monitors, ChyronHego Mosaic XL efX graphics generators, and Snell Alchemist standards converters to bring European 1080i/50hz video into the North American 1080i/60hz realm. Video infrastructure will be based on Miranda, including Kaleido K2 multi-image processors. “All of the IBC was wired and integrated by Sony’s team of veteran engineers and
be a mix of Sony’s new PMW-400 and PWF-800 XDCAM 4:2:2 Long GOP camcorders outfitted with Canon 22x1 and 14x1 (wide angle) ENG lens systems. On the field of play, there will be also a number of 86x and 100x Canon lenses.”
In the 4K arena, the network intends to use the same For- A/Evertz Dreamcatcher 4K replay system that it employed
SOCHI NEWS
NTV Plus Selects Grass Valley Grass Valley will provide Russian satellite broadcaster NTV Plus with several of its live production solutions for the Sochi Games. Grass will supply a K2 Summit production client with a K2 Storage Area Network, GV Stratus nonlinear media production tools with Edius editing capabilities, and a K2 Dyno S Replay Controller. The collaboration was completed via Grass Valley’s Russian partner OKNO TV, alongside System Integrator PTS.
SRG SSR Using Net Insight
Switzerland’s national public broadcaster SRG SSR is building a new dedicated contribution network for the Sochi Olympics and the Zurich 2014 European Athletics Championships. The network is based on the Net Insight Nimbra 600 series and is fully redundant, offering audio and compressed video services.
Leader, Phabrix Testing NBC’s control room a few weeks before Opening Ceremonies
installers,” said Mazza. NBC will once again produce
the Olympics in 5.1 surround sound, which—like HD—has become a de facto standard. To do this, they will employ two 72- fader Calrec Artemis Shine audio consoles plus three smaller Artemis Beam consoles; namely a 40 fader unit and two 24 fader units. The mix will be enhanced using Linear Acoustics UpMax v4 Surround Sound Processors. Signal routing will be handled via PESA routing systems, plus Cisco routing and networking, Videoscape cloud- based IPTV and DVR systems. Web content will be packaged using iStreamPlanet encoding and Microsoft’s Windows Azure Media Services. In Sochi, NBC will have video
eyes everywhere: “We will have around 150 cameras, compared to the host broadcaster’s [Olympic Broadcast Services] 450 cameras,” said Chip Adams, NBC Olympics vice president of venue engineering. “At the IBC and the venues, we’ll mainly be using Sony HDC-2500 HD cameras. Our ENG cameras will
for the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup series. This system will allow NBC to maximize the resolution of digitally zoomed shots (i.e. 1080i or better) during its ice hockey coverage. As well, “we will have two
camera people using Sony F55 CineAlta 4K camcorders,” said Mazza. “Their 4K content will be sent to Denver and also downconverted to HD for the broadcast. They will also be shooting 4K footage in and around the Games, which will be sent back to Comcast in Denver and transmitted across the Comcast network to a few 4K demo sites.”
A total of 45 Avid Media Composer Edit Seats, aided by ISIS storage, and Interplay will handle editing duties. File-based movement will be handled by NBC’s Avid Media Asset Management system, ingesting video from 40 channels of Harmonic Media Decks, plus 300TB Media Grid storage pools located in Sochi and Stamford’s Highlights Factory production unit. Meanwhile, all truck replays and live playback video will be
Leader LV5770 multi-monitor test instruments have been chosen to support live HD broadcasting from Sochi. These 55 units will be used during pre-transmission alignment of cameras and other links in the content production chain to ensure high signal quality is maintained throughout the program of events. Also being supplied are 30 Phabrix SSE handheld video test signal generator, analyser and monitor units.
Channel One Live Streaming
Elemental Live systems will be used by Channel One in Russia to stream the Sochi 2014 Olympics. In a system provided by Open Technologies, Elemental systems will process nine channels of Channel One Olympics programming for delivery of high-quality video over IP networks to multiple devices. Channel One is the primary content distributor for the host country of the Olympics. During the Sochi Games, solutions from Elemental will stream Channel One live and time-shifted TV content in 12 Adobe HDS H.264 profiles to set-top box, PC, iPhone, Android, tablet and smart TV devices.
recorded using 60 EVS XT2/XT3 HD video servers, and 40 IP Directors. “The Avids, Harmonics, EVS and even the SpectraLogic/SGL Tape Archive in Stamford can all share files back and forth seamlessly,” Mazza said. To add a sense of difference to its Sochi coverage, NBC will make a number of virtual enhancements in concert or collaboration with host broadcaster OBS. For instance, “the competitors will be wearing GPS transceivers that will allow us to capture and broadcast a new range of real- time data,” said Michael Sheehan, NBC Olympics’ coordinating director of production. “During bobsled runs, for instance, we will be able to capture the speed and G-force of the sled being shown on air, and detect when the brakes have been applied. There is a plethora of other virtual innovations as well, but they are too numerous to mention.” Preparing for the Sochi
////////////////10 TV Technology Asia-Pacific I February-March 2014
Games in less than 18 months has been one of NBC’s major challenges. Making things happen in Sochi has been the other.
“Getting things running here
has been relatively straightforward, except for the unknown animal who chewed through one of our 1,500-meter stretches of fibre-optic cable during a recent thaw,” said Adams. “But moving around the Olympics site can be a problem if the roads are clogged with snow—and that could happen during the Games. That being said, the cluster of sites—both city and mountain—are arguably the most convenient in Winter Games history.” Nevertheless, NBC is primed
to produce the most varied multi-platform Olympics coverage of its career. “We’ve learned what people like not just on TV, but on their tablets and smartphones,” Mazza said. “In terms of content and the equipment needed to produce it, we’re ready.” ///
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