.

It was a formula perfected by ABC’s Olympics telecasts and carried over to ABC News when Arledge took the reins there, too.

The 84-year old Wilson has decades’ worth of stories. Some just indicate how far television and technology have come.

Today, live transmissions from From left: YES Network's Woody Olympic sites are old hat. In 1964, Freiman, Doug Wilson, and NBC pioneering satellite Telstar was SNF Director Drew Esocoff orbiting Earth. “We had some36 SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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thing like a 20-minute window to upload material,” Wilson recalls, “or we’d miss it.”

And he remembers that tragic Olympics in 1972. He didn’t have a hand in covering what he repeatedly calls “the horror” but can’t forget being in the control room when Jim McKay famously and sadly announced, “They’re all gone” about the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists.

There are silly stories, too. Evel Knievel, though “not a very good motorcyclist,” was a shrewd businessman whose stunts often showed up on Wide World.

In 1975, he planned a stunt in which he would jump over a group of London buses at the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium. Days before the jump, Wilson recalls, the stunt performer discovered that only 3,000 tickets had been sold. So, when he arrived in London, Knievel went on a rampage of insulting Britons to get them riled enough to show up to jeer him and hope for the worst.

He filled the stadium and successfully flew over 12 buses.

Unfortunately, 13 were lined up. He fractured his pelvis and broke a hand, and Wide World and Wilson had a great story to tell.

Wilson arrived at WWS in 1963, two years after its debut, and was there at the end in 1998. But the show leaves deep memories with viewers who remember it all, particularly its opening montage where the show famously promised to deliver stories about “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

It’s that “defeat” footage viewers remember.

In 1970, Vinko Bogataj, a young Yugoslavian ski jumper, crashed spectacularly, his body bouncing around like a pinball. His career was over, but the incident lived on for years in that opening montage. Wilson directed coverage of that jump. It’s “his” footage that viewers saw week after week on Saturday afternoons.

In 1980, Wide World of Sports had a celebration of its 20th season at the Waldorf Astoria and invited Bogataj to attend. He was at the hotel bar in the afternoon, speaking in his native tongue to Wilson through his interpreter. Eastern European waiters overheard the conversation and figured out who he was. “He’s ‘Agony of Defeat!’ one of them exclaimed, and soon the bar was abuzz.

Wilson recalled, “I told him, ‘Tonight at the event, some of the greatest athletes in the world will be there, but, when Jim McKay introduces you, just watch: you’ll get a standing ovation.’ ‘But I fell!’ he protested.” Wilson was right, of course. The crowd gave him a long sustained “standing O.” Wilson has hundreds of stories like that, thanks to a career in TV sports in which, clearly, he has repeatedly enjoyed the “thrill of victory.” <

– P.J. Bednarski

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> KEN WOO THE CONDUIT TO SPORTS’ GREATEST TELEVISED MOMENTS

“A

picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s a saying that has become cliché. For Ken Woo, though, those words have carried the world-renowned camera operator and DP to a career that has lasted for more than 40 years.

And, more often than not, his have been the iconic shots of some of sports’ most memorable moments over the past four decades.

“It’s really knowing the game and knowing the athlete that you’re with,” he said. “It hasn’t always worked, but it’s just being dialed into what’s happening, understanding all of the options that you have, and just picking one. It’s a roll of the dice.”

Whether it was Greg LeMond’s dramatic come-from-behind sprint to grab the yellow jersey by seconds at the 1989 Tour de France, Kerri Strug’s run towards gold on one ankle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, or Tiger Woods’s fist pump in his first career win at The Masters in 1997, the man had the knack of being at the right place at just the right time.

“Kenny Woo is an artist,” said veteran NBC anchor Al Michaels.

“You know somebody is extraordinary when you can see 10 seconds of video and say, ‘I know who shot that.’”

As a child, “The Wooman” had a cardboard camera and admiration for photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.

On television, the 1968 Olympics set his heart on fire. While most kids idolized athletic feats, Woo was intrigued by the athletes’ lives. Kenya’s Kip Keino caught his attention during a story by ABC. “They showed a feature of him running barefoot in Africa,” Woo recalled. “It was the first time I noticed a personal profile.”

Woo’s mark on sports was almost a nonfactor as he headed to the University of Georgia as a pre-law student. The pull of his past was too strong, though, to lead him away from a sports tale to tell. By graduation, Woo had a keen eye and experience with equipment.

“My first job was at WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, SC,” he said. “I got tons of experience because I learned many Ken Woo's family at the 2019 Sports skills.”

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Broadcasting Hall of Fame Ceremony

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Woo shot high school games for the sports department on the weekends, but his course to mastering a camera began with hijinks: “I stole the manual and learned how to use the new RCA TK-76.”

In 1982, Woo nailed his first stint in network television with CBS. Since then, his résumé has grown, with a few rough patches along the way. “1992 was a chaotic year,” he noted. “I was doing other projects, so I traveled 270 days.”

During that time, he documented the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Opening Ceremony in the only way he knew how.

“Take the Opening Ceremony and Kenny Woo,” said NBC Head of Production Bucky Gunts, “and you have your money shot.”

The moment would be a practice run for what was to come four years later on American soil. For the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Woo was chosen again for the money shot during the Opening Ceremony, in which boxing legend Muhammed Ali lit the torch.

Four days later, he was behind the lens for a 10-second clip that now embodies the very essence of Olympic competition and has virtually become synonymous with U.S. gymnastics: Kerri Strug’s dismount from the vault.

“You really have to plan ahead when you’re out there,” Woo explained. “It’s crazy on the floor, but I realized how important it was to be in that position because I have two or three different spots when we’re doing the vault. I knew that was going to be the [important] moment because, if she hit it and they won, that was going to be the best shot. She sticks the landing, falls to her knees, and begins crawling towards me while calling my name.”

Woo’s ability to get to know the individual made such vignettes possible. “I’d known Kerri since she was 12 years old. I got to spend time with [the athletes] in their home countries, so I became a familiar face.”

Woo’s accolades include 27 Emmys, a Peabody, an Olympic Golden Ring, and respect from his peers.

“He took ENG photography to a new level,” said Molly Solomon, now executive producer/president, NBC Olympics Production.

“The trust and bond he forged with athletes gave fans unprecedented access, so, when that special moment happened, he was there, and so were we.”

As he continues to shoot history, his artistry satisfies the boy who watched the 1968 Olympics.

“I went to Kenya to do an Olympic feature, and I got to meet Kip Keino,” he said. “He took me to the places that they filmed. It was really something special.” < – Kristian Hernandez

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

ESPN Delivers a CameraFilled Feast for the Eyes in the Big Easy

By Brandon Costa

E

ach and every year, ESPN’s production of the College Football Playoff National Championship is a sports-video–production nerd’s dream. If you are in that class of people, this year’s edition in New Orleans did not disappoint.

Director Derek Mobley sits inside Game Creek 79 preparing for the 2020 CFP National Championship Game.

While ESPN offered a whopping 15 unique ways to watch the showdown between LSU and Clemson through its MegaCast, most eyeballs were fixated on the main game broadcast on ESPN. The production was as massive as ever. A total of 76 cameras worked the game alone, with

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more than 121 cameras set up inside MercedesBenz Superdome (when you count in cameras for three studio sets and MegaCast exclusives).

“What makes this event unique is just the sheer volume that the company puts behind it,” said John LaChance, director, remote production operations, ESPN, speaking prior to the game, “not to mention the shortened time frame that we have versus other standalone marquee events. It’s big time.”

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In terms of camera specifics, there were some specialty cameras of note, including the popular PylonCam, of which there were an incredible 20 this year. Four of them were new rear pylons in the back of the end zone. Along with the Line-to-Gain Cam and MarkerCam on the sidelines, many of these strategically positioned 180-degree robotics from a company called C360 now have the ability to pan/tilt/zoom, a critical feature introduced this season but making its debut at the CFP National Championship Game.

“We had a 1.0 version of that last year with a fixed lens,” said Ed Placey, content innovation lead, ESPN, prior to the game, “but now, we have the ability through its internal optics to pan, tilt, and zoom throughout the entire scene so we get to see everything that happened in a play. Last year, we had to hope that the right things fell inside the frame. In the last couple of weeks, we built a back-corner version, [which will be used] for the first time by this crew on Monday.”

Ten standard hard game cameras were deployed, along with eight hard and two cabled super-slo-mos (Sony HDC-4300’s). Seven cameras in the arsenal shot in 4K. Sixteen cameras operated as RF, including typical game handhelds, as well as a Steadicam, a MōVI rig, and hat cams on four of the game officials. Canon also supplied the DIGISUPER 86 and 95 among other DIGISUPERs and portable zoom lenses to assist on the glass front. continued on page 44

SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LSU’s Digital-Video Team Capitalizes on Championship Moment With a Social-Video Clinic

D

uring a championship run, a team’s internal creative and video-production staff are typically the unsung heroes. Sure, they capture special memories that last a lifetime or create a video that fans share in droves around the internet, but those creators usually float anonymously in the background. Boy, not with this LSU team.

Over the past season, the spectacular video content being produced and distributed by LSU Creative has been just as much a part of the storyline of the Tigers’ title as Joe Burrow’s record-setting passing numbers or Coach Ed Orgeron’s magnetic personality (and legendary voice).

Whether it was the creative team’s trilogy of genre-redefining hype videos in advance of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game (which were edited by a student, by the way) or consistent feeding of its social accounts with gorgeous short-form all-access content, LSU’s social-video team delivered a special season for the school’s fans. And it didn’t go unnoticed by the national media: outlets from ESPN to Sports Illustrated and others wondered who was doing it and how.

“People are obsessed with these. It’s pretty unbelievable,” said Brandon Berrio, associate director, creative and digital content, LSU Athletics. “It’s something our fans enjoy. Some schools do one thing and do it really well. I’m proud of the fact that our team has found that.”

According to data released by Twitter on Jan. 11, the @LSUfootball account racked up a staggering 48 million video views and 265 million impressions on the social platform from September to December. And that’s before content came pouring out at and around the title game in New Orleans.

So how did Berrio and his team attack the Natty? With a handful of full-time shooters and editors paired up with some ultra-talented students tasked with providing an inside look at the game that fans have rarely experienced before.

The hype videos are the work of LSU student Will Stout. The junior started his LSU career as a freshman editing some hype videos for the school’s gymnastics team, and they quickly became his calling card. His work snagged the spotlight over the past couple of weeks as fans (and industry professionals) have fallen in love with his videos that accompanied the Tigers’ appearance in the Peach Bowl and then the CFP National Championship Game.

Stout worked alongside LSU Digital Media Reporter Cody Worsham, who wrote the scripts for the pieces, while Derek Ponamsky, special assistant to Coach Ed Orgeron, coordinated the voiceovers, landing big names like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tim McGraw, John Goodman, and others. Although Stout spent a lot of time editing, he did plenty of shooting as well, using both a Sony a7III mirrorless camera on a DJI Ronin-S gimbal and a Sony PXW-FS7 with a Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens on a Hi Hat. Not all motivational hype videos were for the public, either. LSU Assistant Director, Athletic Video, Jacob Brown was also creating content meant solely for the eyes of the players and coaches. He shot his footage with a Sony PXW-FS7 camera with a Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens, all on a Hi Hat.

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LSU’s Matt Tornquist (left) shoots quarterback Joe Burrow following the Tigers' CFP National Championship Game victory in New Orleans. (Photo: LSU Athletics) LSU has also excelled with short-form videos that spotlight the creative team’s shooting abilities. Matt Tornquist, coordinator of creative and digital content, was tasked with turning around quick edits (much like the shot of Joe Burrow smoking a postgame celebratory cigar that went viral). Tornquist primarily shot with a Sony a7III mirrorless camera paired with a series of lenses, including the Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 zoom, a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS, and a Sony FE 2.0x teleconverter. He also used a DJI Ronin-S gimbal and a Hi Hat to assist on his shots.

Another key performer in those quick edits was LSU Video Coordinator Matt Karin. He produced the first piece of content that crossed over into the mainstream with his now iconic shot of Joe Burrow’s Senior Day entrance. At CFP, he also shot with a Sony a7III but worked largely with prime lenses, such as the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4. He did also use the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS zoom lens and had a DJI Ronin-s gimbal of his own to go along with a monopod.

For LSU Creative, it wasn’t just about short-form social content.

Production Specialist Caleb Thornton was responsible for producing any of LSU’s linear-television programming. He used a more video-specific camera in the Sony PXW-FS5, which is capable of shooting in 4K and high dynamic range. He paired that with both the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens and the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens.

One may argue that Berrio and his team have established a new standard for what video content can be and do for an athletic program when the investments in creative video are made. In the meantime, though, LSU Creative is going to enjoy the thrill of having been part of a season that will go down as perhaps the most memorable that the city of Baton Rouge has ever enjoyed.

“We create videos on Twitter; it’s a dream job,” said Berrio, boarding the team bus headed to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on the Sunday before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. “We don’t have [anything] to do with the game, but, if we can bring a little extra to our fans and hype up the matchup as much as we can, that’s special.”

– BC

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP continued from page 40 There were two Skycams inside the Superdome. The lower one paired with a Sony HDC-4300 shooting in 4K. That 4K feed was used to program a native-4K distribution as part of the MegaCast, and the image was downconverted to be part of the primary feed on the main telecast. The higher Skycam, meanwhile, carried a Sony HDC-P1.

“Since we have so much here, the most challenging is making sure the best stuff makes it on the main show,” said Placey. “A number of the things that we’ve created for the MegaCast are to make sure that you have some dollars and interest in the resources and to get them additional exposure so they can get more than the handful of shots that they may get in the main telecast.”

Logistics narrowly avoided being a nightmare for ESPN, thanks to, of all things, the final play of the NFL regular season in Seattle.

ESPN narrowly avoided the scenario of a host stadium’s NFL team earning a playoff home game that would fall on the weekend prior to the CFP National Championship Game.

The situation has never been this close. A Saints home game the weekend before literally came down to the final play at the oneyard line on the last game of the NFL season to determine whether the Saints would have a first-round bye and, thus, have that home game the same weekend as the CFP National Championship at the Superdome. Fortunately for all involved, the 49ers beat the Seahawks and knocked the Saints to the No. 3 seed, freeing up the Superdome. Sometimes, even life is a game of inches.

“Regardless of what that outcome was, though,” said LaChance, “we needed to have multiple technical blueprints. How are we going to do this? What is our load-in? What is our park?”

From left: ESPN Operations Producer Andy Davenport; VP, Remote Production Operations, Bob Braunlich; and Supervising Producer, External Studios Group, Mike Foss Part of the compromises made during the preparations for the event was ESPN’s willingness to put the entire stadium production compound in a parking lot at the Smoothie King Center across the street from the Superdome. The main truck dock for the Superdome was essentially empty, left open in case Fox Sports needed to be in town for that potential Saints playoff game.

The CFP Championship Game compound hosted 12 television trucks, all of them Game Creek Video units. The crew had access to 180 channels of replay: 32 channels of Evertz DreamCatcher to support any 4K efforts and 148 channels of EVS. With so many ESPN entities onsite (SEC Network, ACC Network, and the various MegaCast shows) and the native4K production adding unique wrinkles, it should be little surprise that the transmission plan at the Superdome was a hefty one. There were a total of 74 transmission paths. Fifty of those were outbound and included J2K fiber paths and satellite transmission for UHD/4K delivery. ESPN added just under 22 miles of fiber and SMPTE cable to the Superdome’s existing infrastructure.

The vendor list was impressive. BSI, CP Communications, CAT Entertainment, Illumination Dynamics, SMT, 3G Wireless, Kaufman Broadcast, Fletcher, The Switch, and AT&T Video Services were among the companies helping on this production.

“I am so proud of the collective group that we have here,” said LaChance. “The vendors, the technicians, our staff in both operations and production. To put this size of an event together and bring this amount of talent together, you can’t but be proud. It is a complete team effort.” < ESPN's set, located on the field of Mercedes-Benz Stadium

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SUPER BOWL LIV W

elcome to the SVG Super Bowl LIV Special Report, an extensive overview of the accomplishments and gamechanging technologies that were front and center at the world's biggest sporting event. Fox Sports this year drove the innovation, embracing new technologies like UHD, HDR, AR, and new workflows to ensure viewers around the globe experienced the Super Bowl in a brand new way.

PLUS Page 52: Fox Sports' Kevin Callahan Discusses Rapid Evolution of Super Bowl Compounds Page 56: THUMBWAR's Michael Drazin on Historic HDR Workflow

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV

Fox Sports Team Makes UHD/HDR History in Miami

By Ken Kerschbaumer

S

uper Bowl LIV will be remembered by fans for a dramatic victory by the Kansas City Chiefs but, for those in the sports production community, it will be remembered for being the beginning of the UHD/HDR era. The Super Bowl is a seminal event on the sports calendar and, simply put, when it makes the move to a new format (whether HD, Surround Sound, etc.), that new format is here to stay.

According to Mike Davies, SVP, technical and field operations, Fox Sports, the decision to go UHD and HDR for Super Bowl LIV came from the highest executive levels within the Fox organization. And it was a decision that he is not sure would have made sense early last year.

“The whole evolution of UHD accelerated in 2019, and I’m not sure we would have made the decision to do UHD and HDR in the beginning of the year,” he said. “But, as technology matured — and it matured quickly — it made it more and more possible to conceive of doing Thursday Night Football in 1080p HDR as well as doing the Super Bowl.”

A look at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the host venue of Super Bowl LIV 48

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

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV

Fox Sports' camera cart, located on the sideline of Hard Rock Stadium.

Fox Sports' engineering team inside the network's FATS hub

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Thursday Night Football was an important reason that Super Bowl LIV made the UHD/HDR leap. The efforts began in the preseason, and 11 games ultimately were distributed to viewers in UHD and HDR. “We got comfortable with what we were doing in UHD HDR with the help of people like [Fox Sports, Director, Technical Operations,] Kevin Callahan and [THUMBWAR, VP, Special Projects,] Mike Drazin,” he said. “It became clear we could pull this off, and, while it wasn’t easy, we hired the right people to make it happen.”

The commitment to produce and deliver the Super Bowl in UHD HDR began the process to figure out how the team could produce the game in the next-generation format. As in the early days of HD, there are plenty of options, and not all of the elements that make up a production are available for the format.

“We looked at all of the different ways we could have done it,” said Davies. “We could have done a shadow cut with a smaller subset of cameras and upconverted the rest of the cameras. We also looked at doing it in all 4K. Budget [aside], could it be done technically? We even commissioned a consultant to look at it and make sure we were doing it the right way. What they came back with was, not only was 4K going to denigrate the product for the wider audience because of the lack of super-motion, the lack of smaller cameras, and [the] many feeds, [but] you would still need to upconvert.”

The bigger issue, however, was that the move to 4K acquisition would actually negatively impact the viewer experience because 4K doubles the pixel offset from one frame to the next. That, ultimately, means more motion blur, which can be a problem for something as fast moving as NFL football.

“At 120 frames per second, 4K looks awesome,” said Davies. “We can shoot it at 120 fps, but we can’t deliver it. At 60 fps, the motion blur is not going to serve the sport well.”

It’s for those reasons that the production of Super Bowl LIV was completely 1080p and HDR, a move that allowed all the cameras and replay feeds to match in terms of quality and also be upgraded for UHD viewers and downconverted to HD and SD with as little compromise as possible.

“We’ve been evangelizing that concept, and we think, at this point, we are doing this at state-of-theart,” said Davies. “In 2021, maybe things will be different. It’s incumbent on all the stewards of the Super Bowl to produce the game in the very best way they can at that point in time. I always look forward to the Super Bowl and our chance to raise the bar like CBS did last year and NBC did the year before them.”

Although the production format was 1080p, 4K — and even 8K cameras — were deployed for replay and zoom needs. Eight 4K and three 8K cameras (Sony UHC-8300’s being used in their first NFL postseason game) were in the mix. The 4K cameras were at the high-end-zone position and shot down the line; the 8K cameras were used exclusively on the sidelines and benches. Two of the 8K cameras allowed up to 12X zoom replays, and the third shot the entire field. All three were coupled with Canon 8K lenses.

“We first used the UHC-8300 at the World Series,” noted Davies.

“Sony was great enough to give us the cameras, and Canon was nice enough to give us the lenses.”

A producer and operator monitored the 8K signals looking for continued on page 54

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV Fox Sports’ Kevin Callahan Discusses Rapid Evolution of Super Bowl Compounds

I

f anyone wants to see just how rapidly the production around a Super Bowl is growing, a visit to the Fox Sports FATS (Feed Another Truck Something) hub that expands every time Fox Sports covers the Big Game will demonstrate it.

As with virtually every sports-related production, the efforts around the Super Bowl continue to grow and, along with it, the demands on the distribution network and router. Rightsholders want more access to signals, studio, and shoulder programming, and there is simply more viewer demand for content around major events like the Super Bowl.

“The shows are more complex, and the distribution requirements far exceeded what we could do with the router units in the mobile units,” said Kevin Callahan, VP, field operations and engineering, Fox Sports. “In 2011, we were able to do a Super Bowl without a FATS, and now the compound’s distribution needs exceed a 576×1152 video router, and we have doubled the size of the router we had three years ago in Houston. The good news is that, by doubling our capacity, we have been able to handle all of the requests that have come in and we haven’t had to say no to anyone.”

The FATS trailer this year was outfitted by Bexel’s ESS team, and Callahan says the Bexel and Fox teams worked closely to ensure all the resources were up to the task. At the core was an Evertz EQX router plus Evertz DA, multiviewers, and AJA FS-HDR converter/frame synchronizer.

“Bexel put together a great system,” said Callahan. “Bryan Kirby and Johnny Pastor got it up and running, and Derek Woodington and Jay Johnson are managing day to day for us.”

One of the unique challenges this year was the split compound: the main game trucks were located next to the stadium, and the remainder were across the street. That required the use of a cable bridge to connect the two compounds.

“Anytime a cable bridge is in play, you have to think about something like a truck that could drive through and take it down,” said Callahan. “So we have two sets of redundant fiber cable bridges to move the signals from the primary compound to the secondary one, but we also have an entire power system and transmission outputs with the main game trucks so that, if anything took down the bridge, the game would stay on-air.”

The FATS cabin does more than just distribute signals to the various entities onsite. It also connected the Hard Rock Stadium compound to the South Beach Studios, the Fox Pico facility in Los Angeles, and the disaster-recovery facility in The Woodlands, TX. “We’ve also been able to take a lot of extra equipment, in particular robotic cameras and Sony replay servers, and install them in the racks in FATS rather than anywhere we could fit them,” said Callahan. “It makes for a nice controlled environment.”

FATS also played an important role in the HDR side of the production: it was home to 200 channels of AJA tone-mapping gear that could tone-map SDR content to HDR and also upconvert it to 1080p if needed.

Several transmission paths also were tone-mapped downward to SDR for the NFL Network broadcast, international broadcasters, and Van Wagner, which handled the in-venue show.

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Fox Sports’ Kevin Callahan said production demands have doubled since the broadcaster had the Super Bowl three years ago.

The move to 1080p HDR and the use of the XAVC 100 codec had an effect on the EVS replay network. And Sony stepped in as well, providing X310 monitors to help the mission-critical areas ensure that the HDR color space was correct.

“We have fewer EVS replay servers here than we did at the Super Bowl in 2017,” Callahan noted, “but we have 100 additional channels for a total of 396. And we’ve deployed an XT-VIA platform that is the largest deployment to date.”

The XT-VIA server platform was crucial, he added, because the XAVC codec is a resource hog on a CPU. “The large number of high-frame-rate cameras we have will tax the replay servers, so we decided to use the XT-VIA platform as it has so much more processing power and bandwidth available,” said Callahan.

“The network is so much faster, by three times, and it was the only way we could guarantee a flawless show on the EVS side so the operators wouldn’t have to worry about performance issues.”

He noted that power and transmission are always two of the things he worries about most. That is one reason he asked Bart Lucassen, head of power and telecom, HBS, to perform an audit of the system that Fox designed: “It’s always great to have another set of eyes look at these things.”

The transmission side this year had carrier diversity, with both AT&T and CenturyLink providing paths and 1080p HDR circuits to Los Angeles.

“On the power side, CAT Entertainment engineered a great solution for us,” he said. “We have multiple UPS systems running and even running in parallel to eliminate some points of failure. We have multiple technical power systems, each one with three generators running separately and backing up each other. And we have a completely separate domestic power system for non-technical needs.”

Also helping was a revamped Hard Rock Stadium infrastructure.

“With the renovations to be done, the cable infrastructure has helped us out a lot. There are multiple SMPTEs at every location so we had to run very little cable into the bowl,” said Callahan. “And WBL Services, who handles the fiber for the campus, runs fiber out, so it has been easier to get fiber connectivity to tailgate and other areas.” – KK

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV

Fox Sports’ Mike Davies said the evolution of UHD in 2019 spurred its use at Super Bowl LIV.

The Fox Sports team onsite in Miami.

54

interesting moments, similar to the approach used for the World Series.

“At the World Series, we learned it could be valuable to cover peripheral things, and the benches at a football game are one place where we can’t cover everything,” said Davies. “But, with an extraction device and the 8K cameras and lenses, a producer and operator can find interesting moments on the benches.”

An 85-in. Sony 8K TV set in the compound displayed an 8K image delivered via two Sony PWS-4500 servers that each had four 12-Gbps SDI inputs. The 8K images were recorded at 60 fps before being passed on to the 8K set.

“We want to see what it looks like when panning and zooming in 8K,” said Davies.

Another innovation trialed at Super Bowl LIV was an EVS replay system that used artificial intelligence to create additional frames in a 60-fps replay, enabling it to have 180 frames per second and be played back as a super-slow-motion replay.

“We are increasingly reliant on small cameras like pylon cameras and ref cams,” said Davies.

“Deploying super-slow-motion for cameras that are outside looking in on an event is pretty easy. But, when covering from the inside out, the wireless cameras are smaller, and that’s the sweet spot for this system.”

The system had access to all the clips that EVS operators created during the game, and the belief is continued on page 58 that, eventually, it could become a cloud-based solution.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV THUMBWAR’s Michael Drazin on Historic HDR Workflow

T

he first UHD HDR Super Bowl production is in the books and, like many firsts, was the result of months of planning and, arguably, years of experiments done not only by Fox Sports but an entire industry.

Key to the Fox Sports efforts was a plan overseen by Michael Drazin, VP, special projects, THUMBWAR. The production format was 1080p HDR, with the HDR portion relying on the HLG BT.2100 (hybrid log-gamma) format, which was developed by the BBC and NHK. “The goal of what we are doing,” he said, “is to make it so that production should have no idea they are working in HDR except that it looks better; all of the elements that are available to an SDR show are available to a HDR show.”

That is easier said than done, as it requires plenty of planning. For those who are looking to try an HDR production, Drazin said that is where it all began.

“The biggest thing is planning and understanding what you want to do, how you are going to do it, and why,” he said. “And you have to make that plan before you get to the parking lot. If you have a plan in place when you get there, you can execute. But you really need to stop and think through the entire production.”

For Fox Sports, that planning began in the preseason and followed through the entire regular-season schedule of Thursday Night Football contests. Those preseason and regular-season contests allowed not only Fox Sports but also Game Creek Video and other partners to sort through workflows. The workflow began by using only the HDR signal coming out of the cameras.

Any source that originated as SDR ran through an AJA FS-HDR realtime HDR/wide-color-gamut converter. The production used BBC lookup tables (LUTs) to tone-map signals from SDR to HDR. The tone-mapped signals were then available via each truck’s router and to all replay devices, monitors, and the switchers. That allowed cameras like the PylonCams and other specialty cameras to be “tone-mapped” and integrated into the production with the HDR cameras.

There were about 100 AJA FS-HDRs across the Fox compounds between Hard Rock Stadium and South Beach. In 1080p, each converter had the ability to handle four signals, including a color corrector where needed.

One challenge was bringing all the different elements into a single cohesive production. The industry has learned that two types of conversion are needed to get from SDR to HDR. SDR cameras use a scene-light conversion, in which the science closely resembles how a camera sensor works. HDR graphics use a display-light conversion. A final product, like a graphic or a video element, is tone-mapped as a display-light conversion. Currently, the LUTs are doing what is known as a direct conversion, where the SDR is mapped into the HDR space without any expansion taking place. This enables the SDR content to make a roundtrip, going through the HDR production and then returning as SDR. Although the entire production benefited from the regular-season contests, the video operators, who are responsible for shading the cameras, had an opportunity to see how HDR enabled them to be more creative and also see how their work looked when returned to SDR via inverse tone mapping.

The other big question facing an HDR production is monitoring for the entire team. Do you need to replace all the SDR monitors with HDRcapable versions, or can most of the team get by fine looking at HDR in

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THUMBWAR’s Michael Drazin played a key role in Fox Sports' HDR Super Bowl efforts. an SDR monitor? For Super Bowl LIV, all the multiviewers in the compound were SDR monitors that input HDR signals, and the preview and program monitors in the production trucks were inverse-tone-mapped so the SDR was what went to air.

File-based workflows were another consideration, especially given the number of video elements used during the pregame and the game itself.

Fox Sports used Telestream’s Vantage transcoding to deliver SDR elements into the EVS servers. The same Vantage servers enabled delivery of both HDR and SDR archive material from the game. The Vantage system was loaded with the same LUTs being used in the baseband workflows, enabling consistency between the file-based and baseband environments.

The halftime production was also in HDR this year. The Fox team worked with that team and applied the same structure to the production that was applied to the rest of the Super Bowl. The entire halftime team from the engineers to the operators quickly adapted to the environment.

Fox brought a large postproduction operation to the game as well.

Using the same production structure, the post team was empowered to use HDR in pieces where there was original content to support it.

All the HDR efforts in Miami were ultimately delivered to an HDR master-control room in Los Angeles that integrated the HDR feeds from tone-mapped SDR commercials and promos, delivering a complete 1080p HLG BT.2100 HDR program. This program was then upconverted to 2160p (4K) for the distribution partners.

“Some of the distribution partners will deliver it in HLG; others will tone-map it to HDR10,” said Drazin. “There was a collaboration with the distribution team at Fox to ensure that both experiences were seamless.”

Drazin looks forward to seeing how HDR will continue to improve the experience for the audience as the tools continue to evolve and creatives are empowered with more latitude to work.

“There is a tremendous team of professionals here working for Fox putting this production together,” he said. “It says a lot about them for how fast they have adopted this technology and have driven it to improve the production and the experience being delivered to the audience. Once you start watching your favorite content in HDR, it becomes really hard to go back to SDR.” – KK

SVG SPECIAL REPORT SUPER BOWL LIV Fox Sports upped the production ante at Super Bowl LIV. continued from page 54 “We could take advantage of cloud services and push a two- or three-second clip and then get it back,” added Davies.

All the work that viewers saw on Super Bowl Sunday (actually, all week, given the big role the Fox Sports South Beach sets played in programming across the Fox sports and news networks) was the result of a long process of push and pull among the production team, the operations teams, the technical team, and third-party vendors.

“A lot of the stuff is done in partnership with production, but it is not always their job to know what is technically possible,” said Davies. “We have to bring some of those concepts to production and ask if it would be cool to do. It’s vital that they buy into it, and it’s a real partnership.”

For viewers, that relationship produced a viewing experience that began at the South Beach studios and then headed outside of Hard Rock Stadium, where fans gathered for pregame festivities. A two-point Flycam brought viewers directly from outside the stadium to inside the bowl, where more than 70 manned cameras captured the Kansas City Chiefs’ come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

“We [had] a massive amount of super-slow-motion and no true gimmicks,” said Davies. “[Lead Game Producer] Richard Zyontz and [Lead Director] Rich Russo are the best at using super-slo-mo to tell you what is happening and to tell the story of the feelings and emotion. We are stewards of Super Bowl LIV, and the goal is to raise the bar and give our colleagues at CBS Sports something to shoot for next year.” <

ON SITE AT SUPER BOWL LIV

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PRODUCTION SWITCHER

www.evs.com

COVER STORY

THE CRYSTAL BALL:

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT DECADE OF

SPORTS PRODUCTION

By Ken Kerschbaumer

W

ell, here we are: 2020 and the start of a new decade. A new decade is always a chance to look forward and take a stab at forecasting the big opportunities, the big challenges, and the big trends that will define the years ahead.

When we sat down to write this vision for the future, we — and, seemingly, everyone else — didn’t count on a pandemic to bring not only the sports industry but the entire world to its knees. It caused us to step back and reevaluate the predictions on these pages.

The big question was whether or not they would still be viable.

After much discussion, we came to the conclusion that, not only would they still be accurate, but that the timeline for the transitions would accelerate. New workflows that minimize personnel at an event are now about life and death, not just cost savings. The words at-home production — once the bane for road warriors — actually sound like a source of great comfort for the foreseeable future.

When sports returns — and it will — consumption via TV may literally be the only game in town when it comes to being able to experience the event. Sports fans will be turning to their TVs and digital devices more than ever to engage with their favorite sports, and that means they want a transformative experience.

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SVG FOCUS COVER STORYYEAR OF ESPORTS One of the amazing introductions at CES in recent years has been The Wall — the massive (and expensive) MicroLED system that allows for modular displays to be mounted on a wall to create a much larger canvas (the most recent version tops out at 292 inches, which is more than 24 square feet). Granted, most homes will not need something that large, but there is no reason that, by the middle of the decade, consumers wouldn’t be putting in walls that can measure seven feet across and four feet tall in their living rooms. Comprised of smaller tiles, they can be tied together to create a single canvas for a massive singular experience or divided into various quadrants with different types of content. Imagine assigning multiple games to the screen or creating a customized sports ticker. Or, most lucratively, transforming the living room into a virtual sports book, complete with updated odds, fantasy statistics, and social media feeds. A tablet or mobile device becomes a hub device that allows for the content to be dynamically changed and updated. But the growth of voice-controlled services hints at a future where voice commands could allow for bets to be placed instantaneously and without any typing.

