1 re:PLAY Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

JAN09
VOL 1 NO 6
RECAP OF THE INDUSTRY NEWS AND TECH REPORTS FROM WWW.SPORTSVIDEO.ORG 1DEC08–31DEC08
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame & league tech summit
PHOTO GALLERY starts on age 4.
SVGnews
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony Honors Nine
Industry Legends in NYC
A crowd of more than 385 sports-business professionals gathered
at the New York Hilton on Dec. 16 to celebrate the induction of
the second annual class into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Hosted by CBS Sports lead play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz, the
emotional evening honored the accomplishments of nine innovators in sports broadcasting.
Howard Katz, NFL SVP of broadcasting and media operations, kicked
off the evening by introducing longtime friend, legendary producer/
director and inductee, Don Ohlmeyer. One of the first producers of
Monday Night Football, Ohlmeyer also worked on three Olympic
Games and ABC’s Wide World of Sports, owned his own production
company, and ran NBC’s West Coast division, teaching the importance
of storytelling at every stop along the way.
Marvin Bader, who served as ABC Sports’ VP of Olympic
Operations, was also inducted. He revolutionized the way Olympic
broadcasts were organized from the 1960s through the 1980s,
overseeing the operations of 10 Olympiads and creating the
modern system of media accreditation.
Two sportscasters were inducted, including Vin Scully, who
has broadcast Dodger baseball games for 60 years and joins
Canon’s Larry Thorpe as the second inductee who is still working
professionally.
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Above: Sports networks and leagues continue to experiment with 3D sports
productions, moving 3D beyond gimmick status to a real-world revenue generator.
Attendees had a chance to see highlights from the Dec. 4 NFL Network 3D production courtesy of the NFL and 3ality Digital Systems as part of a panel discussion on
3D today and tomorrow. Pictured here (left to right) are: Stephen Raymond and
Anthony Bailey with ESPN, Steve Schklair of 3ality Digital Systems, Jerry Steinberg of
Fox Sports, Steve Hellmuth of the NBA, and Glenn Adamo of the NFL.
Legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy was also honored,
becoming the fourth sportscaster to be inducted into the Hall.
During his 40-year career, Gowdy worked for all of the Big Three
broadcast networks and is most remembered for being behind the
mic when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home-run record and the
Jets improbably won Super Bowl III, as well as being as the host of
The American Sportsman.
The technical/operations side of the business was represented
by two inductees. Bob Seiderman, who passed away 10 years ago
at the age of 50, revolutionized sports audio with new miking
techniques while working at CBS and Fox Sports. He was inducted
by Fox SVP of Field Operations Jerry Steinberg. Fred Aldous, Fox
Sports senior audio mixer and Seiderman’s protégé and close friend,
accepted the award on Seiderman’s behalf, alongside Seiderman’s
11-year-old daughter, Ashley.
The second was Charlie Steinberg, former president of Sony
Broadcast and head of Ampex, who was inducted for a long list of
technical contributions during a career that spanned the earliest
days of videotape recording to the development of HDTV.
League professionals were also represented with the induction
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industrynews
NASCAR Media Group
Awards Integration
Contract for HOF and New
Home to CEI
NASCAR Media Group has selected Communications Engineering Inc. (CEI) as the
integrator for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, to
open in Charlotte, NC, in December 2009.
The new facility will also be the home of
NASCAR Media Group’s technical operations
as well as a multimedia museum experience
that will give visitors a sense of NASCAR’s rich
and vibrant past.
“We chose CEI on the basis of a strong bid
and their experience building the Newseum
in Washington, DC,” says Jeff Lowe, NASCAR
Media Group, managing Director, media
and broadcast technologies.
Technical details are still being
completed, but NASCAR Media Group’s
entire asset- management system, up to 40
online edit suites, and 50 TB of local storage
plus a couple of hundred TBs of nearline
storage are in the plans. A 3G infrastructure
for 1080p production and distribution is
also part of the current plan, and cable in
the new facility will be pulled beginning in
March. — Ken Kerschbaumer
JAN09 VOL 1 NO 6
Paul Gallo Co-executive Director
Marty Porter Co-executive Director
Rob Payne Sponsor Development
Ken Kerschbaumer Editorial Director
Janice Brown RePLAY Managing Editor
Carolyn Braff SVGU Managing Editor
Dan Daley Audio Editor
Kevin Hilton SVG Europe Editor
Andrew Lippe Marketing Managerr
Riva Danzig Art Director
For contact information, visit
www.sportsvideo.org
re:Play is published monthly by the
Sports Video Group, 260 Fifth Avenue,
Ste. 600, New York, NY 10001
212-481-8140 • [email protected]
© 2009 Sports Video Group
Printed in the U.S.A
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SVGnews continued from page 1
of Val Pinchbeck, the National Football League’s VP of broadcasting. Former
Commissioner of the NFL Paul Tagliabue introduced Pinchbeck’s tribute video and
Pinchbeck’s sons, Val Jr. and James, accepted the award on behalf of their father.
Two incomparable directors were also inducted: the late Ted Nathanson, who
directed 13 of the first 26 Super Bowls and redefined Wimbledon coverage, and the
late ABC Sports’ Monday Night Football director Chet Forte.
For the final presentation of the evening, Ohlmeyer brought tears to every eye in
the room as he recounted Forte’s accomplishments in his 25 years with ABC Sports,
a career that was nearly overshadowed by personal mistakes. Nantz capped off the
ceremony by presenting the Forte family with a replica of the jersey that “Chet the Jet”
wore his senior year at Columbia University, when he was named college basketball’s
Player of the Year.
