Evertz Positions DreamCatcher System for Video Production Powered by Real-Time, AI-Built Metadata Partnership with ShotTracker, Ease Live uses data to automate storytelling By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, September 20, 2021 - 2:50 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In an era when analytics are driving on-field decisions of the biggest professional sports franchises, it's only a matter of time before real-time data driven by artificial intelligence fuels live and on-demand content creation by sports broadcasters.
Evertz believes that time is here with the latest developments behind its IP-based production suite, DreamCatcher.
Evertz's DreamCatcher platform is generating real-time metadata and live highlight clipping for sports broadcasters.
Through a partnership with sensor-based system ShotTracker and the use of technology obtained in Evertz's acquisition last year of interactive graphics platform Ease Live, Evertz is targeting the collegiate-athletics market with a platform it describes as data-driven video production.
Essentially, the system uses tracking data, a locked-off 4K camera (or other autonomous cameras), and timecode synchronization with all the cameras in a broadcaster's arsenal to tie everything together to build replays and curated highlight packages built on real-time metadata.
The system turns data into a tool in the storytelling arsenal. Want to go into a game tracking one player's rebounds? Set the metadata, and a highlight playlist is built using angles from the locked-off camera as well as all the various traditional broadcast feeds that a timecode synched into the system. Did a surprising player off the bench have a big day? Add in metadata fields during or after the game, and DreamCatcher will mine the data already collected to spit out the exact content that you want.
All of that metadata, whether it's real-time or non-real-time, adds to the backend, where you can do live production or automated live production, says Nima Malekmanesh, product marketing manager/senior engineer, DreamCatcher, Evertz. You can add to and augment your live production; your traditional replay operators won't have to clip content, name it, tag it, export it. Referees would automatically see plays [in Video Assistant Refereeing] from multiple angles. It can all be automated.
According to Evertz, the platform is valuable to live-content creators in three areas: highlight creation (where producers can mine the data for stories), clip creation (for operators who need to focus in more than one area when cutting replays for a live production), and automated logging and exporting to a broadcaster's asset-management software.
The system received its first full end-to-end test during the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament earlier this year.
In the live environment, the ability to deploy the 4K camera to zoom for automated camera follows is also a valuable add. Using digital zoom, DreamCatcher can isolate and follow a specific player or players on command, providing replays to roll based on predetermined storylines from a non-operated camera. For on-demand content, automated clipping will also immediately cut and appropriately tag and log a play in real time. All while synchronizing the locked-off camera source with the other broadcast cameras to build more-dynamic replays, highlight packages, and even melts.
Because we have real-time X,Y,Z data coming in through ShotTracker, with the follow of the ball, I can select multiple players, says Malekmanesh. The image will then zoom in and out, [keeping] those players in the [shot] at all times. It's very powerful [from the perspective of] a coach or a fan or a broadcaster. Maybe there's a matchup between a receiver and a cornerback that you want to follow. You can tailor and have as many of these isos as you want.
Through Ease Live, the system can also make it possible to put the controls in the hands of the viewer. Through streaming distribution models, broadcasters could offer fans the ability to custom-build their own highlight packages or real-time camera follows through live interactive graphics built directly into the live stream's video.
According to Evertz, more than 50 colleges, many in the SEC and ACC, are already DreamCatcher customers who have access to this technology. The full platform was given its first real end-to-end test at the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament in March. Currently, the platform is most naturally deployed for basketball, but the company says football and even volleyball aren't far behind as AI continues to grow smarter in those sports.
The technology is rapidly maturing, according to Evertz engineers, who note that, currently, the biggest challenges lie in installation of workflows on the end-user side.
Getting production teams to adopt a new workflow [is a challenge], says Malekmanesh. That's where the challenges lie; the technology is actually very resilient. Getting the schools to wear the sensors, [too].
The technology offers highly interesting prospects for a future where analytics won't just be forcing baseball teams into infield shifts but will be dictating the content-creation methods for sports-content rightsholders big and small.
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...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
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
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
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 iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...
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...
Evertz Positions DreamCatcher System for Video Production Powered by Real-Time, AI-Built Metadata Partnership with ShotTracker, Ease Live uses data to automate storytelling By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