Alongside that living room experience will be a mobile experience that puts the live streaming of games everywhere. Next-generation services like 5G (and beyond), WiFi 6 —with its speeds of up to 10 Gbps — will lay the foundation for a whole new level of high-quality, low-latency content consumption. ATSC 3.0 could also play a part as well, allowing for reception of live video and other data services in moving vehicles of all sorts via over-the-air delivery.

A big question is what kind of sports content will be consumed?

Many traditional sports leagues will find themselves going toeto-toe with esports as they battle for viewers’ attention. In recent years, there have been a lot of experiments with esports carriage on

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traditional linear TV channels and traditional sports leagues are also setting up their own esports leagues and competitions in order to connect with a new demographic. And it is growing, as Newzoo — an esports market researcher — estimates the total audience by 2021 to grow to 557 million, where 250 million are considered to be esports enthusiasts. Viewership is increasing as time goes, and from 2020 onwards, the esports audience is expected to outgrow the National Football League.

It’s those sorts of numbers that make the traditional sports leagues nervous. How can a young fanbase discover traditional ball-and-stick sports if they are more than happy spending their time watching esports? It promises to be one of the looming questions that could impact everything: the value of sports rights, attendance at traditional events, TV viewership, and even the value of a franchise or league.

And then, of course, there is the underlying economics that have driven the industry for the past 20 years. Pay TV operators and the fees they pay sports networks for the rights to distribute those services have always been a relationship fraught with tension. But, as cable subscribers increasingly cut the cord, will those networks become less valuable or more valuable to pay TV operators? Given that drama and sitcom content will continue to move to the world of VOD and apps, one can make the argument that the only content that will be compelling for pay TV operators to offer is sports, live reality shows, and news content.

The decade ahead promises to be one of tremendous change, both positive and negative. Ultimately the sports fan will find themselves in a position to have an experience with more pixels, better pixels, and faster pixels. The question is, at what cost?

Cover Story continued on page 64

COVER STORY continued

THE CRYSTAL BALL:

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT DECADE OF

SPORTS PRODUCTION

10 BOLD PREDICTIONS

By Jason Dachman 1. Video Over IP Has Officially Arrived, and It’s Ready To Flourish It has been more than two years since the SMPTE ST 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks suite of standards was first released, and the industry is shifting from SDI/baseband to IP. In short, if you’re building a broadcast center or mobile unit today, odds are, it’s going to be based on IP infrastructure. If it’s not, your facility may be out of date on the day it goes online.

Although the end-to-end IP production ecosystem may not be fully baked yet, the core ingredients are there, and IP gateways will be used until the rest arrive. Whether it’s major sports broadcasters like ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports or mobile-facilities providers like NEP, Game Creek Video, and Mobile TV Group, everyone is building IP-based facilities these days. Over the next 10 years, IP will enable sports-production entities to shift away from proprietary hardware, accelerate innovation, and transition applications to the cloud.

1. Inside NEP's Supershooter 8

2. Automated ESPN ViBox at LLWS

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2. The ‘Middle Class’ of Live Sports Productions Will Shrink as REMI and Automated Production Expands REMI, at-home, remote, homerun. Whatever you call it, the most significant industry trend of the past decade has been the rise of centralized operations for live sports productions.

And that trend is only likely to grow in the 2020s. In addition, automated-production solutions are becoming more commonplace with ESPN and others utilizing these systems to cover events like outer court matches at the US Open, Little League Baseball/Softball regional games, and high school basketball.

Although top-tier productions like the Super Bowl and CFP National Championship are likely to remain traditional onsite operations deploying plenty of mobile units, the “middle-class” events will probably start shifting toward the REMI model. Thousands of lower-tier collegiate- and pro-sports productions have already moved to this at-home workflow with crew and/or equipment located at the broadcast center. But I expect the middle tier — perhaps even MLB/NBA/NHL B and C games — to

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SVG FOCUS COVER STORYYEAR OF ESPORTS begin migrating toward the at-home model and more automatedproduction solutions in coming years. In addition, hybrid workflows — such as ESPN’s GREMI (graphics and replay at-home) and NBC Olympics’ Stamford/IBC model — will gain an even stronger foothold.

3. Esports Will Be the Fastest-Growing Live-Production Sector of the 2020s According to the latest Newzoo projections, esports revenue will pass the $1 billion mark and the total esports audience will grow to nearly 500 million people this year. News alert: Esports isn’t just a future trend anymore; IT’S HERE. In addition to being the fastest-growing genre in live entertainment, esports is also a spur for innovation in production technology. With no pesky legacy hardware in place (and no need for ROI on previous investment), esports producers like Riot Games and Activision Blizzard find themselves in genuine greenfield opportunities and have not been afraid to take risks.

Whether it’s the 3. Overwatch League cloud, REMI, or deep data integration, esports has embraced next-gen solutions more than any other traditional sports entity.

4. Unreal Engine Will Make Real-Time Rendering a Reality for Sports Graphics Speaking of esports, game engines like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine are already revolutionizing the sports-graphics scene. The real-time rendering made possible by these tools have made augmented reality, mixed reality, and lifelike virtual studios viable for live sports productions.

As Unreal Engine and ultra-high-powered GPUs continue to improve, sportscontent creators will have even more possibilities.

Anyone who 4. Unreal Engine at Super Bowl LIV watched the NFL 100 ceremony during the Super Bowl LIV Pregame Show can see how quickly mixed-reality and AR have advanced, and that rate of innovation will only accelerate.

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5. Transmission and Playout Will Move From the Broadcast Center to the Cloud Last year, Fox Corp. inked a deal with AWS to create a new cloud-based media-production/delivery platform that will distribute content to MVPDs, affiliate stations, and OTT providers (marking the first time that a single platform will be used to deliver both traditional broadcast and DTC streaming services). 5. AWS partnered with Fox on a cloud-based Although “the cloud” has media-production/delivery platform. been ballyhooed around the industry for more than a decade, the Fox-AWS deal was a monumental moment in its evolution.

Though not the first time a broadcaster has shifted playout and transmission services to the cloud — both Disney and Discovery have done so on various levels in recent years — Fox’s move to the cloud is a major sign of things to come in broadcast transmission.

6. The Media-Storage Revolution: The Cloud, AI, Object Storage, and NVMe The cloud has already had a seismic impact on the storage and content-management business, as media companies look to shift their archives from costly on-premises hardware to the cloud. However, after an early sprint to the cloud several years ago, the majority of large sports-content creators are settling into a hybrid on-premises/cloud 6. Quantum F Series model that serves their quickturnaround/high-throughput needs while efficiently providing long-term deep archiving. The move from file-based to object-based storage presents a perfect on-ramp to the cloud and is ideal for these hybrid solutions.

Meanwhile, the price of NVMe-based technologies continues to drop, bringing ultra-high-throughput solutions to the masses in the coming years. With all these factors colliding (and accelerating) in the coming years, the storage and archiving business will be almost unrecognizable in 2030.

7. Legalized Sports-Betting Data Will Drive New Forms of Content As one state after another legalizes sports betting (more than 20 states are expected to have some form of legal sports betting by the end of this year), the hunger for betting-specific content continues to grow. Although it’s unclear whether this will take shape as alternative game broadcasts (like NBC Sports Philadelphia’s BetCast 7. NBC Sports' Predict the Game

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SVG FOCUS YEAR OF ESPORTS COVER STORY product) or remain primarily analysis-based content in the studio, wagering data is going to play a vital role in the future of sports production.

8. The Data Tsunami: Betting, Player Tracking, and Biometrics, Oh My! Of course, betting isn’t the only source for the firehose of data currently inundating sports broadcasters.

By the time the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on April 8, all four major U.S. 8. NHL player tracking sports leagues will have rolled out player/object-tracking systems, and the MLS recently announced plans for player tracking. Although this opens up a cavalcade of information for storytelling, it is also an overwhelming amount of data for leagues, teams, and broadcasters to process.

Throw in the potential rise of player biometrics, and there’s no question that the increase in data will be one of the most significant factors impacting our industry over the next decade.

9. RSNs Will Survive, But They’re Going to Look Very Different From Today’s Yes, regional sports networks are in trouble. With cord-cutting accelerating and the bundle that helped drive RSNs’ success over the past two decades on the brink of collapse, these networks find themselves in a difficult position as they continue to pay sky-high

rights fees to televise live games in their markets. But just as other media companies adapt to new realities, so too will RSNs. Look for RSNs to find new ways to bring value to their customers and distributors.

9. Sinclair's RSN footprint

10. 4K HDR in the Home, 1080p HDR in the Compound Although Super Bowl LIV was made available in 4K HDR, Fox Sports’ actual production was a 1080p HDR show that was upconverted to 4K and downconverted to 720p for different audiences. I expect this 1080p HDR model to 10. MTVG's 4K HDR truck become commonplace in the coming years as sports producers look to enhance the quality of their products for fans without having to perform a forklift technology upgrade — as would be the case for an end-to-end 4K workflow.

Although the number of 4K-native (and possibly even 8K) production solutions are likely to grow over the next decade, the industry is likely to embrace a 1080p HDR ecosystem for the foreseeable future.

BONUS: THREE BIG QUESTIONS FACING THE INDUSTRY IN THE 2020s Will ATSC 3.0 Level the Playing Field for Broadcasters?

Although over-the-air broadcasters may still draw the most total eyeballs, let’s face it: over the past decade, OTT and streaming services have thoroughly beaten OTA broadcast when it comes to the quality of content and the user experience. Now direct-to-consumer OTT platforms are poised to become the dominant mode of media consumption in the coming decade, and the OTA viewing experience is badly in need of a refresh.

Promising interactive features, higher-quality picture, better sound, and lower latency, the ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV standard can provide over-the-air broadcasters a level playing field against the ever-growing number of OTT streaming services. As OTA broadcasters focus increasingly on live sports and news content, Next Gen TV could be their secret weapon in retaining viewers over the next 10 years. Nonetheless, without the government mandate that went along with the transition to digital broadcasting (DTV) in 2009 and with ATSC 3.0 TVs and mobile devices yet to proliferate on the market, Next Gen TV has yet to achieve widespread momentum. Will that change over the next decade with the rollout of ATSC 3.0-capable products?

Can the Sports-Media Industry Effectively Battle Online Piracy of Live Games?

There’s an elephant in the room for the sports-media business, and its name is piracy. According to a 2019 Parks Associates report, video piracy costs pay-TV and OTT providers $9.1 billion in lost revenue, and that

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number will jump to $12.5 billion by 2024.

The same report also notes that 27% of U.S. broadband households currently engage in some form of piracy or account sharing. Today, even a marginally internet-savvy sports fan can pull up a pirated live stream of a sports event in a matter of minutes (check Reddit right now!). Live sports is among the most valuable content on earth — and also the most pirated — which means that piracy could burst the sports-media–rights “bubble” if the industry can’t commit to battling piracy and overhauling its business model. The question is, will leagues and broadcasters heed the call or continue to turn a blind eye as they’ve done (for the most part) over the past decade?

Where Will the Next Generation of Broadcast Engineers Come From?

Perhaps the greatest challenge on the horizon over the next decade in live production will be a lack of a well-trained workforce. As aging broadcast engineers retire (a situation that is well under way) and the business transitions to more IT-centric workflows, the live-production industry faces an existential crisis in its attempt to find the next generation of workers to fill these roles.

Will engineers from the IT side embrace the broadcast business? Will broadcast engineers become more IT-savvy? And, in either case, will younger engineers entering the workforce see live sports production as a desirable profession as their forefathers have done for decades? All three questions are yet to be answered.

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WHITEPAPERS Unlocking the Smarter Remote Production Opportunity

By Glenn Adamo, Managing Director, The Switch Production Services;

Ed Delaney, Head of Production

and Operations, The Switch Production Services

George Lopez, SVP

L

of Operations, The Switch

ive TV sports create an unrivaled buzz, anticipation, and excitement among viewers, but major trends are forcing live sporting event production to evolve fast. The rise of streaming services underlines that consumers want more content choice than ever. Additionally, greater focus on improved sustainability and employee wellbeing means traditional live production setups need to find ways to improve in this area. Finally, as surging demand drives up the expense of producing more live coverage while the cost of hotly contested rights continues to soar, this outlay is not being met by the price that consumers are willing to pay. The result is broadcasters need to find ways to produce more content more efficiently — without compromising quality.

> GOING GLOBAL AND BECOMING SMARTER

The globalization of TV has unlocked huge potential, growing audiences and prospective revenues in new territories — particularly when it comes to live sports. For example, the NBA is seeing growth from its overseas rights and ‘NBA League Pass’ over-the-top service, with subscriptions up 63% from the 2017 to 2018 season and another 21% in 2019.

The phenomenon is not exclusive to high-profile sports leagues. Niche TV sports and sporting entertainment, such as wrestling, surfing, lacrosse, and karate — and the rapidly emerging esports sector — are reaching new audiences through syndication and direct to consumer models. WWE, for instance, has 1.5 million paying subscribers globally.

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While the need to produce a broader range of compelling new live sports content is increasing, the cost of sports production remains a challenge. A major issue is the sunk CAPEX cost of broadcast facilities, which for sports tends to only be used part of the year. Plus, these facilities often need to scale up for short periods of peak capacity, such as playoffs, or to accommodate quadrennial events, like the soccer World Cup and the Olympics.

What’s more, there is the significant planning and logistics element as managing all the moving parts — people, equipment, sites, and broadcast schedules, along with a high level of redundancy — has an associated staffing cost. As the number of live sports events covered by broadcasters increases, there is a growing need for alternatives, including smart remote production, to reduce costs associated with headline sports and, more critically, to make niche sports more financially viable for broadcast.

This move towards smarter, more flexible — and ultimately, lower-cost — high-quality production is being led by innovators, including The Switch. The company’s remote production service has been adopted by major broadcasters, such as ESPN and CBS, and supported by traditional sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and esports giants such as ESL.

> BRINGING PRODUCTION HOME WITH REMOTE SERVICES

Smart remote production offers the ability to produce live broadcasts more efficiently at a distance from the actual event, by transmitting camera feeds, audio, and equipment control over a telecom infrastructure to a central studio facility — from where The Switch production team captures a CUSA game on NFL Network at the Burbank remote production facility.

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WHITEPAPERS operators have the capability to remotely configure cameras and other equipment at the event site. By tapping into remote capabilities, broadcasters and other content providers can centralize production at their home studios or a dedicated third-party location.

Remote production removes the need to send multiple OB production trucks, much of the equipment, and enlarged production and support teams to the venue, saving money and substantially reducing the carbon footprint of a live broadcast. Directors, editors, production staff, and high-level above-the-line crew can remain in the central production facility, working in their own familiar environment — creating less personal stress — while just a few camera operators and a limited technical staff go onsite.

Remote production is a practical, deliverable, and proven option. Transporting signals over private fiber with high security and very low latency is now possible, while built-in redundancy eliminates disruptions. With remote production, multiple camera feeds can be delivered to the central broadcast facility, either as uncompressed feeds or lightly compressed feeds using JPEG2000, for example, to ensure the lowest possible end-to-end delay.

Cost savings associated with remote production can be upwards of 25%, offering more flexibility without compromising quality — in addition to the beneficial impact on staff and the environment.

> KEEPING IT SUSTAINABLE

As broadcasters increasingly look to produce more content more efficiently, sustainable production workflows allow them to maximize resources and still deliver the high production values consumers demand. A smaller footprint at the venue makes a positive impact on the environment. Centralized remote production also allows the same production team to support multiple live events in a day and allows broadcasters to leverage the best operators, editors, and on-screen talent across more productions. The impact on work-life balance can also be transformative, making careers more sustainable — and, in the process, team members happier, less stressed, and doubtless more productive.

> REMOTE PRODUCTION IN ACTION: THE SWITCH AND NFL NETWORK When the NFL Network launched its 10-game Conference USA college football schedule in 2019 to showcase the league’s next generation of athletes, The Switch supported a slate of remote productions from one of its new control rooms (Burbank, CA).

One of the first productions of a CUSA game, the Army Black Knights versus the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners in September, was run as a complete remote production with multiple hard cameras (both 25-yard lines, the 50-yard line, reverse 50-yard line, end zone, sideline cart, 2nd end zone with one unmanned play clock camera). Each suite also included an unmanned booth cam for talent-on-camera.

The NFL Network provided the producer and talent for the broadcasts, while The Switch delivered a complete crew, including director, associate director, production assistant, and remote belowthe-line staffing (camera operators, A2, lighting for booth, V1 and a 72

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stage manager). The Switch also provided a director, technical director, audio, SMT tech, bug operator, and EVS/graphics operators.

Encoding onsite included 1080p 59.94fps signals coming from the Alamodome in San Antonio and decoding was handled in Burbank via The Switch Access boxes. The Switch facility ran four mezzanine encodes of the produced output using both AWSDX and Zixi protocol, feeding multiple transcode instances across the globe. Each transcode instance transcoded the 1080p 59.94 signal into three renditions and distributed RTMP streams to a total of over 30 different destinations globally.

By combining its production, transmission, and distribution services together as a turnkey managed service, The Switch provided a finished product delivered to NFL Network’s master control integration and release point at Encompass in Atlanta, GA. The result is that NFL Network reduced the production cost of each remotely produced game by about 25% while simplifying the workflow to an all-IP delivery made for distribution to national and international affiliates. In addition, the production had more camera positions than a typical onsite broadcast of a similar college game last season — offering more options to the gallery director to create a richer viewing experience.

> ARE YOU READY FOR THE FUTURE OF SPORTS BROADCASTING? The promise of remote services reducing live sports TV production costs by 25-35%, while delivering flexibility and radically improved environmental and social sustainability, is the headline grabber for most broadcasters or other rightsholders. But as live sports video is increasingly viewed on a range of devices across different linear, on-demand, and streaming services, rightsholders also have to adapt content to support varied requirements. Using remote production, one workflow might produce a feed for square format social media consumption, another for the home team and a separate one for the away team — each with different commentary. A single game could have six different production workflows, all benefiting from the economies of scale offered by production consolidation.

Looking to the future, the rise of new technologies could require significant transformation to broadcasting processes that are made easier within a remote production methodology that already utilizes cloud-based processing. Artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, 360-degree video, and 4K/8K are just some of the technologies that could be widely utilized to transform live sports coverage. What is clear is that sports broadcasting is pushing the boundaries in its attempts to engage fans in an era where audiences have a lot of viewing alternatives.

The move towards remote production is a recognition that sports TV production must adapt to meet these developments while ensuring future innovation and flexibility. The call to action for the adoption of remote production is simple and reminiscent of the ethos of Bill Belichick, Head Coach of the New England Patriots: “If you sit back and spend too much time feeling good about what you did in the past, you’re going to come up short next time.” <

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Embracing a Single Master HDR Workflow for Live Sports Production

By Tim Walker, Senior Product Manager, Frame Synchronizers and HDR Image Analyzer, AJA Video Systems

H

igh Dynamic Range, or HDR, is quickly becoming a desirable production standard across live sports, as seen with the biggest North American football championship of the year held this February in Miami, which was produced in 4K/UltraHD HDR for the first time. Done well, HDR production engages sports fans with a more dynamic picture across displays; the colors pop and the image more closely mirrors the human visual system. Highlights reflecting off player helmets from the sun (specular highlights) are more pronounced, while the color of jerseys and even the field or court are more vibrant and truer to the image that the human eye would see in-stadium or in-arena. However, to the untrained eye and depending upon the display, the differences between an HDR and SDR feed can seem subtle, and that’s largely because HDR production techniques are still nascent. As audiences become more familiar with HDR and production professionals continue to exploit its full capabilities, HDR is well positioned to transform the viewing experience much like HD did in its progression.

While several modern sports productions are beginning to dabble in HDR with simultaneous SDR/HDR workflows, others are reluctant to jump in just yet. For those making the plunge, get-

ting started can seem overwhelming and prohibitively expensive; however, new technology and rapidly evolving approaches have broken down financial and technical barriers. These new developments have made it easier to upconvert SDR sources throughout the production chain and roundtrip signals between SDR/HDR to create a single HDR output with uncompromised image integrity that can simultaneously be downconverted to meet live SDR delivery demands. Through experimentation, HDR workflows have matured to the point where they are almost as easily implemented as traditional SDR workflows, but result in far better picture quality. One such approach that has won over professionals is the “Single Master HDR workflow,” which requires a significantly smaller technological footprint but generates a higher quality HDR output and downconverted SDR output than other tested techniques.

> THE RISE OF THE SINGLE MASTER HDR WORKFLOW Though HDR is picking up steam in live sports production, not all fans are consuming content on HDR-capable devices, prompting a need for simultaneous HDR and SDR production and delivery techniques. The Single Master HDR workflow arose to address this gap, and has significantly reduced the costs and complexities involved with real-time dual-format production. Previously, achieving the same result required double the equipment, crews, and trucks, so it wasn’t a viable solution for live production outfits with smaller budgets nor an efficient one for companies with larger budgets. Though camera manufacturers tried to build a workaround with 4K/UltraHD cameras that simultaneously output SDR and HDR, the signals didn’t always match up, making them an imperfect solution.

Leveraging modern conversion technology like AJA’s FS-HDR, on the other hand, has allowed productions to easily implement a Single Master HDR workflow. Using it, they can convert and combine SDR and HDR sources in real-time — ensuring they match up — to produce one common master HDR format that can also be distributed and/or downconverted for SDR delivery. This approach maintains image integrity throughout the production chain — all with less gear and overhead. It also supports seamless round trip-

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WHITEPAPERS ping of signals from SDR to HDR and back to SDR to accommodate graphics systems, replay systems, package highlights, and more, helping ensure SDR sources look the same as they began regardless of conversions throughout the workflow.

To date, Single Master HDR workflows have already been successfully employed on a number of sports productions, from the FA Cup Final to live coverage of some of the biggest sporting events on networks like Fox and DirecTV. Capitalizing on the benefits of a Single Master HDR workflow, however, requires careful consideration of additional elements, a few of which we’ve outlined below, such as camera selection, mastering format, SDR sources to be integrated into the feed, LUTs, monitoring, shading, and more.

> PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR WORKING WITH HDR Acquisition and Mastering Format It’s important to ask the right questions to determine which cameras and mastering format best suit your specific production.

Having an HDR-capable camera is essential, but they support a range of outputs. The S-LOG format from Sony, which is a gamma curve designed to record and transmit as much of the information captured by the camera’s sensor as possible, might be suited for some applications while others would benefit from working with Hybrid Log-Gamma, a scene-referred HDR standard jointly developed by the BBC and NHK for use with television. In terms of master format, HLG is most common for live sports production, as Perceptual Quantizer (PQ) is a display-referred HDR standard designed for more controlled viewing environments like movie theatres. HLG supports a wider range of viewing environments, whether on a stadium display, mobile phone, TV in a sports bar, or other setting. That said, a number of productions to date have been done in HLG and converted to PQ for delivery to the home.

The jury is still out on which is the best delivery method, and both are used.

Integrating SDR Sources In any HDR production, teams must consider the various SDR sources that will need to be integrated into the live feed — usually SDR cameras, graphics, replay systems, older content from the archives, and/or commercials. For instance, many specialty cameras that are key to today’s productions only support SDR. To be used in a Single Master HDR workflow, a methodology for converting them to HDR must be established ahead of time.

Implementing a plan for how SDR graphics will be woven into the broadcast in advance is crucial as well, as it can lessen the risk of over saturated colors and ensure content is shown in the best possible way, which advertisers appreciate given the importance of

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Soccer in HDR retention of brand colors. As such, finding the right technology to upconvert SDR graphics to HDR for integration into the production with other HDR sources is an absolute requirement, as is the need for tools that help you roundtrip the signal back to SDR without compromising the graphic. It’s also important to keep in mind that both historical content and SDR commercials require direct mapping into the desired HDR production or distribution format.

LUTs, Monitoring, and Test and Measurement Finding the right combination of look up tables, or LUTs, is vital to the final look and feel of the production, as they help you move between color spaces. This is largely because an SDR image in the Rec 709 color space can drastically change when run through a LUT and into HDR, and when converting an HDR signal from Rec 2020 to Rec 709, the image still needs to line up. This can be difficult if you don’t have the right combination of LUTs. Monitoring is another important consideration, especially for camera shading.

Are you going to shade in SDR or HDR? This may come down to personal preference, as it is currently done both ways. The importance of considering the master format and monitoring tools, and how they might impact the production, cannot be overstated. Nor can test and measurement equipment, which helps ensure that the HDR/SDR being produced falls within the bounds of the target gamut and dynamic range, whether SDR, HLG, or PQ.

> LOOKING TO THE FUTURE HDR is one of the biggest innovations to hit the moving image since the inception of color. It extends the dynamic range available with HDR and perceptible color gamut with WCG (Wide Color Gamut), making for a visual improvement that audiences will notice as they tune into HDR content on a mobile phone, 4K or HD TV set, in-venue scoreboard, or other display. As such, bringing HDR and WCG into live sports will be crucial moving forward to give fans the enhanced viewing experience they desire across modern platforms and displays. We’ve already seen the success of HDR for productions at some of the highest-profile sporting events in 2019 and 2020, and expect the trend to continue.

Although momentum for HDR continues to build in the sports industry, HDR production is still in its infancy, though it’s maturing quickly, and now is the time to get up to speed. The Single Master HDR workflow provides a simpler way to get started, providing the flexibility to easily mix and match SDR and HDR signals throughout production while also ensuring that the quality of the final output meets the envisioned look in a production environment that doesn’t feel all that different from a traditional SDR setup. <

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WHITEPAPERS

Responding to the Demand for a Personalized OTT Fan Experience

By Dave Shapiro, President of North America, Pixellot

M

any people credit the OTT revolution as the biggest driver of change in the world of content production. In recent years, its impact has been felt immensely throughout the entire broadcast industry, but maybe none more so than sports. A claim that is supported by the findings in PwC’s 2019 Sports Outlook Report, which credits media rights as the largest growth segment in the industry since 2017 and the driving force moving forward.

Just a simple look at the landscape’s evolution in recent years provides supporting information of this statement. DAZN took form and began securing sport production rights, ESPN launched ESPN+, NBC Sports launched NBC Sports Live, Twitter formed a partnership with the PGA Tour to stream live content for free from certain tournaments, and so on.

The OTT revolution answered the consumer’s call for increased access to sporting content, but it’s now created a new demand.

Consumers want a personalized fan experience. Everyone desires access to their favorite teams, players, live matches, highlights, and more. People want their content to expand on what they’re used to, but in a more personalized manner. This includes more local sports and deviates from what may be easiest for a production company — grouping people together and distributing content in those packages. This has posed a dilemma to the global sports broadcasting industry.

> HOW DO WE SCALE OUR OFFERINGS AND CUSTOMIZE THEM TO THE END-USER AT THE SAME TIME?

Before we can begin to answer this question, we need to understand what is at its core. On the surface, it seems the only solution that may be available would be to quickly scale up production crews to send to matches and tournaments all over to capture content. This content would then be sent back to a group of highly trained video editors to slice and Media rights continue to set the pace for the North American sports market.

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snip video clips into digestible and personalized highlight bites.

But that would cost companies fortunes, and despite whatever revenue may be generated by new sponsors or new subscribers to this content, it wouldn’t prove profitable enough to get off the ground, let alone to sustain. So, the real question the industry is faced with actually expands to the below.

> HOW DO WE SCALE OUR OFFERINGS AND CUSTOMIZE THEM TO THE END-USER AT THE SAME TIME, WHILE MAINTAINING PROFITABILITY IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN MEETING THIS DEMAND?

The answer, I believe, starts and ends with technology. Technology powered by artificial intelligence, to be exact. AI-automated technology was at the center of answering the first call I raised at the start of this white paper, connecting consumers to more content.

The injection of AI production into the sports industry — particularly the billion-dollar youth market, semi-professional leagues, and collegiate sports — has modernized consumer consumption and grown even faster than originally anticipated. The simple purchase and installation of machine-learning camera systems at sports venues have enabled the growth of content production by removing the overhead cost of human involvement, while also introducing new revenue streams (e.g., sponsor advertisements on new broadcasts being delivered) to grow the industry and diversify its reach.

Scalability is achievable, but how do you then customize this expansion of content to enhance the consumer experience? We believe there are a few directions the technology industry can move to take on this next big growth stride. It’s important to note that not every suggestion below will fit the desires of all consumers; rather, it’s about offering selection allowing them to build their own experience. Think of it as an a la carte content offering.

• In-Game Sports Betting Sports betting is on a rapid growth trajectory. It’s ever-present across many European countries and is finding a home quickly

THE AUTOMATED LIVE SPORTS SOLUTION

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WHITEPAPERS in various states throughout the United States. In fact, according to a recent Legal Sports Report, 21 states currently have legalized sports betting legislation. Not every consumer has the appetite for sports betting, nor is every piece of content produced fit for it by any means. But, according to the American Gaming Association, 75% of people who bet on a game are more likely to watch it.

This would increase demand for games that may not be typically selected for cable broadcast, ultimately expanding the pie of what is wanted.

Combining OTT broadcasting with pre-match and live in-game betting through partnerships is one avenue to appeal to consumers interested in gamification and gambling.

• Focused In-Game Action Not everyone is a fan of the team they’re desiring to watch. In fact, often consumers care more about the performance of one or two individuals than the result. These consumers we most commonly refer to as family, friends, scouts, or coaches. By delivering action that follows individuals — for the most part — versus the entire flow of the game provides these consumers the focused in-game action they desire rather the entire package.

• Immersive Experience When virtual reality (VR) burst onto the scene, it was all the rage. People were clamoring for that ‘I feel like I’m there’ experience.

Sporting content has that unique ability to deliver that same sensation when produced in a certain manner. Producing live content from the perspective of a player or a coach is something that can transport a fan from their living room to the gym or field without the actual need of VR technology.

• Stats-on-Demand for Live Viewing In addition to actual footage and game play, fans are now requesting and demanding in-game statistics be readily available to them. An introduction to a customizable statistics dashboard for live viewing is yet another way to allow for a personalized approach to consumption. Some may be interested in one individual’s performance, whereas others could be interested in contest-wide statistics (e.g. three pointers made or attempted) for many reasons, such as betting.

• Post-Event Content Packaging To consume an entire live event, you need to be both available during the scheduled time as well as have the hours needed to engage. That can be quite a big ask, even for the most diehard fans of sports teams or the parent who never wants to miss a minute of action. To make this easier for fans, custom

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The OTT revolution, powered by AI-automated production, has met consumer demand for increased content. Now, it takes on the next challenge of customization. post-event content packaging can be created and distributed, something that is done exceptionally well by companies like WSC Sports. Overall match highlights from an entire league can be packaged and distributed in digestible clips, individual player highlight reels can be developed and shared, even situational actions and plays — such as set pieces in football woven together to later be picked apart by coaches, players, and analysts.

The future of sports production lives with the consumer’s demands. In order to meet these demands of more content (scalability) and personalized content, we need to continue to develop our offerings to position an a la carte form of sport production for end-users to select from. These ideas are just the start, and we believe with technology like ours we are primed to meet them. <

WHITEPAPERS

Innovations to Watch in Live Sports Production

By Jon Finegold, Chief Marketing Officer, Signiant

L

ive sports production is one of the best examples of how dynamic M&E can be. By their very nature, live sports are unpredictable and fluid, both qualities that are central to their thrill. Of course, with that thrill comes unique challenges. Thanks to advancements in technology, the experiences consumers enjoy while watching sports are becoming more immersive and engaging. 2020 is sure to bring lots of excitement across the industry so it’s worth looking at the state of sports production, and some of the trends driving change.

> REMOTE PRODUCTION (REMI) CONTINUES ITS ASCENT

While REMI (REMote Integration) or “at-home” production isn’t a new phenomenon, the continued growth of this model is enabling new opportunities. Much of the initial focus on REMI was around cost savings driven by the benefits of simply not having to bring as many people or as much equipment onsite. That has not only opened the door for smaller events to create high-quality live productions, it has also allowed for more rapid innovation, as it’s easier to test and deploy new tools and new skills with an “at-home” model. And, thanks to modern intelligent file transfer software, remote production is now possible using standard IP networks, further driving down costs and making the model accessible at nearly any venue, even high school football games.

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> GRAPHICS, SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND THE BATTLE FOR AUDIENCE EYEBALLS

A key result of the increase in live events and their distribution across more and more channels is the struggle to hold an audience’s gaze. After all, when there are so many things to watch and so many screens available, the content must be captivating.

Because of this, sports broadcasters are becoming increasingly invested in providing a viewing experience that’s as current and exciting as possible. New graphics tools are emerging to enhance viewing experiences in amazing ways. For instance, Discovery Norway is employing 3D models and augmented reality graphics to provide fans of the Norwegian Football League with an unparalleled viewing experience straight out of the future. As explained

by Vizrt, the company behind this innovation: “Discovery’s team of Vizrt experts have the time and capabilities to explore possibilities and push themselves further with new ideas to bring the match in the studio closer to viewers.” And this is only one small example, as everything from esports to live news are joining in on the phenomenon.

> MORE PRERECORDED CONTENT IN THE MIX

With advancements in search, AI, and archiving technology — much of it available via the cloud — broadcasters now have easier access to archived content. With swift search and retrieval times and more editors “at home”, broadcasters can more easily include previously recorded content to enhance the viewing experience.

Did the batter just surpass a milestone or break a record? Quick, roll the clip of their first at bat! Viewing experiences are enhanced tremendously by adding pre-recorded content into the broadcast and thanks to technology advancements this is another area of rapid innovation.

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WHITEPAPERS > AUTOMATION HELPS DRIVE MAJOR SPORTS EVENTS

Automated, intelligent file-transfer software has long served as the backbone for delivery of content from OB trucks to and from headquarters, quickly and securely moving large volumes of data. Before the game, things like graphic elements and produced segments from the studio are delivered to the truck for use during the game production. During the game, the content being shot can be delivered back to remote production facilities in near-real time with clips and highlights edited and returned to the venue immediately for insertion into the live production or displayed on the jumbotron. During the game, these fast-turnaround workflows generate staggering amounts of data that can only be accommodated with highly automated, accelerated filetransfer solution.

