Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NVP Delivers First Champions League Match in 4K HDR HLG for Sky Italia

23/11/2021

NVP delivers first Champions League match in 4K HDR HLG for Sky Italia By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent

Monday, November 22, 2021 - 15:51

Print This Story

When Atalanta met Manchester United at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo earlier this month, it marked the first time in Italy that a UEFA Champions League match was produced entirely in native 4K HDR-HLG. It was available to Sky Q subscribers in the country.

Everything stems from the desire to always do something better and to go beyond the competition for quality and production workflow, says Ivan Pintabona, CTO of production company NVP.

We must not forget our great maturity in terms of production in the field. We started experimenting with native HDR in 2017 with the first 4K OB van in Spain for La Liga, then the complex production of this year's Olympics.

NVP created a production workflow for Sky Italia that was able to meet UEFA's requirement to deliver in HDR but at the same time also in SDR.

In partnership

Pintabona explains: We deployed 20 4K HDR cameras and a production stream designed to natively handle extended dynamic range.

For the first time we were able to produce an international live broadcast entirely in 4K HDR HLG in Italy, guaranteeing an exceptional result, created by the Sky Sport production team with our full technical support.

In general, HDR productions in Italy to date have been viewed with some caution, given that past experiences were not always entirely perfect. 4K HDR has been considered a bit risky as it was thought the quality was not fully perceived by the viewer. Extensive skills and knowledge are also required.

Pintabona continues: The delicate moment is in image management and compatibility between SDR and HDR, and the real risk is in the down mapping and up mapping between REC709 technologies and the REC2020 wide colour gamut.

In other words, we are faced with a pure photographic question of colour spectrum, which in the change of format can generate visible differences in the rendering of colours, as unfortunately has already been seen at times on air.

In practice, the whole workflow must be taken care of in a certain way without neglecting any part of the internal production chain, even the part that is not native HDR, for example the VAR or the GLT [Goal Line Technology] which are provided by UEFA in SDR.

In this case, NVP created special conversion LUTs, studied and optimised for this type of event and that have produced faithful results.

Two feeds were guaranteed and were produced in optimal quality, starting from the master feed in HDR: a 4K HDR 2020 feed for Sky and a 4K SDR 709 feed distributed to 80 countries that have acquired the rights of the match. The same was done for HD.

Pintabona continues: Given the very high penalties at stake and the related problems in case of approximate results, I can say that it was a great responsibility but at the same time also a great opportunity that we have carried out with great dedication and to the satisfaction of all.

We are proud to be able to give this guarantee thanks to our great research and experience in the field.

A truly enhanced workflow

In addition to the 20 cameras in the field, the production of the match was also enriched by the use of Vizrt's Viz Arena augmented reality graphics solution, applied directly on the pitch, the adoption of FanCam with EVS XtraMotion to offer super-slow-motion replays with the aid of cloud-based artificial intelligence, and the panoramic images captured by a drone that flew over the stadium.

For the first time at such an event, a FanCam, a cinema camera capable of photographing images with a documentary look and feel, was used. It featured in the pre-match coverage but was also used on the field and the crowd by director Federico Fazzini, the production team, including Ferruccio Zanotti, Giorgio Antoniol and Tommaso Martini, and all the Sky staff.

Also new, the cloud-based EVS XtraMotion replay system is based on artificial intelligence which allows users to push some clips at 50 frames per second which are returned with interpolated replay at 150fps with very high impact images.

A state-of-the-art drone, meanwhile, was used to show the teams arriving and in pre- and post-match coverage.

Pintabona emphasises: Sky has created a very open team on the pitch that has worked very well, and the director has enhanced our technical suggestions, approving our ideas and integrating them in the best possible way into the strict UEFA running order, demonstrating the will to make the most of the product and our skill.

Field experience

Two OB vans were used in the production, OB7 for the host feeds and OB4 for the customisation for Sky, with integration always in 4K HDR WCG pre- and post-game.

All the cameras in the field were Grass Valley LDX 86N natively set in HLG in full range 2020 to make the most of their potential.

The Vans used the GV Kahuna Full Fusion 4 video mixer and GV Sirius 850 router also from Grass Valley.

The points of complexity were the conversion LUTs and the integration of the graphics provided by UEFA and produced by Deltatre, and that therefore were not directly controlled by NVP.

The mobile vehicles are equipped with XT-Via technology, the new LSM-Via panels and the XHub-Via network from EVS.

All operators could send clips to the cloud thanks to a 100MB bidirectional connection provided by Sky in the field, with a minimum delay of 10/15 seconds.

When it comes to audio, the match was broadcast in 5.1 surround, but enhancements are in the pipeline here too. Pintabona says: For the audio, still under UEFA directives, we did not start with immersive audio, but it is promised for a date not too far in the future.

Another point much appreciated by insiders in this adventure is that Sky worked in classic mode, that is, managing a produ
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/nvp-delivers-first-champions-...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Aurora's Matt Beal on Taking Up the Broadcast Reins Alongside the FIA

Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reins for World RX alongs...

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Getting the Production Together With NEP Finland, Cloudbass Graphics

Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season pro...

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Host Broadcaster Aurora Looks Ahead to This Weekend's Second Race of the Season in Hljes

Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host b...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport, Sunset+Vine Talk Coverage Plans, Distribution and Maintaining Momentum

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport and Sunset Vine talk coverage plans, ...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League Launches New Content Series to Support Teams, Players Over Summer of Football

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League launches new content series...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite Puts Fans, Players Front and Center With Title Sequence for ITV

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite puts fans and players front and centre with t...

