This week's MLB All-Star Game in San Diego once again provided a showcase for the most cutting-edge production tools and tech toys the industry has to offer. Tech vendors turned out in droves at Petco Park to provide remote-production facilities, studio sets, specialty cameras, audio technology, virtual graphics, redundant power, and much more to Fox Sports, ESPN, MLB Network, and other broadcasters covering the festivities. Here is Part 1 of a brief look at some of some of the specialty cameras, graphics, and studio sets deployed at MLB All-Star 2016. CLICK HERE for Part 2, which goes inside the trucks and vendors at the production compound.
CP Communications
There was no shortage of unique (and complex) new projects for CP Communications at All-Star this year. The company maintained the entire fiber infrastructure (more than 70,000 ft. of fiber and 280 strands just to connect the various truck compounds), oversaw all RF coordination (more than 350 frequencies), and provided all RF cameras (more than a dozen) for all onsite broadcasters. In addition, CP also played a key role in the deployment of 16 new microphone locations in the ground at San Diego's Petco Park for ESPN's Home Run Derby and Fox's All-Star telecast.
One of a dozen RF cameras deployed by CP Communications at MLB All-Star
One of the challenges of [the in-ground microphones] is obviously to get everything working ahead of time because, once the mics are in the ground, you really have very little control over them, said CP Communications President Michael Mason. You get to turn them on, and that's about it; you're not going to get to go dig it up and replace it if something happens to that microphone. We were able to get ahead of it, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
CP Communications also worked with MLB Network to create new portable fiber racks for its three-camera on-field set to streamline setup and strike.
MLB Net knew exactly what they wanted. We conceptualized, drew it out, and engineers from our office put the cart together, said Mason. It does three cameras right now, but we can put up to six. It just depends on how we populate it.
CP Communications provided three RF cameras, one a Steadicam, to ESPN for its Derby coverage and two handhelds and support for the HatCam to MLB Network.
Fox Sports deployed seven CP Communications RF cameras, including a roving Flare 4KSDI camera on a M VI three-axis gimbal. The first-ever use of a Flare 4KSDI unit in this broadcast-centric configuration created a unique challenge for CP.
It has a totally custom-designed interface for control that was built and designed in our shop, says Mason. Our system gives the video operators the same type of control that they would have on a regular TV camera. The Flare is really not a broadcast camera in any way, shape, or form, but this [provides] the same interface that you would have with a Sony or Grass Valley camera. It was a lot of work from the software to the hardware manufacturing, and all the inner connectivity in the M VI rig itself was built in our shop. It took our engineers four to six months to get it all perfect, and they did a great job.
Filmwerks
Filmwerks sets once again played a major part in the All-Star festivities. The vendor designed and manufactured Fox Sports' primary set and both MLB Network sets at Petco Park.
MLB Network primary set, which is wheeled on and off the field on a golf cart, is on the third-base line.
Fox Sports' 40- x 40-ft. set (with a 20- x 20-ft. perch atop it) was similar to last year's and located on the main concourse in centerfield near the Park at the Park. Thanks to the flexible ModTruss technology used to build Filmwerks sets, the Fox set's roof could be collapsed and lowered in just 30 seconds after the pregame show concluded and before first pitch of the All-Star Game.
With the ModTruss technology, two center columns are all that is needed to support the weight, and it's hydraulically driven, explained Filmwerks Lead Field Technician Curtis Voigt. It ends up being a pretty simple process to lower it, and the whole set just comes right down.
Filmwerks also provided MLB Network's primary set on the field and secondary set on the concourse level. The primary set has become a staple for the network and resides on a motorized cart to allow a quick strike 30 minutes before first pitch of the Derby and the All-Star Game. As a result, MLB Network is capable of getting the entire set off the field in just five minutes.
It's a fully automated, self-propelled set that we developed over the past couple of years to assist in getting us off the field quicker, because we only have about seven minutes [between pregame show and game start], said Voigt. So we figured, if we could get it to drive with one person, instead of having everybody push it, we can speed up and have other people helping strike to make the process go a little quicker. We're always looking for anything we can do to make it easier and keep improving, and we've done that this year.
Fletcher Sports
Fletcher robotic and high-speed camera are always a fixture at the All-Star festivities, and this year was no different. The rental company provided four robos for Fox's All-Star Game telecast and nine to ESPN for the Home Run Derby.
ESPN used a Grass Valley LDX 6X super-slo-mo as a robotic for the first time at the Derby just in front of home plate.
Chief among these systems was the debut of a Grass Valley LDX 6X slo-mo camera in a box-camera robotic configuration. The system was positioned directly in front of the hitter for ESPN's Home Run Derby coverage and served as the mid-home backstop camera for Fox's All-Star coverage.
This is the same camera head that's in the LDX 6X handheld, but now it's a box-ca
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
This week's MLB All-Star Game in San Diego once again provided a showcase for the most cutting-edge production tools and tech toys the industry has to offer. Tech vendors turned out in droves at Petco Park to provide remote-production facilities, studio sets, specialty cameras, audio technology, virtual graphics, redundant power, and much more to Fox Sports, ESPN, MLB Network, and other broadcasters covering the festivities. Here is Part 1 of a brief look at some of some of the specialty cameras, graphics, and studio sets deployed at MLB All-Star 2016. CLICK HERE for Part 2, which goes inside the trucks and vendors at the production compound.
