The NBA's Steve Hellmuth Offers Inside Look at NBA Summer League 5G-Based Production One game was shot by veteran camera operators using smartphones By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 - 11:27 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The NBA MGM Resorts Summer League in Las Vegas always gives the team at NBA Entertainment an opportunity to try out new things. This year, those efforts included extended experiments with robo cameras in the stands 15 rows up from the free-throw line, use of a Spydercam for all five days of coverage, and virtual floor graphics. But the most noteworthy test was the use of two AT&T 5G cellular nodes as the backbone for a game production that was shot completely with Samsung Galaxy s10 5G smartphones.
The NBA relied on veteran camera operators to shoot a Summer League game using nothing but Samsung smartphones.
We wanted to make maximum use of the bandwidth, so we had only four cameras on the 5G, and then the announce table talent and the roving talent were on Wi-Fi, says Steve Hellmuth, EVP, media operations and technology, NBA Entertainment. We had about 12 Mbps per phone, so that was plenty of bandwidth, and we also had three backup cameras for each of the main cameras as we wanted to make sure had solid battery life throughout the entire telecast.
The idea for the production originated in a discussion about how to integrate content captured via cellphones into a more traditional broadcast that also made use of regular broadcast cameras. But Jill Reardon, global VP, business industry solutions (East), AT&T, suggested producing the entire game with just smartphones.
That started a big journey about how to get great-looking pictures and also be able to deliver those signals in HD-SDI to the production team in the truck, says Hellmuth. This is a device that is used by everyone to talk to friends and share pictures and video. How could we [take] a tool for everyday life and apply it to basketball?
The broadcast featured interactions with fans in attendance, interviews, views from courtside, a customized graphics package, and other in-arena elements. Noah Eagle, Allie Clifton, and Alexis Morgan led the way as talent, and the game was carried on the ESPN App, International NBA League Pass, and NBA TV Canada.
The eventual signal workflow began with the smartphones' delivering a 5G signal to AT&T 5G nodes and Ericsson antennas (one antenna was used for each half of the court). From there, the signal was sent to an Ericsson server and offloaded to LiveU systems, which converted the cellular signals to HD-SDI so that they could be delivered to the EVS replay systems and production switcher in Mobile TV Group's 28HDX truck.
Placement of the Samsung phones was key because there was no ability to zoom. One camera was located under each basket, and there was a camera at the baseline on one side of the court and at the foul line on the other. The game was also shot horizontally.
One of the cameramen under the basket actually made a rig, says Hellmuth. The other camera operators had the camera mounted on a pole to provide more stability, and a LiveU app on the phone was used to set white balance and even provide talk-back with the team in the truck.
It might seam that a production without traditional broadcast cameras means that top-level professionals are not required. But that was definitely not the case. Director Jeff Curtain works for the Portland Trailblazers; producer Kyle Hall works for MLSE (Maple Lead Sports and Entertainment). John McConnell created graphics that reflected a new sensibility (for example, a scorebox shaped like a cellphone and a 24-second clock that looked like a cellphone battery-drain indicator), and Skyline New Media's Jeff Jacobs served as project coordinator. Oh, and yes, professional camera operators were a key part of the effort.
You need professional operators because they can anticipate the action and they understand the flow of the game, says Hellmuth. All four are veteran cameramen who embraced the task and enjoyed getting out from under the hood. They couldn't have been more enthusiastic, and they embraced it from beginning to end.
He notes that the quality of the video and audio was actually quite good and that the team was really surprised with the quality of the pictures.
Don't look for 5G to be at the center of a regular-season NBA game production any time soon, but Hellmuth does see a great application for non-professional venues or back-of-house or even sideline needs.
I could see doing a Division III college game with four phones, he says. This could also be a great way to have reporters in the stands. Younger talent doesn't want to be behind a desk; they want to be in the stands with the fans.
Hellmuth notes that ATT Executive Strategy Director Dave McDonald played a key role in keeping the team focused, while Jacobs helped the team embrace new things and gave the production a sense of adventure.
LiveU also did a great job, he adds. Solutions Engineer Greg Kulaga managed the cameras from a LiveU dashboard and made sure images matched.
North America Stories
24/04/2024
ATLANTA Mundo Hispano Digital has launched a new advertising product, MundoNow Connect, that is designed to help advertisers reach Hispanic audiences on connect...
24/04/2024
Epic Games has released a major new version of Unreal Engine, which has become a mainstay in virtual production, that includes new features and improvements to ...
24/04/2024
The National Association of Broadcasters welcomed the industry to its annual extravaganza last month in Las Vegas. The sights and sounds were similar to previou...
24/04/2024
NEW YORK Chptr and Gray Television have announced that they are introducing a new video solution for funeral homes and communities that will allow funeral direc...
24/04/2024
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London
Brie Clayton April 24, 2024
0 Comments
Adobe is taking MAX, the world's largest creativ...
24/04/2024
National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that keeps him at the trade association's helm throu...
24/04/2024
Jo Ann Ross, the long-running queen of television advertising sales, is stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Advertising at the end of the month...
24/04/2024
E.W. Scripps said it named James Galindo as station manager for KERO, the ABC affiliate in Bakersfield, California....
24/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout topped TVision's Power Score rankings of shows on connected TV for the week of April 15....
24/04/2024
DoubleVerify said that it received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its measurement of video viewable impressions and related metrics for connect...
24/04/2024
PlayBox Neo reports a successful and well attended 2024 NAB Show, held in mid April at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Now in its 101st year, the event attract...