The event was sponsored by B&H, Thomson Grass Valley and Sony, with additional
sponsorship coming from Genesis Networks, Harris, Linear Acoustic, Move Networks,
NEP, Omneon and QuStream. Bexel, IMG Media, NewTek and Vizrt provided technical
support for the ceremony. — Carolyn Braff
Industry Gathers for SVG’s Third Annual
League Technology Summit
SVG’s third-annual League Technology Summit, held Dec. 16 at the New York Hilton
Hotel, hit another home run, attracting 547 sports-technology professionals to the
day-long series of panel discussions and tabletop exhibits. With a half-day Mobile Engineering Workshop kicking off the event on Monday and the evening Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony serving as a slam-dunk bookend on Tuesday night,
the League Technology Summit once again provided an ample forum for the most
pressing issues facing the sports-technology community.
Video and audio recordings of every panel, captured on Newtek’s Tricaster, will be
featured in the newly designed Members area of the SVG Website in early January.
The NASCAR community fittingly put the day in gear with a discussion on the
NASCAR Challenge. The behind-the-scenes panel, moderated by NASCAR Media
Group Director of Internal Operations Scott Rinehart, dove into issues of personnel
overlap, technical challenges, inclement weather, and the changing economy to get
to the heart of what makes a NASCAR show move.
Mobile trucks took center stage for the morning’s second panel, moderated by NEP
Broadcasting CEO Lou Borelli. Representatives from four major mobile-productiontruck companies discussed how equipment manufacturers can better meet the needs
of the changing mobile-production industry.
The last panel of the morning featured some of the most talented producers
and directors working in sports today. Major League Baseball International VP and
Executive Producer Russell Gabay led a lively discussion on all things front-bench–
related, from how preparations for a once-a-week show differ from those for an
every-other-day show, to how to build a U.S.-friendly broadcast from an international
feed. The panel featured NBC Sports producer Sam Flood, Fox Sports director Artie
Kempner, Yes Network/Fox Sports/Turner Sports director John Moore, NESN senior
coordinating director Michael Narracci, and ESPN VP of Event Operations Tim Scanlan.
During an afternoon demonstration and panel discussion on 3D HD, members
of the audience were treated to a presentation of highlights from the San Diego
Chargers-Oakland Raiders game shot in 3D HD on the NFL Network. An edited
svgSPONSORUPDATE
Sports Video Group is pleased to welcome IDX, 3ality Digital and NetTensity as
new corporate sponsors, and to announced that Akamai, Riedel and Motorola
have renewed their corporate sponsorships…SVG is also pleased to welcome back
VISTA Satellite Communications as a corporate sponsor and Inertia Unlimited
as a premiere sponsor.
January 2009
highlights package was presented as part of the panel discussion on the future of 3D
HD production. SVG Editorial Director Ken Kerschbaumer moderated a blue-ribbon
panel featuring NFL VP of Media Operations and Broadcasting Glenn Adamo, ESPN
VP of Emerging Technology Anthony Bailey, NBA VP of Operations and Technology
Steve Hellmuth, ESPN Coordinating Technical Manager Stephen Raymond, 3ality
Digital Systems CEO Steve Schklair, and Fox Sports SVP of Field Operations Jerry
Steinberg.
The final discussion of the day served as a look back, as members of the NBC
Olympics broadcasting team took the stage to discuss the challenges and triumphs
involved in producing the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. — Carolyn Braff
SVG and UCLA To Present SportsTechLA
The Sports Video Group will hold its first West Coast event, SportsTech LA, on Tuesday
Jan. 20 at the University of California at Los Angeles. SportsTechLA is a special half-day
networking and educational event that will showcase the Pac-10 Conference’s digital
game exchange system.
UCLA Video Operations Director Ken Norris, who developed the Pac-10 system,
has become one of the nation’s leading gurus in digital game exchange. Using the
Abilene network and a central server that he manages, Norris’s system ensures that all
Pac-10 member schools are able to share game tape online, both with other member
schools and with upcoming opponents from other conferences.
On Jan. 20, Norris will take the sports pro attendees through a virtual and a
walking tour of the system. He will also take part in a panel discussion on the system’s
implementation and success.
SportsTechLA begins at noon with a networking lunch in UCLA’s press room and
Hall of Fame, in the J.D. Morgan Center on the Westwood campus. The program will
also include panel discussions on 3D HD production and more.
SportsTechLA is a free event for all SVG members. Visit www.sportsvideo.org for
more information on the event and registration.
SVG, Sports Networks Launch Sports-Production
Safety Group To Streamline Best Practices
The Sports Video Group, alongside major sports networks CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox
Sports, and NBC Universal, has launched an industry initiative to improve and streamline best practices for safety-related issues, including fall protection, electrical safety,
and camera platform safety. The industry effort, working together under the auspices
of the Sports Production Safety Group (SPSG), made its official public debut at the
Sports Video Group Engineering Workshop on Dec. 15.
“The goal is to bring together previously disparate safety practices and documents
from different organizations and gain consensus with respect to different safety
issues,” says Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG editorial director. “We all have the same goal: to
make the sports-production workplace safer.”
