Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Hybrid Aims To Cut Costs for Live Sports with Automated Sport Track System

14/06/2013

In a world of ever expanding live sports content, producers are always looking to cut costs and reduce on-site manpower at remote productions, while maintaining the same high level of production value. With that in mind, France-based Hybrid has unveiled Sport Track, a technology that enables robotic cameras to automatically follow live game action by sending positional tracking data from a manned master camera to unmanned slave cameras so that they can follow the game's movement.

The problem you usually encounter when you try to automate cameras in the sports field is that the action is faster than the human controlling the robotic controller, says Hybrid CEO Olivier Cohen. So your problem is obvious: you don't have the reaction time to follow the game with an operator behind it. The action is always moving, and you don't know what is going to happen next unlike with a talk show or news. This makes that problem a non-issue.

Aimed squarely at sports like soccer and football, which require a large camera complement, Sport Track relies on a manned Cartoni motion-tracking pan/tilt/zoom/focus (PTZF) camera as the master. It is networked to a Hybrid Titanium robotic camera head. Based on the newly developed software and drivers from Hybrid, all the camera data (position, angle, distance, speed) are optically tracked, encoded, and transmitted by the Cartoni camera to the Titanium robotic head. These coordinates tell the slave camera head (Titanium) how and where to move to follow the game action precisely.

You need to get a zone of action that can be a triangle with two cameramen, for example, says Cohen. You create a triangle, and that will be your zone. Once you know exactly the display of the field and calibrate it, then you can have a triangulation around the field that will allow you to know exactly where the zone of action is. That is coming from an encoded camera head.

According to Cohen, there is no limit to the total number of slave cameras that can be used, opening up the potential for a single camera operator (or at least a handful) to be used for an entire production with some limitations, of course.

You can have as many automated cameras as you wish; there is no limit on this, he says. You could actually produce an entire game with one operator. There would be some limitations. Your operator would have to look in the same direction all the time of where the game action is taking place. He cannot focus on one [isolated] player, but, besides that, yes, it would be possible.

Sport Track came about as a result of Hybrid's work with Host Broadcast Systems (HBS), which produces the world feed for the FIFA World Cup, as well as other major global sports events. HBS approached Hybrid, looking for an automated camera system that would allow more coverage cameras at a lesser cost.

HBS brought us the idea of doing it and did some tests, says Cohen. They wanted to offer more for a cheaper price. We came along with the idea of having triangulation with encoded camera heads from Cartoni. Then we built an interface in order to listen to their tracking data. They've been very happy with it.

The Sport Track system is also capable of enhancing graphics using the same optical-tracking interface. Hybrid offers graphics engines and applications that would allow a producer to insert virtual graphics onto the field of play.

You can not only reduce camera operation but also easily enrich content with graphics. We could put our [graphics] engine behind it and create a complete, end-to-end solution, which will allow a sports-video producer to produce content at a small fraction of the cost, plus the integration of graphics onto the field.

While Sport Track is initially targeting soccer and football coverage, Cohen sees the potential for networks to adopt it for a wide variety of sports in the future.

We have had [potential clients] that say this system would be perfect for colleges, he says. It would also be good for hockey games, where the [puck] is very small and the action is very quick so it is difficult to find where the puck is. This is not a small thing. I really think it can be a revolution within sports coverage.
LINK: http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2013/06/14/hybrid-aims-to-cut-costs-f...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

04/08/2024

Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

15/05/2024

UKTV Ventures partners with The Farewell Guide in 1million airtime-for-equity deal

12th March 2024 - Award-winning broadcaster UKTV has today announced it has inve...

15/05/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Jianjie Lin, the Writer-Director Behind Brief History of a Family

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

15/05/2024

De viktigaste insikterna frn Spotifys rliga Loud & Clear-rapport

Med sin rliga royaltyrapport Loud & Clear kar Spotify transparensen i musikindustrin, s att artister, l tskrivare, fans och hela musikbranschen f r en st rre...

15/05/2024

Chegaram as ltimas estatsticas: Artistas brasileiros geraram mais receita e alcanaram mais fs no Spotify - basta perguntar Anitta

Nos ltimos 10 a 15 anos, a mudan a para o streaming de udio transformou comple...

