Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From the 152nd Open: EMG/Gravity Media's Hamish Greig on How Little Novas' Play Big Role in 150+-Camera Production

19/07/2024

Live From the 152nd Open: EMG/Gravity Media's Hamish Greig on How Little Novas' Play Big Role in 150+-Camera Production Wirecam gets an upgrade; Matrox gives new insights into complex network topology By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Friday, July 19, 2024 - 10:47 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The 152nd Open Championship has returned to Royal Troon in Scotland after having last been played here in 2016. The return signals a new era for the event, with NBC Sports and Sky Sports taking over as rightsholders in the U.S. and UK and ETP taking over as host broadcaster.

From left: EMG/Gravity Media Technical Producer Alan Jessop; Head of Golf Jackie O'Shea; and Director, Golf Operations, Hamish Greig in the Open Championship compound

The relationship between all of us has evolved greatly since 2016, says Hamish Greig, director, golf operations, EMG Live. In that first year, we still had a lot of side-by-side operations, and, because ETP, NBC, and Sky have such a good relationship, we all work really well together.

In 2016, the Open was the first to benefit from the installation of a new-specification course-wide fiber network. It all still works, which is incredible considering it has been eight years, says Greig. But it's a testament to why getting a fiber infrastructure installed underground at all the Open Championship venues makes complete sense.

Those new relationships in 2016 inspired a new concept in Open production that was launched in 2017 and continues to this day. The core of the compound for the Open Championship is a large IBC building comprising production-control rooms, replay areas, and audio rooms (and equipment racks). It is home to both the world-feed production team and the NBC Sports team, working at maximum efficiency. That core IBC building is one just part of a large compound that also houses EMG Live production units and portable cabins and facilities.

On one side of the compound is the world-feed operation; on the other, the unilaterals. According to Greig, Nova 125 was the first truck to turn up for the host-feed build-up and serves as main communications hub for the ETP and world-feed team. On the unilateral side of the compound two trucks: one (Nova 109) for NBC Sports, one for Sky Sports.

At the Open Championship, Nova 05 is handling Live at the Range production for Sky Sports.

Sky Sports is deploying remote operations similar to those it used for the Ryder Cup in Italy last October. The operations rely on what Greig calls one of the two little Novas, the small remote trucks that are onsite at Royal Troon. There are two generations of them here: the smaller, powered Nova 05 has room for five people, can handle eight cameras, and is being used for Live at the Range; the newer one, a member of the Nova 50 series, can handle up to 16 cameras and 60 transmission lines and houses a 256 256 matrix router, Artemis audio console, Calrec RP1s for IFBs, and an EVS replay system. With room for nine people, the unit here houses four vision operators, two audio operators, and an EVS operator.

Nova 53 is being used by Sky Sports for its remote production.

The beauty of [Nova 53] is, it's completely powered via a UPS, notes Greig. It will last for about 15 minutes if you lose shore power, affording plenty of time to find an alternative or solve the issue. That truck can also lift off the chassis and be placed on another chassis. So, when we're happy with electric-powered trucks, we can just move the unit from the current truck to an electric truck.

In terms of cameras, 151 are deployed. Besides the world feed's 106, there are the unilateral and dedicated cameras: NBC Sports has 17, Sky Sports has 12, Golf Channel is using 10 for Live From and at the practice area, Live at the Range for R&A is produced with eight, BBC is deploying an ENG facility, and the Featured Groups are covered by four. Thirty-eight of the cameras are RF. As for microphones, there 52 high-power on-course radio mics, about 50 low-power mics, and about 120 FX mics.

A new gimbal provides increased stability for Wirecam coverage of the Postage Stamp green.

The 2016 Open Championship marked a second major milestone: it was the first time a cable cam was used for on-course coverage at an Open Championship. That Wirecam, provided by ACS (Aerial Camera Systems), is back again at the famed 8th hole with its Postage Stamp green, but it has a new gimbal: the GSS-512X stabilized gimbal with a Sony P50 camera.

The new gimbal is much more stable, says ACS Operations Director David Whitlock. It can also handle the UHD camera, which is required here as the 8th hole is part of the UHD HDR par-3 coverage, along with Hole 5.

The Postage Stamp green is surrounded by five bunkers, each of which has bunker cams. Those are set to 50p HDR so they can match the UHD production, Whitlock explains. UHD minicams are available, but the required infrastructure to get those signals back is tricky. So we've gone 50p HDR and upscale them in the truck to match the UHD signals.

A bunker camera located in the forward bunker also has high-frame-rate capabilities. According to Whitlock, its location at the bottom of a slope from the green, which feeds balls into it, has offered many opportunities to show, in super-slo-mo replay, players hitting at least one and sometimes two (if the ball rolls back into the bunker) shots out of the bunker.

As for other specialty cameras, because the first tee is so close to the practice area, there is no need for bridges to get players to the tee box, and, thus, there is less need for the lipstick cameras or robos that capture that walk.

We still have cameras in the tunnel for the walk on the first tee and a couple of robos on the first and 18th greens, notes Whitlock. There are five robos for NBC, incl
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/07/19/live-from-the-152nd-open-emg-li...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano, Edward Cox to Leadership Positions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Grass Valley Adds Telestream Vantage, Pulse and UP to AMPP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

XenData Announces Backup, Archive and Cloud-Connect for LucidLink

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Pann...