02/07/2025

Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down the Craft

Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down t...

02/07/2025

CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Production Plan

CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Productio...

01/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Expansion in the U.S.

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...

01/07/2025

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus Video Production

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...

01/07/2025

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...

01/07/2025

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins Fans

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...

01/07/2025

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...

27/06/2025

How Smarter Video Compression is Creating a Sustainable Future

How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13 Print This Story Live sport is especially vulnerab...

27/06/2025

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story ...

27/06/2025

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...

27/06/2025

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending Chicago Cubs

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...

27/06/2025

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandemic Era

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...

26/06/2025

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for the Future of the RSN, Local Media Business

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...

26/06/2025

The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid

The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Tech leaders from CineSys, Diversified, and Net Insight breaks down all flavors of cloud By Jason Dachman, ...

26/06/2025

Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Generation of Sports TV Technicians

Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...

25/06/2025

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Tackling the latest in college sports video: NIL, live production, virtual productio...

25/06/2025

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO Booths

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO B...

24/06/2025

2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center

2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By M...

24/06/2025

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: Google Cloud's Jane Day on the Impact of AI on Sports

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: Google Cloud's Jane Day on the Impact of AI on ...

24/06/2025

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: AWS's Dana LaGattuta on Data-Driven Innovation in Sports

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: AWS's Dana LaGattuta on Data-Driven Innovation ...

24/06/2025

British & Irish Lions Men's Tour: Dublin Opener Sees Sky Sports Take Remote Route

Lions live: Dublin opener sees Sky Sports take remote route By Fergal Ringrose ...

24/06/2025

British & Irish Lions Men's Tour: Pumas Maul Lions as S4C and TG4 Deliver First-Ever Joint Host in Dublin

Pumas maul Lions as S4C and TG4 deliver first-ever joint host in Dublin By Ferg...

24/06/2025

ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center

ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark ...

23/06/2025

Adventures in Live Cloud Production: Stories From the Trenches with MLB, NHL, NBC Sports, Warner Bros. Discovery, and AWS

Adventures in Live Cloud Production: Stories From the Trenches with MLB, NHL, NB...

23/06/2025

Finding the Edge: How Badger & Combes Produces Live-Streamed Coverage of County Cricket for LancsTV

Finding the edge: How Badger & Combes produces live-streamed coverage of county ...

23/06/2025

Masters of Madness: New Football Format Shakes Up the Rules of Sportainment

Masters of Madness: New football format shakes up the rules of sportainment By Adrian Pennington Monday, June 16, 2025 - 11:38 Print This Story The ball i...

23/06/2025

New State-of-the-Art Mountain Media Center Launches in Former Starz Encore Building Near Denver

New State-of-the-Art Mountain Media Center Launches in Former Starz Encore Build...

23/06/2025

ESPN Says Goodbye to Seaport Studios, Hello to New State-of-the-Art Production Facility at Disney's 7 Hudson Square

ESPN Says Goodbye to Seaport Studios, Hello to New State-of-the-Art Production F...

20/06/2025

A True Test? Cricket's Growth on the Global Stage and the Role Broadcast Can Play

A True Test? Cricket's Growth on the Global Stage and the Role Broadcast Can...

20/06/2025

Sky Sports Goes Large for the British & Irish Lions Tour with AR Graphics, UHD and a Pop Up Channel

Sky Sports goes large for the British & Irish Lions Tour with AR graphics, UHD a...

20/06/2025

ESPN's Men's College World Series Finals Coverage Combines Innovation, Legacy

ESPN's Men's College World Series Finals Coverage Combines Innovation, L...

19/06/2025

SVG Rewind: PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on Winning George Wensel Technical Achievement Award

SVG Rewind: PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on Winning Geor...

18/06/2025

Technology Focus: Fan Expectations Drive Advances in the In-Stadium Experience

Technology focus: Fan expectations drive advances in the in-stadium experience By Jo Ruddock Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 08:36 Print This Story For years, att...

18/06/2025

Making Connections: How Stadiums Are Meeting the Ever-Growing Demand for Data and Connectivity

Making connections: How stadiums are meeting the ever-growing demand for data an...

18/06/2025

SVG Venues & Teams Summit Keynote: RWS Global Powers the Stadium Environment at 2024 Paris Olympics

SVG Venues & Teams Summit Keynote: RWS Global Powers the Stadium Environment at ...

18/06/2025

SVG Rewind: Behind the Scenes of Producing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League Victory Parade

SVG Rewind: Behind the Scenes of Producing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League...

17/06/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mercury Intermedia's Tom Richardson, Mike Ligon on Powering DTC Streams for Teams Reclaiming Media Rights

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mercury Intermedia's Tom Richardson, Mike Ligon o...

17/06/2025

Total Sports Performance from Relo Metrics, VideoAmp, Offers Next-Level Media, Brand Measurement

Total Sports Performance from Relo Metrics, VideoAmp, Offers Next-Level Media, B...

17/06/2025

From Stage to Stream: Producing Live Esports Events in 2025

From Stage to Stream: Producing Live Esports Events in 2025 Leaders from ESL FACEIT Group, Riot Games, and more break down the latest trends By Jason Dachman, ...

17/06/2025

Inside FIFA 2025 Club World Cup Operations With FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS's Stefan Wistuba

Inside FIFA 2025 Club World Cup Operations With FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS...

17/06/2025

Production Ambitions: Over Exposed on Making the National League Promotion Final for DAZN as Spectacular as Possible

Production ambitions: Over Exposed on making the National League Promotion Final...