For example, just one OB truck at a six-hour game might generate 2,000-2,500 clips, with larger weekend-long tournament events generating up to 40,000 clips. Of course, many clips and files are delivered on an ad hoc basis but using automated file-acceleration technology, broadcasters can ensure that the content is steadily flowing out of the truck and back to headquarters, where it can be available for use within minutes of capture.

> SOCIAL MEDIA IS A CENTRAL PART OF THE LIVE-PRODUCTION ECOSYSTEM

In 2014, Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie ended the year as the most retweeted entertainment post of the previous 12 months, beating out the likes of Justin Bieber and Harry Styles. While it remains the third most retweeted post in the platform’s history, the power of sites like Twitter has only grown since then.

Social media has become such a huge part of the live viewing experience that commentators or broadcasters will actually boast about a trending hashtag or share some of their favorite relevant posts with the audience, and social media engagement brings with it new economic opportunity.

Because of this, broadcasters have become much savvier about how they integrate social media into their live productions. In many cases, the broadcaster has minutes or even seconds to get a highlight out on their social media channels before a fan in the stands posts that same highlight from their phone and pulls the audience to their own feed. Those are lost opportunities for engage-

ment and, ultimately, revenue. Especially for live sporting events, content needs to be edited and distributed quickly to keep fans engaged and extract maximum value. In fact, social media is so critical to how live entertainment brands maintain fans that, even as the Washington Post reported a dip in NBA cable viewership, the league’s social media following and footprint remains at an all-time high with 1.6 billion people engaging on a global basis.

> LIVE PRODUCTION IS ONLY GETTING MORE EXCITING, FOR BROADCASTERS AND VIEWERS ALIKE!

The unique environment of large sports productions — the compact timelines and live coverage along with high-engagement, highvolume, multi-platform auxiliary content — is constantly testing and pushing technological and financial models forward. Every sports broadcaster, everywhere in the world, is looking to achieve maximum coverage with minimum technical and financial resources. To enable file-based content production and distribution, intelligent filetransfer software (both automated and person-initiated) is becoming increasingly central to covering major sports events. And if history is an indicator of what’s to come, sports entities will continue to push the bounds of technology that other industries will follow.

As we see what the next decade has in store, it’s likely that sports production will continue to evolve at an even more rapid pace. It should be fascinating and rewarding to see how broadcasters continue to stay on their toes, and bring audiences to their feet. <

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WHITEPAPERS

How Do You Maximize Your Sports Archive?

By Jon Morgan CEO, Object Matrix

I

n a crowded space, sports content providers are under pressure to remain competitive. Providing an increased customer engagement is key to a great user experience and to keeping those sports fans subscribed to a service. Sports fans are inherently loyal to their teams and often are keen to consume as much content around their sport as possible.

Fortunately, one thing that sports video providers generally have lots of is additional and archived video content from recent and historical sporting moments. By providing those clips and games through innovative interfaces, sports providers are able to engage sports fans and monetize sports video services.

However, when an archive has been steadily built up over many years and resides in many cases on multiple storage solutions, how do you truly maximize its potential?

> SPORTS: A COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The sports industry is no stranger to competition, and sportsvideo delivery has become more competitive than ever before for a number of reasons. As with all parts of the media industry, there

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are a vast number of new entrants vying for viewers’ attention and subscriptions. At the same time, recent research from Ampere Analysis shows that sports rights account for over one quarter of all TV content spend worldwide.

Not surprising then that competition for sports rights has been steadily growing too with many of the new media companies making a play for those all-important rights. In 2017, Facebook made a bid for IPL cricket rights. At the end of 2019, UK-based DAZN announced it was seeking to raise investment funds to secure new sports broadcast rights. Amazon has particularly been making waves in this arena, having secured rights to broadcast a number of professional American football games back in 2017. Perhaps most significantly, Amazon secured rights to show 20 UK Premier League football matches a season from 2019 until 2022.

Video distribution has also become much easier and more costefficient thanks to a wide range of platforms. You no longer need to be a massive broadcaster to deliver video content across the globe. This means that as well as the new media companies, there is also a trend for sports clubs and associations going direct and creating their own offerings. Only this month, for example, the English Premier League has announced that it will be launching its own Netflix-style overseas video service.

As the production, management, and distribution of video continues to get even easier and more cost-effective, we will likely see an increase of these types of services launching. All of this means that it is no longer enough to simply have the rights to a few premium Sports fans are typically reminiscent and like to rewatch old sporting moments from their favorite athlete or team.

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WHITEPAPERS sports; sports-video providers need to deliver more than that if they want to remain competitive and monetize those services.

> THE OPPORTUNITY IN YOUR ARCHIVE

While competition is an increasing challenge for sports video broadcasters, sports is in a unique position whereby the fan base is generally extremely loyal. Once a football fan, always a football fan. Equally, as much as sports fans are keen to keep up with recent action, they are also typically reminiscent and like to re-watch old sporting moments from their favorite sports person or team. This type of footage is often called upon when a specific match is happening. For example, Amazon recently broadcast live its first Premier League match. Since this was generally consumed on laptops, tablets, and phones, it provided Amazon with the opportunity to let the watcher click on links about players, past goals, teams, stats, and more during play. Sports archives are also increasingly used for other types of entertainment, such as sporting quiz shows and awards ceremonies.

Aside from news footage, no other type of content is called upon to such an extent to dig out old clips and replays from the archives.

This is also where the incumbent sports rightsholders have an advantage. It stands to reason that if you have been delivering sports broadcasts for many years, you will have all those exciting moments in your archive. If you are new to the party, you won’t yet have that built up. Rights management and how you can deliver a broad range of content are important considerations for how you build up your library.

> MAXIMIZING YOUR ARCHIVE

The biggest challenge when it comes to monetizing your archive is that many broadcasters — sports or otherwise — often have assets stored in such a way that they are not easily discoverable.

Sports production is happening on a global scale and with that broadcasters are beginning to embrace the cloud to share that content. However, most sports broadcasters, especially those that have been producing content for a number of years, have huge volumes of content sitting on disparate systems and legacy LTO platforms that are not suited to today’s on-demand environments.

In order to maximize your archive, you need to work out what the main priorities are:

Are you often called upon to dig out archives in very short timeframes? Or is it generally long-term planning?

If it is the former, then instant access and discoverability will naturally be crucial and anything else will lead to a missed opportunity. Even if you have time to plan the use of archived content, the quicker you can find the right footage, the more time you have to focus on the creative aspects.

Do you have a globally dispersed team?

If so, then ensuring access from anywhere in the world will naturally be important. Having either cloud or hybrid cloud storage could therefore be the best route.

Have you considered the longevity of your content?

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An on-premise archive should be analyzable and discoverable. that is not actionable. As you migrate to a new archive solution, it is important to learn from that experience and ensure that content will remain accessible and usable long into the future, no matter how many format changes we go through in the meantime.

How secure is your archive?

“Easily discoverable” should only mean for the people who you want accessing the archive so make sure that content security is front and center of your mind.

It is understandable that some sports content will be provided from public cloud storage. For one thing, it enables access to content from anywhere, making global collaboration possible.

However, it also comes with barriers, especially for those with large legacy archives. It can quickly become very expensive for sports broadcasters and content providers to store, access, and manipulate whole archives in the cloud. Furthermore, cloud lockin should always be avoided. We don’t know what the future will hold, but we can imagine, for instance, that entire archives may need to be re-indexed or reanalyzed with the latest technologies from more often than some people might think. If that indexing is carried out in a public cloud platform it can quickly become a significantly costly exercise — the public cloud charges you to access your own data.

Hybrid cloud gives sports broadcasters the best of both worlds, but if only done well. A truly integrated hybrid solution means they can use cloud for those items that need to be shared globally but still keep the legacy infrastructure on-premise. What is key, however, is ensuring the on-premise archive is analyzable and discoverable and not sitting on tapes, for example.

> THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SPORTS

It is clear that archived footage is extremely valuable for sports.

You only have to look at the providers building an entire business model on archived footage, such as IMG Replay, which lets you search archived footage from a wide cross-section of different sports and different rightsholders.

As sports-video providers get wiser with their archives, we are seeing innovative uses of archived footage to drive engagement and revenues. This trend will continue and, although we cannot predict all the ways that a sports archive will be used in the future, we can certainly prepare for that future by addressing the challenge of legacy content, onto an appropriate platform, today. <

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WHITEPAPERS

Optimizing RF Spectrum Usage for Professional Wireless Intercom Operation

By Tom

Turkington, VP of

Technology, Pliant Technologies

W

hile it has never been easy to coordinate and execute wireless at large production events, as recently as 10 years ago, UHF spectrum for use by production professionals was reasonably plentiful. Most productions could fit all of their wireless needs (wireless microphones, IFBs, in-ear monitors, communications, etc.) in the UHF spectrum with a little preplanning and bestpractices application. Even in the most crowded RF cities, there was at least adequate available UHF spectrum to manage complex production wireless.

That isn’t the case anymore. Due to multiple FCC auctions where almost 200 MHz of spectrum has been reallocated, we now have only about ⅓ of the UHF spectrum available for production wireless use. Transition of this spectrum for mobile broadband use is scheduled to be complete no later than July 3, 2020. Once spectrum has been repurposed, it becomes illegal and impractical for production wireless use.

Even under the best situations, there will be a very limited amount of UHF spectrum for use for production wireless equipment. For large events that require more than just a few wireless microphones, it is now necessary to migrate some production wireless equipment to other bands. Not all spectrum is created equal, so to achieve the best results in all categories of production wireless, it is imperative to prioritize based on operational requirePliant Technologies’ CrewCom Radio Transceivers proved to be reliable for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Stadium, which was streamed live to Fox.

ments. Prioritizing wireless really comes down to placing gear in one of three categories: • Audio that will go on-air, typically wireless microphones • Audio that is heard by talent, typically IFB and in-ear monitors • Audio that is used for support and communications, typically wireless intercom Audio that will be broadcast requires maximum reliability, high fidelity (at minimum 40 Hz to 12 kHz), and extremely low latency.

Zero dropouts or extraneous audio noise must be achieved.

Extremely high fade margins must be maintained. Wireless microphone transmission technology, even modern digital transmission schemes, relies heavily on exceptionally clean spectrum and fixed RF frequency operation. This type of RF operation is almost always served best with UHF spectrum.

Wireless IFB, in-ear monitors, and other audio that the talent will hear are next on the list. Again, high reliability and low latency are key. A slightly lower fidelity (typically 80 Hz to 8 kHz) can be tolerated in IFB applications, while higher fidelity is still necessary in in-ear monitor work. Reliability here is slightly less crucial than with wireless microphones, but it is still very important. The occasional audio dropout can be tolerated, but, generally speaking, noise and frequent dropouts are not acceptable. This requires high fade margins and relatively clean spectrum. Again, this type of RF device is typically best served by the rules and conditions governing the UHF spectrum.

While wireless communications is critical for successful broadcast productions, in most cases, these devices can tolerate a higher level of RF hits than either wireless microphones or wireless IFBs. In addition, a lower level of audio quality is usually acceptable.

Although, to avoid ear fatigue, audio frequency response of at least 100 Hz to 7 kHz is desirable. Also, dynamic range of at least 80 dB is necessary for successful communication in high-noise environments. Occasional RF hits are acceptable as long as they do not compromise communications or become distracting to the user.

While many wireless intercoms in use today operate in the UHF band utilizing analog FM technology, there are other technology options that are readily available and provide high-quality communications. Some of these systems also provide a higher level of features and functions, which provide users with a more efficient and “wired-like” experience. Due to this, wireless communications make the most sense as a candidate to migrate out of the UHF spectrum.

If we plan to migrate wireless communications gear out of the UHF band, we must then decide to what band we will move. There are several bands to consider. In our discussion here, we will limit our scope to four selected bands that have the most potential for wireless communications use in broadcast production environments.

In frequency order, they are 902–928 MHz (900 MHz), 1880–1930 MHz (1.9 GHz), 2400–2500 MHz (2.4 GHz), and 5725–5875 MHz (5.8 GHz). All of these bands have advantages and disadvantages.

> WORLDWIDE OPERATION

Spectrum availability in locations throughout the world is important for touring and rental applications. Rules 94

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T H E P OW E R TO E L E VAT E

YOUR GAME Deliver up-to-the-minute sports highlights across all platforms Reach fans where they are. MediaCentralÂŽ | Publisher powered by Wildmoka lets you create and distribute sports highlights across digital platforms quickly and easily.

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WHITEPAPERS vary from country to country and not all frequencies may be used in all locations.

• 900 MHz: Limited availability. Acceptable for use in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand (with some frequency limitations), some South American countries, and a few areas of Asia. It is not allocated for use in any CE locations.

• 1.9 GHz: Acceptable in most areas of the world.

Frequencies vary somewhat depending on area. 1880– 1900 MHz in Europe, 1900–1920 MHz in China, 1910– 1930 MHz in Latin America, and 1920–1930 MHz in the U.S. and Canada.

• 2.4 GHz: Acceptable in all areas of the world. The frequency band is basically the same worldwide with some minor variations in some locations.

• 5.8 GHz: Generally acceptable worldwide, but acceptable frequency ranges vary considerably throughout the world, making radio design challenging.

> ACTUAL AMOUNT OF SPECTRUM AVAILABLE The amount of spectrum that is available dictates many factors of an RF communication system. The number of collocated beltpacks, interference susceptibility, robustness of RF link, and many other factors are all related to the amount of spectrum that may be used in a given location.

• 900 MHz–26 MHz (13 MHz in Australia and New Zealand) • 1.9 GHz–10 to 20 MHz depending on location. In the U.S., only 10 MHz is available. This limits the total number of wireless users significantly in this band.

• 2.4 GHz–80 MHz in most locations.

• 5.8 GHz–150 MHz in most locations; however, spectrum allocation for this band is still somewhat of a moving target.

> PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS How a particular frequency of radio wave moves through the electromagnetic spectrum and how it interacts with obstacles and other impediments is important because these characteristics will impact things such as range and RF link reliability. Generally, the higher in frequency you go, the more difficulty an RF wave has in penetrating obstacles, such as walls, human bodies, and foliage. 900 MHz acts more like traditional UHF systems, while 5.8 GHz has a much higher rate of signal loss due to attenuation and scattering. This effect makes use of the 5.8 GHz spectrum very difficult for body-worn devices, such as wireless intercom beltpacks.

1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz both strike a balance between the two and offer propagation characteristics that are suitable for body-worn devices, although not as advantageous as 900 MHz or UHF.

> REGULATORY CONSTRAINTS Regulations for a given spectrum are important as they impact things like allowable transmitter power, modulation techniques, interoperability requirements, and other elements that can have a significant impact on RF system performance and feasibility. Rules governing the use of 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz mandate that 96

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

AY Productions relied on Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom Wireless Intercom System to provide wireless communication. devices utilize spreading techniques or other radio technology that ensures the spectrum can support multiple users simultaneously.

While this complicates radio design, it helps to ensure that the spectrum is available for all users, even when there are many radios in a given location. 1.9 GHz has somewhat similar requirements and also limits the use of that spectrum to voice communications.

> COMPETITION FOR SPECTRUM USE The number of other devices that are competing for a given spectrum can have a great impact on RF link success. Managing devices used in any available spectrum for large events is critical for success regardless of the band(s) being utilized.

While each band has its strengths and weaknesses, considering all factors involved with selecting a suitable area of the spectrum to operate wireless intercom equipment, the most advantageous bands are likely 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz. These areas of the spectrum offer a good blend of available spectrum, propagation characteristics, and regulatory factors. While 1.9 GHz does have some advantages, the fact that there is so little spectrum available for use greatly limits user count and sets the stage for significant systemto-system interference in large events.

In conclusion, the UHF spectrum is becoming much more crowded and will continue to do so in the coming years. Production requirements continually call for more wireless devices to complete the task. Wireless communication equipment can be effectively migrated outside the UHF band using existing technology.

The 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands are excellent candidates for wireless communications due to propagation characteristics, regulatory requirements, and amount of actual spectrum that is available. These factors combine to facilitate better range and higher reliability of wireless devices.

Eliminating wireless intercom from the UHF spectrum can provide a vast increase in the number of wireless microphones and/or wireless IFBs that may be operated at a given location. This allows communications professionals to accommodate ever-growing production wireless requirements while ensuring high on-air reliability. <

Gravity Media offers production, programming and content services for every broadcast need.

Our 500 people serve clients across the sport, media, news and entertainment industries from bases in the UK, Australia, USA, France, Germany and Qatar. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re world leaders in providing complex live broadcast facilities and production services to content owners, creators and distributors.

We have four broad categories of expertise: Outside Broadcast; Broadcast & Production Facilities; Production & Content; Equipment Rental & Sales. Contact us today to see how we can help with your next production. enquiries@gravitymedia.com

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SPONSORUPDATE

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raditionally, the Spring edition of the SVG SportsTech Journal includes an in-depth NAB Preview in addition to the Sponsor Update section. However, due to the cancellation of the 2020 NAB Show, those sponsors who were previously listed in the NAB Preview section were invited to submit either a new Sponsor Update or request a company description instead.

As you can see on the following pages, our sponsors show no signs of slowing down in the months to come. Read on for the latest product announcements and company news from more than 250 SVG sponsors.

Interested in learning more? Turn to page 154 for contact information. >3G WIRELESS

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he past year has seen 3g lead the way in innovation for its customers. 3g’s talented team of people, in both engineering and operations, has been paving new paths for customers to deliver cutting-edge RF solutions, value, and outstanding customer service. 3g is continually looking to push the boundaries of what is possible. Whether it is investing in, or developing in house, 3g continually seeks new technologies to provide the best solutions for customers. From car racing to football, baseball to marathons, 3g’s portfolio of success is diverse and growing. 3g has the talent and know how to deliver on your vision, no matter the size of your production.

>ADDER TECHNOLOGY

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dder is excited to announce the launch of the ADDERLink INFINITY 3000 Series (ALIF3000) — a KVM receiver that provides virtual machine (VM) access and delivers instant switching between unlimited virtual and physical environments, from a single humanmachine interface (HMI). The introduction of the ALIF3000 is perfectly timed to support sports broadcast and production specialists as they look to benefit from the flexibility and growth opportunities provided by virtualized applications — enabling them to seamlessly access both physical machines and virtual desktops in real-time. The ALIF3000 has been designed to integrate VM access into an exist-

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ing ADDERLink INFINITY network without disruption, downtime, or costly replacement fees. Built on the successful Intel X-86 microprocessor architecture, the ALIF3000 delivers pixel-perfect picture quality, audio, and USB 2.0 to single or dual screens over a single 1GbE link.

By integrating the ALIF3000 with the ADDERLink INFINITY Manager (AIM), administrators can clearly define secure user access rights to ensure that target PCs can only be accessed by permitted users — giving business owners peace of mind and assurance.

>ADMIRAL VIDEO

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ounded in 1992, Admiral Video is a leading broadcast industry service company. The company’s specialty is multi-camera video engineering and production. In addition to complete turnkey video production, the company offers equipment rental and Western New York’s only high-definition television production truck. Their avocation is “special projects” such as their POV cameras and PylonCam. They are well-known in the sports television community as a source of novel, cost-effective, and reliable solutions to point-of-view camera challenges.

>ADORAMA

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roviding consultative sales and technical support to all sports teams, from college though major leagues, Adorama Business Solutions (ABS) works to understand the end goal behind equipment updates before any purchases are made. This ensures customers get the right technology solutions to capture the moment.

One such customer, a National Basketball Association team, enlisted ABS to outfit a new studio.

The team’s dedicated account manager at ABS understood the desired outcome and helped them select the best equipment from a range of over 2,200 brands.

>ADVANCED SYSTEMS GROUP (ASG)

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dvanced Systems Group (ASG), a leading media technology and engineering firm, is a founding member and sponsor of Silicon Valley Video (SV.V), a new international information resource for media professionals in the tech industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. The association was developed to create a network of professionals throughout the Bay Area in order to share information, improve their skills, and stay current on the industry’s constantly changing technologies. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in the New York Metro Area,

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

Los Angeles, and the Rocky Mountain Region, ASG has provided engineering, systems, integration, support, and training to the multimedia creative and corporate video markets for more than 22 years. With unmatched experience in high-speed shared storage, media asset management, archiving, editing, color, and video production systems, ASG has become one of the largest installers of postproduction and shared storage systems in North America.

>AE GRAPHICS

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019 proved to be one of the biggest years in AE Graphics’ near-30-year history. Alongside its regular commitments, AE delivered host broadcast world-feed graphics for both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups, also playing a key role in the launch of BBC Sport’s new virtual studio in Media City, Salford. The Rugby World Cup in Japan was a particularly impressive undertaking. Thirty-two operational staff covered 48 matches, producing core match and presentation graphics, in addition to augmented-reality content. Operational teams were also permanently based at the IBC, overseeing the remote production of UHD and multi-language unilateral graphics channels.

>AERIAL VIDEO SYSTEMS (AVS)

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VS, now an NEP Broadcast Services Company, is the leader in high-bitrate wireless 4K, HD, and aerial production with over 120 Vislink HD and 4K RF systems, including the new HCAM. AVS offers two 4K GSS and four Cineflex gyro-stabilized camera systems for vehicles, boats, helicopters, or its three Partenavia fixed-wing aircraft for aerial coverage. AVS has 12 Sony P-50 cameras and was the first to integrate these into RF Steadicam systems with video return and prompter. This is the preferred package for major sporting events including Sunday, Monday, and Thursday Night Football; The Super Bowl; NBA All-Stars — and virtually every live award and entertainment show, including The Academy Awards, The Emmys, The Grammys, The Voice, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Shark Tank, and America’s Got Talent. AVS is a part of NEP’s Specialty Capture division alongside Broadcast Sports International (BSI) and Fletcher Group.

>AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS

S

ince 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions, and

professional cameras, bringing high-quality, costeffective products to the professional broadcast, video, and postproduction markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at AJA’s facilities in Grass Valley, CA, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world.

>ALDEA SOLUTIONS

A

ldea Solutions is a leading provider of highquality video services and solutions for the television and media industries. With over 20 years of experience, the company provides endto-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. Aldea continues to grow its contribution services from venues, enhance its Media Cloud Platform, extend Ultra HD/4K to more customers, and provide its Sports Event Services to major broadcasters and media companies around the world. The company is building off its successes at the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games, where it provided the official video contribution platform for the games, as well as with Copa America Brazil 2019 and the Women’s World Cup France 2019, for which it transmitted live coverage to numerous customers around the world. In light of COVID-19, Aldea has taken all the necessary steps to effectively sustain operations on a 24x7 basis while continuing to provide the same quality of service to customers. With Tokyo 2020 Olympics and UEFA EURO 2020 postponed to 2021, Aldea looks forward to working with numerous customers from around the world on these two major events and many more.

>ALL MOBILE VIDEO

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ll Mobile Video will soon launch its latest mobile production truck that will provide a complete end-to-end IP based solution for its sports and entertainment clients. As an innovation powerhouse, AMV will underscore its leadership in delivering solutions that underpin smart, flexible, and scalable live production infrastructures and workflows. AMV uses stateof-the-art production solutions and techniques that give clientele unlimited flexibility in the creation of new content. AMV’s new truck takes this commitment further by increasing the efficiency in deployment of more live streams as customers look to develop more dynamic and engaging shows. AMV’s new deployment features one of North America’s first mobile, end-to-end IP workflows, based entirely on open standards, which ensures smooth interoperability and extensibility with simplified connectivity to adjoining venue networks. AMV continues its long tradition of excellence, delivering professional

support and expertise with vehicles that add efficiency to live production environments that are faced with a continually growing need for more and better content.

>ALPHA VIDEO

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he Sports Group continues to specialize in helping clients find ways to use technology to engage fans, enhance teams, and expand revenue like they never have before. Alpha Video is integrating the new IP-based control room at Allegiant Field, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders, as well as the production studio at their new team headquarters. Based on its success rolling out systems for multiple conferences as well as individual schools in the ACC and SEC, Alpha Video is providing production equipment to all the schools in the American Athletic Conference. The company is also designing and building production facilities for several of the schools in the conference as well, all in preparation for the launch of their new ESPN+ network.

Alpha Video continues to work with a variety of NCAA and professional sports clients on upgrading the AV technology at their existing team facilities.

>ANTHONY JAMES PARTNERS (AJP)

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rom North America’s largest custom LED scoreboards to state-of-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. Combining roles of Owner’s Representative, AV Consultant, and Design Consultant, the company delivers complex technology projects on time, under-budget, and without change orders. With over 500 large-scale technology projects for high-profile stadiums, arenas, entertainment facilities, and collegiate campuses successfully completed, AJP’s proven end-to-end solutions simplify process, maximize product value, and produce significant financial benefits for clients. Recent and upcoming project highlights include five major ACC Network broadcast production facilities; 5x SEC and Big 10 Network upgrades; and LED displays, video replay control rooms, audio, and DTV for the Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena, USMA at West Point Michie Stadium, Purdue’s RossAde Stadium, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Heat, Philadelphia Union, and Chicago White Sox.

>APM MUSIC

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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), professional 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 800,000+ high-quality tracks by legendary composers and today’s indie trendsetters. APM offers music from 160+ 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 complement sports productions.

>ARCTEK SATELLITE PRODUCTIONS

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RCTEK Satellite Productions has upgraded its flagship Sprinters, Purple (C-band) and Magenta (Ku-band), to transmit 1080p and 4K utilizing HEVC compression. This, along with the ability to provide a 10-path HD mux, has these trucks packing a ton of capability in the small footprint of the Sprinter chassis. ARCTEK spent the fall and winter providing close to 100 mux feeds in addition to single source backhauls for college football, basketball, hockey, and Olympic sports. ARCTEK also provided multi-camera production for the pre/post game coverage at the Fiesta and Rose Bowls. ARCTEK Satellite Productions is the company you want to call when you need satellite and production reliability. ARCTEK is proud of its talented team who raise the bar high and are ready to roll nationwide with five well-equipped Sprinter satellite trucks (three Ku-band and two C-band).

When you think satellite, think ARCTEK. Nothing is more reliable than satellite.

>ARISTA NETWORKS

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rista Networks pioneered software-driven, cognitive cloud networking for large-scale datacenter and campus environments. Arista’s award-winning platforms redefine and deliver availability, agility, automation, analytics, and security. Arista has shipped more than 20 million cloud networking ports worldwide with CloudVision and EOS, an advanced network operating system. Committed to open standards across private, public, and hybrid cloud solutions, Arista products are supported worldwide directly and through partners.

>ARTEL VIDEO SYSTEMS

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rtel Video Systems is a world-class provider of innovative, real-time multimedia delivery solutions serving global markets. Today, most live events in the U.S. traverse Artel products to support their mission-critical work-

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SPONSORUPDATE flows. Artel’s expertise in IP- and fiber-based technologies spans more than 30 years and has established Artel as a trusted partner in the development of reliable, standards-based IP infrastructures. Artel’s integrated solutions include precision timing, fiber- and IP-based multimedia, delivery, data networking, and OTT systems. Artel is an employee-owned business.

>ARVATO SYSTEMS

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lobal IT specialist Arvato Systems supports major companies through digital transformation. More than 2,800 staff in over 25 locations epitomize in-depth technology expertise, industry knowledge, and focus on customer requirements. Working as a team, Arvato Systems develops innovative IT solutions, transitions clients into the cloud, integrates digital processes, and takes on IT systems operation and support.

As a part of the Bertelsmann-owned Arvato network, Arvato Systems has the unique capability to work across the entire value chain. Arvato Systems’ business relationships are personal; the company works with clients as partners to achieve long-term success.

>AT&T

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etting your content to your audience is becoming increasingly diverse and complex.

Reliability matters and time is precious. AT&T Global Video Solutions makes your job easier helping make your production cycles faster, by delivering a more efficient workflow with redundancy, data integration, 5G advancements, flexible options, and world-class customer service. AT&T’s network enables new technologies, such as AI-based real-time overlays for critical broadcast clients that enable creation of cutting-edge advertising and content synergies so crucial to today’s multiverse of viewing habits. The company’s renowned high-speed fiberoptic network delivers major broadcasts like the Olympics with low-latency hitless video and data, creating an optimal viewing experience.

>ATEME

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TEME is a global leader in AV1, HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2 video compression solutions for broadcast, cable, DTH, IPTV, and OTT.

>AUDIO-TECHNICA

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elebrating more than 50 years of audio excellence worldwide, Audio-Technica is a leading innovator in transducer technology, re�nowned for the design and manufacture of microphones, wireless microphones, headphones,

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mixers, and electronics for the audio industry.

Users of Audio-Technica microphones and headphones include Gwen Stefani, Rudimental, Faithless, Pendulum, Royal Blood, James Bay, Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, and Deaf Havana.

>AV DESIGN SERVICES

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V Design Services is the first choice among the industry’s best set designers, set fabricators, and architects. AVDS is an established leader in custom LED displays, engineering, design, consulting, project management, fabrication, system support, and post-installation services. AVDS systems engineers have been providing broadcast solutions and services to major media and entertainment companies for more than 40 years.

>AVI SYSTEMS

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VI Systems’ ability to deliver communications Liberation is grounded in the values that guide the company. Oneness, the understanding that AVI is more than a collection of individuals, makes the company stronger. A spirit of stewardship ensures the wise use of company and customer resources. Curiosity drives the free flow of ideas and fuels innovation. An ethic of Elevation through learning and personal growth sharpens AVI’s vision and propels the company to reach new heights. And underlying everything AVI does is its commitment to act with integrity — even, and especially, when no one is looking — because that’s what makes AVI what it is.

>AVID

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vid delivers the most open and efficient media platform, connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution, and consumption. Avid’s preeminent customer community uses Avid’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions to create, distribute, and monetize the most watched, loved, and listened to media in the world — from prestigious and award-winning feature films to popular television shows, news programs, and televised sporting events, and celebrated music recordings and live concerts. With the most flexible deployment and pricing options, Avid’s solutions include Media Composer, Pro Tools, Avid NEXIS, MediaCentral, iNEWS, AirSpeed, Sibelius, Avid VENUE, FastServe, and Maestro.

>AWS

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or almost 14 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 175 fully featured services for compute,

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 69 Availability Zones (AZs) within 22 geographic regions, with announced plans for 16 more Availability Zones and five more AWS Regions in Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Africa, and Spain. Millions of customers — including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies — trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs.

>AZZURRO GROUP

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he Azzurro Pop Up Studio is a portable production system that captures and delivers broadcast-quality, low-latency transmit and receive video over the public internet using minimal bandwidth. The self-contained briefcase is equipped with wheels and retractable luggage handle, allowing for easy transport. It is compact enough to check at the airport or send via common carrier direct to event sites. Offered for purchase or rental, Azzurro Pop Up Studio can be used anywhere a public internet connection is available. The systems have been deployed by major networks and sports venues, interviews, and sideline coverage. Azzurro’s 24x7 Network Operations Center (NOC) manages the public internet network while monitoring the video riding over it. The NOC is also responsible for monitoring the real time health of all associated equipment. As an added value, Azzurro HD’s broadcast video switching hub serves as a bridge to existing customers with traditional video circuits.

>BECKTV

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eckTV is one of the United States’ premier design-build systems integrators. With more than 30 years of experience, BeckTV has designed and built more professional television facilities for more customers than any other systems integrator. In virtually every application, from broadcast and cable networks, local TV stations, sports trucks, and stadium venues to educational institutions and houses of worship, BeckTV uses a collaborative approach to assure successful outcomes, on time and on budget.

The company maintains full-service offices in Denver, New York, and Austin, as well as an engineering office in Washington, DC.

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 © 2020 B & H Foto & Electronics Corp.

SPONSORUPDATE >BEXEL

F

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’s specialized broadcast offerings include fiberoptic solutions, 4K technology, broadcast graphics, custom flypacks, RF audio and wireless intercom, and workflow solutions. With locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York, Bexel is well-positioned to continue providing the industry with unparalleled production services and engineering expertise.

>BLACKBIRD VIDEO

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lackbird, developer and seller of the cloud video editing platform Blackbird, has been chosen by Eleven Sports for the rapid editing and publishing of sports content to fans online. Eleven Sports, part of global sports investment and innovation group Aser Ventures, is one of a new breed of broadcaster who are redefining how global sport is packaged and delivered. Eleven Sports’ innovative OTT platform is at the core of a platform-agnostic approach, engaging fans across on-air, online, and social media — delivering thousands of hours of top-class sporting action per year to millions of paying customers.

Eleven holds rights to a wide array of premium sports properties in territories around the world including the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and League 1, as well as the NBA, NFL, UFC, and Formula One.

>BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

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lackmagic Design recently announced several creative video products, including Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and ATEM Mini switcher. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K is a new handheld digital film camera with a full Super 35 size 6K HDR image sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, an EF lens mount, and dual native ISO up to 25,600 for incredible low light performance. This new model builds on the popularity of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K but has a larger Super 35 sensor size with 6K resolution, allowing higher image quality. The EF lens mount model works with a wide range of lenses from companies such as Canon, Zeiss, Sigma, and Schneider. ATEM Mini is a new low-cost live production switcher that makes it easy to create professional multicamera productions for live streaming to popular channels such as YouTube and Twitch. With ATEM Mini, customers can switch live between

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four high-quality video camera inputs in dramatically better quality images. Customers can even live stream esports competitions by connecting gaming consoles and a camera for a presenter. The built in DVE allows exciting picture in picture effects — perfect for live commentary — and it features loads of video effects. To live stream, ATEM Mini has a USB output that works like a webcam, so customers can connect to any video software. There’s also HDMI video out for projectors. Microphone inputs allow high-quality desktop and lapel mics for interviews and presentations.

>BLUEFRAME TECHNOLOGY

B

lueFrame has established itself as the streaming provider of choice for programs looking for a powerful and cost-effective solution. The company now serves 66% of NCAA Division II with ever-increasing numbers in Division III and other national associations. Clients love BlueFrame’s “Production Truck” software, which allows one producer to create professional broadcasts with features like instant replay, sport-specific graphics, NDI integration, easy social media sharing, integrations with industry partners, and so much more. New for 2020, Production Truck can replace expensive and bulky replay solutions with BlueFrame’s new Official Video Review system, which directly pushes all available video streams to an intuitive iPad app for any official to easily zoom and replay those crucial game moments. Coupled with BlueFrame’s vCloud streaming platform and custom branded apps, BlueFrame’s services make your productions the least of your concerns. Stream like a Pro with BlueFrame!