15/05/2024

The Latest Stats Are In: Brazilian Artists Generated More Revenue and Reached More Fans on Spotify-Just Ask Anitta

Over the last 10-15 years, the move toward streaming audio has completely transf...

15/05/2024

Celebrating 80 years of success in Morganton

On May 15th, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the SGL Carbon site in Morganton, North Carolina. The entire SGL Morganton family came together to celebrate t...

15/05/2024

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilingual content offerings to assist migrants

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilin...

15/05/2024

ST Engineering iDirect's SKYflow Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of The Year Award

The pioneering satellite OTT solution clinched the Hardware Infrastructure award...

15/05/2024

L3Harris CEO to Present at Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference

MELBOURNE, Fla., May 15, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik will present at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions C...

15/05/2024

Netflix to Stream Live Christmas Day NFL Games

In a major example of how large streaming services are successfully battling for lucrative sports rights, Netflix has announced that it has secured global right...

15/05/2024

NAB Show: Creative Lens on Live Sports

LAS VEGAS The premise of the 2024 NAB Shows Creative Lens on Live Sports: Next Gen Video Production and Fan Experiences session was very simple to understand if...

15/05/2024

ATEME Integrates Advanced HDR by Technicolor into TITAN Encoders

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. Encoder specialist ATEME has integrated Advanced HDR by Technicolor into its TITAN video compression solution, Technicolor said today....

15/05/2024

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall The Berklee Popular Music Institute arranged placements at top festivals including...

15/05/2024

ABC Sets The Golden Bachelorette' for Fall Schedule

ABC shared its 2024-2025 fall schedule hours before the Disney upfront presentation Tuesday, May 14. There's The Golden Bachelorette, a new Ryan Murphy show...

15/05/2024

Alicia Keys Kicks Off Amazon Upfront Show, Reese Witherspoon Wraps It Up

Amazon's first-ever upfront presentation, at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan, got a late start due to its remote location. But the energy spiked when Alicia Keys...

15/05/2024

Disney Upfront Welcomes Back Bob Iger and Jimmy Kimmel

The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation went on with a connections theme, and Bob Iger himself appeared onstage moments after it began. Emma Stone introd...

15/05/2024

Hulu's Under the Bridge' Tops TVision Power Score Rankings

Hulu's Under the Bridge moved up to take the top spot in TVision's Power Score rankings of the top shows on connected TV for the week of May 6....

15/05/2024

The CW Gets Rights to 11 PAC-12 Football Games

BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network has announced it will be the broadcast home for 11 Pac-12 football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State during the u...

15/05/2024

Nielsen: Disney Is Top Media Distributor with 11.5% of TV Usage

NEW YORK Disney has landed on top of Nielsens newly launched Media Distributor Gauge, which offers its first cross-platform view of total TV consumption across ...

15/05/2024

Max Sets a May 21 Streaming Debut for 'Dune: Part Two

Warner Bros. Discoverys Max streaming services has finally set a launch date for Dune: Part Two with the announcement that the film will begin streaming on Thur...

15/05/2024

FCC Establishes Spectrum Steering Team

WASHINGTON, D.C. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead the FCC's efforts to develo...

15/05/2024

Gary Heelas joins TSL as principal engineer

TSL said the appointment marks a strategic enhancement in the companys commitment to focusing on UK and US-designed and manufactured solutions By Jenny Priestl...

15/05/2024

Is Sony about to pull out of its bid for Paramount?

Sony and Apollo may decide to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley P...

15/05/2024

Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration

The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 14th) By Jenny Priestley Published: May 15, 2024 The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 1...

15/05/2024

Matrox Video Demos at InfoComm 2024 Will Showcase New AVo...

Technology innovator Matrox Video today announced that the company will highlight its leading AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies including the brand-new, next-g...

15/05/2024

RMi Amplifies Connectivity and Clarity at Major 2024 Musi...

Riedel Communications today announced its pivotal role in bringing unparalleled audio clarity and connectivity to one of the U.S.'s biggest 2024 music and a...

