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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
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 