This past summer and fall, the group formalized best practices related to Fall
Prevention. In the next few months, the group will work on building online resources
and training based on those practices.
collegenews
Broadcasters Ride Villanova’s Wavecam
A set of two aerial, robotic, mobile cameras tethered to an overhead trolley, Wavecam—an indoor version of the Skycam system—enables fans, coaches and players
to see the action from a whole new set of perspectives. Designed by Ed Dougherty, a
visiting assistant professor of engineering at Villanova University and a member of the
Emmy-winning team that designed the HD version of Skycam, the Wavecam system
consists of two cameras: one that runs the length of the court, along the sideline, and
one that runs the width of the court, along the baseline.
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industrynews
2009 NHL Winter Classic
Takes the Mound
For the third outdoor regular-season game
in NHL history, the league took on a unique
logistical challenge by holding the Winter
Classic at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, a baseball
venue not shaped to easily accommodate a
hockey rink.
“The rink splits the pitchers’ mound from
first to third,” explains NBC producer Sam
Flood. The 200- by 85-foot ice rink was driven
to Chicago from Mobile, AL, in preparation
for the New Year’s Day contest between
the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit
Red Wings. It sat 112 feet from home plate
and 288 feet from the center-field wall, so
NBC could utilize many of the same camera
positions used for baseball coverage.
“The cover camera is the high home
position for the main play-by-play camera,”
Flood explains. “The end-zone cameras
are essentially the first-base and third-base
platforms. And then we have scoreboard
cam, a high right-field position for the right
end-zone camera, and the same for left field.”
NBC used 25 cameras for the broad-cast,
some of which were split feeds from the CBC,
since the two networks shared equipment to
cover the game. F&F Productions provided
the mobile-unit support. NBC televised the
game and Verizon streamed the contest for
wireless users on its V Cast video service.
— Carolyn Braff
CBS Sports Taps Orad Tech
to Analyze Controversial
NFL Touchdown
On Dec. 14, a controversial touchdown catch
handed the Pittsburgh Steelers a win over
the Baltimore Ravens. For CBS Sports, which
broadcast the game, The NFL Today broadcast on December 21, provided a chance
to make sure that the catch was, indeed, a
catch. On short notice, CBS called in Orad’s
Motion Video Play (MVP) graphics platform
to help break down the play.
“There were several questions on the
play,” explains Shaun Dail, VP sales and
marketing for North America at Orad. “The
two questions that we wanted to resolve
were did the ball cross the plane of the
endzone, and secondly, did the receiver
have possession.”
The reverse pit-cam angle of the goal line
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PHOTO GALLERY
More than 575 industry executives
descended on the New York Hilton
Hotel on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16 for two days of
conferences, meetings and exhibits.
4
NBC Olympics concluded the formal panel presentations at the League
Technology Summit with an overview of the massive effort required
both technically and from a programming standpoint to deliver more
than 3,000 hours of Olympic coverage to viewers this past summer.
Pictured are (right to left): Dave Mazza, Terry Adams, Chip Adams and
Dan Hogan of the NBC Olympics team.
During the League Technology Summit, the mid-day session featuring
leading producers and directors of sports television was one of the many
highlights of the day. Pictured here (right to left) are Artie Kempner of
Fox Sports, Sam Flood of NBC Sports, Tim Brosnan of ESPN, and Michael
Narracci of New England Sports Network (NESN).
League Summit attendees had a chance to see the latest equipment
and product offerings from more than 35 SVG sponsors. Here NESN's
Michael Narracci (right) and Veronica Gibeault (far right) visit with RC
Gear's Andrew Heimbold (center)
(Left to right) SVG Editorial Director Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG
Chairman Ken Aagaard, and SVG Executive Directors Paul
Gallo and Marty Porter take a quick breath during one of the
few quiet moments at the end of a very busy day of conferences and exhibits and before the beginning of the Sports
Broadcasting HOF ceremony.
re:PLAY
January 2009
The induction of ABC and NBC Sports legendary producer Don Ohlmeyer
kicked off the 2008 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony. Inductee
Don Ohlmeyer (left) and CBS Sports President Sean McManus caught up
during the HOF welcome reception that preceded the ceremony.
PHOTO GALLERY
The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame reception
gave the 2008 inductees, their families, friends,
and industry associates, more than 400 attendees in all, a chance to share memories and
celebrate.
Geoff Mason pulled triple duty during the ceremony, introducing tribute
videos to ABC Sports legend Marvin Bader and Nathanson, and also
introducing former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Pictured here, Geoff
introduces Marvin Bader’s tribute video. Bader, who lives in Los Angeles,
could not attend the ceremony but accepted via videotape.
Curt Gowdy, Jr. accepted the HOF award for his late father, Curt Gowdy.
During his broadcasting career Curt Gowdy called everything from
Super Bowls to Rose Bowls to World Series games and classic moments
like Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record.
The induction of the late Ted Nathanson, acclaimed and beloved NBC
Sports director of Wimbledon and half of the first 26 Super Bowls, was an
emotional highlight of the evening. Here Edith Nathanson, Ted’s widow,
is recognized by attendees and Geoff Mason of ESPN, who introduced
Ted’s tribute video.
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PHOTO GALLERY
SportsNet New York’s Curt Gowdy, Jr (left), ESPN MLB producer Tim Brosnan
(center), and MLB International’s Russell Gabay had a chance to talk shop
during the HOF reception.
The late Val Pinchbeck, who played an integral role in making NFL football
a TV powerhouse, was the second NFL executive to be inducted into the
Hall, joining former commissioner Pete Rozelle. Paul Tagliabue (center)
presented the HOF award to Val’s two sons, James (left) and Val, Jr. (right).