>BRAINSTORM

B

rainstorm Suite 4 is a major upgrade to the InfinitySet, Aston, and eStudio solutions that includes unique features designed to enhance content creation and output. In addition to a tighter integration and control of Unreal Engine, Suite 4 provides advanced features like simultaneous renders, multiple outputs, and additional hardware support. InfinitySet 4 gains major updates to the rendering features and especially the management and compatibility with the Unreal Engine. InfinitySet now features an Unreal-native behavior, so InfinitySet users can achieve anything Unreal Engine provides in a workflow fully integrated into Unreal. The added value of this configuration is the multitude of benefits of including more than 25 years of Brainstorm’s experience in broadcast and film graphics, virtual set, and augmented reality production, including

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

data management, playout workflows, multiple simultaneous renders, and much more. Brainstorm also announces the Unreal Controller, a module that directly controls Unreal Engine from InfinitySet’s own interface.

>BRAINSTORM ELECTRONICS

B

rainstorm manufactures sync products that promote fast, reliable, and efficient workflow in house or on the road. The new DXD Universal Clocks (DXD-16 and DXD-8) incorporate PTP (grandmaster or slave), GPS, and a multiformat legacy reference generator with up to 16 universal outputs (WC, AES, BB, tri-level). While working in a PTP environment (AES67, Dante, Ravenna…) the DXD keeps legacy equipment perfectly synchronized with the IP infrastructure, or vice-versa. The SR-112 Time Code Distripalyzer is the de facto standard in LTC generation, distribution, and analysis for live production show control and synchronization.

>BRIDGE DIGITAL

B

ridge Digital is a company with expertise in digital video workflows and the technologies to make them work better. Bridge Digital helps creators and owners of digital content build an infrastructure to create, manage, distribute, and monetize their video assets effectively. The company’s solutions cover the entire digital media workflow — from ingest to final delivery. Put Bridge Digital’s strategic use of technology to work for you! The company can accelerate your workflows, expand your capabilities, and improve quality for a better return on your investment.

>BROADCAST SERVICES INTERNATIONAL

B

roadcast Services International is a recognized leader in domestic and international broadcast markets, providing full turnkey production solutions including technical consulting, equipment rentals, RF wireless solutions, commentary systems, and host broadcast packages.

BSI finished off the 2019 season contributing to major projects such as IAAF World Track and Field Championships, Women’s World Cup in Paris, and Copa America in Brazil. Moving into 2020, BSI continued this success, wrapping up production of the LAAC Golf Championships in Mayacoba, Mexico, and providing back-to-back productions for the Snowboard and Ski Cross Championships in February. BSI’s extensive equipment and rentals division includes newly revamped flypacks that will provide greater production, routing, and workflow efficiencies, which were used recently for FIS Freestyle Ski Wold Cup.

SPONSORUPDATE >BROADCAST SPORTS INTERNATIONAL

A

t Broadcast Sports International (BSI), the engineering and operations team is at the leading edge of turnkey custom broadcast solutions. BSI works with major broadcasters and production companies to produce compelling content through cutting-edge camera, wireless transmission, and microphone technology. BSI is fully licensed by the FCC for regular broadcast bands as well as additional portions of the wireless spectrum for large events. BSI leads the industry in providing the highest quality, most reliable, and robust means of transmission.

BSI pioneered onboard NASCAR cameras and brought new perspectives to golf coverage. Television networks use BSI’s customized technology solutions to cover the U.S. presidential inauguration and the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Customers rely on BSI for turnkey live-event coverage, custom engineering challenges, and equipment rentals. But the relationship doesn’t end there. All BSI partners receive continuous back office support during any engagement.

>C360

C

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.

>CALREC/DIGICO

M

obile TV Group remains true to its progressive and tech-savvy approach by launching its third entirely SMPTE 2110 uncompressed IP-based mobile TV broadcast unit 47 FLEX. This followed 2019’s 45 FLEX — the world’s first fully IP-based truck — and 46 FLEX. Calrec’s Artemis consoles provide the audio in all three units and integrate with the IP network via the Calrec audio-over-IP I/O unit, which provides a Hydra2 AoIP interface for up to 512x512 channels using AES67. The IP connection goes directly to the unit’s Evertz router.

The three dual-trailer units’ infrastructures are based around the Grass Valley Kayenne KFrame X IP switcher, an Evertz 384-port EXE 2.0 IP router, and an Evertz Magnum control

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system, to offer 1080p capacity that would require at least a 3000x3000 baseband router.

Mobile TV Group predominantly services the U.S. sports markets, currently with a fleet of 42 mobile units. The 45/46/47 FLEX units are dualtrailer outfits, designe, and integrated by Mobile TV Group’s own team at their Denver HQ. When it comes audio mixers, familiarity is key. Industry standards like Calrec allow freelancers to get working straightaway. Also, the flexibility of Calrec’s consoles is a prime attribute given the variety of events many of the group’s mobile units are used on. Primarily producing sports, they also do entertainment and corporate shows.

Calrec consoles can handle it all.

>CANON U.S.A.

C

anon’s 4K UHD long-zoom field lenses have continued to have a prominent place in the sports broadcasting world, led by the UHD-DIGISUPER 111 and UHD-DIGISUPER 122 lenses, which have taken the industry by storm since they began shipping early in 2019. Both lenses have seen action at major sports championships and other key events throughout the year, and their performance and popularity has enabled Canon to kick 2020 off with several major sales.

In January and February alone, Canon shipped an astounding 50 of these lenses to customers in sports production, including major mobile production companies like NEP Group and Game Creek Video, and Division I universities Brigham Young University and the University of Nebraska. The UHD-DIGISUPER 111 boasts an incredibly powerful zoom range of 8.3-925mm, while the UHD-DIGISUPER 122 goes even further, achieving 8.2mm on the wide end and extending all the way to 1,000mm on the telephoto side. This tandem provides broadcasters with crisp, beautiful 4K imagery throughout the entire zoom range, and the ability to better capture the drama of sports with wider crowd shots and tighter close-ups of players’ reactions.

>CARINGO

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aringo has released a new line of S3-enabled object storage appliances — Swarm Servers.

Caringo Swarm is used by professional sports teams and major services like Disney+ to ensure immediate access to archived videos for production and to enable streaming services.

Swarm Server Appliances start at 30% the cost and 30% the hardware footprint of other onprem object storage solutions. Swarm Servers are also 50% the cost of Amazon S3 storage fees over a three-year period. Deployment is flexible and fast, scaling from 168TBs to 100s of PBs in a

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

matter of minutes with integrated backup to any S3-enabled device or service for seamless disaster recovery and cold archiving. Content-driven organizations can now optimize their on-prem resources and benefit from Swarm’s content management, partial file restore, and integrated content distribution while keeping archived assets instantly accessible for continued use and monetization.

>CARTONI USA

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or more than 75 years, Cartoni SpA has set the international standard for excellence in camera support. Headquartered in Rome, the company serves camera professionals in 60 countries on five continents through its network of sales agents and distributors. Design innovation and manufacturing excellence are hallmarks of Cartoni and built in to every one of its fluid heads, tripods, pedestals, and other products. Cartoni service and support are similarly second to none. The recipient of numerous international patents on its technology, Cartoni continues to develop new tools in its mission to guarantee camera operators with the ultimate in quality, reliability, and creative freedom.

>CAT ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES

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AT Entertainment Services is a worldwide provider of rental power and temperature control, supporting the event and entertainment industries. From planning and engineering to equipment and award-winning technical support, CAT Entertainment Services makes it the company’s business to know yours. From the global stage of a World Cup broadcast to a local music festival or a blockbuster film production to local theater in the park, CAT Entertainment Services knows the power of entertainment and provides the turnkey solutions specific to your event.

>CATDV (SQUARE BOX SYSTEMS)

S

quare Box Systems is an innovative software company, specializing in the development of multimedia tools. The company takes the time to carefully listen to customers’ needs and support some of the world’s greatest organizations. Square Box Systems will work closely with you to find the right solution to your problem.

Square Box Systems’ core products are based around CatDV, the leading digital asset management system.

ULTRA-FAST WORKFLOW PERFORMANCE for Delivering the Most Compelling Fan Experiences... On Quantum.

Up your game with video production solutions engineered for sports entertainment. Quantum storage solutions deliver the performance and collaborative capabilities you need for the most demanding sports video production workflows.

Our award-winning F-Series NVMe storage arrays and StorNextÂŽ file system equips sports programmers and broadcasters with the performance needed to rapidly ingest content and to access shared content for fast, seamless collaboration.

Explore solutions: quantum.com/sports Š2020 Quantum Corporation. All rights reserved.

CREATE. INNOVATE. PROTECT. ON QUANTUM.

SPONSORUPDATE >CENTURYLINK

W

ith over 30 years of trusted live broadcast video transmission services, CenturyLink is the global network services leader to the sports broadcasting and media industry. With CenturyLink Vyvx Linear Channel Distribution, a single high-quality feed can be replicated and delivered to multiple end points across the company’s global fiber network, reliably and securely. This fast, scalable solution provides both programmers and distributors with the ability to rapidly turn up new channels. Additionally, CenturyLink continues to invest heavily in its VenueNet presence globally. CenturyLink is bringing more venues on-net and augmenting capacity to further support contribution remote/at-home production workflows. CenturyLink’s integrated content delivery network (CDN), including CDN Mesh Delivery and CDN Edge Compute solutions, enables adaptable direct-to-consumer delivery of digital OTT sports content throughout the world. CenturyLink offers fully managed, cloud-based content capture and transport solutions. The company’s new, cutting-edge innovations for IP video encoding, transcoding and packaging enable end-to-end media delivery, making CenturyLink a one-stop shop for end-to-end OTT delivery and transformation.

>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 integration, 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. Chesapeake’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, Chesapeake 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.

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>CHYRONHEGO

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he Paint sports analysis and telestration tool from ChyronHego empowers sports broadcasters and coaches to leverage video and graphics to improve player and team performance. While the new 8.1 release of this powerful software-based tool boasts a number of significant enhancements, its AllCam Stitch & Control feature transforms telestration for live sports broadcasts. AllCam Stitch & Control gives broadcasters the unprecedented ability to record and play out a multicamera ultra-highdefinition (UHD) panoramic video stitch and then manipulate it using full pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) control. Designed to optimize creative flexibility, AllCam Stitch & Control allows Paint users to reframe and focus on the field in ways previously not feasible for tighter replays and play coverage. Controlling the UHD camera stitch with a joystick, replay telestration operators become virtual camera operators who can view any point on the field at any time — and exert total control over the broadcast-quality output. H.264 streaming, timeline functionality, enhanced remote access, and control capabilities, an intelligent automatic chroma keyer, single-click publishing to social media, and a new GFX package are among the other new updates that further boost Paint’s value in enriching sports analysis and production.

>CINESYS-OCEANA

M

edia Systems Integrators providing solutions, development, integration, and support for digital content creators across North America. With years of IT experience, CineSysOceana serves a range of industries from broadcast and postproduction to corporate and sports.

Their goal is to help companies get the most out of their technology investment to accelerate workflows and strengthen infrastructures.

Media Systems Integrators providing solutions, development, integration, and support for digital content creators across North America. With years of IT experience, CineSys-Oceana serves a range of industries from broadcast and postproduction to corporate and sports. Their goal is to help companies get the most out of their technology investment, to accelerate workflows, and strengthen infrastructures. Get in touch to discuss how CineSys-Oceana can help secure and strengthen your collaborative workflow.

>CIS GROUP

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or over 30 years, CIS has been a distributor and digital systems designer and integrator,

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providing innovative technology solutions to a multitude of clients in various regions. In doing so, CIS has focused on putting clients’ budget to good use by optimizing their workflows, ultimately enabling them to maximize creativity.

CIS’ core expertise lies in broadcast and entertainment, but the company also services nonmedia institutions, such as houses of worship, educational entities, and corporates.

>CISCO SYSTEMS

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isco is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Cisco’s people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today.

>CLARK WIRE & CABLE

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lark Wire & Cable, a leader in broadcast and professional AV interconnect technology, is celebrating over 30 years of business. With a focus on quality and innovation, Clark Wire & Cable delivers unique and reliable solutions dedicated to the markets it serves. From precisionengineered bulk cable and cable assemblies to connectors, tools, and custom panels, Clark Wire & Cable has remained committed to delivering comprehensive interconnect solutions.

>CLEAR-COM, AN HME COMPANY

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lear-Com, an HME company, is a trusted global provider of professional real-time communications solutions and services since 1968. Clear-Com innovates market-proven technologies that link people together through wired and wireless systems. Clear-Com was first to market portable wired intercom systems for live performances. Since then, the company’s history of technological advancements and innovations has delivered significant improvements to the way people collaborate in professional settings where real-time communication matters. For the markets Clear-Com serves — broadcast, live performance, live events, sports, military, aerospace, and government — the company’s communication products have consistently met the demands for high-quality audio, reliability, scalability, and low latency, while addressing communication requirements of varying size and complexity. Clear-Com’s reputation in the industry is not only based on its product achievements, but also on the company’s consistent level of customer engagement and dedication to delivering the right solutions for specialized applications, with the expertise

THE

IP INTERCOM SOLUTION THAT HAS EVERYONE TALKING

“Being all IP-based, it’s plug-and-play with none of the problems associated with matrix systems.

That’s a big plus!”

Danny Littwin, New York Digital

“Everything’s IP-based, decentralized, and remotely accessible ... miles ahead of other solutions.”

Justin Young, KTBS-TV

“Telos Infinity is great for us because I can talk to anyone on our team who is not in the studio.

That versatility is really key.”

Jeff Carlin, WGN

©2020 TLS Corp. All Rights Reserved. C19/17052

Telos Infinity® IP Intercom is the game-changer in broadcast communications that has everyone talking. It says goodbye to outmoded matrix-based technology and hello to agile, flexible, and scalable IP that lets you futureproof while improving reliability and uptime.

Minus the matrix, workflows dramatically improve, setup is simplified, and space and weight are reduced in OB trucks. Infinity scales easily as endpoints are added, which is crucial for complex events that require even unseasoned engineers to configure systems fast under pressure. All while delivering big savings and immense production flexibility over existing tech. With six industry awards since its introduction, Infinity is something to talk about.

TelosAlliance.com /TalkInfinity | inquiry@telosalliance.com | +1.216.241.7225

SPONSORUPDATE to make it work. Around the globe and across markets, Clear-Com’s innovations and solutions have received numerous awards and recognitions for ingenuity and impact to customers.

when a full-size 2RU 22-slot openGear frame is not required. The integrated LCD buttons and control knob makes status monitoring and network setup a breeze.

>CLOUDIAN

>COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

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or media organizations, being hit with a ransomware attack (hackers locking up files until a ransom is paid) could mean complete loss of access to content, crippling the company entirely. The FBI has deemed ransomware the fastest growing malware threat, with attacks increasing 97% over the past two years. To protect content from this growing threat, Cloudian recently announced a new Object Lock solution based on its HyperStore object storage and the new Veeam Availability Suite v10 that enables users to make backup copies immutable and, therefore, invulnerable to hacker encryption or deletion. This data immutability — validated in U.S. government certification testing — ensures availability of an uninfected copy for reliable recovery in the event of a ransomware attack. The combined Cloudian-Veeam solution also offers cost savings of up to 70% over traditional diskand tape-based storage. With a new organization falling victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds, media professionals now have a way to avoid this fate and ensure continued access to their valuable content.

>COBALT DIGITAL

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obalt’s new 9942-RTR series of 12G/3G/HD/ SD-SDI/ASI/MADI routers provide a highdensity card-based solution for openGear. Unprecedented flexibility, ease-of-use, and seamless integration make the series exclusive within the platform. In addition to standard openGear DashBoard support, the series offers built-in Ethernet ports for IP-based protocols such as Cobalt’s ReFLEX and SW-P-08. The 9942-RTR also offers serial and GPIO interfaces. The routers are available in 24x24 and 12x12. The Cobalt BBG-1300-FR is a 1/3 rack width 1RU openGear compatible frame capable of housing up to two cards. A built-in network card is included with the chassis allowing openGear cards to be controlled and monitored in DashBoard. This truly miniaturized openGear 3.0 chassis features looping reference, redundant power supplies, and support for high-power delivery (60W usable). Using the 1RU tray mount up to three BBG-1300-FR units can fit onto a single 1 RU — perfect for high-density installations when a 2RU frame is not feasible. The BBG-1300 can be employed in remote locations as a standalone

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omcast Technology Solutions brings innovations from Comcast to the advertiser, content provider, global operator, and technology industries — providing solutions to collective challenges and helping to forge a shared vision for the future. Built on Comcast’s know-how, proven facilities, platforms, and infrastructure, Comcast Technology Solutions offers more than 20 years of real-world broadcast and digital experience. The company delivers technology beyond expectations to help customers develop new business models and transform the customer experience.

>COMREX

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omrex LiveShot is a hardware-based solution for live wireless video. Compact and versatile, LiveShot Portable is designed for the most demanding field broadcasts. Its studio counterpart, LiveShot Rackmount, is also a perfect fit for trucks. LiveShot delivers two-way HD video and audio over a range of IP networks with less than 200mS latency. Using sophisticated CrossLock technology, LiveShot makes use of the most challenging 3G/4G, WiFi, and satellite networks to maintain a secure and stable connection. Comrex has a VoIP-based solution for television IFB called EarShot IFB 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. 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 box. Additionally, Comrex has a variety of IP audio codecs that allow for remote audio contribution. These include portable solutions like ACCESS NX, economical solutions like BRIC-Link II, and larger scaled solutions like ACCESS MultiRack. Plus, Opal allows guests to send high-quality audio from a browser with the touch of a button.

>CONFERENCE TECHNOLOGIES INC. (CTI)

S

ince 1988, Conference Technologies Inc. (formerly Comprehensive Technical Group - CTG) has provided superior technology services including design, engineering, training, and support for professional audio, video, and

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

control systems. CTI’s quality approach has been consistent — provide the very best audio/ visual and broadcast solutions. CTI designs, integrates, installs, and maintains individually tailored systems. The team at CTI is dedicated to service, quality, and customer satisfaction locally, nationally, and worldwide.

>CONNECT

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ONNECT is an expert in end-to-end monitoring and control (M&C) software designed for broadcasters and media powerhouses. Its award-winning solution, KYBIO, helps meet the critical challenges of ensuring operational continuity and efficiency across the entire value chain from media acquisition, production, down to distribution in an increasingly digital and IP-based environment. Across KYBIO’s unified, intuitive, and easy-to-use web interface, users can oversee the real-time status of large and complex ecosystems, centralize data, and streamline the management of a wide variety of products and platforms — both locally and remotely. Its powerful set of modules empower users to visualize and analyze large data sets and break it down into comprehensible, dynamic insights, and reports. Scalable and flexible, KYBIO plugs in to any third-party or in-house technology with open protocols, an open-driver policy, and APIs which enhance interoperability with customer ecosystems. Modern broadcasters can easily deploy KYBIO into their existing ecosystem.

>CORNERSTONE AV

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ornerstone provides bold, touchable, watchable experiences. Cornerstone AV is a crowd that sleeps, eats, and showers with your project in mind. Cornerstone AV creative directs a project until it just can’t take it anymore, and then the company makes it the “live” experience you have been showering with too. This is about branded environments that engage your audience. This is about giving the feels. All of them.

>CP COMMUNICATIONS

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P Communications offers MobileViewpoint’s IQ Sports Producer, a turnkey live sports production and streaming solution for shooting live sports without the need for an onsite crew. Cuttingedge AI technology automatically and accurately tracks on-field action, allowing a single operator to remotely control production and reducing the cost and complexity of delivering high-quality video to fans, coaches, and social media. The IQ Sports Producer family comprises two versions, both of

Stay in the gameâ&#x20AC;Ś

wherever your workplace takes you Find, edit & share content remotely Content Management

Automate video processing, save time Workflow Orchestration

Multi-tier storage, partial file restore from all tiers Hybrid Cloud Management

Hybrid cloud media & content management

www.masstech.com

SPONSORUPDATE which include Mobile Viewpoint’s (MVP) LinkMatrix control and management dashboard and a 2RU management server. The flagship IQSP Pro system is designed for broadcast and web publishing, and employs an MVP IQ-xCAM 180° panoramic camera system, which shoots at 60 fps. MVP’s Clipper app is included for real-time editing and automated highlight detection. The streamlined IQSP Plus system is targeted for web publishing; its 180° panoramic camera system shoots at 30 fps. The MVP Clipper app is available as an option.

>CREATIVE DIMENSIONS

C

reative Dimensions is a team of industry professionals with innovative designers, knowledgeable project managers, and expert craftsmen and graphic technicians. Over the past 34 years, Creative Dimensions has built a reputation of being experts in all facets of the industries it serves. The team coordinates and produces a full range of signage, exhibits/ tradeshows, broadcast studios, sets, and desks, including its sought-after VERSA Broadcast Solutions line of products. Creative Dimensions strives to be a collaborative partner while exemplifying integrity, skill, precision, and on-time delivery. Whether your needs are in the signage, exhibit, or broadcast worlds, Creative Dimensions uses is Emmy Award-winning skillset to deliver a final product that wows your clients. Creative Dimensions is proud to unveil in 2020 the newest products in its VERSA Broadcast Solutions line: the VERSA Pro, third generation desk with a sharp angular look; VERSA Mic Flags; and VERSA CAST- Professional Podcast Kits.

>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 onlocation 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.

>CREATIVE.SPACE BY DIGITALGLUE

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igitalGlue provides equipment, integration, software development, and training for the production and distribution of digital video. The DigitalGlue team will work with you to efficiently deliver your programming over fiber, cable, satellite, IPTV, and OTT. DigitalGlue has also introduced an entirely new concept in media storage with its launch of creative.space. The creative.space OPMS (On-Premise Managed Storage) solution is designed to provide

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the performance you need at an affordable monthly rate that scales as you grow both your team and the caliber of your work. OPMS removes storage as a bottleneck, helping creatives achieve uninterrupted creative flow. No matter what formats you work with, DigitalGlue can build a solution that can handle it.

>CROWN CASTLE

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rown Castle owns, operates, and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 80,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology, and wireless service — bringing information, ideas, and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.As the leading provider of shared communications infrastructure, Crown Castle has a long history of partnering with venue managers and building operators across the country — including universities, colleges, stadiums, and convention centers. Crown Castle works with you to develop innovative and flexible infrastructure solutions that can easily scale to meet continuous demand — making sure that your facility is ready for the future.

>CSP MOBILE PRODUCTIONS

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SP Mobile Productions has been providing broadcasters with quality mobile units since 1988. From sports and entertainment to large corporate and news events, CSP Mobile covers the nation from coast to coast, delivering HD productions to ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and more CSP Mobile’s 53’ expando HD1 primarily services the needs of its west coast clients, while the 53’ expandos HD2 and HD4 and the 53’ straight HD3 continue to service those east of the Mississippi. CSP Mobile’s 48’ B unit can roll wherever you need it. Over the past three decades, CSP Mobile has gained the trust and respect of the top networks and production companies in broadcasting. The company prides itself on providing affordable, wellmaintained mobile units with unmatched customer service.

>DAKTRONICS

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ive events bring people together to create experiences that last a lifetime. It’s about more than the action in front of fans’ eyes — it’s about the atmosphere, connections, and emotion they experience at the event. Daktronics’ new Show Control products provide a powerful and easy-to-use system that allows you to deliver a dynamic, seamless, and fully immersive production on all of your displays.

Provide a great fan experience with unburdened focus and creativity on game day with Daktronics’

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

fully integrated solution. Daktronics Show Control is now comprised of two lines: the Studio product line (display control) and the Live product line (video production). Designed with a consistent platform, we can build, scale, and customize an integrated solution based on the individual needs of every customer.

>DALE PRO AUDIO

D

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.

>DELL EMC

T

he University of Pittsburgh athletic department needed to expand video production capabilities to produce as many as three live simultaneous sports broadcasts for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s (ACC) new television channel. They chose Dell EMC Isilon scale-out NAS (H500 and A200 nodes) as their new storage infrastructure because of its virtually unlimited scale-out capabilities and enterprise-grade management tools. This solution allows videographers to upload 1080p or 4K footage twice as fast as their old storage and empowers editors to start working faster in Adobe tools like Premiere, After Effects, inDesign, and Media Encoder to edit, manipulate, and render footage that sits on Isilon. The solution reduced physical footprint by 67% and saves the department $52,000 a year with easier, more automated management. Please visit Dell Technologies’ website for a free virtual event to see how the company can help solve for today’s toughest challenges while enabling innovations in broadcast.

>DIMETIS

F

or nearly two decades, Dimetis has developed world-class tools for Media Workflow Automa-

SPONSORUPDATE tion, Video Workflow Orchestration, Post Production Workflow, NFV/SDN Orchestration, and much more. Dimetis is a truly agnostic vendor, interfacing and working with all vendors, hardware or software.

The Dimetis global installed base of customers include such broadcasters as ARD and ZDF in Germany, as well as RAS and Rai Way in Italy and network operators AT&T, A1 Telekom Austria GlobeCast France, GTT (USA & Europe), Telstra Australia, and Telenor Norkring Norway.

>DIVERSIFIED

T

echnology surrounds and engages us, permeating our consciousness with sights and sounds. It’s facts, data. Pitch speed. 3-pointers shot and made. Yards needed in a game of inches. But it’s much more. It’s a link. A connection between you and your fans. An announcer recounting the goal to thunderous roars. A fourth quarter hype video bringing the crowd’s soul to your team’s ear. Excitement. Engagement. Empowerment. Images and sounds connecting you, telling your story.

With more real-world experience than any other sports technology solutions provider, Diversified understands your technology needs. Replay control rooms, sound, core IT networks, social media platforms, IPTV, electronic security, structured cabling, mobile production units, storage, and archive. Even how to expertly navigate your transition to IP. Diversified is enabling a digital future by designing, building, commissioning, and managing everything for you. For your fans. Your brand.

Diversified is imagination engineered.

>DMC BROADCAST GROUP

I

f you’re in need of professional, video, and media products for broadcast or production, contact DMC Broadcast Group. The company proudly serves New York City and the tri-state area. DMC Broadcast Group represents manufacturers from all over the world, helping them sell, distribute, and market their hardware and software products for broadcast, cable networks, station groups, facilities, and studios. With more than 30 years of industry experience, DMC Broadcast Group knows which audio and video equipment you need to reach your customers.

There have been a lot of changes in the world of TV over the past three decades, and the company’s owner has been there every step of the way. Today, DMC Broadcast Group represents cutting-edge technologies, and always has eyes out for unique, hard-to-find broadcast equipment, like MatchBox and DVEO.

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>DNA STUDIOS

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NA Studios provides clients with four mobile broadcasting trucks that are a perfect fit for regional television programming. DNA recently finished the buildout of its six-camera REMI studio in Houston, TX. Paired with the 3,000 sq. foot TV studio, DNA is proud to provide programming for ESPN, Fox Sports, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, and many more.

>DOLBY

D

olby Laboratories transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through innovative research and engineering, Dolby creates breakthrough experiences for billions of people worldwide through a collaborative ecosystem spanning artists, businesses, and consumers. The experiences people have — with Dolby Cinema, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Audio, Dolby Dimension, and Dolby Voice — revolutionize entertainment and communications at the cinema, on the go, in the home, and at work.

>DOME PRODUCTIONS

D

ome Productions continues its strategic and aggressive growth and expansion and is very actively involved in the esports, OTT, and digital space to support production, technical facilities, crew, and engineering for many highprofile events. This now extends to podcast production. Dome has been contracted by Blizzard Entertainment to be the exclusive facilities provider for the new city-based franchise Call of Duty esports league. Dome will have two production mobile trucks dedicated to the full 2020 season for all 10 North American cities that will host live competitions… another clear example of Dome’s innovation. 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 at Dome Toronto.

>DX3 MEDIA GROUP

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X3 Media is a media production management and consulting company, with over 25 years experience providing cost-effective client options on a variety of projects. The company excels at out-of-the-box thinking resulting in creative solutions for clients’ projects. Whether a project requires a multi-camera OB van/mobile remote production facility; a studio production facility; or media consulting, DX3 Media fills the need.

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

>ECODIGITAL

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coDigital’s DIVA Software Suite is the world’s leading and most trusted asset management software for media. DIVA’s robust solutions have revolutionized the way that rich media assets are managed in the media and entertainment industry for over 20 years by granting its customers full control of the entire life cycle of media content. In April 2020, EcoDigital will be releasing the most cutting-edge DIVA version yet — DIVA 8.0. The new release includes a state-of-the-art web-based user interface, comprehensive analytical reporting capabilities, system notifications and alerts, and AXF native file and folder support, all while operating agnostically to any type of designated storage tiers.

DIVA 8.0 provides customers full IT flexibility with their media storage, coupled with comprehensive management and operational intelligence over media assets. This grants customers the reliability and adaptability to evolve its IT infrastructure while leveraging DIVA’s capabilities to make informed operational decisions and further monetize media assets.

>EDITSHARE

E

ditShare 2020 offers faster storage nodes and networks based on a major new media optimized file system EFS 2020. EFS 2020 enables sports organizations to build collaborative workflows, shielding creatives from technical complexity while equipping administrators/ technicians with a comprehensive set of media management tools. To the end-user, EFS 2020 offers an improved, fast, and collaborative storage space; while offering a scalable, stable, and secure media storage platform for engineers.

Flow 2020 is the digital glue of today’s fastpaced media facilities. Flow manages the media content chain across all tiers of storage environments enabling ingesting, browsing, indexing, AI logging, and transcoding to over 500 formats. Flow makes it possible to search, retrieve, assemble, edit, and deliver digital stories and assets to linear TV, OTT, and social media channels. Flow Automation provides a powerful orchestrator module, enabling customers to build highly extensible workflows. Airflow provides remote production capabilities enabling creatives to work collaboratively on the game content, from any location. Flow also provides an on-ramp to the cloud with support for multiple cloud vendors. The new advanced API gateway across storage and media management will enable facilities to build best-of-breed workflows.

ARCTEK SATELLITE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

THE UPLINK BECAUSE THERE’S NOTHING AS RELIABLE AS SATELLITE

PURPLE WHITE

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SPONSORUPDATE >EEG VIDEO

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EG Video, a leader in closed captioning technology, is excited to introduce an expansive range of new solutions for organizations in broadcasting, government, non-profit, education, corporate, and more. Users of Lexi, EEG’s live automatic captioning service, will experience a new, higher-accuracy automatic caption engine with new configurability for caption accuracy, customization, and delay. The Alta line of captioning solutions is also expanding. One of these expansions is the Alta Network Gateway, a 1RU live closed captioning system that accommodates up to 10 simultaneous channels of SMPTE 2110-30 audio and 2110-40 ancillary data. Finally, EEG’s live streaming RTMP caption encoder, Falcon, will have expanded support for non-European language character sets and additional video players with a new HLS output option with VTT or TTML caption tracks.

>ELUVIO

E

luvio provides content owners with a novel software overlay network to manage and distribute premium video globally. The Eluvio Content Fabric is a Platform as a Service that delivers ultra-low latency, high-quality video directly from source files to viewers. It eliminates the need for CDNs, and separate transcoding, databases, and microservices — reducing complexity and cost, while improving efficiency and capability. Within the Eluvio Content Fabric, video is built just-in-time combining media, metadata, and programmable code. Content is efficiently represented, versioned, and transported without additional file copies, which minimizes core bandwidth and storage costs. Eluvio’s unique blockchain enables content providers to control file access, protect content, and deliver provable metrics to key partners and advertisers. Monetization and dynamic personalization are intrinsic, making possible new kinds of entertainment experiences. Sports leagues, broadcasters, and content owners interested in creating their next-gen video supply chain, can learn more from Eluvio.

>ENCO

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NCO has enhanced its AI-driven enCaption4 automated captioning solution, including new features that improve performance for users serving the sports production community. ENCO has made significant accuracy improvements to enCaption4 while shortening the delay between spoken words and the

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corresponding on-screen caption display. Augmenting this elevated accuracy, the new updates expand the array of sources from which enCaption4 can learn new vocabulary and names. The system can also pull information such as sports team rosters and news articles from third-party websites, growing its dictionary to improve word recognition and spelling precision. The ability to add sports rosters is especially interesting for live sports production. For example, a sports network can transition from one sport to the next, with instantly switchable rosters including player names and statistics ready to go for live captioning — and without scripts. Advanced scheduling applications make any event lineup changes seamless throughout the broadcast day.

>ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

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ncompass, a fully managed service provider delivering end-to-end playout and distribution solutions to sports leagues, TV networks, broadcasters, and OTT service providers, brings you nine out of the top 10 U.S. sporting events.

The company designs, implements, and operates reliable solutions that capture, process, and deliver clients’ content from any source, in any format, to any destination in the most efficient and reliable way possible. Encompass’ global connectivity, scalable technology infrastructure, and strategic partnerships create a single, synchronized content delivery environment.

Want to reach additional markets by streaming your live events? Encompass can help! Daily, Encompass services 1,200+ channels; streams 6,300 hours of TVE/OTT content; and acquires/ distributes 275+ live events for its clients worldwide. Services include: channel playout, global distribution (satellite, fiber, IP, satellite trucks), OTT/TVE, live events, disaster recovery, and radio. Your sports content. Delivered.

>ENDEAVOR STREAMING

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ndeavor Streaming is a global leader in premium video streaming for live and ondemand content across the entertainment and sports industries. With a complete end-to-end solution utilizing cutting-edge technology, Endeavor Streaming enables clients to deliver their content in the highest quality on any device with the industry’s deepest feature set. In addition to powering streaming experiences for some of the world’s largest brands, including the NBA, NFL, Rogers, and Univision, Endeavor Streaming recently partnered with UEFA and WWE to launch direct-to-consumer streaming services,

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and worked with current clients, UFC, and Euroleague, to deliver redesigned platforms with enhanced user experiences.