15/05/2024

Chyron Unveils Significant Updates to Chyron LIVE Cloud P...

Chyron today released a series of significant updates to its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production platform that were demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in La...

15/05/2024

VisualOn to Showcase Revolutionary Optimizer Content-Awar...

VisualOn, a leader in video software technology, is set to unveil its groundbreaking Optimizer suite at Broadcast Asia 2024. The unveiling will take place in th...

15/05/2024

StreamVue announce exclusive parnership with DigiBox

StreamVue, one of the global leaders in IPTV and digital signage solutions is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with DigiBox, one of the...

15/05/2024

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that...

15/05/2024

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Popular Rendering Benchmark Brings Back CPU/GPU Stats in a Minute; New Benchmark...

15/05/2024

Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated Sports Production & Streaming Solution

Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated...

15/05/2024

That Station Artist Notes Series Returns This Summer

Artist Notes is back! Join That Station this summer for the conversation and concert series where you get to hear an artist on stage to not only play music, but...

15/05/2024

Assembling Disney's Upfront: It Takes More Than Magic (Video)

A lot goes into making The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation....

15/05/2024

Madhive Names Premion Founder Jim Wilson President

Madhive, which provides technology for local connected TV advertising, said that it named Jim Wilson as president....

15/05/2024

Amazon Prime Video Swings With Nicholas Cage Spider-Man Series

At its first upfront presentation to advertisers, Amazon Prime Video announced new series and renewed some of its hits....

15/05/2024

Nielsen Crowns Disney in New Ranking of Media Distributors

Nielsen released a new ranking of companies in the media distribution business, including broadcast, cable and streaming, and The Walt Disney Co. was at the top...

15/05/2024

Latin Culture Is Key at TelevisaUnivision Upfront

TelevisaUnivision told advertisers at its upfront presentation Tuesday about more ways they can connect with Latin culture, including through music and live eve...

15/05/2024

VEON Publishes Annual Corporate Governance Report for Financial Year 2023

15 May 2024 VEON Publishes Annual Corporate Governance Report for Financial Year 2023 Amsterdam, 15 May 2024 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEO...

15/05/2024

VEON and Beeline Kazakhstan Partner with GSMA and Barcelona Supercomputing Centre to Support Use of AI in Local Languages

15 May 2024 VEON and Beeline Kazakhstan Partner with GSMA and Barcelona Superco...

15/05/2024

TRIBECA FESTIVAL AND CHANEL HOST THROUGH HER LENS CONVERSATION, JUNE 7 AT CROSBY HOTEL

May 15th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL AND CHANEL HOST...

15/05/2024

Thuraya unveils groundbreaking next generation IP NEO terminal developed in collaboration with Cobham Satcom

Abu Dhabi, 15 May, 2024 : IP NEO is a Thuraya 4-ready lightweight portable sate...

15/05/2024

Thuraya unveils groundbreaking next generation IP NEO terminal developed in collaboration ...

Abu Dhabi, 15 May, 2024 : IP NEO is a Thuraya 4-ready lightweight portable sate...

15/05/2024

MAGYAR TELEKOM RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024

MAGYAR TELEKOM RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024 Budapest, May 15, 2024 17:35 Magyar Telekom today reported its consolidated financial results for the...

15/05/2024

Tech Focus: Production Music, Part 1: Changes Come to the Sports Sector

Tech Focus: Production Music, Part 1: Changes Come to the Sports Sector Spurring the changes are increased custom-music demand, RSN turmoil, legal issues, AI B...

15/05/2024

SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez Explores the Evolution of Sound for Sports Venues

SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez Explores the Evolution of Sound ...

15/05/2024

SVG Sit-Down: Audiotonix' CEO James Gordon on Utilizing the Company's Brands for Smart Investment

New deal: Audiotonix' CEO James Gordon on utilising the company's brands...

15/05/2024

Commentary Revolution: DAZN's Technical Production Manager Max Mosgraber Talks Doing More With Less

Commentary revolution: DAZN's technical production manager Max Mosgraber tal...