24/04/2024
MPEG-5 LCEVC ecosystem support continues to grow and includes TVs and set-top boxes, gearing up for the deployment of TV3.0 in Brazil
New, never-before-seen ...
24/04/2024
At Integrate Middle East 2024 in Booth AR-F45, where the company is exhibiting along with its partner NOVO, Black Box will feature IP-based KVM and AV solution...
24/04/2024
FRANKFURT, Germany Software solutions provider manifold technologies has announced that its manifold CLOUD was selected by NEP Belgium to provide a signal proce...
24/04/2024
NEW YORK Integral Ad Science has announced that it has earned Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) filtration f...
24/04/2024
LOS GATOS, Calif. Streaming media company Plex has announced a partnership with the National Football League that will add the NFL Channel, the NFLs 24/7 free l...
24/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the helm of NAB through 2029, according to NAB Joi...
24/04/2024
GENEVA, Switzerland Software-defined video network (SDVN) platform specialist GlobalM and broadcast-quality content distribution expert scoopa have formed a str...
24/04/2024
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1 The in-person conference is open to Berklee Online students and the music community ...
24/04/2024
Kargo said it has launched a new product that gives advertisers more details about the connected TV campaigns they are buying....
24/04/2024
Mundo Hispano Digital said it has launched MundoNow Connect, which is designed to use first-party audience data to help advertisers reach Latino connected-TV vi...
24/04/2024
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who spent 10 months in a Russian prison, sits with Robin Roberts for a primetime special on ABC Wednesday, May 1. The 20/20 speci...
24/04/2024
To give its subscribers more content to pick from, DirecTV Stream is making deals to carry streaming channels from Cineverse and additional digital multicast ch...
24/04/2024
Jenny Padura has been promoted to co-anchor on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts at WLTV Miami, known as Univision 23. She starts April 25 and will anchor with Ambros...
24/04/2024
Paris Schutz has joined WFLD Chicago, known as Fox 32, as a political reporter. He starts April 29 and will handle all political coverage for the station, repor...
24/04/2024
Plex has made a deal with the National Football League that will let users watch the NFL Channel, the league's free ad-supported streaming television (FAST)...
24/04/2024
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone sit for a chat when TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons debuts on Fox Tuesday, April 23. The pair di...
24/04/2024
Lionsgate Television said it signed a new multiyear employment agreement with executive VP, worldwide production, Gary Goodman....
24/04/2024
Miguelangel Lopez, WTMO Orlando (Florida) VP of news, has been named regional VP of news and content for WTMO, WRMD Tampa and WWDT Fort Myers, effective immedia...
24/04/2024
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63 By SVG Staff
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 - 6:46 am
Print This Story | Subscri...
24/04/2024
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Availab...
24/04/2024
Back to All News
My Oni Girl' Trailer Unveils a World Where Suppressed Emo...
24/04/2024
Editor's note: This post is part of the AI Decoded series, which demystifies AI by making the technology more accessible, and which showcases new hardware, ...
24/04/2024
Can machine learning help predict extreme weather events and climate change? Chr...
24/04/2024
To help customers make more efficient use of their AI computing resources, NVIDIA today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Run:ai, ...
24/04/2024
To address the shift to electric vehicles, increased semiconductor demand, manufacturing onshoring, and ambitions for greater sustainability, manufacturers are ...
23/04/2024
IN ADDITION TO FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY FEATURES, THE SELECTION INCLUDES:
PRO...
23/04/2024
LONDON IBC is now accepting nominations for its IBC2024 Innovation Awards, which honor achievements in technological innovation and social impact media & entert...
23/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. In response to the introduction of the Broadcast VOICES Act that seeks to encourage more diversity in the ownership of TV and radio stations, t...
23/04/2024
MIAMI, Fla. As part of a push to expand its FAST channel and streaming operations, Hemisphere Media Group has launched its free ad supported television (FAST) c...
23/04/2024
LOS ANGELES DirecTV is adding seven new channels to its rapidly expanding streaming lineup through new licensing agreements with Cineverse Corp. and Scripps Net...
23/04/2024
IBC is preparing to honour the highest achievements in technological innovation and social impact with the launch of its prestigious IBC2024 Innovation Awards, ...
23/04/2024
BREA, Calif. Bolin Technology is integrating Network Device Interface (NDI) across its product line, bringing support for the latest NDI technologies to its PTZ...
23/04/2024
WYOMISSING, Pa. PENN Entertainment has announced that longtime Disney and ESPN executive Aaron LaBerge has been named chief technology officer effective July 1,...
23/04/2024
In response to an FCC ruling in March proposing a $1.2 million fine against Nexstar and a ruling that Mission Broadcasting sell WPIX, Nexstar has filled a respo...
23/04/2024
Sony has announced new details about how the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is using Sony's Ci Media Cloud platform to streamline its workflows and spe...
23/04/2024
Esports' rapid rise to popularity can be attributed to many factors, from technological advancements that have enhanced the quality of modern gaming experie...
23/04/2024
OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of software-defined media workflow solutions and data management capabilities, has been selected as a winner in the 2024 N...
23/04/2024
BCNEXXT is pleased to announce that Vpe has won the 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year Award in the Asset Management, Automation and Playout category. The offici...
The NBA's Steve Hellmuth Offers Inside Look at NBA Summer League 5G-Based Production One game was shot by veteran camera operators using smartphones By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