>ES BROADCAST

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eading broadcast reseller and systems integrator ES Broadcast has further expanded its sales and SI operation in the U.S. with the appointment of Ryhaan Williams as SVP for the North American market. Williams brings with her some 25 years’ experience in the broadcast and production industries, with a wealth of knowledge of working with live sports, outside broadcast, and studios. Her resume boasts clients including major U.S. TV networks, sports bodies and franchises, venues, and OB providers. In her most recent role, Williams was part of a team responsible for delivering cutting-edge broadcast solutions to media and entertainment, pro AV, and IT clients, including implementing a SMPTE 2110 IP system at one of America’s premier sports and entertainment venues. The appointment of Williams augments ES Broadcast’s service offering in the U.S. and Canada, following the opening of a broadcast rental office in Orlando, FL, in February 2019.

>EUROVISION SERVICES

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urovision Services (ES)’ world-class customer service allows clients around the world to focus on what matters: creating amazing experiences for their fans. As always, ES is off to an active start in North America, providing the PGA TOUR with the global distribution of their live events for a 13th season, including PGA TOUR Live, to broadcast partners outside the U.S. After providing multiple dual-path SNG trucks and transmission services to the NBA from their pre-season Global Games in Mumbai, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Shenzhen this past October, ES supplied four dual-path SNG trucks for the NBA’s first regular-season Global Game in Paris in January between the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets, delivering a total of 60 hours of live game content back to the U.S. for the NBA and both teams. Eurovision will provide the same origination and transmission services for the NBA’s pre-season Global Games in October, as well as from Paris again next January. Eurovision Services uses IP technology to link the NBA’s own network with the Eurovision Global Network, providing back-up of the live games and entertainment programming Eurovsion delivers to more than 200 countries and territories. Eurovision Services also continues to provide NBC Sports with delivery of

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SPONSORUPDATE content from major global events, such as last year’s World Athletics Championships in Doha and ISU Swimming Championships in Kwangju, South Korea, via 18 transatlantic HD circuits, which are standards converted in Washington, DC and delivered to NBC Sports Network in Stamford, CT, for live broadcast.

>EUTELSAT

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he challenge of delivering content to the right audience at the right time and on the right screen has become much more complex for broadcasters, bouquet providers, and PayTV platforms. Today’s viewers have more choice and control than ever before, as interaction and content on-demand has changed in particular how younger audiences consume content. To support customers and partners on this journey, Eutelsat has developed CIRRUS, a hybrid cloudbased video delivery platform which seamlessly combines DTH satellite distribution with the latest OTT delivery services. Eutelsat CIRRUS enables broadcasters who are planning to launch or upgrade their service to benefit from rapidly deployed video services, low operational costs, and high image quality. Delivering consistent quality content to customers, anytime, anywhere, on any screen, Eutelsat CIRRUS is a fully integrated, user-friendly, content delivery platform. A turnkey DTH service provides 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 for an enriched viewer experience. A multiscreen offer complements the DTH broadcast service with simultaneous OTT streaming through a native platform, enabling end-users to watch video content on mobile phones and tablets, record, and rewind, and view program information.

>EVERTZ

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vertz, the global leader in media and entertainment technology solutions, is excited to introduce its latest innovations for live UHD/HDR, esports, and other programming for Spring 2020. Leveraging the industry’s most comprehensive IP infrastructure, Evertz is making it possible for media companies to use more efficient workflows to create content with the help of DreamCatcher Production Suite, SCORPION, ST 2110, and advanced contribution encoding formats like JPEG XS. By combining these tools with its Software Defined Video Networking (SDVN) IP-based solutions, Evertz has established itself as the leader in the

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industry’s transition to IP, with over 400 deployments globally since 2014. This year, Evertz will highlight its SCORPION Smart Media Aggregation Platform and MIO-BLADE, as the agile “toolbox” needed for all remote production. The MIO-BLADE provides virtualized functions that give SCORPION the flexibility of services (frame synchronization, HDR/SDR conversion, and more) for any type and scale of production.

The DreamCatcher BRAVO will deliver further live production solutions, following a year that saw its integrated video mixing, graphics insertion, replay, and highlight features revolutionize collaborative production. BRAVO has enabled more cost-effective delivery of live and specialty programming, while maintaining production value for programming, secondary sports markets, and esports events.

>EVS

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or the 54th edition of the Super Bowl, Fox Sports teamed up with EVS to ensure a flawless and innovative 1080p HDR native production of the show. While the decision to switch to the next-generation format meant better storytelling quality, it also increased bandwidth requirements — a real challenge for a production of such a scale. The feeds from over 100 cameras were ingested by 39 EVS servers spread over multiple mobile production units. Among them were 26 XT-VIA servers used for the actual game production, deployed on the XNetVIA media-sharing network for highly secured operations. The flexible configurations and increased channel density of the servers — combined with the IP-based XNet-VIA network — meant operators could trust they had the critical bandwidth and speed needed for the sharing of high-resolution content through a distributed broadcast network. Other EVS solutions were deployed, including the AI super slow motion proof of concept. The system was tested by Fox to create super slow motion replays from the pylon cameras. Read the case study on EVS’ website for more information on how EVS helped Fox Sports deliver the most visually stunning Super Bowl to date.

>F&F PRODUCTIONS

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s technology continues to evolve and diversify, F&F has remained at the forefront of mobile production growth with its successful launch of GTX-19 a 4K native unit. F&F’s engineering team is currently designing and building a new IP-centric 4K unit that is expected to debut in late summer 2020. F&F’s entire fleet

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will see additional upgrades throughout the year to stay viable with the ever-changing needs of clients as the company remains committed to their vision.

>FILMWERKS

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ilmwerks has experienced a significant first quarter of 2020 with a large presence for both the Super Bowl and the ongoing political debate tour. The structure department, in conjunction with the newly added scenic department, showcased a wide variety of set elements, intricate design detail, and massive studio/set builds throughout Miami. Filmwerks built sets at the convention center, Lummus Park, Hard Rock Stadium, and Marlins Park. Filmwerks, in total, sent over 30 tractor-trailers to supply production needs for ESPN, NFL Network, and Fox Sports. From a technology standpoint, Filmwerks has continued to invest in UPS and batteries as to further increase an eco-friendly power offering. Filmwerks will continue to strategically acquire complementary businesses as it sees fit, all while striving towards the goal of giving clients top-notch service. Las Vegas based Legacy Power Services was the most recent acquisition, bringing a worldwide concert touring division to Filmwerks.

>FINGERWORKS TELESTRATORS

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ingerWorks Telestrators is pleased to unveil FingerWorks 6, the latest version of its proprietary telestration software. Available as an upgrade to current users, FingerWorks 6 now features an integrated social media interface that allows analysts to quickly and easily curate Twitter and Instagram content. Using this feature, broadcasters have complete control over social media content that goes live to air.

This includes video playback and image swiping, similar to the controls used directly in the platforms. Analysts can also use this feature to browse and cue content to be used throughout the broadcast. The latest update also has an easier to navigate user interface with enhanced drag-and-drop functionality, similar to standard mobile devices, as well as more detailed tools and drawing options. An enhanced clip ingest and control feature includes frame accurate slow motion (forward and reverse), which can be broken into separate frames.

>FLETCHER SPORTS

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or over 25 years, Emmy Award-winning Fletcher Sports has created some of the most

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SPONSORUPDATE innovative and memorable images for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, plus many other sports broadcasts. Fletcher also provides specialty cameras to a variety of entertainment shows, concerts, and special events for broadcast or in-house production. Fletcher serves the international sports broadcasting market with its Fletcher London operation.

>FOCUSRITE

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ocusrite Pro, providing practical audioover-IP solutions for real-world challenges in broadcast, post, and podcasting, has remained dedicated to audio quality, while pushing the envelope of technical innovation.

Focusrite products are found at the heart of broadcast audio systems all over the world, thanks to their exceptional sound quality, scalability, and ease of use. From mobile broadcast rigs to major sports and entertainment events, including Super Bowl LIV and the 2020 Grammy Awards show, Focusrite Pro products are trusted by professional at the very highest levels. Supported by a diverse and growing product portfolio, Focusrite Pro caters directly to the professional client. Offering personalized communication and close collaboration, Focusrite Pro creates a world where a futureproofed environment and improved workflows give audio professionals the creative freedom to get the job done.

>FOR-A

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OR-A Corporation of America offers a variety of solutions for broadcasters and live production operations, including video system integration, 12G-SDI solutions, signal processing, IP solutions, and high-speed cameras. The company also provides efficient HD integration with third-party systems, including the ClassX graphics solution and Variant Systems Group’s Envivo Replay sports replay solution. The new MFR-6100 routing switcher supports 12G-SDI infrastructures. It provides single-cable transfer of 4K video for less complex cabling. The MFR6100 also includes multi-format I/O support, auto signal detection, and SNMP monitoring support. Add up to 16 I/O cards (nine channels per card) to configure a matrix up to 144x144.

Processing remains an important part of today’s multiformat broadcast environment. Designed to support live HDR broadcast production, the FA-9600 multipurpose signal processor supports 3D LUT for advanced color grading and Sony’s SR Live workflow. The unit also provides HDR and wide color gamut support and con-

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version of multiple formats, including 12G, 4K, 1080p, and HD/SD. A large number of FA-9600s will be utilized for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.

>FUJIFILM/FUJINON

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ujifilm/FUJINON is at the forefront in the development of 8K, 4K, and Cine optical technology with advanced High Dynamic Range (HDR) capabilities. This year Fujifilm’s Optical Devices Division is introducing a series of Fujinon 8K zooms while continuing to offer a full range of 4K UHD, HD, and cinema zoom lenses.

Fujinon’s UA series of 2/3” 4K lenses now totals 15 models — highlighted by the new 125x and 107AF. Fujifilm’s augmentation to the UA Series includes cutting-edge, advancement in auto-focus in the 107AF as well as ARIA (in conjunction with Sony) and Remote Back Focus in many of the 15 lenses in the family.

>FUSE TECHNICAL GROUP

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use carries the best brands in audio, lighting, video, and LED that the industry has to offer. You can take your production, your tour, your live broadcast, or your specialty event to the next level. FUSE offers service-focused technology with state-of-the-art equipment and inhouse technical support to execute any production no matter the size.

>G&D NORTH AMERICA

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&D offers visionary KVM products such as its matrix for KVM-over-IP. The system enables distributed switching of computer signals via standard IP-based networks and thus offers even more flexibility and scalability when implementing KVM installations. The ControlCenter-IP offers customers new possibilities.

By using standard network components, IT structures can now be scaled even more flexibly and easily. The new system for KVM-over-IP extends real 4K over IP and ensures pixel-perfect video transmission for DisplayPort 1.2 signals, among others, with ideal hand-eye coordination. Resolutions up to 4096x2160 @ 60 Hz and 1920x1080 @ 240 Hz are supported. In addition to solutions for DP 1.2, the company also offers modules for DVI single and dual link as well as DP 1.1 with support for all common resolutions.

Thus, users benefit from latency-free and lossless images at the best possible performance.

>GAME CREEK VIDEO

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ame Creek Video has been at the center of world’s largest sporting events in 2020. Recent Game Creek highlights include Super Bowl

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LIV, the first Super Bowl recorded in native 1080P HDR. Game Creek continues to set the industry standard in new technology highlighted by the launch of five new mobile production facilities in the past 12 months. Bravo, Columbia, Gridiron, Celtic, and Gotham represent Game Creek’s next generation of brand new IP mobile units, powered by Lawo and Arista.

>GEARTECH TECHNOLOGIES

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eartech Technologies is a North Americabased company that continues to grow.

Geartech services a wide variety of projects related to all aspects of media and entertainment, and broadcasting and telecommunications.

Geartech provides direct sales, engineering, technology planning, and support to an impressive list of partner customers. Geartech has a stable of high-quality partner manufacturers and solution providers, allowing us to apply leading-edge solutions to complex challenges.

Geartech has globally proven solutions for video over IP, digital test and measurement, content security, production, broadcast, and distribution infrastructure. As a solutions provider to some of the largest North American television networks and telecommunications providers in both Canada and the U.S., Geartech is your ideal partner to plan, procure, and deploy advanced technology. Geartech Technologies has offices in the Eastern U.S., as well as Canadian offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. Let Geartech help with your next project!

>GIRRAPHIC

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irraphic knows the broadcast space front to back, partnering with high-end hardware and software vendors and scour 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 large-scale 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 our clients with the best service on the market place. The company has over 30 years of industry experience in the conception, production, and successful delivery of full turnkey and bespoke on-air graphics solutions across all media platforms.

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SPONSORUPDATE >GLOBECAST

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lobecast helps customers to manage content and to deliver it wherever, however, and whenever required. The company provides agile and seamless content acquisition, management, and distribution services globally, constantly innovating and investing in new technologies to create customer-centric new services. Globecast has created the number one global hybrid fiber and satellite network for video contribution and distribution. It delivers any type of video service including TV Everywhere OTT, satellite, cable, video-on-demand, and CDN delivery using cloud-enabled media solutions. It supplies Content Acquisition, Aggregation and Distribution (CAAD) services to over 250 networks.

>GLOOKAST

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ince 2009, GLOOKAST has been a leader in the optimization of MXF-based broadcast, production, business continuity, and content distribution workflows. GLOOKAST simplifies digital media workflows by providing solutions for some of the most critical aspects of the production process: file transcoding, HD/UHD, IP and file ingest, efficient control systems for studio and live production, and a wide range of media services that provide workflow optimization and operational efficiencies. GLOOKAST products are widely used by broadcasters, content producers, post houses, and educational facilities in the U.S., Latin America, Europe. Middle East, and Asia. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, GLOOKAST has offices in New York; Porto, Portugal; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

>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.

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>GRABYO

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ith rich experience, Grabyo provides broadcasters and rightsholders with strategic guidance and support to extract maximum value from real-time video content and capitalize on the significant commercial opportunities in sharing live video across web, social, and mobile.

Grabyo launched in 2013 and works with over 60 premium rightsholders, brands, and publishers in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific including AELTC Wimbledon, LaLiga, Thai PBS, Global Radio, and Sky.

>GRASS VALLEY

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rass Valley once again reiterates why it is the business transformation partner for the world’s most innovative sports broadcasters and rightsholders with a raft of Spring launches.

The company will announce a range of strategic additions to what is already the broadest product portfolio in the industry, from cameras and production switchers to routing, processing, and playout its solutions underpin flexible and scalable live sports productions. Grass Valley will highlight its powerful IP workflow through its collaboration with All Mobile Video. Grass Valley’s end-to-end IP workflows — based on open standards and COTS IT switches — are being leveraged at some of the world’s premier sporting and entertainment and in an increasing number of OB trucks, allowing production teams to create richer content and handle more live streams than ever before. AMV’s truck is fully loaded with Grass Valley solutions including cameras, switchers, replay, and an IP infrastructure. As sports fans continue to demand stunning quality content that brings them closer to the action, Grass Valley will illustrate how it helps customers to meet the challenges — from enabling a complete end-to-end HDR production chain for live productions to delivering robust remote production workflows that add efficiency, reduce travel, emissions, and power concerns, and enable the production of more quality content than ever. As part of a packed Spring launch program, new cloud-native solutions will also be introduced to the market that will bring even greater flexibility and efficiency to live production environments, alongside a broad range of virtualized systems leveraging commodity hardware.

>GRAVITY MEDIA

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ravity Media is a brand-new company with a 30-year pedigree, formed by the coming together of four established broadcast and

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production houses: Gearhouse Broadcast, HyperActive Broadcast, Input Media, and Chief Entertainment. Gravity Media’s broadcast packages are both modular and integrated, meaning Gravity Media can flex its offering to match your requirements. Come to Gravity Media for a single service, or a complete end-to-end solution.

>HAIVISION

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aivision continues to be the leader in live video streaming technologies, providing more than 25,000 organizations globally with video solutions that help them stream broadcast-quality, low-latency video from anywhere.

Over the last year, Haivision has continued to drive innovation in video streaming with new solutions including the ultra low-latency Makito X4 4K video encoder and partnering with Microsoft for the launch of SRT Hub, cloud media routing over Azure. The Emmy-winning SRT streaming protocol, which Haivision developed and open sourced, continues to attract attention across the industry. The SRT Alliance now has over 350 industry-leading organizations supporting this new standard.

>HARMONIC

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armonic’s VOS360 Live Streaming Platform leverages the flexibility of cloud-native infrastructures to meet the demanding and complex requirements of live sports streaming. The fully managed solution runs on a wide range of public cloud platforms, handling all stages of the media processing and delivery chain. The VOS360 Live Streaming Platform optimizes live video delivery with flexible and real-time scaling to handle peaks in viewership, which is extremely useful for live sports. Supporting a range of functionalities, including live and file transcoding, packaging and origin, dynamic real-time CDN selection, targeted advertising, VOD, SVOD, time-shift, and network DVR, the VOS360 platform simplifies delivery from source to screen and accelerates time to market for new revenue-generating streaming services.

The platform ensures high-quality streaming through encoding efficiency and by delivering low latency. Today, it powers millions of simultaneous streams, thousands of live channels, countless VOD requests, and hundreds of petabytes of storage and delivery.

>HB COMMUNICATIONS

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B works with a multitude of clients on custom projects to create some of the best experiential environments. HB’s work high-

Beyond Fast File Movement

2020 Signiant. All rights reserved.

SPONSORUPDATE lights the company’s commitment to clients and bringing their ideas to completion. Communication creates connection, and connection drives an organization. To transform how customers connect, HB focuses on creating environments that enhance communication, collaboration, and brand experience. HB offers a unique combination of technology, strategy, and creative services that ensures you are connected to your employees, partners, and customers.

>HIGH ROCK MOBILE TELEVISION

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igh Rock 1, the newest Super Stallion Dual Stage Expansion Class mobile production vehicle built by Gerling and Associates, is the company’s solution for bringing your event from the confines of its venue to the world. Regardless of the nature of the event, whether it be sporting, news, corporate, or musical, High Rock 1 can deliver, combining its small onsite footprint with the most advanced and powerful technology to make every project an ease. With technical integration provided by Bennett Systems, High Rock 1 is equipped with a Grass Valley Kayenne Switcher, Sony HDC17000Ls and HDC4300 Super Slo-Motion Production Cameras, EVS XT3 Servers, Calrec Artemis Audio Console, and much more.

>IBM

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BM is a leading cloud platform and cognitive solutions company. Restlessly reinventing since 1911, IBM is the largest technology and consulting employer in the world. As a premier end-to-end solution provider, IBM is focused on helping clients transform their industries and drive better business results through innovative technologies and well-honed expertise. For the Media and Entertainment industry, IBM’s award-winning storage solution portfolio, deep industry expertise, and strong ecosystem partnerships enable companies of all sizes to build data-driven multicloud infrastructures that speed insights, accelerate business, and lower costs. IBM’s comprehensive software-defined storage and innovative systems are tuned for the cognitive era to deliver high speed and efficiency, deep archive management, metadata management, and more. From broadcasting to sports production workflows to sports venue operations, IBM Storage offerings help professionals capture the action, deliver amazing content, and ultimately optimize the fan experience.

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>IBM ASPERA

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s this year’s Super Bowl broadcaster, Fox Sports produced and delivered more pregame, game-time, and halftime content to television screens and across FOXSports.com and its mobile app. For it to create this unprecedented amount of Super Bowl content for viewers, its producers and editors needed to quickly access terabytes of raw UHD video footage shot and captured during and all around the game.

Fox Sports tapped IBM Aspera and its patented transfer technology to transport all its media for video editing, postproduction, and archiving.

Fox Sports used production facilities in Miami, Charlotte, and Los Angeles, and also archived all content in near-real time to cloud infrastructure located on the west coast.

>IBM WATSON MEDIA

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iewer demand for captions is increasing.

But with strict FCC regulations around closed captioning, simple errors could potentially lead to growing audience frustration, hefty fines, and even lawsuits. IBM continues to disrupt the status quo with exciting new capabilities and advancements to its Watson Captioning Live solution. Leveraging Watson’s cognitive abilities to automate closed captioning services — providing sports broadcasters a scalable solution that helps save time, money, and resources.

This cloud-based, real-time closed captioning solution is easily trainable, using market-specific terminology and industry-leading machine learning technology to continuously improve caption accuracy over time, while providing an invaluable service to all viewers including the deaf communities. IBM is a proud sponsor of SVG and provides solutions that engage viewers and improve the sports media experience.

>IHSE USA

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HSE USA is a leading provider of KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) products supporting long-distance signal extenders and switching for DVI, HDMI, VGA, SDI, USB, audio, and RS-232 serial data. For 30 years, IHSE has been developing new and innovative ways of supporting next-generation products for KVM and signal extenders. IHSE technology is deployed worldwide by public and private organizations in industries such as broadcasting, postproduction, government and military, medical, financial, and oil and petroleum. The company offers a complete line of DVI and HDMI video extenders over Cat-X or fiber-optic cables for missioncritical video and data access.

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>IKEGAMI

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kegami is introducing a range of advanced new systems for 2020, including the debut of its UHL-43 Multi-Purpose UHD/HD Digital Camera. A one-piece UHD digital camera, the UHL-43 employs the same 4K-native sensors as the UHK-430 and UHK-435 “Unicam XE” series cameras, achieving the same performance. Employing the same operational workflow and system structure as Ikegami’s UHK-430 and UHK435 models, the UHL-43’s compact one-piece form factor makes it ideal for POV applications such as robotic studio production, sports, traffic and weather coverage and video surveillance.

Ikegami’s UHL-43 is similarly ideal for jib and Steadicam applications. Additionally, Ikegami is debuting the portable conversion kit for the UHL-43, featuring a top handle and two-inch color viewfinder, as well as a shoulder pad and battery bracket for mounting both battery and wireless transmitter.

>ILLUMINATION DYNAMICS

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llumination Dynamics (ID) services live broadcast, film, television, theatrical, and special events providing automated and film lighting equipment, transportation, redundant power systems, technical services, and crew.

The company’s main locations are in Los Angeles and Charlotte with additional ARRI Rental facilities available for support. ID operates nationwide as well as providing lighting services internationally. ID’s Live Broadcast division is core to the company’s success providing reliable redundant generator power, UPS systems, lighting design, equipment, and crew to multiple events. ID’s staff strives to provide a premium service for its customers and the company recognizes their loyalty has driven its success. In 2018, ID serviced a vast array of events such as PGA golf, World Series of Poker, NFL, college football, MLB, tennis, horse racing, MLS, swimming, supercross, boxing, extreme sports, Red Carpet shows, and many more.

>IMAGE VIDEO

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mage Video was founded in 1974 with the goal of providing quality switching systems to the broadcast, tele-production, production, and postproduction industries.

>IMAGEN

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magen is the premium solution for managing and distributing sports video with live, near-live, and archive content available on one powerful platform. Sports organizations and rightsholders can offer more choice of high-

iPad® is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

NEUMANN STUDIO MONITORS FOR BROADCAST With our expanding monitor line and updated Neumann.Control App for iPad®, Neumann understands the needs for every broadcast environment.

SPONSORUPDATE quality video to broadcast partners while engaging fans with compelling content, and preserve moments of sporting history for future generations. Deployed in the cloud, Imagen provides a scalable storage solution and empowers teams, leagues, and federations to reach new audiences, across new channels. As the ultimate platform for sports, Imagen’s clients include ATP Media, DAZN, English Premier League, International Tennis Federation, International Weightlifting Federation, and Women’s Tennis Association.

>IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS

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magine Communications empowers the media and entertainment industry through transformative innovation. Broadcasters, networks, video service providers, and enterprises around the world rely on Imagine Communications’ optimized, futureproof, multiscreen video, and revenue enablement solutions every day to support their mission-critical operations. Today, nearly half of the world’s video channels traverse Imagine Communications’ products, and its software solutions drive close to a third of global ad revenue. Through continuous innovation, Imagine Communications is delivering the most advanced IP, cloud-enabled, software-defined network and workflow solutions in the industry.

>IMS PRODUCTIONS

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MS Productions is an industry leader in fullservice video production, postproduction, studio rentals, satellite transmission, and live event production. Creativity, technical reliability, and meticulous attention to exceed client expectations continues to drive the company’s brand and vision. IMS Productions recently acquired the mobile trucking assets of Calhoun Satellite Communications. IMS Productions will maintain, manage, and upgrade their impressive inventory, which includes two dual-dish C/ Ku-band trucks, one C/Ku-band Hybrid truck, one C-band truck and one flyaway unit. These five units will join IMS Productions’ existing Ku-band truck, UD-1, which serves the Verizon IndyCar Series racing package, as well as entertainment and news specials.

>INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES

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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 and entertainment, institutional, and enterprise sectors with a broad range of solutions designed to

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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.

>INTOTO SYSTEMS

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ntoto Systems delivers enterprise technology designed for sustainable operations. The company’s approach leverages automation technology to simplify the operation, management, and maintenance of the system across the entire system lifecycle. Intoto Systems exploits low-cost, on-demand access to computing, storage, and networking resources in Intoto Systems’ system designs. This enables powerful new operations and maintenance workflows. Intoto Systems’ DevOps approach to projects produces systems that support and simplify inevitable change.

Infrastructure, applications, and configuration changes must all be easy to discover, test, revert, repeat, and monitor.

>IO INDUSTRIES

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O Industries develops small and rugged POV cameras for capturing new and exciting angles in live sports and entertainment events, such as pylons, goal posts, inside racecars, or on drones.

IO Industries manufactures different POV camera models with HD and UHD SDI outputs and fully adjustable paint and shading capability from familiar remote control panels (RCPs). A new POV camera with 5X slow-motion instant-replay capability will be announced mid-April, allowing true slow motion to be captured from positions that simply could not fit larger slow-motion cameras before. IO Industries also specializes in multi-camera arrays for volumetric video capture and light field imaging. These techniques produce photo-realistic virtual humans derived from captures of their real performances, to be used in immersive experiences with augmented reality and virtual reality.

>IRON MOUNTAIN

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ron Mountain is the global leader for storage and information management services.

Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management, digital trans-

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formation, secure storage, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services, and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working.

>iSTREAMPLANET

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StreamPlanet creates leading-edge technology to solve the core challenges of OTT media. The company delivers the end-to-end video workflow from signal acquisition to the streaming app experience — all focused on the fan. iStreamPlanet has earned the trust of leading sports and entertainment brands through innovation, dedication to high quality video, and exceptional customer service.

>JB&A DISTRIBUTION

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ight now, video is the best way to get your message out to your audience, your team, and your staff. JB&A Distribution is your expert partner in video, broadcast, production, and pro AV. JB&A has the right tools and partners to get your organization’s video streaming from conferences to remote staff meetings, and team announcements to virtual events. JB&A Solutions allow you to switch, store, stream, manage multiple cameras, add graphic overlays, virtual sets, and mix in effects — and can enhance platforms like Zoom, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Teams, Lifesize, Google Hangouts, Poly, etc. — elevating them to a more dynamic viewing experience.

If you’re ready to take your event online or you just want to talk to someone who knows how to, contact your JB&A Team for a demo and a streaming consultation. JB&A is online — just like you — and, its team is here to help you get your message out there.

>JOSEPH ELECTRONICS

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oseph Electronics (JE) is an authorized stocking distributor for more than 100 premier broadcast and pro AV brands with stocking locations in both Illinois and California. JE also designs, manufactures, and supplies innovative custom fiber solutions — such as the Caddie Series, DFT Series, and 4K fiber transport gear — for broadcasters and system integrators alike.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art fiber lab staffed with fully certified professionals, JE can fabricate, terminate, or repair any connector, assembly, panel, breakout, or interface in use today. JE has served the broadcast industry for more than 65 years and has representatives in California, New York, Colorado, Georgia, and London.

SPONSORUPDATE >JOURNEY

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s the up-and-coming rock star in fullymanaged video transport solutions over the internet, Journey offers a combination of painless hardware deployment, broadcast-quality video, unshakable delivery performance, and concierge-level customer support that will absolutely amaze you. At-home production? Oh yeah. Journey was built for it with incredible features like ultralow latency, multiple synchronized video channels, PL channels, tally, and serial data transport. Of course, Journey is colocated at the major fiber hubs for easy interconnects to anywhere. Whatever your most difficult transmission problems are — at-home production, contribution feeds, live shots, and more — Journey’s got you covered with a quick, easy, and affordable solution.

>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. Juniper Networks believes that the network is a resource for sharing knowledge and human advancement that changes the world. Juniper Networks is committed to imagining 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.

>JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO

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VC Professional Video’s complete line of CONNECTED CAM streaming camcorders, including the GY-HC500SPC sports production camera, are ideal for sports applications.

This model can produce professional quality coverage of sporting events complete with score overlay and game clock. Scores can be input manually or automatically, straight from a facility’s scoreboard via ScoreHub. The camera produces the high-resolution lower third graphics with network quality and overlays them on pristine video that can be recorded and streamed directly from the camera. Coaches and team managers can take advantage of the camera’s unique sports metadata capability and sports exchange recording format — compatible with DV Sport and XOS digital

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platforms. The latest firmware update now adds the SRT open-source streaming protocol, in addition to its existing Zixi compatibility, which gives users more options when coordinating live production workflows over the internet directly from the camera.

>KAUFMAN BROADCAST

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rom the NFL Hall of Fame game through the Sugar and Peach Bowls to the CFP Championship in New Orleans, Kaufman Broadcast uplinks were in constant use by ESPN. HD1 and HD2 engineers combined multiple paths of HD content, while HD-3 focused on UHD 4K. ESPN/ABC produced a game of the week in native UHD 4K, and HD-3 was there for every game since its launch last fall. The 2020 CFP National Championship game brought Kaufman’s full fleet of transportable uplinks to New Orleans, handling all satellite transmissions for ESPN. Kaufman continues to invest heavily in IP for its studios and corporate clients, and to augment satellite transmission.

>KLIP SPORTS

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lip Sports is an AI-driven sports highlights editing, publishing, and measurement platform. Klip Sports helps rightsholders and brands thrive in the digital media landscape, through automated editing and publishing of highlights content to social media accounts, websites, and apps.

>KMH AUDIO-VIDEO INTEGRATION

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MH Audio-Video Integration is a full-service systems integrator providing end-toend solutions to broadcast and postproduction environments across several industries. KMH’s audio and video experts deliver the highest quality of personalized service coupled with unmatched flexibility during all phases of project engagement. KMH has continued to deliver quality solutions to customers in the sports world while providing guidance on the direction of the industry and preparing these facilities for the future. Project highlights include designing a studio production facility and increasing production file workflow capabilities for the Pittsburgh Steelers; teaming up with Triple Play to install a new IPTV system for Red Bull Arena; providing ongoing consulting for MetLife Stadium and managing several upgrades; installing new Sony cameras and production server for the NY Giants Quest Center; and integrating production file workflow between the NY Giants’ production facility and MetLife Stadium.

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>LAWO

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awo, German innovator and manufacturer of pioneering IP-based broadcast technology, introduces further sports-related control enhancements for VSM, Lawo’s globally leading IP broadcast control system. The new Flow State Master functionality defines VSM as the master of the true flow routing status, which ensures that an IP infrastructure is in a deterministic routing state at all time. In addition, it restores this state automatically after partial or full outages in the network infrastructure, bringing a new level of operational security to IP production environments. A great add-on service for multi-studio facilities with frequent changes to the studio floor setup is the Wallboxing functionality, which allows moving devices across an API-controlled IP infrastructure and to maintain flow connectivity. In a large production facility, devices like stageboxes, monitors, teleprompters, etc., are likely to be moved around a lot. Wallboxing ensures that existing IP links are re-established when a device is connected to a switchport at the new location. With Network Bridging, two or more independent VSM-controlled IP installs, such as OB trucks, can share relevant sources — a most useful feature particularly in sports production environments. Whenever one network infrastructure needs to access selected sources of another network infrastructure, VSM facilitates this with minimal configuration efforts while preserving most of the functionality exposed to operational workflows. The tielines between systems are automatically and silently managed by VSM, based on actual signal consumption across the connected installs. Typical applications in sports productions — and beyond — are nationwide facility connections, truck-to-facility connections, and increasingly also truck-to-truck connections.

>LEADER INSTRUMENTS

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eader manufactures waveform monitors and rasterizers that can monitor 3G/HD/ SD SDI signals and have options for 4K/UHD, CIE, HDR, TSG, Eye Pattern, Digital/Analog Audio, 12G, and IP. IP monitoring can be via 10G or 25G with SMPTE 2022-7 and 2110 multiple stream bitrate, packet loss, jitter, and PTP analysis. New for the LV5600 and LV7600 Zen Series is a 25G IP test signal generator option, which can generate HD to UHDTV test patterns. Leader’s new LV5900 8K waveform monitor provides full support for 8192x4320 and 7680x4320 resolutions. Leader also makes Test Pattern/Sync

SPONSORUPDATE Generators that can output 3G/HD/SD SDI test signals with embedded audio and have black burst, tri-level sync, AES, and word clock outputs. GPS with time code, 12G SDI outputs with 4K and PTP outputs are available as options. Let Leader help manage your transition from SDI to IP and from 4K to 8K.

>LEGRAND AV DIVISION

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egrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for use in commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and sustainable growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings — including connected products stemming from Legrand’s global Eliot (Electricity and IoT) program.

Legrand is one of the most sustainable companies in the world, as ranked by the Corporate Knights, and is committed to achieving carbon, water, and waste reductions in its operations, deepening its community relationships, and continuously improving the environmental profile of its products. Legrand reported sales of around 7.1 billion (USD) in 2018. Legrand has a strong presence in North and Central America, with a portfolio of well-known market brands and product lines.

>LEVELS BEYOND

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he Reach Engine content orchestration platform from Levels Beyond is tackling the challenge of capturing new audiences for national sports leagues, teams, and players. Supporting an ever-increasing content and data pipeline, while helping content creators expand into the VOD, OTT, and non-gameday production environments, Reach Engine is taking a page from the esports playbook and applying it to traditional sports, handling your time-consuming and resource-dependent heavy lifting with robust subplatform orchestration and automation. Far more dynamic than a conventional MAM or DAM platform, Reach Engine delivers efficiency and deep technology, resource, and process orchestration that enables organizations to produce and distribute more content, to more audiences, faster, and with fewer resources. Contact the Reach Engine team at Levels Beyond to learn more and see it in action.

