CBS Sports Builds Super-Sized EVS Server System

  : Ajouté le 9/2/2010 à 00:39

CBS Sports this weekend is rolling out a massive EVS server infrastructure for Super Bowl XLIV, with 37 EVS XT[2] servers broken up into two networks (24 used during the game and 13 during the pre-game), ensuring that viewers at home see all the important shots, pre-packages, stories and profiles, promos, and more.

“The reason we have so many servers is we have to be able to isolate and record everyone of the 51 cameras we have,” says Bruce Goldfeder, CBS Sports, director of engineering.

The EVS servers are complemented by five EVS Xfile systems and 10 EVS IPDirector systems. There are also two Avid Unity servers on hand for craft editing, with one dedicated to pre-game needs and the other to the game. One Avid Unity server is located with three Avid Media Composers in the All Mobile Video unit that will be used to edit clips and packags during the game. The other Unity server is located alongside eight Media Composers in the compound and is handling pre-game material.

There have been a couple of big changes since the last time CBS had the Super Bowl. First, all video is being recorded using the Avid DNX codec at 100 Mbps. “Now transferring between the EVS and Avid systems is seamless,” says Goldfeder. “With the IP Director we can push content to either the Avid systems or to any of the IP Director systems and we can also push content between the game and pre-game SDTI networks.”

Another big change is that the SDTI network has grown from 540Mbps to 1.5 Gpbs. “That takes a big load off of the network and we have Gigabit Ethernet to bridge between the pre-game and game networks,” says Goldfeder. “And we can also transfer between them without having to go back to baseband video.”

For Goldfeder and the team this weekend’s game is the culmination of a more than a year of work as they have assembled the tools, parts, and people to put plans into action. “The team we have together is awesome,” he says. “For the last three months we’ve been going over the pregame and detailing every single feed and what equipment will feed it. And now it’s a living organism.”

Tags : evs

EVS Unveils New Solutions at BVE 2010

  : Ajouté le 9/2/2010 à 00:34

EVS Unveils New Solutions at BVE 2010

BE READY TO COMPETE WITH XT[2]+ 

 

 

Proceeding from the field-proven XT[2] production server, the newly developed XT[2]+ has been designed to offer producers increased storage capacity, maximum speed and the highest level of reliability. The most recent server from the XT series is available in 6, 4 or 2 channel configurations, in SD/HD ready or full HD/SD mode with dual networking capabilities.

Compared to the preceding XT[2] server, the XT[2]+ offers:

 

• New SAS disk controllers providing superior performance and increased reliability
• Boosted internal storage of up to 12 disks with compact 2.5 inches form factor
• Expandable storage with external arrays (hot-swappable disks - total capacity of up to 20TB per server)
• Scalable capacity that allows multiple systems to work on the same network
• Extended bandwidth (30% increase)
• Optimized for future codec support

The shipment of the first XT[2]+ server will begin in March.

Read More

TAPELESS STUDIO PRODUCTION WITH XS 

Integrate your creative capabilities with XS, EVS’ studio production platform. Designed for broadcasters and studio producers who are looking for a clever alternative to their existing tape-based workflows, the XS multi-format server offers peerless solutions for the recording and ingestion of multiple A/V feeds, playback operations and playout control.

XS can easily be managed with Insio and IPDirector, EVS’ studio software applications developed to fulfill a wide range of production workflows. And due to its open architecture, XS can also be controlled by third-party tools, such as automation systems, linear or hybrid editors, switchers and controllers.

XS is now available with new SAS disk controllers providing increased bandwidth and reliability.

Main capabilities of XS:

 

• Multichannel SD and HD ingest
• Synchronized and instant playback
• Control and transfer while recording
• Multiple acquisition and delivery format management
• Media sharing network
• Third-party control
• SNMP compatible

Read More

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Super Bowl Kicks Off Busy Month for Bexel Broadcast

  : Ajouté le 8/2/2010 à 00:40

Bexel Broadcast Services rolled into Miami’s Sun Life Stadium with its largest contingent of equipment ever for a single Super Bowl client. The equipment provided to CBS Sports includes eight Avid Symphony Nitris systems that are tied into a 24 TB Avid Unity server system; three Sony Super Slo-Mo camera systems; HD monitors throughout the compound, stadium and sets; seven Autoscript teleprompters; Sony SRW decks; 16 EVS servers, and an assortment of Canon and Fujinon lenses. And making its Super Bowl debut are Lite Panel LED lighting systems that will be used in the CBS broadcast booth.

The Super Bowl kicks off a very busy month for Bexel. Along with the work it is doing for CBS Sports it is also in Miami supporting the NFL Network and the NFL. And then there are the non-Super Bowl clients to be served later this month.

“It’s an amazing feat that we’re able to provide this level of equipment with all of the events like the Olympics, NBC All-Star Game, Daytona, and Winter X Games,” says Lee Estroff,  Bexel Broadcast Services, director of broadcast technical sales. “It’s quite an undertaking but we pulled it off with great support from engineering and operations.”