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026 New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions Shotoku US...

14/04/2026

Telestream and Grass Valley Connect Live and File-Based W...

Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...

14/04/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenu...

Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...

14/04/2026

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...

14/04/2026

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound. April 14, ...

14/04/2026

Appear Expands X Platform from Core to Edge at NAB Show 2...

Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...

14/04/2026

Synamedia turns OTT content into TikTok-style feeds with...

Addressing the needs of a new generation's viewing habits, Synamedia launches GO Shorts. The AI-powered module turns existing catalogues into TikTok-style ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026 - Vubiquity and Eluvio Showcase Streaming Soluti...

Vubiquity, an Amdocs company and global leader in technology-led media services, will be showcasing a new end-to-end streaming solution in collaboration with El...

14/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB S...

LiveU today announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, introducing integrated support for Sony's file-based workflow solu...

14/04/2026

BBC World Service TV selects Open Broadcast Systems for I...

Open Broadcast Systems (https://www.obe.tv/) has announced that BBC World Service has selected its decoders for IP Television distribution. The high-quality, lo...

14/04/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21 Brie Clayton April 14, 2026 0 Comments Major update adds new Photo page bringing Hollywood's most a...

14/04/2026

Sinclair's WTOV Taps Brightline for Lighting Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Grass Valley Showcases Alliance Ecosystem at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

FCC Selects New Lead Administrator for U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Gray Media Names Jim Hays GM of WTHI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

NAB Blasts CTA in FCC Sports Probe Comments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Wowza to Showcase AI-Powered Video Workflows and Emerging...

Wowza will return to NAB Show 2026 with a set of live demonstrations focused on how video infrastructure is evolving for a new generation of AI-powered and oper...

14/04/2026

Stegawave Debuts Real-Time Forensic Watermarking to Tackle Piracy in Live Sports Streaming

Stegawave Debuts Real-Time Forensic Watermarking to Tackle Piracy in Live Sports...

14/04/2026

Living in Boston: A Guide for Incoming Boston Conservatory Students

Living in Boston: A Guide for Incoming Boston Conservatory Students From navigating the T to balancing school with professional gigs, a current student shar...

14/04/2026

Just What Is Genre These Days, Anyway?

Just What Is Genre These Days, Anyway? Understanding the business and art of genre-bending in 2026. April 13, 2026 By Bryan Parys Illustration by Jack Fla...

14/04/2026

Lenora Helm Hammonds Is Turning Passion Into Plan A

Lenora Helm Hammonds Is Turning Passion Into Plan A The dean of the Professional Education Division has seen the industry from all sides. Now shes bringing it...

14/04/2026

How Michelle Zalabak Found Her Dream Career in Music and Finance

How Michelle Zalabak Found Her Dream Career in Music and Finance The Warner Music Group deal analysis manager helps determine what artist catalogs are worth a...

14/04/2026

SES, Japan Airlines to Expand Multi-Orbit Inflight Connectivity to Long-Haul Fleet

Luxembourg, April 14, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, today annou...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2026 Boilerplate More Details: The Composition Builder 2026 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2026 Boilerplate More Details: just:live pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-ti...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2026 Boilerplate More Details: just:play pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and U...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAr live:cut 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAr live:cut 2026 Boilerplate More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2026 Boilerplate More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2026 Boilerplate More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...

13/04/2026

ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2026 Boilerplate

ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2026 Boilerplate More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...

13/04/2026

Jnger Audio Joins EBU ADM Implementers Group as Founding Member

Telos Alliance has announced that J nger Audio has joined the EBU ADM Implementers Group (ADM-IG) as a founding member. The group is focused on advancing ADM an...

13/04/2026

NAB 2026: Grass Valley to Showcase Alliance Partner Ecosystem

Grass Valley will demonstrate its Alliance Partner ecosystem at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C2408, Central Hall, April 19-22), showing AMPP integrations across live pr...

13/04/2026

NAB 2026: Media Links to Demonstrate IP Transport Solutions

Media Links will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2033), demonstrating IP transport solutions for live production including hitless protection technology, Xscen...

13/04/2026

NBC Sports Partners with Overtime for OT7 Football League and Navy All-American Bowl

NBC Sports has announced a programming, distribution, and sales partnership with...

13/04/2026

FloSports Promotes Jayar Donlan from COO to President

FloSports has promoted Chief Operating Officer Jayar Donlan to President, effective immediately. In his new role, Donlan will lead the company's commercial,...

13/04/2026

MASV Case Study: PanCam Pictures Uses MASV for Remote Post-Production at Senior Bowl 2026

PanCam Pictures, the documentary production company founded by Paul Camarata, us...

13/04/2026

NAB 2026: Mimir to Showcase Cloud Production Platform

Mimir will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (North Hall, Booth N2850), demonstrating its cloud-native media production platform with new capabilities including Mimir Cu...

13/04/2026

NAB 2026: BBright Adds RIST Protocol Support to IP Gateway

BBright has announced that its IP Gateway now supports the Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) protocol. The addition will be introduced at NAB Show 2026 ...

13/04/2026

Net Insight Awarded ESA NAVISP Development Project for PNT Technology

Net Insight has been awarded a development project through the European Space Agency's Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP), with co-funding f...