Major League Productions at CarMax Park a Home Run with Grass Valley LDX 110 Cameras

Original article published in TV Tech

Opening CarMax Park gave us the opportunity to build a new live production workflow around Grass Valley's LDX 110 camera system.

Opening a brand-new, state-of-the-art production facility at CarMax Park presented many challenges and opportunities. Among them was the all-important decision of selecting the camera system. Taking the leap from our previous workflow in The Diamond, our goal was clear: support productions of home games, live events, LED programming, and multiplatform content with a consistent, high-quality production standard that truly sets us apart.

Knowing that the cameras would be in use throughout the day, reliability, image quality and flexibility were all important factors.

We looked at several options before selecting the Grass Valley LDX 110. During our evaluation, it delivered better performance in low-light and other challenging lighting conditions than the alternatives we considered, while remaining within the budget we had set for the project. The Xenios CMOS image sensor consistently produced the picture quality we were looking for, and the compact camcorder-style design was a good fit for the way our operators work on game days.

All-Action Capture

Our production schedule begins when the gates open and finishes after the last fans leave the ballpark. During that time, in addition to the baseball game itself, we're producing a variety of content including player introductions, fan features, live entertainment, and promotions and activity around the concourse. Camera operators are constantly moving between different environments and lighting conditions.

Our fixed cameras, including the high home and center field positions, provide the main coverage throughout the game. They produce excellent pictures and give us the consistency we need across the entire production.

The MVP in our live production workflow has been the mobile camera system, a huge upgrade over previous systems deployed.

The LDX 110 gives us much more freedom to cover everything happening around the stadium with the same picture and color quality we see on fixed cameras. Operators can move freely around the 360-degree concourse to spend time with fans, react to big moments, and capture entertainment that occurs on and off the field, all with the consistent high-quality production standard. These shots are critical in telling the story of the fan experience at CarMax Park.

The mobile system is a seamless, natural fit in our workflow with the color grading system in our control room, allowing our shader full control while the camera operator freely moves around CarMax Park. That combination has made mobile operation far easier than we have experienced in past workflows.

We use the word consistency often as that has probably been the biggest operational improvement seen since opening the venue. The picture quality and consistency of the LDX 110 systems is big league, giving our production the polish our fans and partners deserve while allowing our production team to stay focused on the live show.

LINK:	https://www.grassvalley.com/major-league-productions-at-carmax-park-a-...
	See more stories from grassvalley

Most recent headlines