The majority of the equipment used at the Super Bowl will make the journey to Dallas on Monday where it will be used for next weekend’s coverage of the NBA All-Star Game.

http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2010/02/07/super-bowl-kicks-off-busy-month-for-bexel-broadcast/

Tags : evs

Inertia Unlimited xMo Plays Key Role at Super Bowl XLIV

  : Ajouté le 5/2/2010 à 23:16

Inertia Unlimited’s Jeff Silverman and his crew (along with the folks from Vision Research) have been busy this week prepping xMo systems for use by both CBS Sports and NFL Films. Viewers on Sunday can look forward to CBS Sports’ capturing images of the action from four positions at 440 frames per second; NFL Films will use two handheld units at 960 fps.

Why the difference? “NFL Films will be shooting for commercials, and they have unlimited time to play them back and edit them,” says Silverman. “If CBS shoots much slower than 440 frames per second, they will have problems playing the replays back.”

With both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts gearing up with high-flying attacks that could feature a lot of no-huddle action, the pressure is greater than ever on the replay operators. “They’re going to have to be cued very tight, or they could run long,” adds Silverman.

CBS Sports will have one handheld unit, two xMos located on sideline carts, and three xMos upstairs, one shooting down each goal line and one at the 50-yard line. Those six units are the most that have ever been used at a single event.

Since the previous Super Bowl in Miami (2007), the xMo has undergone a series of improvements, and even the camera used at last year’s Super Bowl could be considered old news. Silverman and his team continually look to improve xMo and, in the past 18 months, have overcome such issues as operating in low-light and nighttime situations and the ability to both simultaneously play back in real time and play back a replay. And now it also has direct integration with the EVS server via HyperMotion.

“SuperVision cameras have improved the quality of the shot [they can get], and operators have learned how to frame the shots better,” says Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports EVP of Operations and Production Services.

“We’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the reaction to the most current version of the camera,” says Silverman. “From the producer to camera-operator level, everyone has been excited about the potential of what we can do.”

NAB attendees can expect to see the next step in improvement, including a physically cleaner handheld unit that includes EVS integration. Inertia Unlimited is also working on improving the performance when the camera is simultaneously being used for both replay playback and as a live camera signal. “We’re going to get both of those signals in harmony,” says Silverman.

http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2010/02/05/inertia-unlimited-xmo-plays-key-role-at-super-bowl-xliv/

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English Rugby’s 6 Nations Tournament Gets HD, 2D, 3D Coverage

  : Ajouté le 5/2/2010 à 23:15

The England rugby union team begins its 6 Nations campaign on Feb. 6, with coverage in HD and SD on the BBC and in 3D in 40 Odeon and Cineworld cinemas around the UK. The game against Wales is hailed as the biggest British sporting event to be screened live using stereoscopic technology so far and comes barely a week after Sky previewed its 3D service with the Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United.

England’s sponsor, telecom company O2, has organised the 3D broadcast of the team’s home games at Twickenham Stadium during this year’s tournament, with the clash against Ireland on Feb. 27 also to be transmitted in the format.

The production is coordinated by Inition, which has considerable experience in stereoscopy over the past few years and was involved in the 3D-test screening of the England-Scotland game during 2008.

That event was for a private, invited audience. This time around, the paying public will have the chance to see what all the fuss over 3D is about. Outside-broadcast facilities at Twickenham are provided by SIS LIVE, the BBC’s regular contractor for the 6 Nations.

The coverage will use eight 3D camera systems: six Element Technica Quasar rigs (three mirrors, three side-by-sides), a 2D camera running through a JVC 3D converter for player close-ups’, and an integrated two-lens stereoscopic radio camera on a Steadicam.

A SIS LIVE OB unit on-site to provide production services will have three EVS XT[2] production servers configured in 3D for instant replays and a full 5.1 surround-sound mix.

The broadcast will be distributed in the Sensio 3D transmission format to cinemas, which will screen it using Real D technology to audiences wearing polarised glasses. Event producer and Inition Director Andy Millns notes that the production could be shown in any digital cinema with 3D capability.

Among the lessons learned from the 3D England-Scotland match two years ago were that directors had to rethink zooms and camera angles, while stereoscopic graphics were seen as necessary to give viewers what they would expect from an SD production.

Wurmsers, a specialist in sports outside broadcast and a regular contractor on the 6 Nations, is providing the 3D graphics. These are based on Chyron’s HyperX3 system, running with Lyric PRO, which features stereoscopic tools as standard. The Chyron Creative Services department has worked with Wurmsers to develop the graphics, which are intended to enhance the 3D look of the coverage.

Wurmsers Managing Director Jeremy Tidy says that, because the 6 Nations is a “very branded sport,” his team had to stay within “certain creative guidelines” but, while the look will be familiar, it is in a “very different environment.” He adds, “The genuine anticipated excitement created throughout the country for this groundbreaking event bodes well for the future of 3D productions of sport and many other live events.”

Millns believes that the 3D graphics and match statistics are among the major differences between this year’s 3D 6 Nations coverage and what was done in 2008. Other changes are “3D replays, more camera angles, more mirror rigs for close-ups, and a Steadicam,” along with the commercial edge of having paying customers in 40 cinemas. In general, he says, this will be “everything you would expect from a quality 2D sports production but in 3D.”

http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2010/02/05/english-rugby%E2%80%99s-6-nations-tournament-gets-hd-2d-3d-coverage/

Tags : evs