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>LH COMPUTER SERVICES

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H Computer Services is a reseller specializing in video storage solutions for professional and collegiate sports. LH offers solutions that provide next-generation storage platforms providing 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-to-end solution from ingest to archive that are designed for performance from the ground up and built on the foundation of providing high-performance collaboration to leading post and broadcast organizations. LH has a variety of manufacturers to draw from providing direct-attached storage, FCSANs, as well as a traditional NAS, to meet the demanding needs of your workflow. Trust a partner like LH Computer Services that has a proven history of architecting and providing solutions to clients in the NBA, NCAA, and more.

>LIMELIGHT NETWORKS

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imelight Networks, a leading provider of digital content delivery, video, cloud security, and edge computing services, empowers customers to provide exceptional digital experiences. Limelight’s edge services platform includes a unique combination of global private infrastructure, intelligent software, and expert support services.

>LIVE MEDIA GROUP

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ith the acquisitions of TNDV: Television, Harb Production Services, and Coastal Media Group, Live Media Group Holdings, has more than tripled its fleet of production and uplink trucks, and expands the company’s business and technical staff with a diverse group of live production, systems integration, and event management experts.

The consolidated company now offers an expansive fleet of sports and entertainment trucks, smaller standalone production uplink units, and flypacks to cover all live and mobile production needs. For sports production, Live Media Group Holdings (which also includes Live Media Group and Live Mobile Group) offers a variety of trucks for sports production, including several big trucks with on-board uplink service. These include the HDX-1 45-ft.

HD double expando mobile hybrid production unit; and the HDX-2 42-foot double expando unit. Both trucks offer Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame production switchers, large uplink dishes, and support for 10 cameras.

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>LIVEU

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iveU is driving the live video revolution, providing live video streaming for TV, mobile, online, and social media. LiveU creates a consistent bandwidth and a reliable connection so you can acquire, manage, and distribute high-quality remote live broadcasts. LiveU’s broad portfolio of products sets the industry standard for live video production. Now, this same technology is available for use with any camera through a web-based portal enabling high-quality live streams directly to Facebook Live and other popular social media and online video providers. Combined with its robust cloud-based live video management and distribution software, LiveU enables broadcasters of all sizes to acquire and share live video reliably on any viewing platform.

>LTN GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

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TN offers an array of modular service offerings that address the changing requirements of the sports broadcasting marketplace. The company’s LTN Flex supports fully managed end-to-end centralized production. With skilled personnel doing most of the production work from a centralized location, the solution reduces the time, resources, and costs required to produce and distribute first-rate content, regardless of technical challenges or complexities. Connecting the venue to the LTN production facility, the LTN Network enables live IP-based video delivery with consistent low delay and high quality. Through LTN Virtual Conferences and Events packages, LTN’s team of media production professionals manage entire productions — from initial project management through event-day production to delivery monitoring — with support from LTN’s dual 24/7/365 NOCs. Enabling event planners and producers to reach virtual attendees around the world through live video and interactivity, the service delivers many of the same benefits as traditional inperson events.

>LYON VIDEO

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yon Video, an employee-owned company, is excited to announce some of the company’s 2020 objectives and goals. Lyon Video has recently added several positions to its growing and ambitious engineering and driver’s workforce. Secondly, the company has committed to a facilities upgrade investment to Lyon 4, which is part of ESPN’s Longhorn Network mobile units.

These cutting-edge technology upgrades, along

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SPONSORUPDATE with Lyon Video’s highly regarded systems engineers and mobile unit integration consortium, reflects the company’s integrity and long-term client trust. Through long-lasting relationships with partners Lyon Video continues to invest and grow. Also, this spring, Video Crew Services, a subsidiary of Lyon Video, will be rolling out its new cloud-based software. The program will efficiently manage all of VCS’s crewing schedules, production detail, and hours in “real-time”, plus streamline VCS’s scheduling, actualization, and payroll process.

>MARKERTEK

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arkertek, an employee-owned company, is a highly specialized broadcast and proaudio supply house serving the technical side of the media industry with over 65,000 unique solutions at reasonable prices — supported with dependable advice from actual pro-audio and video professionals. The Markertek catalog has achieved cult status among digital media professionals as the ultimate design tool for creating the electronic infrastructure required to produce the majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials, and charttopping music hits, as well as all other areas in the audio and video industry.

>MARSHALL ELECTRONICS

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arshall Electronics’ expanded line of award-winning POV and PTZ cameras are ideal for sports broadcast and live events.

The latest addition to the miniature camera line includes the new CV503-WP All-Weather HD Miniature POV Camera, with a 20% larger sensor, reinforced connectors, and an improved user control interface. At less than 2.5 square inches with an IP-67 weatherproof enclosure and remote adjustability (RS-485), the CV503WP captures professional high-speed HD video along sidelines, hidden in flowerbeds, and buried in sandtraps, regardless of the weather conditions. Additionally, Marshall recently introduced the new CV630-IP PTZ Camera, equipped with a professional 1/2.5-inch image sensor and 30X optical zoom delivering up to 4K Ultra HD with support for all HD formats. It supports live streaming in H.264/H.265 formats with PoE, and includes additional outputs over Ethernet, HDMI, 3G-SDI, and USB 3.0.

>MASSTECH

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asstech’s Kumulate is a new hybrid cloud media and content management platform, helping sports and media organizations to evolve

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to the next generation of cloud storage and media processing. Kumulate is a modular platform, that optimizes media storage management and automates content workflows throughout the media supply chain, from initial delivery of content, through QC and transformation to distribution.

Kumulate delivers the power and flexibility of hybrid cloud, to ensure that your content is always in the right place, at the right time, and in the right format. Built around a multi-tier storage optimization platform, Kumulate has an array of deployable modules, including content acquisition, transcode, packaging, and an online store for your content. A powerful REST-API enables integration with all major MAMs, PAMs, automation, live ingest, logging, and cataloging tools, and can embed AI and cognitive services into any content movement or transformation workflow to enrich asset metadata. Kumulate features a simple, intuitive user interface with powerful multisite search, segment and project markers, and partial file restore from any storage tier, whether cloud or onprem. Kumulate integrates directly into Avid applications and Premiere Pro, putting full archive, search, and restoring functionality at your team’s fingertips, wherever their workplace.

>MATROX VIDEO

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atrox Video is dedicated to providing sports video professionals with best-inclass REMote Integration (REMI) solutions.

The Matrox Monarch EDGE encoder and decoder pair is the ultimate multi-camera solution that allows users to deliver 4K or multiple HD video feeds from the event to the centralized production facility or cloud. The 4:2:2 10-bit capable Monarch EDGE encoder and decoder pair enables broadcasters to affordably produce live multi-camera events by minimizing onsite expenses and keeping talent in-house, and confidently deliver superlative-quality live programming. The Monarch EDGE encoder and decoder pair delivers high-frame-rate (50 or 60 fps), multi-camera video streams using a variety of streaming protocols, including SRT, MPEG-2 TS, and RTSP — all packaged in compact, portable, and low-power appliances.

>MAXON

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n light of the cancellation of the 2020 NAB Show, Maxon will be hosting a virtual NAB presence on C4DLive.com featuring an incredible line-up of presenters. Monday, April 20 through Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the artists originally slated to appear in Las Vegas will share production tips, techniques, and inspira-

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tion featuring Maxon’s Cinema 4D, Red Giant, and Redshift product lines. For over a decade, at major industry conferences such as NAB, SIGGRAPH, IBC, and NAB NY, Maxon has successfully supplemented its physical booth presence with live streaming presentations. This has allowed show attendees and those unable to attend events in person, to benefit from cuttingedge demonstrations, technology updates, and interaction with the guest artists in real-time.

In the current unusual situation, Maxon is able to take advantage of more than a decade of experience bringing this show to the community around the globe.

>MEDIA LINKS

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edia Links is introducing its new generation MD8000-100G Edition. Driving 100 billion bits per second to the network edge, the MD8000-100G is an integrated 100Gb/s switch and network interface controller, representing a 10X bandwidth increase from 10Gb/s to 100Gb/s. It supports both long range and extended range optical QSFP28 (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable) 100Gb/s transceivers.

Existing MD8000 customers can install this new solution in field-deployed chassis and it is fully backward compatible with the MD8000 platform’s extensive portfolio of line card products.

The new generation MD8000-100G Edition will allow broadcasters and sports/entertainment producers across the globe to transport more media channels than ever before. Whether its uncompressed or compressed video, audio, and/ or data over IP from remote sporting and entertainment venues to distant production studios, the MD8000-100G addresses the ever-increasing need for more and more bandwidth at the network edge. Even at 100Gb/s, Media Links’ solutions can all be hitlessly/seamlessly protected, providing disturbance-free, uninterrupted media (video, audio, data) transport across wide area networks.

>MEDIAKIND

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ive streaming technologies are evolving at a phenomenal rate — particularly in the sports market. Highly immersive and compelling formats such as 360° video and AR/VR will play an ever more influential role across multiple devices, as sports audiences look for new opportunities to self-curate and experience unique viewpoints from their favorite live events. MediaKind has developed its Cygnus 360° Events solution to enable the delivery of live 360° video to multiple devices. First launched in 2019, this

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SPONSORUPDATE contribution solution provides a cloud-based workflow for live 360° video processing and multiplatform publishing, enabling content owners, distributors, and rights owners of live sports and esports events to deliver more compelling and differentiated services. This awardwinning, as-a-service solution efficiently captures, processes, and delivers high-quality live 360° video with up to 8K resolution, offering bandwidth efficiency (delivery bitrates range between 10-15Mbps) and a gateway to unique, immersive, and engaging live experiences.

>MEDIAPRO

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ediapro is a global leader in content and sports production, sports rights management, and international commercialization of competitions such as La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and more. With state-of-the-art production facilities in New York, Miami, and Toronto, Mediapro offers “end-to-end” production and transmission solutions for coverage of all kinds of sporting, entertainment, and news events.

The North America Mediapro mobile units fleet includes 12 fully equipped units capable of producing live events in 4K. From above and beyond, Mediapro is a leader in specialized cameras that bring movement, emotion, and realism to your broadcast. Mediapro introduced its 4Sky camera, a lighter and smaller aerial camera, with broadcast-quality image. Mediapro’s augmented reality solutions integrated with 4sky and regular cameras become a powerful solution to show real-time graphic formats. Mediapro is leading the way in sports automated production with AutomaticTV, an artificial intelligence system that requires no human interaction. Record and stream matches and training from football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse, among other sports. Other services and solutions include real-time on-air graphics, sports scouting systems, graphics render engines, media tools, MAM, video servers, and more. Mediapro works with a highly experienced staff and has established key worldwide relationships that allow it to provide clients with a high-quality, cost effective proposal for their projects. Mediapro’s team has a clear ambition to provide viewers with the best and most exciting sports, entertainment, and news coverage.

>MEYERPRO

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eyerPro has had a strong and exciting start to 2020. After some major flypack upgrades, including a Ross Ultrix 12G router, Ross Carbonite Ultra switcher, and Ross XPres-

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sion graphics system, the team at MeyerPro has been busy supporting major broadcast events all over the country. With nearly a decade supporting esports productions as well as extensive equipment resources, MeyerPro is in a unique position to take every esports production to the next level. After several successful launches of new esports broadcasting technology and concepts the MeyerPro team looks forward to their next innovative partnership in the esports broadcasting industry. With its fully 4K capable flypack, MeyerPro has all your corporate event needs covered as well. Just getting started in 2020, the company has already supported the Mercedes Benz keynote at CES, the Boeing 777X first flight, and large internal events for Nike.

>MICROSOFT

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icrosoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

>MOBILE TV GROUP

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obile TV Group (MTVG) has begun the build out and integration on its fourth end-to-end native IP mobile unit. All four systems include a comprehensive IP infrastructure with native 2110 connectivity between the cameras, switcher, router, and replay that allow for flexible onsite or cloud productions. Notable recent productions include the newly formed Chicago Cubs Marquee Network, NFL on Fox, XFL on ESPN, The American Society of Cinematographers, The Oscars Red Carpet, and a concert for Grammy-sweeping artist, Billie Eilish.

>MOVICOM

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ovicom is a leading specialty camera developer and provider. In-house designed and manufactured products form an extensive portfolio of aerial-cable cameras, rail camera systems, remote, and gyro-stabilized heads along with remotely controlled robotic Polecam solutions. Globally represented, Movicom products are renowned for their high quality, operational stability, and smart design. Backed by the ongoing support of its engineering team, Movicom is able to provide flexible technical solutions that can be adjusted to particular broadcasting needs. With considerable record of largest sports and cultural events, Movicom is recognized for the high standard of its operations all over the world.

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>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 missioncritical 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.

>MULTIDYNE

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ollowing its acquisition of Census Digital, MultiDyne has strengthened its audio product line with the feature-rich C-SERIES of embedded audio monitors. The C-SERIES costeffectively meets the exacting broadcast-quality needs of studios, sports and mobile productions, and postproduction with a feature set dedicated exclusively to audio monitoring applications. The lightweight C-SERIES includes four space-saving, 3G/HD/SD-SDI embedded audio monitors in single and dual-rack-unit configurations for varied AES/EBU and analog channel counts. A fifth unit, the C16V-2, provides visual and aural monitoring of all 16 audio channels embedded in the SDI signal in addition to an LCD video display.

A sixth unit, the C-SERIES C64A-1, provides fast visual and aural monitoring of all 64 channels of a single, standard MADI (Multichannel Audio Digital Interface) transport mechanism. Each of the six C-SERIES embedded audio monitors are configured to address a specific need, and share the same ergonomic front panel design and intuitive user interface. Rather than scrolling through menu displays, users have faster access to essential audio monitoring functionality, providing the audio engineer with exceptional ease of use. Users can monitor individual channels on-the-fly, adjust loudness levels for compliance, drive output to external speakers, and downmix left/right channels, among other critical audio monitoring tasks.

>NCAM TECHNOLOGIES

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here are increased demands for high-quality, hyper-real, and real-time graphics. Ncam

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SPONSORUPDATE Reality enables virtual production through realtime camera tracking, providing live previsualization of environments, set extensions, and CGI elements directly in-camera while shooting. Its camera tracking solution offers a massive leap forward in camera tracking capabilities with unrivalled accuracy, robustness, and flexibility combined with autonomous operator free functionality. Ncam recently achieved the first-ever example of a wireless RF Steadicam position being deployed to enable live, real-time AR graphics with markerless camera tracking. This innovation was proven on one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, the 2019 Super Bowl. 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. Ncam’s real-time visual effects (RVFX) solutions empower customers to achieve their creative visions and take greater control of their creative journey.

>NEP GROUP

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or over 30 years, NEP has been a world�wide outsourced technical production partner supporting premier content producers of live sports, entertainment, music, and corporate events. NEP’s services include remote production, specialty capture, RF and wireless video/audio, studio production, audio visual solutions, host broadcast support, postproduction, connectivity and transmission, premium playout, 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. Together, the company has supported productions in 88 countries on all seven continents. NEP is headquartered in the United States and has operations in 24 countries.

>NET INSIGHT

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et Insight is defining the new media highway, opening up opportunities for content owners, broadcasters, and service providers to create exciting live sports experiences. Net Insight is driving the transformation of video networks with open IP, cloud-based solutions for contribution, ingest, streaming, and orchestration — on one platform. The world’s leading media brands have trusted Net Insight for over 20 years. Net Insight set the benchmark for media transport in the digital TV era and now the company is bringing its deep knowledge of IP, internet streaming, and cloud to help customers open up new media business models and maxi-

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mize the value of their content and rights. Come experience the latest Nimbra media transport innovations, the recently acquired Aperi all-IP product portfolio, and the evolution of the intelligent scheduling and resource management solution ScheduALL on Net Insight’s website.

>NEVION

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s architects of virtualized media production, Nevion provides media connectivity and production solutions to broadcasters, telecommunication service providers, and other industries. Increasingly based on IP, virtualization, and cloud technologies, Nevion’s solutions for facilities, contribution, remote production, and distributed production are fundamentally transforming production workflows, reducing costs and increasing productivity. Nevion has a substantial expertise and experience in delivering LAN/WAN convergent and highly scalable media networks that can evolve to handle the growing number of signals with ever-higher resolutions (4K/8K, HDR, HFR, wide color) used in sports productions. Nevion’s solutions can be delivered, configured, managed, and monitored remotely. They are built on flagship products, VideoIPath (orchestration and SDN control software) and Virtuoso (software-defined media node), whose functionality is provided through remote-upgradeable software. Nevion’s solutions have been used to cover many marquee sports and esports events across the world, including the FIFA World Cup and the Summer and Winter Games.

>NEXSAN

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exsan is a global enterprise storage leader, enabling customers to securely store, protect, and manage critical business data. Established in 1999, Nexsan has built a strong reputation for delivering highly reliable and cost-effective storage while remaining agile to deliver purpose-built storage. Its unique and patented technology addresses evolving, complex enterprise requirements with a comprehensive portfolio of unified storage, block storage, and secure archiving. Nexsan is transforming the storage industry by turning data into a business advantage with unmatched security and compliance standards. Ideal for a variety of use cases including government, healthcare, education, life sciences, media and entertainment, and call centers. Nexsan is part of the StorCentric family of brands.

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>NTP

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TP Technology produces high-reliability audio routing and signal processing systems for major international broadcasters, audio mastering, editing, and postproduction studios. DAD – Digital Audio Denmark, a brand owned by NTP Technology, is renowned worldwide for analogto-digital and digital-to-analog audio converters delivering outstanding sonic performance. Based in Copenhagen, NTP is part of the Dan Technologies Group, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of audio, video, transmission products, and digital media solutions.

>NUTANIX

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utanix is a trusted partner for the media and entertainment industry, helping customers transform their businesses by increasing engagement with superior content delivered faster. Nutanix cloud software and hyperconverged infrastructure solutions enable customers to increase cross-channel engagement, empower content creators, drive operating efficiency, and improve decision-making that’s uniform across all functions and locations.

Media workflow modernization has become essential for media and entertainment companies that want to accelerate the pace of production and capitalize on new business opportunities while keeping operating costs under control.

Nutanix accelerates your modernization efforts with a single platform for all applications. Nutanix supports all your application needs across your workflow — from virtual desktops to asset management to transcoding to analytics — on a single integrated platform. In addition, Nutanix offers greater operational efficiency and integration. By reducing IT complexity and simplifying management, Nutanix eliminates barriers to productivity, enabling your team to focus attention on process innovation and smoother content delivery. Lastly, Nutanix provides security from the ground up. Because security is designed in rather than bolted on, your digital assets remain more secure with less effort.

>OBJECT MATRIX

O

bject Matrix is the award-winning software company that pioneered object storage and the modernization of media archives. It exists to enable global collaboration, increase operational efficiencies, and empower creativity through the deployment of MatrixStore, the on-prem and hybrid cloud storage platform. Its focus on the media industry gives it a deep understanding of the challenges organizations face when

4K IP KVM. Dual-Head. Single Fiber.

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SPONSORUPDATE protecting, processing, and sharing video content. Customers include: BBC, Orange, France Televisions, BT, HBO, TV Globo, MSG-N, and NBC Universal.

>OPENDRIVES

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erformance means different things to different people. For creatives, it means affording the time to create and iterate, always perfecting.

An IT director can see performance as lowering latency or the most robust data integrity.

For a CFO, it means optimal CapEx and OpEx efficiencies. OpenDrives tries not to define performance for customers — it asks, what does performance mean to you? OpenDrives then responds with NAS storage solutions that exceed expectations, enabling your business to not just perform but outperform. OpenDrives is launching a suite of hardware and software features — modular, scalable, and cost efficient — all designed to deliver unrivaled performance and drive your company’s competitive and creative advantage. Whether you’re a global events broadcaster, an in-house content team, or an esports professional, OpenDrives can demonstrate (remotely as needed) why it should be the backbone of your organization, driving success across your own unique workflows.

>PANASONIC

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his Spring, Panasonic will be showcasing its innovative products and technologies for live studio and live event production, news production, and content creation. A key highlight will be an IT/IP based GPU server media processing platform for live media management including but not limited to switching and screen management. This scalable system takes full advantage of the flexibility of IP, launching as a native ST 2110 switcher with capability to support all video formats together, perfect for esports events or top-tier scoreboard shows. Increase your production values with cost-efficient solutions featuring the AR-ready AW-UE150 4K 60P PTZ camera and 8K ROI suitable for mixed reality and real-time tracking environments. And the new AV-UHS500 4K 12G SDI live production switcher is 4K plug-and-play and expandable up to 16 12G SDI or up to 8 HDMI inputs.

Also being featured this Spring is the company’s extensive lines of integrated 4K and HD PTZ cameras; 4K and HD studio cameras; VariCam and AU-EVA1 cinema cameras; the CX Series of production cameras, including the new AGCX10, the smallest and lightest 4K camcorder; and the P2 Cast cloud-based production system.

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>PCCW GLOBAL

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onsole Connect is a Software-Defined Interconnection platform that makes connecting to cloud-based, business-critical applications simple, predictable, and secure. Backed by PCCW Global, one of the world’s leading telecommunications groups with an uncontended global MPLS network spanning 150 countries, Console Connect allows you to create direct and private connections in just a few clicks. The intuitive platform includes all the tools needed to dial bandwidth up or down on-demand and view utilization and connection performance; no more lengthy contracts and long set up times.

>PIXELLOT

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ixellot offers AI-automated sports production solutions that provide affordable alternatives to traditional video capture, production, and distribution systems for professional and semi-professional sports events. Pixellot’s AI technology solution streamlines the production workflow by creating a stitched panoramic image of the entire playing surface (indoor or outdoor). Advanced algorithms allow automated coverage of the game, generate highlights, and add graphics and ads. The company provides live coverage for over 130 leagues and produces upwards of 40,000 live games per month from 6,000 fields and venues around the world.

Pixellot’s clients include production companies, national associations, educational institutes, clubs, and governing bodies. Following the recent acquisition of Vidswap, the leading video breakdown and analytics platforms, and the launch of the white-label OTT service, Pixellot today offers a range of production, analytics, and monetization solutions for the sports media and coaching market. 100% automated from anywhere to everywhere.

>PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES

P

liant Technologies recently introduced MicroCom XR, its latest solution in affordable wireless intercom for applications where highquality audio, extended range, and ease-of-use are essential. MicroCom XR is a full-duplex, multi-user, robust two-channel intercom system available in 2.4GHz and 900MHz (where legal) that provides extended range and a 15-hour (field-replaceable) battery, as well as the ability to have up to 10 full-duplex users. The IP67rated lightweight beltpack is built to endure the wear and tear of everyday use and features an easy-to read OLED display. Additionally, MicroCom XR provides unlimited listeners in addi-

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tion to duplex users, all without the need for a basestation, providing flexibility for a range of applications such as houses of worship, theaters, event venues, and concerts. Also, the complete line of Pliant’s enhanced line of SmartBoom professional headsets that feature the convenient flip up microphone muting feature is now compatible with all MicroCom systems.

>POLYGON LABS

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olygon Labs is a brand new, interactive applications meets high-end visual effects studio based in New York City. The company is developing projects ranging from immersive broadcast graphics to branding to interactive software development for media companies and enterprises.

>PRG (PRODUCTION RESOURCE GROUP)

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RG is the world’s leading provider of sports and event production solutions, with a diverse resume featuring major live and broadcast sporting events worldwide, including the Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup. Clients and partners depend on PRG’s innovation, knowledge, and depth of experience in broadcasting, audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging, scenery, and automated systems for the highest level of excellence in capturing sports and live events. PRG offers the industry’s largest and most diverse inventory of rental production equipment including all major broadcast cameras, audio, media servers, remote production gear, rigging, edit facilities, operations trailers, LED walls, and more. For customized solutions, PRG’s resourceful team of experts create proprietary tools to move the industry forward like Emmy-winning Front Row Cam, UltraView 4K director’s finder, and Flex Solutions Trucks and production suites. When it comes to lighting, no one surpasses PRG and its array of sophisticated tech, including proprietary systems like the Engineering Emmy Award-winning GroundControl Followspot. For sporting events, awards, and half-time shows and tributes, PRG can deliver turnkey production solutions from preproduction through live upload. For unique and extraordinary moments, the company offers specialized staging and pre-taped hybrid technology like the new Mixed Reality System for dynamic live and broadcast effects. With 70 offices across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia, PRG has capabilities to provide services internationally, 24/7.

LIVE EVENTS • TOURING • TV • FILM FUSE-TG.COM

AND

Live Event LED Video Walls Flypacks

SPONSORUPDATE >PRIMESTREAM

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hen it comes to sports, precision is the name of the game. The same is true for Primestream’s lineup of sports-tailored solutions. Whether you want to capture camera feeds from the field, log live sources with timebased metadata, edit highlights and promos, or broadcast live games to fans everywhere in record time, Primestream solutions have you covered. With a commitment to optimizing media creativity in the new era of content production, Primestream is introducing powerful remote collaboration and cloud editing workflow solutions that seamlessly connects video, audio, FX, and graphic teams to your sports broadcast and video production workflows. Primestream is also introducing native Mac OS solutions for media workflows, new integrations with leading creative suites, 4K-UHD and IP capture/playback technology, advanced reporting and analytics, integrated NRCS support, and AI workflows plus a cloud-based collaboration platform and much more!

>PRIMEVIEW

P

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.

>PRODUCTIONHUB

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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 cameraman for one day, a video editor for one month, or a fulltime producer. Since launching in 1999, ProductionHUB 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.

>PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS

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rogram Productions is North America’s largest crewing and live event labor management firm. The company’s vast geographical network of resources covers all 50 states and Canada. In 2019 alone, Program Productions managed 11,000 event days with over 16,000 technicians in their nationwide database. Program Productions does it all utilizing ProCrewz,

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the industry’s most innovative event labor management software and mobile application. With over 8,000 current app users and counting, ProCrewz revolutionizes the industry. Scaled to handle an unlimited number of live events and technicians, the app lets clients know real-time status of crews, review costs and invoices, manage schedules, and communicate with thousands of technicians via the ProCrewz Mobile App. Crews can access schedules, punch in and out with a geo-fenced time clock, upload and submit expenses, communicate to coordinators, and more.

>PSSI GLOBAL SERVICES

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ince 1979, PSSI Global Services, along with Strategic Television, has specialized in the coordination, production, and distribution of domestic and international programming. As the world’s leading provider of mobile satellite transmission, production, and streaming services, PSSI Global Services offers a full range of fixed, mobile, and international flyaway satellite systems that provide live video, audio, IP, and data services worldwide. The company currently owns and operates more than 70 Ku-band and Cband satellite uplink/production trucks — more than any other transmission services provider — based throughout North America, as well as the PSSI International Teleport and international and domestic C/Ku flyaway uplink systems.

>QLIGENT

Q

ligent architects complete monitoring, visualization, and delivery analytics solutions for broadcasters, content distributors, ad agencies, regulators, and network operators. Based in Melbourne, FL, Qligent’s software-defined approach provides an open, vendor-agnostic platform to monitor performance, integrity, and compliance of multiple signals, streams, and systems across enterprises of any size. Its solutions provide the same consistent quality of content and service across multiple delivery platforms simultaneously.

>QUANTUM

Q

uantum’s new F1000 is a lower-priced addition to the award-winning Quantum F-Series family of NVMe storage appliances.

Leveraging software-defined architecture introduced with the F2000, the F1000 exemplifies Quantum’s commitment to an accelerated pace of product innovation, offering ultra-fast streaming performance and response times at a lower entry price. Unlike more general-

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

purpose NVMe storage arrays, the Quantum F-Series was designed specifically for the video and image-based workloads that are critical to sports media organizations. Quantum recently completed its acquisition of the ActiveScale object storage business from Western Digital Technologies, expanding the company’s leadership role in storing and managing video and other unstructured data using a softwaredefined approach. Prior to this acquisition, Quantum had successfully delivered and supported the ActiveScale object storage product line for over five years. The strategic acquisition of ActiveScale bolsters Quantum’s existing product portfolio, and with engineers who developed ActiveScale now on its team, Quantum is in a position to pursue new object solutions truly optimized for managing video and other unstructured data. The ActiveScale product line adds object storage software and erasure coding technology to Quantum’s portfolio, enabling the company to expand its product offerings in the object storage market.

>QUANTUM5X SYSTEMS

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ew from Q5X: encrypted, digital versions of all Q5X wireless audio transmitters.

The NBA was the first to introduce these new encrypted transmitters, with the Q5X Digital CoachMic being worn by both coaches and referees during the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend broadcasts. The CoachMic transmitter features a robust, integrated, rocker-style mute switch and easy-to-see LED mute indicator light. This allows users to simply and confidently mute the encrypted audio transmission for sensitive conversations. The PlayerMic, known for its flexible rubber packaging and thin profile, and the fully waterproof AquaMic with 16-hour battery life, are also available with the new encrypted, digital technology. Like Q5X’s analog products, the new family of digital transmitters are 100% remotely controlled utilizing the RCAS MicCommander.

Analog and digital transmitters can share the same 2.4G RCAS control network for ease of operation. Q5X is a leader in safe, rugged bodypacks designed specifically for professional sports.

>RCN BUSINESS

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CN Telecom Services, Grande Communications, and Wave Business operate as a single business solutions organization to deliver competitive, mission-critical fiber infrastructure solutions in more than 20 metro areas across the United States. The group provides high-speed internet, voice, and connectivity services to

SPONSORUPDATE businesses of all sizes — all delivered through RCN’s wholly owned, state-of-the-art, fiber-rich network. RCN, Grande, and Wave serve areas of and California, DC, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

>REALITY CHECK SYSTEMS

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artnering with premiere federations and leagues, networks, and social media giants, Reality Check Systems creates graphics packages and control solutions with live data integration for hundreds of hours of daily sports, news, and entertainment content worldwide.

>RED BEE MEDIA

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ed Bee Media is a leading global media services company headquartered in London, with 2,500 media experts spread across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and North America. Every day, millions of people across the globe discover, enjoy, and engage with content prepared, managed, broadcast, and streamed through Red Bee’s services. The company empowers some of the world’s strongest media brands, broadcasters, and content owners to instantly connect with audiences anyhow, anywhere, anytime. Through an end-to-end, managed services offering, Red Bee provides innovative solutions across the entire content delivery chain — covering live and remote production, managed OTT, distribution, media management, access services, content discovery, playout, and postproduction.

>RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS

F

or 2020, Riedel will be introducing new products for both the intercom and media distribution product families. And, with the recent acquisition of Embrionix, clients will see that the integration of the two companies is in full swing.

On the intercom side, Bolero and Bolero S have continued to impress with their clarity, range, and durability. From small systems to sports leagues, the advantages are clear. The Artist-1024 intercom node has an unprecedented 1024 nonblocking ports in just 2RU and is ideally suited for IP-based installations. And finally, the RSP1232HL cannot only handle multiple comms workflows, but can also be repurposed for other duties via the Control Panel and Audio Monitoring Apps. On the video side, MediorNet is making huge strides in the North American market and, now with the help of Embrionix, is poised to take further steps into powering Riedel’s IP broadcast backbones. Also, be sure to watch Riedel’s social media channels for news about upcoming train-

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ing opportunities and the company’s new “Andy Explains…” series of instructional beginner videos. In today’s fast-paced times, with disruptive technologies rapidly changing the face of our industry, customers are looking for solid and reliable supply partners. Partners that they can cooperate with, that they can trust, and who are able to provide proper support over the long term. Riedel is that kind of partner.

>ROBOVISION

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oboVision began in February 1990 by pioneering the use of robotic camera systems at Daytona International Speedway. Soon, robotic cameras became a part of every major sporting, news, and entertainment event. Super Bowls, Olympics Games, and many major sporting championships have been covered with RoboVision robotic cameras. RoboVision has a wide variety of experiences to help you solve your camera challenge. RoboVision’s high-quality standard can be attributed to its technology partners in the broadcast industry. RoboVision has partnered with Ikegami Electronics, Telecast Fiber System, Vinten Camera Dynamics, Canon, Fujinon, AJA, Evertz, and others in order to integrate easily with todays HD production trucks.

You can always expect the best the industry has to offer when you use RoboVision.

>ROSS VIDEO

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ith live sports and esports productions becoming more and more sophisticated, production teams are looking for end-toend solutions to not only engage fans through enhanced content delivery but to continue to streamline workflows. With Ross’ Unified Venue Control System, the control room production and LED content management system are integrated, allowing production staff unparalleled creative possibilities and operational flexibility.

Earlier this year, Ross deployed a custom sports venue solution at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami to deliver the in-stadium production for the Big Game. Powering the show included Ross’ flagship Acuity production switcher, XPression Studio 3D graphics render engine, XPression Tessera 3D graphics render engines (LED control), and the award-winning DashBoard Control System to tie it all together. In addition, Ross added to this already impressive production mix by adding the XPression real-time Augmented Reality (AR) system to display scoring drive summaries and in-game player statistics. The Piero Sports Analysis tool also played an instrumental role in driving the show and impressed

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

fans in attendance by delivering visually engaging and informative effects by using camera lens data to overlay tactical graphics on-screen.

While professional football’s Big Game may be the crown jewel of sports production, Ross also 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 futureproof solution.

>RT SOFTWARE

R

T Software is an award-winning provider of innovative broadcast graphics solutions.

The product set spans CG, template driven 2D and 3D graphic overlays, election and newsroom graphics, specialist sports graphics, and virtual studios. From its beginnings as an offshoot of the BBC 3D Graphics Department in 2004, it now has installs from Iceland to New Zealand and includes the BBC, BT Sport, Fox Sports, NBC, and many other Tier 1 broadcasters in its growing customer base.