For more than 60 years Vin Scully has broadcast Brooklyn and Los Angeles
Dodgers games for millions of fans. Those decades of impeccable sportscasting made Vin the fourth sportscaster to be in the Hall, joining Gowdy,
Howard Cosell, and Jim McKay. Scully accepted via videotape but Michael
Weisman (at podium), who worked with Vin at NBC Sports during national MLB telecasts, introduced Vin’s tribute video, narrated by Bob Costas
of NBC Sports and HBO Sports.
ABC Sports director Chet Forte redefined the nature of sports broadcasting by adding cameras to make sure Monday Night Football fans never
missed a play or reaction. Here Don Ohlmeyer, who worked closely with
Forte at ABC Sports, introduces Chet’s tribute video.
Steve Hellmuth of the NBA (right) with Canon’s Larry Thorpe (center) and
Sony’s Alec Shapiro (left). Thorpe was inducted into the HOF last year
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Above right: Chet Forte’s daughter, Jacqueline,
accepted the award on her late father’s behalf
in one of the evening’s most touching
moments. Following a tearful induction,
Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, and host of the Hall
of Fame ceremony, presented Jacqueline and her mother, Trish, with a
replica jersey from Columbia University where Forte was an all-American
basketball player in the late 1950s (where he beat out Wilt Chamberlin for
national player of the yearhonors). Above left: Trish and Jacqueline Forte
backstage following the ceremony with the Forte replica basketball jersey
and award.
January 2009
PHOTO GALLERY
The induction of the late Bob Seiderman, an audio guru at CBS Sports
and Fox Sports, responsible for innovations like micing the walls at
NASCAR races, placing microphones in bases at MLB games, and the
first Super Bowl in Surround Sound, was the first ever induction in the
technical operations category. His award was accepted by his 11-year
old daughter Ashley (pictured here) along with Jerry Steinberg (left) of
Fox Sports, Andi Ganz-Seiderman, Ashley, and Fred Aldous of Fox Sports
(right).
Sports Broadcasting HOF Chairman Ken Aagaard took to the stage to
introduce the tribute video for Charles A Steinberg. Steinberg, during his
30-plus year career at Ampex and Sony, was involved with and oversaw
some of the most important developments in sports technology. They
included the videotape recorder, slow-motion instant replay systems, still
store graphics, and HDTV.
Charlie Steinberg, former
Ampex CEO and Sony
President, backstage
following his induction into
the Sports Broadcasting
Hall of Fame.
Ted Nathanson’s children, Carla (second from left), Laura (second
from right), and Michael (far right) accepted their father’s award at
the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Edith Nathanson (center),
Ted’s widow, and Geoff Mason (left) of ESPN joined the children for a
photo after the presentation.
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Don Ohlmeyer (left)
and Howard Katz of
the NFLbackstage
following Don’s
induction into the
Sports Broadcasting
Hall of Fame.
Jim Nantz, lead play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports, once again hosted
the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The SVG and Sports Broadcasting
Hall of Fame wish to thank Jim and all of those who contributed their time
and expertise to make the 2008 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony
a fitting tribute to those who have helped make the sports broadcasting
industry what it is today
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showed that the ball did cross the plane of
the end zone, but not whether the receiver
had full control as it did. An isolated camera
on the receiver, Santonio Holmes, showed
that he clearly had possession, but the angle
was not conclusive as to whether or not he
had crossed the plane.
Dail’s team first worked with an overview
of the play, an all-22 camera shot. In that
clip, Orad operators drew two lines on the
field, the first showing the arc of the ball to
the receiver, and the second compensating
for the angle of the camera to illustrate the
position of the ball at the point it reached
Holmes’ hands—a few inches inside the
plane of the end zone. — Carolyn Braff
MLB Network Makes First
Pitch on New Year’s Day
To get the new MLB Network facility in
Secaucus, NJ up-and-running by Jan. 1,
2009, Mark Haden, MLB Network, VP, engineering and IT, led a team through a
fast-paced overhaul of the former MSNBC
complex. The facility, now home to the
network and MLB Productions, includes
two large studios, two control rooms, and
has room for additional expansion.
The heart of the facility is a Thomson
Grass Valley K2 server SAN system that will
record incoming feeds of MLB games and
related events. Approximately 25 Thomson
Grass Valley Aurora HD editing systems
with Aurora Browse will also be installed.
The workstations, tied into an AP ENPS
newsroom system for production and
scripting, will allow users to tap into the SAN
and access both proxy and high-res nearline
storage and an archive that will be based
on LTO4 drives. MLB Productions will use 13
Apple Final Cut Pro systems for long-form
content creation.
Before next season some additional
developments, like special “Ballpark
Cams” at each MLB stadium and a new
system from HTN that connects each
stadium to each other and the MLB
Network facility via terrestrial systems will
also come online. — Ken Kerschbaumer
NY Jets Huddle Up With
Panasonic P2 HD Format
The New York Jets are the latest NFL team to
embrace the Panasonic P2 HD format, using
two AJ-HPX3000 native 1080p one-piece
camcorders, along with P2 drives and media
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A 10-foot-wide trolley houses the cameras’ motors and traverses the venue on
DuraTech cables suspended in the rafters. Each camera hangs down from the trolley
on thin, durable fiber cables like a marionette. At the heart of the camera stabilization
is a Stewart platform, a parallel manipulator platform that he first worked with in
designing a flight simulator for NASA.
