Efficient production: Datavideo and PresetMaster posted: 21/08/2019
Everybody knows the game of Darts. An enthusiastic mass of spectators in the widest range of costumes in a huge hall and two players on a stage throwing small arrows at a small dartboard. In production the director focuses on the players and the scores they throw. That means that you need skilled camera men that know the game, a spotter that knows each and every players style and lightning fast communication. Keytown Productions from Leiden, The Netherlands, is a solid partner for darts production and has revolutionized the way professional darts is produced. They did this together with the Taiwanese hardware manufacturer Datavideo.
Producing darts games on the highest level like the world championships will still be produced on the old fashioned way, with camera men, huge zoom lenses and a professional multi camera setup. Explains Robbert van Loon, owner of Keytown Productions. These are the large final tournaments that are being broadcasted regularly on international TV. But there's also a large amount of smaller European tournaments at the PDC, the Professional Darts Federation. These events are called the European Tour Events. Next to these Eurotours there's also the DartShows for the German television for which we do the production. All these tournaments are visited by a large crowd, and big names like Michael van Gerwen compete over there.
Robbert explains that the European Tour Events are played by 48 qualified players and the first prize is 30.000 Euro. The European Tour Events are not broadcast on TV but are being watched on a live stream on bookmakers' websites. These online bookmakers are wildly popular with gamblers. A single European Tour Event match is watched online by 150.000 people on average. The German DartShow events are being broadcasted on TV in the program PromiDarts and has a crowd of millions via television.
The players on stage are being followed by multiple cameras during a match. They zoom in on every single square on the darts board. The spotter, who is the key person during production, has to know where the player is going to throw his next dart. This is not an easy task, knows Robbert: Our spotter knows each and every players' characteristics and knows, for instance, when a player moves to triple 19 instead of triple 20. A director has to move fast in that case. The final darts of each leg are thrown in the double squares, the outer rim of the board. The small square is often zoomed in so that it completely fills the screen for maximum excitement. Quick adaption and a huge zoom lens are key components of a successful production.
The setup of Keytown Productions had to be as simple and efficient as possible, without losing image quality. Initially, they chose to work with PTZ cameras instead of larger cameras with camera men. PTZ cameras gave us an easy way of working with just a single operator. The current generation of PTZ cameras are so precise that they could recall the exact same position, time and time again. To control the cameras we have developed our own software. This software recalled the square presets and therefore we called it PresetMaster. With this software we could automate a large portion of our production so we basically only need a spotter that taps the right square on a tablet interface.
The biggest flaw in this setup eventually was the speed of the cameras. When recalling a preset you had to wait until the camera was done with moving and focussing. The installation of the mobile setup was also something that proved to be a very cumbersome job on each event. Keytown Productions had to calibrate the complete setup every time and that took a lot of time. Robbert tells us that it was time to check for a new solution. 4K as a broadcasting solution was not very interesting for us because our productions are streamed on the web. However, I saw a clear advantage of that larger resolution, since you could zoom in on it without losing detail. This way you could zoom in on a portion of the screen with a regular camera without camera men or a zoom motor! For this solution, Robbert had to find an image processor that could make these zooms or cutouts and output these to his existing setup.
A few years back, I stumbled upon Datavideo on IBC. I knew Datavideo from their cost effective switchers and mobile production sets. On this exhibition they showed their latest invention, the KMU-100. An image processor that is capable of creating cutouts out of two 4K signals and output them in 1080P resolution. After some discussion with the guys from Datavideo about the protocols of controlling the KMU-100 I decided to go for it and bought 2 units.
The current setup of Keytown Productions at the various darts events has become a lot less complicated with the KMU-100. We've moved from a couple PTZ cameras to a setup with just two 4K cameras. Explains Robbert, this ways we have to install and calibrate a lot less each event. In our PresetMaster configuration we've recreated the complete darts board on a touch screen. This way we can switch the shot with a single click on the screen. This works direct and seamless. We can also create a small zoom animation, which makes the shot very dynamic and realistic. A viewer won't see the difference with a regular camera.
KMU-100 has been developed with these applications in mind. Explains Johan Lieffers, managing director of Datavideo Technologies Europe BV. 4K is a beautiful format, but not widely used in transmission and distribution. Especially online streams do not benefit from 4K as a final format and for stage events 4K is also not a must-have. Downsizing the operation and production costs is a topic at hand for a lot of production companies. By using a single 4K camera to create a to
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
14/07/2026
Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...
14/07/2026
Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...
14/07/2026
New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...
14/07/2026
ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...
14/07/2026
Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...
14/07/2026
Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
As broadcasters con...
14/07/2026
Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...
14/07/2026
Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...
14/07/2026
FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...
Efficient production: Datavideo and PresetMaster posted: 21/08/2019 