>RUSH MEDIA COMPANY

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ith clients that include every major network and sports league, Rush Media Company has a proven track record of producing, packaging, and innovating live television productions at every level. With a fleet of more than 23 mobile production units, offices, and facilities located around the country, Rush Media Company is the leader in packaging live events. With 23 production vehicles currently in its fleet, Rush Media Company is uniquely positioned to provide you with the best production vehicle to fit your needs. All of the company’s production vehicles are equipped with state-ofthe-art equipment and world-class engineers to ensure that your production is delivered with innovation and creativity.

>SANKEN

P

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 CMSM50, 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

100+ virtual reality music and esports livestreams End to end production and delivery

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SPONSORUPDATE rejection, they are the new industry standard for high-quality production work.

>SDTV

S

atellite Digital Teleproductions (SDTV) 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.

Additionally, the company is setting a new standard by offering cost-effective HD television production solutions while using the most advanced broadcast equipment for clients big and small. As specialists in the television industry, SDTV uses the latest in broadcast quality technologies. The company’s fully redundant equipment affords its clientele extra security with their programming needs. Domestically and internationally, SDTV has expertly covered all types of breaking news, press tours, sporting events, and teleconferences.

>SEACHANGE

S

eaChange is a leading supplier of video delivery software solutions. The all-inclusive Framework solution provides content and service providers with a complete software delivery platform for linear, VOD, and TSTV over managed and unmanaged networks. The SeaChange Framework includes video back-office, media asset management, targeted advertising management, and analytics. The robust client interface for STBs, Smart TVs, and mobile devices enables video providers to offer exceptional viewing experiences come gameday.

>SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY

D

eveloped to address the need to move massive amounts of data from endpoints to edge to core, Seagate’s Lyve Drive Mobile System is a modular storage solution of simple, secure, and efficient data management solutions built to activate the datasphere. Built to help businesses be more efficient and grow, the new portfolio includes: Lyve Drive Cards and Lyve Drive Card Reader — high capacity, high-performance 1TB CFexpress cards and a portable card reader for ingesting endpoint data sources; Lyve Drive Shuttle — an autonomous data storage and transport solution for easy ingestion from direct-attached, networkattached, and other external storage devices; Lyve Drive Mobile Array — a sealed, highperformance, 6-bay array that is ruggedized

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and easy to transport; Lyve Drive Modular Array — a high-performance 4-bay array with flexible configuration based on workflow; and Lyve Drive Rackmount Receiver— a high-performance datacenter 4U rackmount ingestion hub that accepts two Lyve Drive arrays.

world’s most advanced cameras and lenses. Developed in partnership with the 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.

>SENCORE

>SHURE

S

encore, the gateway to better video delivery, is eager to release and demo new products, features, and technologies to valued customers and partners — virtually — over the next few months. Even though Sencore will be unable to showcase in person (for now) its vast portfolio of video delivery equipment, system monitoring, and analysis solutions, the company is working on bringing those announcements directly to you. The MRD 7000 multichannel, multiformat decoder features functionality now capable of SMPTE 2110 UHD/HD output over 25G and ATSC 3.0 decoding. It’s time to bridge the gap between baseband SDI infrastructure to the latest high-speed uncompressed IP networks.

Utilizing SMPTE 2110 and SMPTE 2022-6 the SDI2X provides an easy-to-use, robust turnaround platform for transmitting and receiving uncompressed IP. The future of signal collection is here! Sencore’s SCP 2100 is a cost-effective and easy-to-deploy unit for acquiring and backhauling video signals across the internet.

>SENNHEISER

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ennheiser and Neumann have always been at the forefront of broadcast technology — from industry-standard broadcast headsets to the legendary shotgun mics to the line-up of Neumann KH Studio Monitors. The desire to push the boundaries of technology can be seen in Sennheiser’s digital miniature bodypacks (the new SK 6212) and its award-winning entry-level digital wireless system that completely revolutionizes accessible wireless, XS Wireless Digital. Visit Sennheiser’s websites and YouTube channels to see these products plus experience live demonstrations of Neumann’s KH Monitor line as well as some exciting new technology from both brands. Experience the future of audio.

>SHOTOVER

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HOTOVER is a developer of high-perfor�mance camera systems and UAVs for the broadcast and motion picture 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

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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hure has been making people sound extraor�dinary for nearly a century. Founded in 1925, the company is a leading global manufacturer of audio equipment known for quality, performance, and durability. Shure makes microphones, wireless microphone systems, in-ear monitors, earphones and headphones, conferencing systems, and more. For critical listening, or high-stakes moments on stage, in the studio, and from the meeting room, you can always rely on Shure.

>SIGNIANT

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igniant’s intelligent file-transfer products are relied upon by media companies of all sizes to move petabytes of data every day around the globe with speed, reliability, and security. While file acceleration remains central to Signiant, its SaaS platform has evolved to include media specific intelligence that solve challenges Beyond Fast File Movement. Thanks to its leadership in file acceleration, its commitment to storage independence, and its continued innovation in cloud-native SaaS, Signiant’s enterprise software connects the global media supply chain.

>SIMPLYLIVE

R

ight now, every Simplylive ViBox/RefBox system — with its easy to use touch-screen user interface — is remote production capable.

The camera sources can be at the venue, in the studio or even across multiple locations while the operators can be controlling the system from their home... all that is needed is a reliable internet connection. Simplylive has now released its UI Gateway, which significantly reduces the bandwidth needed for each operator UI. This enables productions to be produced remotely utilizing common internet connections.

The “Gateway” is the missing link for making remote workflows more flexible and affordable.

Also available today, the ViBox SloMo offers the replay market a more affordable and robust set of features, including the ability to network multiple servers and scale to provide large productions a significant number of camera angles to choose from for live slow motion replays, including super motion capability.

Simple. Powerful. Scalable.

Monitoring & Control

LEARN MORE

Vendor-Agnostic Monitoring KYBIO Media, an Enterprise monitoring and control (M&C) platform, helps media companies and broadcasters meet their critical business challenges to capture, produce, and distribute quality content around the globe.

KYBIO Media is an open and scalable M&C software enabling users to oversee an entire ecosystem, centralize data, and streamline the management of IP-enabled, industry-specific or commodity, gear and technology across a centralized web interface. This powerful tool helps modern broadcasters improve operations and facilitate insights-driven decisions.

Auto-Discovery & Network Scanning Dynamic Maps and Displays Live Readings & History Tracking Alarm & Notification Management Remote Actions Ticket Management for Incident & Resolution Tracking Analytics & Reporting Engine

Follow us on social media www.worldcastconnect.com

SPONSORUPDATE >SKYCAM

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kyCam continues to highlight the American football season with unequaled coverage. As part of Super Bowl LIV on Fox, SkyCam expanded the use of dual systems for both its signature play-by-play coverage and as a broad replay-focused angle. SkyCam has become a regular feature during coverage for the new XFL 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 stimulating experiences in sports viewing. SkyCam continues to expand and partner with ESPN, Fox, NBC, and CBS on both NFL and college football as well as NFL UK International series games to provide coverage with unparalleled views.

>SKYLINE COMMUNICATIONS

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kyline Communications is the global leading supplier of multi-vendor network management, and OSS solutions for the broadcast, satellite, cable, telco, and mobile industry.

>SMARTCART SVX

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martCart SVX, in partnership with Fingerworks Telestrators, continues to support the 2020 PGA Tour competitor analysis and interview sponsored segment with CBS Sports.

Amanda Balionis uses the platform to deliver unique professional insights into the live competition and key interviews and screen reviews with the players, contributing significantly to viewership and increased fan engagement.

SmartCart Technologies is proud to have become trusted suppliers to leading U.S. sports broadcast networks. Since its formation in 2014, SmartCart SVX has been used in top-tier sports such as F1, Premier League soccer, Euro Champions, Rugby football, NFL, Wimbledon, and more. Seamless turnkey services include transportation, full system integration, and operation/guarantee onsite. Designed specifically as an adaptable presentation hub for live productions worldwide, the system’s mobile interactive super-bright daylight touchscreen broadcast level systems in various packaged formats provide a highly reliable user experience and meet the rigorous performance and reliability demands of onsite sports production.

>SMT

S

MT (SportsMEDIA Technology), the best-inclass provider of geospatially accurate augmented reality graphics for live sports broadcast, player and ball tracking, scoring systems,

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and onsite event presentation, was selected by FIFA to assist the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) workflow with SMT-Virtual Offside Line technology for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup. SMTVOL last year received its certification from FIFA, the world governing body for football.

SMT-VOL is a sophisticated and highly precise analytical and graphical presentation tool that enables referees to make crucial calls with utmost confidence after seeing exactly when and how an offside foul was committed with a virtual, moving yellow line. SMT has also implemented SMT-VOL for VAR for the 2019/2020 season of the Primeira Liga of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).

>SNEAKY BIG STUDIOS

I

t’s easy to Make Magic Here. Sneaky Big, a film studio in Arizona, 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 onsite or on-location Sneaky Big will bring your vision to life.

>SOLID STATE LOGIC

A

s AoIP technology for broadcast devel�ops, so do the associated open standards, licensed technology, and end-user require� ments. Solid State Logic’s System T provides the tools required for fast-paced, often unpredictable remote broadcast and sports production environments through a combination of scalable technology, true IP-native backbone, and SSL’s audio processing tools. With a range of consoles, remote production technology, and adaptive functionality, it’s easy to take the power of System T to your venue, stadium, or remote truck. SSL’s HC Bridge SRC and entire Network I/O range of AoIP in�terfaces meantime, are specifically designed for stand-alone use or part of a System T infrastructure. The HC Bridge SRC provides 256 bi-directional channels of sample rate conversion for AoIP networks. HC Bridge SRC facilitates connecting audio between devices running at different sample rates or in different clock domains on Dante (48 kHz and 96 kHz), AES67, or ST 2110-30 networks.

>SONY ELECTRONICS

S

ony offers the most comprehensive suite of tools and technologies to power your creativity. With advances in imaging and HDR

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

workflows, Sony is able to enhance the richness of content with an expanding range of HDR tools. With Sony’s cloud workflows, connecting, collaborating, storing, and distributing in the cloud have never been easier. Sony is also revolutionizing interconnectivity with its multi-layer IP platform that enables efficient orchestration, management, and monitoring of production and network resources. And, the company will be able to provide entirely new possibilities with AI and data analytics. With ST 2110 now fully integrated into its products, Sony is broadening IP effectiveness with Control and Orchestration software for facilities and across enterprises. Sony’s Live Element Orchestrator will give broadcasters and content creators the ability to manage and control devices within a facility or across multiple locations. And together with Nevion, a leading provider of virtualized media production solutions, Sony is able to improve the efficiency and resource sharing of its fully harmonized workflow management and monitoring system. Other highlights are the PVM-X2400 (24”) and PVM-X1800 (18.4”) professional 4K HDR monitors, which support 4K, HDR, and HD productions and offer high-grade picture quality, 1,000 nits of brightness, and are ideal for on-set, on-location editing, and broadcast applications. These monitors have been designed to match Sony’s popular BVM grading monitors, including the latest BVM-HX310, ensuring accurate color reproduction from production through to post. Give your creativity the power it deserves. With Sony.

>SOS GLOBAL

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ooking back, 2019 was another successful year in which SOS Global Express managed the logistical needs for many of the world’s largest sporting events including: Rugby World Cup Japan, IAAF Championship in Doha, Qatar; The Masters; US Open; Australian Open; and many others. In 2020, SOS will continue its commitment to support events across the globe with best-in-class services as the company finalizes its multi-year plans to support the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic, and prepare for World Tennis Association, World Rally Championship, UFC Fights, and many other premier sporting events. Formed in 1986, SOS Global Express now employs more than 130 logistical specialists worldwide, focused on TV production, sports, music touring, and major live events, delivering turnkey solutions and operational support 24/7/365.

at the heart of the action www.vislink.com

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with Vislink Live Video Systems 4K UHD/HDR/HFR SYSTEMS

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For decades, Vislink wireless video technology has been trusted to cover the most challenging and high-profile international sporting events, including the Olympics, World Cup, London Marathon, 24 Hours of Le Mans, MotoGP racing, and Formula E â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as well as MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA events and more. Count on the performance of our products and the expertise of our team to craft the perfect solution for your live sports production needs.

Get to know our impressive range of award-winning wireless video solutions, including the award-winning HCAM and INCAM 4K UHD/HDR/HFR system, MicroLite 3 compact HD system and IMTDragonFly body-worn transmitter. Contact our Live Production Specialists: Eastern & Central US/Canada Mark Tommey mark.tommey@vislink.com

Western US Frank Gabb frank.gabb@vislink.com

Mexico and Caribbean Andrew Larsen andrew.larsen@vislink.com

SPONSORUPDATE >SPARX TECHNOLOGY

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parx has conceived and built over 100 interactive TV and video projects, from video on demand to predictive gaming on live TV sports to real-time mobile trivia. The Sparx Platform enables broadcasters, streamers, and video producers to engage viewers for longer, generate revenue opportunities, and create lean-forward experiences for audiences eager to join in the action on any screen.

>SPECTRA LOGIC

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pectra Logic develops data storage and data management solutions that solve the problem of digital preservation for organizations dealing with exponential data growth. Dedicated solely to storage innovation for 40 years, Spectra Logic’s uncompromising focus is proven by the adoption of its solutions by industry leaders in multiple markets globally. Spectra enables affordable, multi-decade data storage and access by creating new methods of managing information in all forms of storage — including archive, backup, cold storage, private, and public cloud.

>SPORTLOGIQ

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PORTLOGiQ is a Montreal-based AI startup comprised of some of the world’s leading researchers in computer vision and machine learning. The company’s advanced analytics platform tracks the location and actions of every player on the ice, court, or field, enabling teams and fans to see and understand the game in ways that were not previously imaginable.

Since its inception in 2015, SPORTLOGiQ has signed 22 NHL teams and four major broadcast networks, in addition to filing six patents around the technology. The team’s co-founders, Craig Buntin, an Olympic athlete, and Mehrsan Javan, a PhD in computer vision, are joined by 18 PhDs, software engineers, and designers, and backed by Mark Cuban and a number of team owners and media executives

>SPORTRADAR

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roadcasters have engaged fans through the emotion of sports for generations.

However, technology has changed the fan experience and what fans expect when they consume their favorite sports. Modern sports fans expect more than great coverage from their broadcasters — they want deeper, richer storytelling. Sportradar, a leading provider of sports data and content solutions, delivers the highest quality, customizable, premium sports media services. Whether it’s the com-

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prehensive research platform Radar360, game notes, a dynamic graphics library, or an on-call research desk, Sportradar has everything required to revolutionize your sports broadcast.

Powered by data, official league partnerships with all major U.S. leagues, and long-standing relationships with top-tier, global sportsbooks, Sportradar enables truly unrivaled viewing experiences.

>SPORTZCAST

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portzcast’s long-time customer Wekiva High School has developed a new way to use Sportzcast’s Score Connect device to provide a richer media fan experience at their sporting events. Utilizing a live XML program and Photoshop Elements from Extreme Sports Pack Pro combined with the Score Connect device, Wekiva High School is able to enhance their digital scoreboard to include player stats, pre-roll video, promotional videos, and advertisements. Using Sportzcast’s Score Connect device has allowed the school to save nearly $20,000. Sportzcast was selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) for its technology to fully automate the broadcast of the NFCA’s 2020 Division I Leadoff Classic Tournament presented

by Rawlings. Sportzcast provided all of the fully automated cameras to film six different games being played on different fields. Their solution also allowed for delivering quality graphics for the 40 total games played in the tournament.

>STATS PERFORM

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tats Perform operates at the intersection of sports and technology to unite billions of people around the world through their passion for sports. Whether it be the industry’s most accurate data feeds, the deepest historical sports database, or insightful and rich content, Stats Perform has developed a multitude of AI-driven solutions for media and tech companies to drive fan engagement.

>STEVENS GLOBAL LOGISTICS

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tevens Global Logistics has been delivering excellence since 1985. Stevens Global has handled shipping and logistics for the sports and entertainment industry for over 25 years.

The company has handled everything from major sporting events to local middle school soccer games; from local Summer Festivals to Tours that expand across the globe. Delivering excellence through constant communication sets Stevens Global above its competition. Represented in over 150 countries, Stevens Global

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

can service you wherever your sports and entertainment events are held. Stevens Global prides itself on last-second urgent express shipments.

When you need your shipment picked up now, and needs to deliver within 12-48 hours, Stevens Global is the solution for you. ATA Carnet services — shipments with multiple stops abroad — are monitored and managed by Stevens Global from export to return. The company has local experts across the globe to assist your Carnet needs.

>STUDIO NETWORK SOLUTIONS

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tudio Network Solutions (SNS) is a media technology company committed to helping video production teams around the world transform the way they store, share, and organize media. By combining scalable, high performance shared media storage servers with powerful workflow tools for postproduction and broadcast teams working with Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, and other creative applications, SNS products empower postproduction and broadcast teams in over 70 countries to create amazing content, faster.

>SUPERSPHERE VR

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ounded in 2014, Supersphere VR is an immersive-content firm focused on building stronger bonds between fans and the teams and competitors they love. It is uniquely positioned to bring immersive broadcasts of esports and “IRL sports” to life with a custom technology stack designed to provide smooth integration of current broadcast technology with the new world of VR, AR, and MR. In 2019 alone, Supersphere produced more than 50 VR livestreamed productions. In esports, working with Oculus and ESL, the company has produced and broadcast ESL One at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, ESL One in Hamburg, Intel Extreme Masters in Beijing, and ESL Pro League in Odense, Denmark. This continues an ongoing series of major esports tournaments delivered in an immersive, social VR format, advancing the esports fan experience.

>SUPPONOR

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acked by 15-years of development and experience, Supponor is a pioneer in live virtual advertising technology and solutions. The company provides a full range of premium replacement or placement virtual advertising solutions that transform both the use and value of LED

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SPONSORUPDATE perimeter and on-pitch advertising. Key highlights for Supponor from the past 12 months include the completion of a multi-year deal to supply their DBRLive virtual advertising replacement product to FC Barcelona, covering all of Barca’s home games in LaLiga at the Camp Nou stadium. Other completed deals include a multi-year renewal of their contract with Mediapro in LaLiga and exciting recent commercial deployments at the NHL All-Star game in St. Louis and the NBA All-Star game in Chicago, continuing their ongoing deployments at the top level of U.S. sports. Supponor is also seeing great success in their second season of deployments across the Bundesliga in Germany.

>SWIFTSTACK

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wiftStack, founded in 2011 by some of the earliest pioneers in cloud computing, is a leading provider of data storage and management solutions for enterprises and organizations that lead their industries in the shift to being more datadriven. SwiftStack’s data platform enables its customers to store, manage, control, and utilize many petabytes of unstructured data from edge to core to cloud. Its software is popular in industries like autonomous vehicles, media and entertainment, global service providers, life sciences, and webbased businesses; and for functions like deep learning, analytics, scientific research, and leveraging large asset repositories. SwiftStack is used by industry forerunners including eBay, NVIDIA, Pac-12 Networks, Verizon, and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

>SYNAMEDIA

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he fight against live sport streaming piracy has been building momentum over the past few years and is now reaching fever pitch as pirates continue to evade the measures legitimate service providers put in place to secure their content. Preventing, identifying, and removing content leaks has long been the approach adopted by many in this endless game of cat and mouse. What if you could get to a point of reducing the number of potential vulnerabilities sufficiently enough that you could then proactively defend the gaps you cannot close? Better still, what if you could then fine tune your active defenses to a point that you could disrupt piracy in near real-time using tools such as watermarking and analytics? We may never eliminate piracy, but Synamedia is committed to making it a far less attractive line of work. Find out how Synamedia is disrupting piracy before it happens.

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>SYNCWORDS

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aunched in 2013, Syncwords’ goal has been to provide high-quality closed captioning with a fast turnaround and affordable pricing.

Syncwords uses advanced artificial intelligence and automation in virtually every phase of the captioning process. Over the years, Syncwords has added many features and tools including support for several caption formats. Syncwords benefits its growing customer base by making their media accessible, searchable, and SEO-friendly. Several captioning and subtitling providers use Syncwords in their workflow to streamline their captioning process.

>T2 COMPUTING

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2 Computing is a technology solution provider focused on the creation, management, distribution, storage, and monetization of digital content. Born from the B2B arm of NYC’s iconic Tekserve, 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 it to bring innovative solutions to solve complex problems around how to maximize company’s content creation, management, and distribution. T2 Computing’s key technology partnerships include Apple, Quantum, IPV, Avid, CatDV, ScaleLogic, SpectraLogic, EditShare, Telestream, Dell EMC, HP, and SimplyLive.

>TAG VIDEO SYSTEMS

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AG Video Systems, leader in 100% SW, 100% IP, 100% COTS probing, monitoring, and multiviewing for major broadcast applications, introduces Zer0 Friction. Zer0 Friction pushes the technology boundaries to help broadcasters deliver a superior video experience as the industry transitions to IP, and where offsite collaboration and operation have become essential components of a thriving operation. Ahead of its time, Zer0 Friction provides tools to succeed in a competitive sports broadcasting environment that offers viewers options to watch what they want, when, and on whatever device they want. Zer0 Friction, the foundation of TAG’s solution, is always self-deployable by the customer with remote service and support. One singular system with floating licenses easily adapts and

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scales to any/all applications — live production, playout, delivery, and OTT — with all features (probing, monitoring, multiviewing) integrated for one comprehensive, software solution. Zer0 Friction sets a new threshold for business optimization by maximizing asset utilization.

>TATA COMMUNICATIONS

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ata Communications is a leading global digital infrastructure provider that powers today’s fast-growing digital economy. The company’s customers represent 300 of the Fortune 500 whose digital transformation journeys are enabled by its portfolio of integrated, globally managed services that deliver local customer experiences.

Through its network, cloud, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), collaboration, and security services, Tata Communications carries around 30% of the world’s internet routes and connects businesses to 60% of the world’s cloud giants and four out of five mobile subscribers. The company’s capabilities are underpinned by its global network, which is the world’s largest wholly owned subsea fiber backbone and a Tier-1 IP network.

>TEDIAL

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edial’s cutting-edge and award-winning SMARTLIVE sports and live events solution has taken storytelling to a higher level by incorporating a suite of new tools, including cloud-based technology, to bring a heightened entertainment experience to viewers. Fan engagement is sure to increase for broadcasters now that they can deliver better, more vivid graphics resulting from the new integration between SMARTLIVE and Singular’s cloud-based technology for live graphic overlays.

Graphics can be inserted into the SMARTLIVE auto-generated EDL, reviewed in the player and then burned in when the EDL is flattened. This major development gives broadcasters the capability to enhance storytelling by layering graphics on top of highlights. In addition, SMARTLIVE can now create sophisticated transitions between EDL segments, such as fade in/fade out, adding a dynamic element to your highlights. SMARTLIVE has also integrated AI cloud technology that detects replay in live feeds allowing the solution to automatically complete a story, action, or highlight with action replays.

>TELESTREAM

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elestream has recently made significant enhancements to several solutions, including Vantage Cloud Port, which now features Tempo time adjustment and content normalization plus a new, streamlined version of Post Producer automated content assembly and processing. Vantage

Cloud Port Designer makes it even easier to start processing media with cloud-enabled actions. The Vantage IMF producer option now supports HDR and IMF automated workflows. The latest version of the PRISM media monitoring and analysis platform provides comprehensive monitoring of IP/ SDI 4K/8K signals and has specialized new tools for wide color gamut (WCG) and high dynamic range (HDR). These are specifically designed to accommodate new workflow changes in production and postproduction required to meet the quality expectations for broadcast and streamed content.

OptiQ Monitor is a new cloud-based, monitoringas-a-service platform designed to give broad visibility into the health and performance of live OTT channels. Plus, iQ ABR monitoring provides essential insights that enable content owners, broadcasters, and service providers to manage critical streaming quality issues. Telestream offers flexible and affordable workflows in both the cloud and on-premises so the world’s top tier content owners, broadcasters, and distributors can develop new infrastructure and business models that meet their business goals.

>TELLYO

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ellyo delivers a live video editing and streaming production suite for broadcastquality distribution. Tellyo employs proprietary technology to deliver highly efficient and costeffective solutions for professional video producers, and supports a wide range of standards and industry protocols.

>TELSTRA

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elstra has further invested in its Americas business with two new hires based in the U.S. Desmond Gallahue has joined Telstra as a Senior Account Executive, and Ricardo Rodrigues has joined as Head of Business Development, Telstra Broadcast Services. Desmond and Ricardo both come from a strong sports tech background, having worked across sports, video games, and esports in prior roles. The week that would have been NAB, Telstra is launching a cloud gateway solution that expands on its existing international fiber, satellite, and partner media networks by providing a secure gateway from “on-net” media rights holders to “off-net” media buyers using cloud infrastructure. This new solution also enables media buyers to scale the management of delivery in addition to the services Telstra provides today, and to meet service level agreements in a cost-effective manner. The Telstra Global Media Network also expands through new partnerships with PSSI and Intelsat.

>TERADEK

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eradek designs and manufacturers highperformance video solutions for broadcast, cinema, and general imaging applications. From wireless monitoring, color correction, and lens

control, to live streaming, SaaS solutions, and IP video distribution, Teradek technology is used around the world by professionals and amateurs alike to capture and share compelling content.

>THE STUDIO – B&H

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he Studio specializes in completely customized applications and installations. This is where form meets function, for real. No matter how complex your project or requirements, The Studio’s experts will work with you to determine the most appropriate equipment and solutions.

>THE SWITCH

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n the action-packed world of live video production and delivery, The Switch is always on and always there — setting the industry benchmark for quality, reliability, and unmatched levels of service. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in New York, The Switch has been connecting viewers around the world to live events for almost three decades, bringing them the content they want across linear TV, on-demand, and streaming platforms, on multiple screens and devices. The Switch’s comprehensive production platform combines mobile and remote services to enable customers to cost-effectively capture, edit, and package compelling high-quality live coverage. The Switch’s delivery network connects production facilities with 800+ of the world’s largest content producers, distributors, and sports and event venues, seamlessly linking rightsholders, broadcasters, streaming platforms, media outlets, and web services — and turning-on live content across the world.

>THE TELOS ALLIANCE

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he Telos Alliance is a global leader in audio, trusted by the biggest names in the media landscape for more than three decades. Telos Alliance’s exclusive focus is to deliver innovative, intuitive solutions that inspire the creation of the most exciting and engaging audio experiences imaginable. No audio challenge is too big; no technology is beyond reach; no solution — large or small — is unobtainable. The Telos Alliance portfolio of brands includes Axia Audio, Linear Acoustic, Minnetonka Audio, Omnia Audio, Telos Alliance, Telos Infinity, Telos Systems, and 25-Seven Systems. Telos Alliance also now exclusively offers Jünger Audio branded solutions worldwide. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, with additional offices and dealers around the world, the Telos Alliance supports the diverse needs of audio professionals with best-in-class support 7/24.

>THE VIDEO CALL CENTER

tend reach, lower costs, and facilitate locationagnostic workflows for live production. Fox Sports, FS1, MLB, MSG, WWE, Discovery/TLC, A&E, Vice, and other news and entertainment producers use VCC high-quality, IP-based, live remote video connections to support shows without crews on-site, centralized studios, or control rooms, as requirements dictate. Expert staff and patented technologies facilitate long duration, stable, lag-free, two-way connections that encourage natural conversation between participants, who see and hear each other in real-time using any device via mobile data or WiFi, anywhere in the world.

>THUMBWAR

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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. At its core, THUMBWAR is a company of producers, designers, and nerds that love to figure out new ways to communicate the stories of our clients to the world. The company is 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.

>TIGER TECHNOLOGY

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he Tiger Technology workflow system: cloud-enabled content creation and management. Everything you need to store, share, and manage your media — on-premises or in the cloud. Accelerate end-to-end content creation, unleash your premium storage, and gain real-time playback of high-res and HDR media for your creative applications. Harness the flexibility of file system virtualization to enable Avid bin-locking and intelligent data lifecycle management. Collaborate onsite and around the world. Share high-res video across your studio in real-time and streamline workflows with integrated user and project management. Connect remote locations for asset sharing and multisite teamwork including multiple ingest points. Expand, extend, and protect with cloud scale and power. Stop wasting premium disk space and optimize your storage costs by blending local storage with cloud, disk, and tape for backup, archive, and disaster recovery. Develop cutting edge workflows and innovate your content creation with cloud-based AI cognitive services to augment your media.

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he VCC is making it possible to leverage the world’s billions of smartphones to exSPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020 149

SPONSORUPDATE >TSL PRODUCTS

>UNIQFEED

SL Products’ broadcast control system offerings have been expanded to meet the specific needs of sports broadcasters who require solutions that keep up in fast-paced, high-stress environments. Using TSL’s powerful control tools to support remote production, local production teams in particular can maximize their resources and take control of devices located anywhere, allowing them to save valuable time and investment. TSL’s control platforms provide customers with reliable solutions that simplify and expedite remote command and control over production capabilities by offering improved tally, device routing, and ingest management.

This is especially important for sports productions, where there’s an audience of millions and no margin for error. With TSL’s controllers, presets can be configured prior to production, which requires minimal labor and training to operate effectively, resulting in a substantial decrease in human error and increase in operational cost savings.

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>TV GRAPHICS

>UNISAT

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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-in-One includes traditional features such as clock and score and lower thirds, as well as fullscreen, interstitial, and data-driven stat pages.

Additional features include dual-channel functionality, multiple playlist support, and NDI-IP compatibility.

>TVU NETWORKS

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pain’s TV3 Minut a Minut sports television program successfully relied on TVU Network’s mobile transmitter app TVU Anywhere to simultaneously host more than 25 soccer fans globally in a virtual talk show during a twohour live broadcast on their channel Esport3.

The program’s panelists were able to engage in live video exchanges with fans in full HD picture quality and with minimal delay. The connection was made possible with TVU Anywhere’s intuitive token-based user management. Fans were provided with a QR code to pair their mobile device to a remote TVU Server. TVU Anywhere is a smartphone app that aggregates cellular data, with H.265 encoding and patented IS+ transmission algorithm. It allows anyone to transmit high-quality live video to broadcasters, securing high and reliable bandwidth by aggregating both cellular and home internet connections.

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niqFEED is the mastermind behind the software-based virtual advertising solution for live sports TV coverage. uniqFEED’s software virtually overlays dynamic and static perimeter boards on sport broadcasts to boost advertising revenue streams for rightsholders. The company has been developing its technology for four years integrating AI, computer vision, and augmented reality. The entirely software-based virtual advertising solution was commercially deployed for the first time last year at the Eisenhower Cup 209 (TB10’s) and at various global locations for the International Table Tennis Foundation (ITTF). uniqFEED’s technology can generate multiple localized feeds using only camera signals, without altering any perimeter boards and cameras or using green screen. This cost-effective, non-intrusive, and scalable solution can be seamlessly integrated into a broadcasting workflow onsite or in a remote production center.

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niversal Satellite Communications (UniSat) offers complete turnkey services and provides superior mobile television production and mission critical transmission services throughout the Western United States. The company offers the highest quality service and the most complete satellite production units in the industry at competitive rates to meet any budget. Los Angeles-based UniSat is a fully integrated supplier of television logistics, mobile production, and transmission services. The company offers a full range of services, including satellite uplinks, downlinks, multi-camera international live production, fiber, microwave/HD wireless cameras, digital provisions, full production, editing, ENG packages, and logistical planning. UniSat delivers exceptional performance and accuracy in satellite transmission and television production.

>UTAH SCIENTIFIC

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tah Scientific is the world’s 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 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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>VARIANT SYSTEMS GROUP

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ariant Systems Group will be hosting an online Product Update and New Product Introduction, revealing major advancements in slow-motion replay and live production playback systems for Q2-2020. Envivo Replay and Envivo Studio are showcasing HEVC, HDR, and 12G/UHD-ready systems. Recently, VSG has landed a significant number of system installations with professional groups including the Portland Trail Blazers arena production center for fan engagement, OB production trucks, conference and non-conference universities and colleges across the U.S., as well as several remote sports production control rooms and campus esports gaming centers.

Envivo production tools have disrupted the market by being the easiest to use, offering a solid range of options, and being surprisingly affordable. This has led to the adoption of organizations replacing their aging systems with the Envivo product line. The online presentation will be announced through SVG, VSGlive. com, FOR-A.com, and direct email.

>VERITONE

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eritone has expanded its content classification capabilities to support IAB Tech Lab Content Taxonomy-compliant metadata output via aiWARE APIs. The new offering will enable podcast distribution platforms to programmatically transcribe and tag audio streams with topical, descriptive, and time-correlated keyword metadata prior to publishing, allowing for advanced contextual ad targeting at scale. Further, greater insight into the subject matter of the podcast helps advertisers maintain brand safety by avoiding association with content that is not in alignment with their brand values. Tagging content with descriptive metadata is critical to enabling an alternative, contextual ad-targeting approach. Veritone aiWARE’s new content classification capability offers a comprehensive and automated topic analysis, extraction, and timecoded tagging of the podcast with the applicable content category codes from the IAB Tech Lab Content Taxonomy. Podcast publishers can easily integrate the solution into their existing infrastructure and workflows.

>VERIZON MEDIA

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he Verizon Media platform makes it simple to prepare, deliver, display, and monetize your content. Trusted by emerging brands and global broadcasters alike, Verizon Media’s network, serves up intelligent solutions from con-

tribution to consumption, freeing you up to focus on what you do best. Whether you’re a national broadcaster or a local content creator, you’re backed by 24x7 live engineering support services in five service centers around the world.

Learn why more than 10,000 of the world’s largest media companies and enterprises count on Verizon’s Media Platform to deliver seamless digital content for today’s demanding online viewers by visiting Verizon Media online.

>VIDEON

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ideon is introducing the EdgeCaster Developer Platform, which is based on the lowlatency encoder, EdgeCaster. The EdgeCaster Developer Platform enables rapid customization and integration of the low-latency video encoder platform in a broad range of online video providers. With the EdgeCaster Developer Platform, users receive the best-in-class encoding with the ability to deliver a customer-friendly, end-to-end workflow. EdgeCaster is changing the way broadcasters can deploy and stream live events where encoding is no longer limited to trucks and racks or prices that demand dedicated use. The EdgeCaster Developer Platform harnesses the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon, which enables low-latency video streaming from real-time upwards for the broadcast industry. The EdgeCaster Development Platform builds on proven end-to-end workflows with Videon’s partners and puts the opportunity for rapid customization and unique product development in the hands of the industry.