Having the system permanently in place in a university venue allows it to be
leased out for various uses—as Villanova did when Chris Matthews’ Hardball tour
came through town and used the system to televise a John McCain appearance on
MSNBC. Just as important, having the trolley visible but not intrusive turns it into a
flying billboard, which Villanova has taken advantage of by selling the space to Nike.
— Carolyn Braff
ESPNU Means More College Basketball In HD
During the college basketball season, ESPN will air more than 1,100 men’s games and
nearly 150 women’s games, with a growing percentage in high-definition, thanks to
the launch of ESPNU HD in August. The majority of ESPNU HD’s games will be shown
as part of the larger conference packages on Wednesdays and Saturdays, featuring the
Big East, ACC and Big 12.
Lyon Video and Token Creek are ESPN’s biggest vendors to support shows for
ESPNU, ESPN Regional Television and syndication properties. With production support
in place, ESPN’s networks can focus on game-day production, the details of which vary
depending on the broadcast network.
“On ESPNU, we generally have four cameras on 90% of our games,” says Christopher
Farrow, coordinating producer for ESPNU and ESPN Regional Television’s collegebasketball productions. “We give our directors the freedom to make choices with their
camera angles, and oftentimes, they will move things around.”
On a recent ESPNU broadcast, rather than the traditional two-high-cameras, twolow-cameras setup, the director used three handhelds, placing one under each basket
and one at midcourt. The fourth camera was the traditional high view.
“When you spread your cameras out like that, it makes it feel like it’s a five- or sixcamera show,” Farrow explains. “We’ve given our directors the latitude to do that. We
just tell them, if you’re going to take your camera 2, the high tight camera, and move it
somewhere else, make sure you run a second video line up to camera 1 as a backup.”
— Carolyn Braff
Fox Sports, Sony, 3ality Deliver 3D BCS
Championship Game to 80 Theaters
College-football fans entered the third dimension on Jan. 8 when Fox Sports, Sony Broadcast,
and 3ality Digital teamed up to deliver the college-football Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in 3D HD live to 80 theaters across the country.
The game was shot using 3ality Digital’s image-capture technology and transmitted
live via Cinedigm’s CineLive satellite distribution network from Dolphin Stadium in
Miami to an event sponsored by Sony in the Paris Hotel and Casino’s RealD-equipped
Theatre des Arts in Las Vegas, where more than 1,200 invited guests viewed the game
live in 3D during the annual Consumer Electronics Show.
For the broadcast, 3ality Digital used Sony HD cameras specially modified for
stereoscopic production and transmission of the game. The 3ality Digital imagecapture systems integrated with existing broadcast equipment for pixel-perfect 3D
imagery, and its image-processing software enabled accurate 3D image transmission
through existing satellite systems, the company said. The feed was then transferred
to the Cinedigm satellite network that broadcast the signal nationally to Cinedigmenabled theaters. In the theater, RealD’s 3D stereoscopic Cinema System enabled the
audience to view the game in 3D. — Ken Kerschbaumer
January 2009
Alpha, GamePlan Join Forces for 360º Solution
For video directors in college athletic departments, choosing a hardware partner is
hard enough, without having to ensure that the chosen hardware will work with existing—or new—software. With that challenge in mind, hardware integrator Alpha
Video has teamed up with software provider GamePlan to offer what the companies
are calling the 360º Solution, ensuring that hardware and software components of the
fully integrated video system work together.
“To date, there’s been a very limited number of places people can turn to get
turnkey solutions to coaching-video and facility needs,” explains Jeffrey Volk, director
of Alpha Video Sports & Entertainment Group.
“We’ve heard from the market that what people are looking for is a platform,” adds
GamePlan CEO Dave Glover. “That platform would include hardware and software that
would be integrated and supported for all of the teams, sports information directors, training
room, and any place else where they need to utilize technology in the athletic environment.”
The 360º Solution covers all multimedia needs for an athletic department,
including television production, Web and camera systems, digital signage, and
coaching software. The solution makes it easier not only for sports-specific staff to
do their jobs but also for the entire athletic department to work together.
— Carolyn Braff
CSB Trains Students for Real Work, Right Now
With 26 campuses across the country, all boasting industry-standard TV equipment,
the CSB School of Broadcasting prides itself on graduating students ready to begin
contributing on their very first day on the job.
Each of CSB School’s 26 campuses host functional TV and radio studios so, in addition
to getting hands-on training, the students effectively get on-the-job training, working to
program those studios.
“We really train for versatility,” explains Eric Wholley, VP, marketing, for the CSB School.
“We train you to fit virtually any entry-level role in any entry-level organization. We’ve
got people at MLB.com, at old-fashioned radio stations, and everywhere in between.”
To ensure that the gear students are learning on is up to date, CSB has a series of national
arrangements with equipment and software providers. Among other elements, each station
is equipped with Panasonic HD P2 field cameras, Sony studio cameras with Fujinon lenses,
Avid, Final Cut Pro, and a full control room with video switcher, character generator, audio
mixer, monitors, and teleprompter. — Carolyn Braff
SVGeuropeROUNDUP
Up Creek, No Paddle: ITV Dumps Boat Race
The Boat Race, an annual clash in the UK between Oxford and Cambridge, has hit some
rough water following ITV’s decision not to renew its contract for coverage. The UK commercial broadcaster has been under financial pressure over the past year and has spent its
financial resources building its football offerings, so the March 29 race—the 155th meeting
between the two universities—will be the last broadcast on ITV, which has held the rights
since 2004.
Prior to ‘04, the event had been a key part of the BBC’s sports schedule, but the
organizers had wanted to increase sponsorship and commercial opportunities
and so entered into discussions with ITV. ITV picked up its biggest-ever audience
for the Boat Race last year, with 7.6 million, but it is an expensive and difficult
event to cover, and the broadcaster is now concentrating its sports resources on
football.
Coverage of the 2008 race involved several facilities companies—notably,
O21 Television, Camera Corps, and Omni TV—plus a lot of hardware. There were
46 cameras in total: 12 for presentation, 25 on the river bank, seven on boats and
two in helicopters. Five OB vehicles were used, supported by five BT links trucks. All
radio cameras were fed directly to the OB unit at the start as ASI streams using dark
fiber, with everything connected by approximately 60km of cable. Power came from
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and a DVCPRO HD VTR at a new postproduction facility at the Jets’ Florham Park, NJ,
headquarters and training center.
“Right now, we’re shooting HD content
that will be archived when our new
postproduction house is built in 2009,” says
Rich Gentile, New York Jets senior director of
broadcasting/multimedia production. “We
want to have HD footage already in hand, so
we’re acquiring footage from games, player
appearances, and other events.”
Gentile is well-acquainted with the
HPX3000, having been involved in the
purchase of several of the cameras for the
Philadelphia Eagles Television Network,
his employer prior to the Jets. “Then and
now,” he says, “I selected the HPX3000
based on its master-quality HD imaging,
its versatility with a range of shooting
styles, whether for games, training camp,
interviews, events, closed sets, and
commercials, and its solid-state all-around
ruggedness.” — Ken Kerschbaumer
HD Need Fuels New
Facility for SPEED
Racing fans received an all-HD gift from
SPEED in early January when the network
officially fired up its new all-HD facility and
studios in Charlotte, NC. The 77,000-sq.-ft.
home will feature two large studios, an insert stage and an abundance of HD equipment that will make the studio portion of
SPEED’s programming as sharp and shiny
as all-HD field productions.
The heart of the new plant is an Evertz
router that allows 125 Dalet heavy client
workstations and 12 Apple Final Cut
systems (six for craft editing and six in a
bullpen-style setup) to tap into an Omneon
storage system with 40 ingest ports.
The two stages measure 60 x 60 feet
and 60 x 40 feet, respectively, and feature
11 Ikegami HD cameras with Fujinon
lenses. They will be operated via two
HD control rooms, each featuring a Sony
MVS8000 production switcher, Chyron
graphics and a Calrec Omega console.
— Ken Kerschbaumer
IMG Reorganizes Digital
Media Unit
IMG’s Digital Media Unit has ceased operation as a separate entity and will be
realigned into other IMG business units,
a move that will result in the layoff of
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industrynews
continued from page 9
approximately 80 Digital Media staffers.
“This is in no way a retreat from the digital
business,” says IMG spokesman Jim Gallagher. “It is a plan to enlarge and improve
our digital offerings.”
Under the transition plan, Oliver Gers,
IMG’s head of Digital Media, will stay on
board through January and assist with the
transition. Donna North, IMG SVP and head
of EMEA Digital, will leave IMG.
IMG’s digital production business will be
integrated into the Sports Media Production
business. IMG’s digital-content-creation
business will be tied to the respective
content rightsholder within IMG, and the
IMG Website services will still support
clients, although a third-party technology
partner will take over delivery of those
sites. David Shield, IMG Media, SVP, director
of engineering and technology, will assist
in finding that partner and managing the
relationship. — Ken Kerschbaumer
DirecTV's NASCAR
HOTPASS Goes Cold
DirecTV’s NASCAR HOTPASS subscription
service has gone cold, and DirecTV has
decided to discontinue the service that
gave NASCAR fans a chance to watch entire races from the in-car perspective and
more via 10 TV channels of content.
Both organizations are investigating a
new free service for the 2009 season, but,
at this time, it appears that DirecTV will
no longer rent three production vehicles
to build the product in the compound.
The core of the DirecTV production was
a truck that had separate production
pods allowing personnel to sit and
produce each channel’s in-car and audio
coverage. Last year, the service made the
leap to HD. — Ken Kerschbaumer
Texas HS Football Gets
HD Treatment
The UIL Class 5A Texas high school football state championship games from Reliant Stadium in Houston on Dec. 20 were
televised in high-definition on Fox Sports
Southwest and Fox Sports Houston,
marking the first-time ever the regional
sports networks have shown a Texas high
school event in HD.
Reliant’s infrastructure made going HD
easier than working at a smaller high school
stadium. “We don’t produce the Texas high
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SVGeuropeROUNDUP
five twin-set generators, and more than 190 technical staffers put the broadcast
together.
TV coverage of the Boat Race is no longer a “crown jewels” event, so it is open for
satellite and cable broadcasters to bid for the rights, but the organizers are said to be
keen to keep it on a terrestrial channel to get the maximum audience possible.
— Kevin Hilton
World Darts Championship Scores HD Bullseye
Large men in loud shirts, cheered on excessively by over-enthusiastic family
and supporters, took over Alexandra Palace in north London for the World Darts
Championship. Every drop of sweat, every dart hitting home, and all expressions
of victory and defeat was captured in HD on Sky Sports, supported by a new highmotion camera and the first outing of what is claimed to be the biggest OB truck
in Europe.
This was the first time Sky has broadcast the World Darts Championship in HD,
and it used a wide range of technology to capture the action. The Flight Cam 1000
is a super-slow-motion camera that records at 1,000 frames per second. It was
positioned at the side of the stage to show players taking their shots and where
the darts land. A spokeswoman for Sky Sports said viewers would be able to see
players’ muscles moving as they let a dart fly and chalk coming out of the board
as hits its mark.