>VIDOVATION

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idOvation is a technology and systems integrator of video,audio,and data transmission, contribution and distribution systems for the broadcast television, sports, corporate AV, and government markets. Encompassing bonded cellular, wireless video, video streaming, video networking, encoding, IPTV, and fiber-optic communications systems, VidOvation solutions improve video transmissions by removing the frustrations of signal loss, latency, interference, noise, and security issues. VidOvation excels in helping its clients integrate custom solutions into existing infrastructure, with the ability to satisfy almost any application or budget. The company applies proven expertise to the complete project life cycle — from project consulting and management to engineering and design, to warranty and support.

>VIMOND

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imond Cares Initiative: Use Vimond IO in your live production workflow at no cost for March and April for new customers. Let’s make editing one less thing to worry about. Vimond IO empowers today’s sports video editors with a modern alternative to conventional on-premise, single-user editing workstation solutions.

Vimond IO’s professional cloud-native editing technology is flexible, intuitive, supports multiple use cases, and can be used anytime, anywhere by any number of users collaboratively.

Vimond IO’s elastic technology increases speed to market while reducing complexity and cost.

IO provides the ability to quickly clip live and file-based video, search closed captions, edit, publish, and archive with source and timeline views. Publish a variety of bitrates and aspect ratios simultaneously and send to social media or CMS with one-click publishing. Vimond IO is used globally to enjoy real-time sports video experiences. ​

>VISLINK TECHNOLOGIES

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islink Technologies is a global leader in the development and distribution of advanced communication solutions. Driven by technical excellence that has led the industry for over 50 years, Vislink Technologies’ innovative products and turnkey solutions provide reliable connectivity in the toughest environments across the global live production, military, and government sectors. The company’s solutions include high-definition communication links that reliably capture, transmit, and manage live event footage, as well as secure video systems that support mission-critical applications. Headquartered in Hackettstown, NJ, Vislink Technologies has over 70 patents and pending patent applications.

>VISTA WORLDLINK

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ISTA Worldlink continues to grow and expand as VISTA projects nearly 2,500 productions that will be produced via the VISTA solution in 2020. Continuing to build on the success of the REMI services, VISTA continues to invest and expand the VISTA centralized broadcast facility located in South Florida. 2020 is positioned to be another year of growth as VISTA adds additional control rooms, announcer booths, and sound stages to support the growing volume of work. Focused on delivering world-class transmission, production, and technology solutions, VISTA is able to provide various tiers of production resources to leagues, confederations, conferences, entertainment, and corporate customers around the world. Already in the first quarter of 2020, VISTA supported Major League Soccer on their innovative round robin Super Draft where the first 18 selections of the draft were selected live in 18 different cities and successfully supported Super Bowl events throughout VISTA’s backyard in Miami.

>VITAC

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ITAC Corporation is the largest provider of real-time and offline captioning products and services in the United States. Responsible

for captioning more than 525,000 live-program hours per year, VITAC also creates verbatim, precisely timed captions for 75,000 pre-recorded programs per year. VITAC’s customers include every major broadcasting company, most cable networks, program producers, corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies. Founded in 1986, VITAC employs more the largest and most skilled and tenured captioning workforce in the industry.

>VITEC

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ITEC’s EZ TV Player Lite Multicast-tothe-Edge HTML5 IPTV browser-based player is a central component of the company’s award-winning EZ TV IPTV & Digital Signage Platform, serving more than a million users in the corporate, government, military, and sports venue sectors. Because existing HTML5 solutions rely on a unicast framework to ineffectively deliver hundreds, or thousands, of duplicated video streams throughout the corporate network, VITEC designed a totally different solution that avoids negatively impacting local area networks. The company strategically invested in creating a solution that provides videocentric users an alternative that does not compromise efficiency, playback delay, or increase overall costs of the IT infrastructure. VITEC’s patent-pending technology uniquely enables multicast delivery of live and recorded video streams, all the way to enterprise users’ computers, without going through multi-unicast distribution servers.

It allows organizations to use their existing multicast content and existing network configurations to deliver live, multicast video directly to any workstation, laptop, or mobile device in sub-second glass-to-glass delay with no browser extensions or browser plugins. The innovative EZ TV Player Lite is an intuitive HTML5 application that scales live multicast video services to any size user base without the major costs associated with traditional on-premise transcoding equipment, CDN subscriptions, and costly seatlicenses that can compromise network bandwidth utilization. EZ TV Player Lite is currently available to existing EZ TV Platform customers and strategic partners through VITEC’s early adopter program.

>VIZRT

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he Vizrt Group is the world’s leading provider of software-defined visual storytelling platforms for media content creators in the broadcast, sports, esports and the pro AV industries. It is formed of three brands: Vizrt, NewTek, and NDI. The Vizrt Group brands will enable customers to master the complexity of

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SPONSORUPDATE visual storytelling and maximize their creativity. Together, the brands provide access to the most comprehensive platform of IP-based, software-defined visual storytelling solutions on the market — serving every type of storyteller in every kind of organization. The Vizrt Group brands are supported by 700 employees in 30 global offices, and counts CNN, Fox, BBC, Mediacorp, New York Giants, SBS, Tencent, Globosat, and MTV among its clients. The Vizrt Group is a privately owned company by Nordic Capital Fund VIII.

>VRMETA

V

Rmeta is a cloud-based video management system where collaboration thrives. VRmeta is packed with breakthrough technology that turns content search and discovery on its head. VRmeta offers users the most advanced AI for video on planet earth.

>WAVE CENTRAL

W

ave Central provides world-class RF solutions for the in-house sports venue, entertainment, and broadcast market. CEO Jeff Winemiller, with over 35 years of broadcast experience, founded RF Central, which later evolved into Wave Central. Wave Central works closely with clients and, in many cases, provides custom solutions to fulfill clients’ requirements.

Wave Central prides itself on being a dynamic company that can offer almost any solution to fit the customer’s needs. Many times, Wave Central is asked to make the impossible, possible. It’s Wave Central’s unique approach that allows the company to deliver on its promise of providing the best RF wireless systems and after-sales service, bar none.

>WESTERN DIGITAL

W

estern Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access, and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, Western Digital’s solutions deliver the possibilities of data. The company’s data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital, G-Technology, SanDisk, and WD brands.

>WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS

W

owza Media Systems is the recognized gold standard of streaming, with more than a decade of experience working with 35,000+ organizations, 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 education to sports broadcasting. Wowza was founded in 2007.

>WSC SPORTS

W

SC Sports’ AI-driven platform analyzes 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. This seamless and frictionless workflow enables partners to instantly generate and distribute professionally edited video on a large scale, to maximize exposure, and create innovative monetization opportunities.

>XCITE INTERACTIVE

X

cite Interactive is an interactive gaming, animation, production, and postproduction studio bringing multi-dimensional talent to the world of fan engagement, game operations, sports presentation, event production, commercial TV and broadcast. Xcite’s leadership team has worked with The Olympics, The World Cup, The Super Bowl, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAA, major motion pictures, and top gaming companies. Xcite strives to engage, entertain and educate fans at any event through its resources and effort. The company looks forward to working with you to create unique interactive content and data capture that can be monetized through sponsors.

>XYTECH SYSTEMS

F

or more than 30 years, the world’s premiere media companies have depended on Xytech to run their businesses. MediaPulse is the only end-to-end solution for the complete content lifecycle. MediaPulse provides scheduling, automation, asset management, billing, and cost recovery for broadcasters, media services companies, and transmission facilities in a scalable platform-independent solution.

>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.

>ZIXI

O

n Monday, April 20 through Friday, May 1, Zixi will conduct a two-week virtual showcase Zixi Powered!, a series of video meetings and live webinars presenting Zixi’s latest innovations and announcements. Along with individually scheduled video meetings and demonstrations, participants can learn from Zixi leadership, integrated partners, and top media companies that are using Zixi to address the challenges of workflow, network, and operational virtualization. Zixi Powered! live webinar events will include: “The Case for a SoftwareDefined Video Platform” — Zixi’s Executive Chairman and CEO Gordon Brooks will lead a master class diving deep into the four elements of a Software-Defined Video Platform; “Zixi Enabled Network Panel: Complex Live Streaming Over IP” — A panel discussion featuring industry leaders from AWS, Blizzard Entertainment, Comcast Technology Services, and Net Insight discussing the latest challenges and opportunities facing the broadcast media industry; “ZEN Master: Master Control in the Cloud” — Tim Baldwin, Head of Product, will present an overview and introduce the latest enhancements to Zixi’s award-winning ZEN Master control plane; “Protected Multicast with Zixi” — Eunice Park, VP Global Sales, and Emeka Okoli, VP of Solutions and Customer Success, will explain the unique advantages of using Zixi protected multicast, requirements for initiating Zixi multicast over managed networks, and measuring savings realized for your business; and “Live Partner Demonstrations for Integrated Video Solutions” — Demonstrations from a selection of Partners in the Zixi Enabled Network of over 170+ integrated technology partners. <

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE READ? Find contact information for every SVG sponsor starting on page 154 and get in touch today!

152

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

During this challenging time, SVG extends its thoughts and thanks to all of our members and sponsors around the world.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and we look forward to meeting again soon.

Advancing the Creation, Production, and Distribution of Sports Content

SPONSORINDEX

AD PAGE

SPONSOR

3G WIRELESS ADDER TECHNOLOGY

37, 135

ADMIRAL VIDEO ADORAMA

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Mobile

Gordon Capaccio

GordonC@3gwireless.tv

410-969-3501

Premier

Tim Conway

usasales@adder.com

888-932-3337

Mobile

Paul Halsey

paul@imhd.tv

716-651-9900

Corporate

Jason Neureiter

jasonn@adorama.com

646-750-4003

AE GRAPHICS

Mobile

Neale Connell

neale@aegraphics.co.uk

+44 1442 234 531

AERIAL VIDEO SYSTEMS

Mobile

Argyle Nelson

argyle@aerialvideo.com

818-954-8842

AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS

53

Premier

Christina Oliver

christinao@aja.com

530-271-3326

ALDEA SOLUTIONS

65

Premier

Daniel Gonzalez

daniel.gonzalez@aldea.tv

514-461-4136

ALL MOBILE VIDEO

Mobile

Eric Duke

eduke@amvchelsea.com

212-727-9862

ALPHA VIDEO

Mobile

Jeff Volk

jeff.volk@alphavideo.com

952-841-3311

AMAZON WEB SERVICES

7

Platinum

Paula Taylor

tpaula@amazon.com

503-222-3212

Mobile

Mark Roberts

markr@anthonyjamespartners.com

609-751-4379

Corporate

Joop Janssen

jjanssen@apericorp.com

+32 4 717 171 79

Mobile

Brian Stanley

bstanley@arcteksat.com

612-308-9079

ARISTA NETWORKS

Corporate

Bryan Obeidzinski

bryano@arista.com

917-940-0097

ARTEL VIDEO SYSTEMS

Corporate

Joanne Pederson

sales@artel.com

978-263-5775

ARVATO SYSTEMS

Corporate

Kurt Krinke

kurt.krinke@arvatosystems.com

248-755-0676

Mobile

Chris Payne

cpanye@asgllc.com

917-807-1804

ANTHONY JAMES PARTNERS APERI ARCTEK SATELLITE PRODUCTIONS

113

ASG (ADVANCED SYSTEMS GROUP) AT&T

Platinum

Scott Beckett

sb9485@att.com

214-647-0486

ATEME

13

Corporate

Dave Brass

d.brass@ateme.com

484-860-0358

AUDIO-TECHNICA

Corporate

Mike Edwards

medwards@atus.com

330-686-2600 x2030

AV DESIGN SEVICES

Mobile

Jim Landy

jmlandy@avds.tv

609-531-2642

AVI SYSTEMS

Mobile

Craig Frankenstein

craig.frankenstein@avisystems.com

248-957-6161

Premier

Angel Ylisastigui

angel.ylisastigui@avid.com

305-799-6274

Mobile

Anthony Sotomayor

asotomayor@azzurrogroup.com

212-625-2372

AVID TECHNOLOGY

95

AZZURRO GROUP BECK TV BEXEL

55

BLACKBIRD VIDEO BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

5

Mobile

Fred Wright

fwright@becktv.com

972-505-8941

Platinum

Craig Schiller

cschiller@bexel.com

818-565-4202

Corporate

Adrian Lambert

A.Lambert@blackbird.video

+44 7905863352

Platinum

Bob Caniglia

bobc@blackmagicdesign.com

408-954-0500 x319

BLUE FRAME TECHNOLOGY

Corporate

Ben Kant

benkant@blueframetech.com

859-619-4288

BRAINSTORM

Corporate

Brad Rumler

brumler@brainstorm3d.com

201-888-9599

BRIDGE DIGITAL

Corporate

Richie Murray

richie@bridgedigitalinc.com

615-859-5754

BROADCAST SERVICES INTERNATIONAL (BSI)

Mobile

Jim Eady

jim@bsi-tv.com

905-332-2171

BROADCAST SPORTS INTERNATIONAL (BSI)

Mobile

Peter Larsson

Peter.Larsson@BSINTL.COM

410-564-2600

C360

Mobile

Evan Wimer

ewimer@c360live.com

724-940-3277

Platinum

Jack Kelly

jackk@g1limited.com

631-396-0184 x102

CALREC AUDIO/DIGICO

25

CAMPLEX

127

Premier

Daniel Coscarella

daniel@camplex.com

800-445-7568 x7409

CANON

11

Platinum

Richard Eilers

reilers@cusa.canon.com

609-480-6019

CARINGO

Corporate

Adrian Herrera

adrian.herrera@caringo.com

619-665-8153

CARTONI USA

Corporate

David Butler

david@maniosdigital.com

818-760-8240

154

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

AD PAGE

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Mobile

Greg Landa

greg.landa@es-cat.com

904-494-7532

Corporate

Jeremy Strootman

jeremy@squarebox.com

314-229-6012

23

Platinum

Jennifer Cleveland

jennifer.cleveland@centurylink.com

571-485-8781

Mobile

Louise Shideler

louise@chesa.com

410-752-7732

117

Premier

Doug Price

k.douglas.price@chyronhego.com

817-239-9626

Mobile

Brent Angle

brent.angle@cinesysinc.com

713-272-0732

CAT ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES CATDV CENTURYLINK CHESAPEAKE SYSTEMS CHYRONHEGO CINESYS-OCEANA CIS GROUP

Corporate

Matt Silva

matt.silva@cisgroup.tv

954-257-9938

CISCO SYSTEMS

Corporate

Susan Friedman

sufriedm@cisco.com

908-433-6948

CLARK WIRE & CABLE

Corporate

Tom Yatabe

tom.yatabe@clarkwire.com

800-222-5348 x18

67

Premier

Rachel Archibald

Rachel.Archibald@Clearcom.com

510-337-6676

CLOUDIAN

77

Premier

Sean Coughlin

scoughlin@cloudian.com

914-715-8261

COBALT DIGITAL

103

Premier

Chris Shaw

chris.shaw@cobaltdigital.com

217-344-1243

Corporate

Lynn Green

Lynn_Green@comcast.com

720-670-0762

CLEAR-COM, AN HME COMPANY

COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS COMREX

93

Premier

Chris Crump

ccrump@comrex.com

978-784-1776

CONNECT

143

Corporate

Gary Cooper

g.cooper@worldcastconnect.com

305-249-3110

Mobile

Matt Endicott

me@cornerstoneav.com

801-221-0099

CP COMMUNICATIONS

Mobile

Kurt Heitmann

kurt.heitmann@cpcomms.com

914-345-9292

CREATIVE DIMENSIONS

Corporate

Joel Roy

jroy@gowithcd.com

203-250-6517

Mobile

Noah Gusdorff

noah@cmsi.tv

818-847-7390

CORNERSTONE AV

CREATIVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS CROWN CASTLE

Corporate

Sergio Amatangelo

sergio.amatangelo@crowncastle.com

724-416-2710

CSP MOBILE PRODUCTIONS

Mobile

Matt Keske

mkeske@cspmobile.com

312-914-2616

CTI (CONFERENCE TECHNOLOGIES INC.)

Mobile

Ry Alford

ralford@conferencetech.com

404-352-3000

Premier

Sales

sales@daktronics.com

800-325-8766

DALE PRO AUDIO

Corporate

Eric Eldredge

eric@daleproaudio.com

212-475-1124

DELAPLEX

Corporate

Mark Rivers

Mrivers@delaplex.com

404-867-3334

DAKTRONICS

DELL EMC

131

87

129

Corporate

Jeff Grassinger

jeff.grassinger@dell.com

206-315-7598

Mobile

Christina Anderson

christina.anderson@digitalglue.com

949-388-9078

Corporate

Kai Bechtold

kbechtold@dimetis.de

+49 6074 3010 400

DIVERSIFIED

Mobile

Christopher Sullivan

CSullivan@diversifiedus.com

201-670-6548

DNA STUDIOS

Mobile

Sam Schrade

sam@dnawebs.com

281-802-8000

Platinum

Cherylene McKinney

cherylene.mckinney@dolby.com

646-823-1523

Mobile

Mary Ellen Carlyle

mcarlyle@domeprod.com

416-341-2022

Corporate

Don Cardone

don@dveo.com

908-998-1080

Mobile

Dale Smith

dalesmith@DX3media.ca

416-433-3261

Corporate

Justin Russell

justin.russell@goecodigital.com

443-926-2673

Premier

Tracy Geist

tracy.geist@editshare.com

415-298-1290

DIGITALGLUE DIMETIS

DOLBY

31

DOME PRODUCTIONS DVEO DX3 MEDIA INC. ECODIGITAL EDITSHARE

63

EEG ENTERPRISES

Corporate

Eric McErlain

ericm@eegent.com

516-293-7472 x502

ELUVIO INC

Corporate

Amy Meadows

amy.meadows@eluv.io

314-799-5564

ENCO SYSTEMS

Corporate

Ken Frommert

ken@enco.com

248-827-4440

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

Corporate

Joe Garzillo

jgarzillo@encompass.tv

203-965-6334

ENDEAVOR STREAMING

Corporate

Kayla Conover

Kayla.Conover@endeavorstreaming.com

516-622-8381

Mobile

Bob Hawkanson

bob@esbroadcasthire.com

407-601-6926

Platinum

Jim Scott

jim.scott@eurovision.net

973-650-9577

ES BROADCAST EUROVISION SERVICES

18

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

155

SPONSOR INDEX AD PAGE

SPONSOR

EUTELSAT

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Premier

Paul Kosac

pkosac@eutelsat.com

678-722-1107

EVERTZ

41

Premier

Kyle Miobertolo

kmiobertolo@evertz.com

905-220-4738

EVS

59

Premier

William Walz

w.walz@evs.com

973-575-2116

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

FOCUSRITE PRO

Corporate

Ted White

ted.white@focusrite.com

310-321-4104

Premier

Adam Daniul

daniul@for-a.com

305-773-7608

FOR-A

75

FUJIFILM FUSE TECHNICAL GROUP

3

Platinum

Gordon Tubbs

gtubbs@fujifilm.com

973-686-2769

137

Corporate

Christian Dundee

cdundee@fuse-tg.com

818-827-6057

Corporate

Craig Abrams

cabrams@gd-northamerica.com

818-748-3383

G&D NORTH AMERICA GAME CREEK VIDEO

Mobile

Pat Sullivan

psullivan@gamecreekvideo.com

603-821-2205

GEARTECH USA

Mobile

Brad Wensley

bwensley@geartech.ca

647-295-6672

GIRRAPHIC

Corporate

Grant Werle

grant@girraphic.com

917-903-5306

GLOBECAST

Corporate

Tim Jackson

tim.jackson@globecastna.com

310-849-3901

Corporate

Guilherme Silva

guilherme.silva@glookast.com

945-719-4827

Platinum

Mary Stevens

marystevens@google.com

650-303-3703

Corporate

Mike Kelley

mike@grabyo.com

914-584-7324

Platinum

David Cohen

david.cohen@grassvalley.com

215-837-8699

GLOOKAST GOOGLE CLOUD

27

GRABYO GRASS VALLEY

17

GRAVITY MEDIA

97

Premier

Mark Allatt

Mark.Allatt@gravitymedia.com

+44 1923 691421

HAIVISION

Corporate

Karen McCone

kmccone@haivision.com

514-993-2683

HARMONIC

Corporate

Eric Kenyon

eric.kenyon@harmonicinc.com

408-490-7665

HB COMMUNICATIONS

Mobile

Cristina Schussler

cristina.schussler@hbcommunications.com

203-747-7187

HIGH ROCK MOBILE TELEVISION

Mobile

Phil Engborg

phil@carr-hughes.com

518-584-0202

IBM ASPERA

111

Premier

Laura Petrosillo

laura.petrosillo@ibm.com

510-849-2386 x222

IBM STORAGE

81

Premier

Bill Martinson

billmar@us.ibm.com

650-400-7078

Corporate

Gates Killian

gates.killian@ibm.com

704-201-7126

Premier

Dan Holland

dholland@ihseusa.com

732-738-8780

Corporate

Teri Zastrow

tzastrow@ikegami.com

201-368-9171 x234

Mobile

Rich Williams

rich@illuminationdynamics.com

818-686-6400

IMAGE VIDEO

Corporate

Zach Wilkie

zwilkie@imagevideo.com

416-750-8872 x228

IMAGEN

Corporate

Ryan Rolf

Ryan.Rolf@imagen.io

240-506-1831

Premier

Mary Schoof

mary.schoof@imaginecommunications.com

703-869-2042

IMS PRODUCTIONS

Mobile

Kevin Sublette

ksublette@imsptv.com

317-492-8770

INTEGRATED MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES

Mobile

Tom McGowan

tom.mcgowan@imtglobalinc.com

818-761-9770

IBM WATSON MEDIA & WEATHER IHSE USA

51

IKEGAMI ILLUMINATION DYNAMICS

IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS

115

INTOTO SYSTEMS IO INDUSTRIES IRON MOUNTAIN

147

ISTREAMPLANET JB&A JOSEPH ELECTRONICS

156

85

Mobile

Stephanie Rowen

srowen@suitelifesystems.com

310-405-0839

Corporate

Brittany Fitchett

bfitchett@ioindustries.com

519-663-9570 x242

Premier

Lynne Washington

Jacquelyn.Washington@ironmountain.com

610-831-2529

Corporate

Matt Crissman

mcrissman@istreamplanet.com

702-323-5234

Corporate

Maria Casey

sales@jbanda.com

415-256-2800

Premier

John Cleary

jcleary@josephelectronics.com

800-323-5925

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

AD PAGE

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

JOURNEY

Corporate

Dave Walzer

dave@d2journey.com

508-739-0823

JUNIPER NETWORKS

Corporate

Nancy Shah

nashah@juniper.net

201-682-5568

JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO

Corporate

Dan Skirpan

dskirpan@us.jvckenwood.com

724-747-9301

Mobile

Bill Kaufman

bill.kaufman@kaufmanbroadcast.com

314-533-6633

Corporate

Aaron Tobin

aaron.tobin@klipsports.com

+61 3 9693 8144

Mobile

Kevin Henneman

khenneman@kmh-integration.com

800-590-2520

Platinum

Jeff Smith

jeff.smith@lawo.com

888-810-4468

KAUFMAN BROADCAST KLIP SPORTS KMH AUDIO-VIDEO INTEGRATION LAWO

35

LEADER INSTRUMENTS

Corporate

Scott Cannon

cannon@leaderamerica.com

800-645-5104

LEGRAND AV DIVISION

Corporate

Gordon Wason

gordon.wason@legrand.com

516-350-2327

LEVELS BEYOND

Corporate

Donnie Gilbert

dgilbert@levelsbeyond.com

720-508-8947

LH COMPUTER SERVICES

Mobile

Doug Cole

dcole@lhcomp.com

954-752-5805

LIMELIGHT NETWORKS

Corporate

Meredith Johnson

meredithj@llnw.com

602-850-5384

Mobile

Brad Sexton

brad@livemediagroup.com

818-435-3006

Platinum

Dave Belding

daveb@liveu.tv

714-916-8275

LTN GLOBAL

Corporate

Rich Rozycki

rrozycki@ltndigital.com

646-832-1952

LYON VIDEO

Mobile

Chad Snyder

chad@LyonVideo.com

614-319-4071

Premier

Adam June

adam@markertek.com

800-522-2025 x7361

Corporate

Jackson Root

jackson@marshallelectronics.net

310-333-0606

LIVE MEDIA GROUP LIVEU

MARKERTEK

45

119

MARSHALL ELECTRONICS MASSTECH INNOVATIONS

Premier

Luc Tomasino

Luc.tomasino@masstech.com

918-605-3236

MATROX

Corporate

Francesco Scartozzi

fscartoz@matrox.com

514-822-6075

MAXON

Corporate

Paul Babb

paul@maxon.net

805-376-3331

MEDIA LINKS

Corporate

Tom Canavan

tcanavan@medialinks.com

860-206-7326

MEDIAKIND

Corporate

Dan Burnett

daniel.burnett@mediakind.com

678-689-6535

Platinum

Mario Sousa

msousa@mediapro.tv

305-357-5893

MEYERPRO

Mobile

Steve Meyer

steve@meyerproinc.com

503-638-2096

MICROSOFT

Premier

Scott Bounds

sbounds@microsoft.com

646-225-4380

MOBILE TV GROUP

Mobile

Nick Garvin

ngarvin@mobiletvgroup.com

303-542-5555

MOVICOM

Mobile

Greg Salman

gsalman@movicom.com

323-633-7033

MPE

Corporate

Neal Pilzer

neal@mpenyc.com

303-618-4423

MULTIDYNE

Corporate

Frank Jachetta

frank@multidyne.com

516-629-0373

NCAM

Corporate

Phil Ventre

phil.ventre@ncam-tech.com

+44 7581 482750

Platinum

Susan Matis

smatis@nepgroup.com

412-423-1339

NET INSIGHT

Corporate

David Dellafave

david.dellafave@netinsight.net

201-669-2037

NEVION

Corporate

Sales

sales@nevion.com

212-380-0550

NEXSAN TECHNOLOGIES

Corporate

Michael McDermott

mmcdermott@nexsan.com

732-616-4586

NTP

Corporate

Kurt Howell

kurt.howell@ntp.dk

813-422-1289

MEDIAPRO

NEP GROUP

NUTANIX

109

C2

39

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

OPENDRIVES

Corporate

Paul Swanson

p.swanson@opendrives.com

310-659-8999

Premier

Carter Hoskins

carter.hoskins@us.panasonic.com

770-619-1779

PANASONIC PCCW GLOBAL

33

61

Mobile

Ramy Hamid

rhamid@pccwglobal.com

703-621-2292

PIXELLOT

Corporate

Stephen Hamilton

stephenH@pixellot.tv

213-321-9554

PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES

Corporate

Gary Rosen

sales@plianttechnologies.com

334-321-1160 x540

POLYGON LABS

Corporate

Grigory Mindlin

grig@polygonlabs.us

908-403-2061

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

157

SPONSOR INDEX SPONSOR

PRG

AD PAGE

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

C3

Platinum

Andrea Berry

andrea.berry@prg.com

818-252-2645

PRIMESTREAM

Corporate

Marisa Timko

marisatimko@primestream.com

305-625-4415

PRIMEVIEW

Corporate

Chanan Averbuch

chanan@primeview.biz

212-730-4905

PRODUCTIONHUB

Corporate

Steve Rotz

srotz@productionhub.com

877-629-4122

PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS

Mobile

Amy Scheller

ascheller@programproductions.com

630-792-9700

PSSI GLOBAL SERVICES

Mobile

Clint Bergeson

info@pssiglobal.com

310-575-4400

Corporate

John Shoemaker

john.shoemaker@qligent.com

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Ruth Compton

ruth.compton@Quantum.com

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QLIGENT QUANTUM

105

QUANTUM5X

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Paul Johnson

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RCN BUSINESS SERVICES

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Sean Sullivan

sean.sullivan@rcn.net

571-623-4332

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Jeff Heimbold

j.heimbold@realitychecksystems.com

323-465-3900

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Oliver Abadeer

oliver.abadeer@ericsson.com

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REALITY CHECK SYSTEMS RED BEE MEDIA RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS

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ROBOVISION ROSS VIDEO

15

RT SOFTWARE

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Joyce Bente

sales-us@riedel.net

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Richard Glandorf

rich@robovision.com

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Kevin Cottam

kcottam@rossvideo.com

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Mike Fredriksen

mike.fredriksen@rtsw.co.uk

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RUSH MEDIA COMPANY

Mobile

Will Wright

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SANKEN/BRAINSTORM ELECTRONICS

Corporate

Jim Pace

jpace@plus24.net

323-855-1404

Mobile

Mark Parikka

operations@sdtv.com

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Walid Hamri

walid.hamri@schange.com

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Brandon Aleckson

brandon.aleckson@seagate.com

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SDTV SEACHANGE INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE

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SENCORE

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Brandon Baker

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SENNHEISER

123

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David Missall

david.missall@sennheiser.com

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SES

89

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Richard Lamb

richard.lamb@ses.com

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Mobile

Gordon Barry

gbarry@shotover.com

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renner_rick@shure.com

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SIGNIANT

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Gregory Macchia

g.macchia@simplylive.tv

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SIMPLYLIVE SKYCAM

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Stephen Wharton

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Corporate

Thomas Gunkel

thomas.gunkel@skyline.be

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Gil Cowie

gil@smartcartsvx.com

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SMT

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Patricia Hopkins

p.hopkins@smt.com

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SNEAKY BIG STUDIOS

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Ben Grafchik

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SOLID STATE LOGIC

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Steve Zaretsky

stevez@solidstatelogic.com

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Deon.Lecointe@sony.com

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SONY

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Deon LeCointe

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Stephen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell

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252-635-1400

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Kevin Annison

kevin@sparxtechnology.com

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SPECTRA LOGIC

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Hossein ZiaShakeri

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SPORTLOGIQ

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Eugene Plawutsky

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SPORTRADAR

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Stephen Byrd

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SPORTZCAST

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Michael Connell

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STATS PERFORM

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Stephanie Brown

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646-324-2444

Corporate

Terry Isles

terryi@stevensglobal.com

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Stephen McKenna

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SPARX TECHNOLOGY

STEVENS GLOBAL STUDIO NETWORK SOLUTIONS (SNS)

133

158 SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

SPONSOR INDEX AD PAGE

LEVEL

CONTACT

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141

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Lucas Wilson

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UNISAT UTAH SCIENTIFIC VARIANT SYSTEMS GROUP

139

VIDOVATION VIMOND VISLINK TECHNOLOGIES

145

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1

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VIZRT GROUP

71

Premier

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WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS

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WSC SPORTS

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XCITE INTERACTIVE

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XYTECH

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ZAYO

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918-978-1899

Platinum

Eric Bolten

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978-853-8482

VRMETA

ZIXI

C4

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

159

THE FINAL BUZZER

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

By Ken Kerschbaumer Sports Video Group, Executive Director, Editorial Eight weeks ago, 18,000 NBA fans spent the weekend sitting in the United Center in Chicago taking in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game festivities. Outside the arena, there was a truck compound buzzing with activity and more than a dozen trucks full of men and women working — literally — side by side and collectively shouldering the burden of a complex TV production.

It seems like a lifetime ago and, in hindsight, the whole idea of an arena full of fans watching a sporting event seems irresponsible. But, then again, nearly everything we did eight weeks ago seems irresponsible. Flying on a plane, sitting in a crowded hotel bar, even using an ATM now seem like risky endeavors.

So, where do we go from here?

SVG members and sponsors have begun the hard work of figuring out how to return our community to some semblance of normalcy. Clearly there will be a period — potentially long — where sports production and sporting events will be very different. Empty stands will be part of the equation. Smaller production crews will also be pretty much a guarantee. REMI, at-home, and home-run productions will continue to become more popular — not because they save money, but because they save lives.

Shared knowledge will be more important than ever because it will mean safer productions and allow professionals to spend less time solving a problem and more time implementing a recommended solution.

The next few weeks — if not months — will be challenging for our members and sponsors whose livelihoods depend on sporting events taking place. Great days for the industry will return — days filled with cheering fans, busy production crews, and tremendous broadcast production achievements. But getting there is going to be the biggest challenge everyone in our industry has attempted to overcome. It will take a tremendous amount of work, discipline, and innovation, both technically and philosophically.

For 15 years, SVG has worked hard to create opportunities for sports broadcast professionals, service providers, and equipment manufacturers to come together and share ideas. For the foreseeable future, the close collaborations that have been part of SVG events and our industry coverage will have to occur virtually and online. But, rest assured that the SVG team — via those virtual events and the Sports Broadcasting Fund — is dedicated to getting our industry back to normal as quickly as possible.

More than ever, people across the nation and around the world need the bond that sports provide. It is only now, in its absence, that it becomes clear the important role sports plays in things as simple as conversation, finding common ground, and building relationships. It is not just a distraction; it is a source of inspiration, community, and, for those in our industry, a career that keeps the roof over a head and the emotional satisfaction of a job well done.

We are all in this together. Freelancer. Executive. Manufacturer. Service provider. And, on behalf of the internal team at SVG, please stay safe, stay strong, and stay connected. <

160

SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2020

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 | 516.446.2029 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,

Associate Editor and Social Media Manager 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 and Operations Associate katie@sportsvideo.org | 646.524.7497 ALICIA MONTANARO,

Meetings and Events Manager alicia@sportsvideo.org | 646.880.4901 ANDREW LIPPE,

Membership & Client Services Manager andrew@sportsvideo.org | 212.481.8133 ERIC LIEW, Database Assistant ericl@sportsvideo.org CRISTINA ERNST, Event Operations Director cris@sportsvideo.org | 917.309.5174 SPONSORSHIP ROB PAYNE, Managing Director,

Worldwide Sponsor Development rob@sportsvideo.org | 212.481.8131 ANDREW GABEL,

Director, 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 © 2020 Sports Video Group.

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