Facilities for the broadcast were provided by Arena Television, using OB7 as the
main control scanner and VT6, which went on the road in the past few weeks. The new
HD truck is thought to be the biggest of its kind in Europe, being a 17.5-meter-long
articulated vehicle with a single extra-width expanding side. It houses 12 videotape
machines and 12 LSMs, with two edit suites. As OB7 is roughly the same size and can
accommodate up to 12 VTRs (HDCAM, DigiBeta, or LSMs), the scale of the live darts
production becomes clear.
VT6 is the third new vehicle that Arena has brought into operation this year,
following the double-expander OB10 and OB12, a rigid-axle truck intended for events
where space is limited or access restricted. — Kevin Hilton
Sky Sports Demos 3D in Boxing, Football, Rugby
The move towards 3D among sports broadcasters is gaining momentum in Europe,
with Sky Sports showing examples of major sporting events shot stereoscopically.
These events included boxer Ricky Hatton’s most recent fight, the Champions League
football match between Liverpool and Marseille and New Zealand’s drubbing of England in international rugby competition.
A mirror rig was used to shoot the footage, which was shown on a 3D screen
using a standard Sky HD set-top box. A spokesman for Sky Sports says this showed
the receivers are “future-proof” and subscribers would need only to buy a new TV set
to receive 3D pictures.
Production and development for the 3D tests was handled in-house by Sky. The
spokesman says there is as yet no commercial deadline for fuller services using the
technology. — Kevin Hilton
London Gets Into Sporting Mood With Sports
Broadcast Europe Conference
Each sporting year gives an indication how events will be covered in the future, but 2008 provided more technological clues about directions than others. That was a major conclusion of
the Sports Broadcast Europe conference, held in London on Dec. 9.
The Beijing Olympics and the European Football Championships in Austria and
Switzerland built on the work done in high-definition and 5.1 surround sound, but,
in a keynote address exploring future developments in sports-broadcast technology,
January 2009
Peter Angell, director of production and programming for Host Broadcast Services
(HBS), noted the relative lack of progress in general terms. “We’re seeing a commitment
to HD from consumer-electronics and professional manufacturers, but the bit missing
is broadcast,” he said. “Why haven’t broadcasters taken the opportunity offered by HD
more than they have?”
Angell views 3D as a viable broadcast tool, but, right now, he says, it is an
“out-of-home” experience, with people going to a theatre or cinema to watch
an event. “3D Blu-ray will give display manufacturers a reason to make suitable
products, which will bring it into the home,” he observed. “But we need the right
model to monetize the technology. And no one has written the manual on 3D
yet anyway.”
Two people who could contribute to such a document are Duncan Humphreys,
director of Can Communicate, and Andy Millns, director of Inition, who worked
on the BBC’s 3D rugby test transmission. Humphreys commented that all major
broadcasters were trying 3D and that the display side was getting there, with
Samsung selling a screen for under £1000. He added that 3D needs a “grunt camera
rig” if it is to become mainstream.
industrynews continued from page 10
Portugese Sport TV Upgrades With Quantel
The marriage of Front Porch Digital and SAMMA Systems has resulted
in the first new product: DIVAsolo, which
the companies are calling “the world’s
first all-in-one path for migrating content
from legacy videotape to high-density
data tape.” DIVAsolo consolidates three
technologies, SAMMA Solo, DIVArchive
and DIVAdirector into a reliable, scalable
and cost-effective system for migrating
archives of all sizes…Front Porch Digital
has also collaborated with Omneon
to deliver an integrated system that
combines the two companies’ flagship
products for active storage and content
management. The Omneon MediaGrid
active storage system and the Front Porch
Digital DIVArchive content storage management system have now been tested
together and implemented with broadcasters worldwide…Panasonic has announced the availability of VariCam 3700
(AJ-HPX3700), the company’s solid-state
P2 HD camcorder, and the 64GB P2 solidstate memory card (AJ-P2C064), providing
expanded recording capacity for the company’s line of P2 and P2 HD camcorders
and workflow products…Panasonic has
also developed a wide range of scene files
for its P2 HD camcorder line to expand users’ shooting capabilities. The scene files
cover an array of creative “looks” that can
be downloaded at www.panasonic.com/
scenefiles…Apple’s new Final Cut Pro
version 6.0.5 software now incorporates
support for the professional PH recording
mode offered in Panasonic’s AG-HMC150
handheld AVCCAM camcorder. The enhanced PH recording mode is exclusive to
the AVCCAM HMC150.
Portuguese sports broadcaster Sport TV is upgrading its facilities to high-definition
and has ordered a Quantel Enterprise sQ server as part of the project. Transmitting
four premium channels, three over cable, DTH and IPTV in Portugal, and a further DTH
service for sub-Saharan Africa, Sport TV is embarking on the first phase of a transition
to native HD production.
News at Sport TV is already prepared on a SD Enterprise sQ system, and the new
HD installation will include a four-port sQ 800 server working with two eQ effectsediting workstations. The plan is for all HD programs and promos to be loaded into
the new sQ for editing.
“This is the first step of the planned migration of all our production facilities to HD,
in this case made easy by the fact that we can keep the existing Quantel workflow and
editing tools,” comments TV Sport Technical and Operations Director José Mourão.
— Kevin Hilton
audionews
De La Hoya Fight Packs Audio Punch
When the world watched Manny Pacquiao win by TKO in an eight-round hammering
of Oscar De La Hoya on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, they got as much of an earful as an eyeful.
“The best moment of the fight for me was just before they called [the TKO],” says
Greg Bellotte, who mixed the bout for SkySports from feeds coming in from host
broadcaster HBO’s truck next door. “The referee came over to De La Hoya and told him
he had better start defending himself or he’d call the fight [for Pacquiao]. Moments
later, just after the ninth-round bell, he did exactly that. I’m not sure what they heard
on HBO, but we caught it loud and clear and the director was thrilled.”
The stereo mix that went to SkySports’ U.K. audience had lots of sounds, thanks to
the NCP 10 production truck with a Calrec Alpha console with Bluefin. Keeping the
roaring crowd and an equally loud PA out of the mix, using a combination of adroit
fader moves and subtractive EQ, was a challenge. But the reward was two pairs of very
distinct-sounding gloves.
Bellotte had a lot of sources to work with, as many as 15, he estimates, including
four Sennheiser 416 microphones hung from the lighting grid and angled in towards
the ring, two more 416s on fishpoles that followed the action back to the fighters’
corners, and Sennheiser MKH70 shotguns on two handheld cameras that were on
platforms even with the ring’s height. A pair of E-V 635 dynamic microphones was
placed near one of the high cameras to pick up crowd FX. The referee was wearing
a Sennheiser SK50 wireless lavalier package, the source of Bellotte’s inside scoop that
seemed to foretell the outcome of the bout. —Dan Daley
WWW.SPORTSVIDEO.ORG
school games at the level of a Big 12 game,”
says Fox Sports Southwest Senior Executive
Producer Mike Anastassiou, “but we use
seven cameras and a full complement of
networked EVS servers, Chyron HyperX
graphics, and a Fox Box insert.”
Because the two games were played
back to back at Reliant on Dec. 20, the
network made use of the dual-feed
capabilities of the Mobile TV Group truck.
Half the truck was used for game production
and half for High School Sports Live, which
recapped the first game and previewed the
second. — Ken Kerschbaumer
SVGPRODUCTS
re:PLAY 11
the Advisory Board
CHAIRMAN
Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports, EVP Operations and
Production Services
Members
Adam Acone, NHL, VP, Broadcasting and
Programming
When it comes to technology,
sports television leads the way
We’re proud to represent those professionals who enrich the fan’s
experience, break new barriers, and establish new standards for all
forms of live television, mobile and broadband entertainment.
SVG’s advocacy, communication, education and market
development activities are made possible by the following
sponsors:
platinum sponsors
Glenn Adamo, NFL VP, Media Operations and
Broadcasting
Peter Angell, Infront Sports and Media, Production
& Programming Division Director
Chuck Blazer, FIFA Marketing and TV, Director
David Catzel, Industry Consultant
Joe Cohen, HTN, Chairman and CEO
Don Colantonio, ESPN, Senior Director, Original
Entertainment-Media Packaging
Preston Davis, ABC, President, Broadcast
Operations and Engineering
Jim DeFillipis, Fox Technology Group, SVP,
Television Engineering
Ed Delaney, YES, Network VP, Operations
Russell Gabay, Major League Baseball International,
VP and Executive Producer
Jerry Gepner, L5 Media Services, President
Steve Gorsuch, USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center,
Director of Broadcast Operations
Steve Hellmuth, NBA, EVP Operations and
Technology
Ardell Hill, Media General, SVP Broadcast
APPLE
Operations
Robert D. Jordan, New York Jets, VP Design &
Construction
John Kvatek, University of Central Florida Athletics
Association, Director of Video Services
John Leland, IMG Media, Senior Director, Video
Operations
Michael Meehan, NBC Sports, VP
André Mendes, Special Olympics Global
Information Officer
Ken Norris, UCLA, Director of Video Operations
PREMIER SPONSORS
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Electronics • Linear Acoustic • NewTek • Omneon Video Networks • Ross Video
• RC Gear • Salzbrenner Stagetec • SES Americom • Show Partners
• Studer • Wohler
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• Audio-Technica • B&H Photo/Video • Chyron • Clyne Media • Cobalt Digital
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Television • Mobile TV Group • NCP • RTM • Token Creek • Total RF • UpLit
www. sportsvideo. org
Chuck Pagano, ESPN, CTO
Del Parks, Sinclair Broadcast Group, VP of
Engineering and Operations
Patty Power, CBS College Sports Network, SVP of
Operations
Paul Puccio, Industry Consultant
Russell Quy, IMG Media, VP and Executive Producer
Scott Rinehart, NASCAR Media Group, Director of
Internal Operations
Mike Rokosa, NBA, VP of Engineering
Bob Ross, CBS, SVP East Coast Operations
Rich Routman, Collegiate Images, Director of Sales
and Business Development
Tom Sahara, Turner Sports, Senior Director, IT and
Remote Operations
Chuck Scoggins, PGA Tour Productions, VP,
Operations
Bruce Shapiro, Speed, Coordinating Technical
Producer
Jack Simmons, Fox Sports, SVP, Production
Don Sperling, New York Giants Entertainment, VP,
Executive Producer
Jerry Steinberg, Fox Sports, SVP, Field Operations
Ernie Watts, Turner Studios, Senior Director,
Technical Ops, Live Events
Richard Wolf, ABC, SVP, Telecommunications &
Network Origination Services
Dave Zur, Altitude Sports & Entertainment, VP
Operations