The World's Premier MTB Race Joins Forces with LiveU to Provide Highest Quality Live Coverage

The World's Premier MTB Race Joins Forces with LiveU to Provide Highest Quality Live Coverage posted: 16/03/2018

LiveU's LU600 HEVC chosen by the Absa Cape Epic to stream live the unique 8-day annual mountain bike stage race covering 658 km in South Africa's beautiful Western Cape region

The world's most televised mountain biking race, The Absa Cape Epic, has teamed up with LiveU to provide live coverage of the 8-day mountain bike stage race in South Africa's Western Cape. The Prologue and Grand Finale will be broadcast live on TV, with the Grand Finale being broadcast in more than 50 countries around the world. During the intermediate days, a full live streaming broadcast of the racing will be streamed online to the Absa Cape Epic's Facebook page. The event will take place from 18th - 25th March.

LiveU's LU600 HEVC portable transmission solution was chosen by the organisers due to its superior video quality and reliability. The LU600 HEVC units will be used on e-bikes (electric bikes) connected to GoPro cameras along the route, motorbikes and in helicopters together with LiveU's Xtender remote transmission device. LiveU's servers will be installed in OB trucks with direct connectivity to the Internet in the race villages, thanks to the race's headline sponsor and technology partner, Dimension Data. LiveU will also provide behind-the-scenes coverage in the village, for example interviews with the cyclists.

Top professional and amateur mountain bikers from around the world come together every year and compete in teams of two. Participants include successful athletes and sports people from different fields, such as Formula1, motorcross, rugby, cricket and Ironman. The race is owned by IRONMAN , part of Wanda Group. LiveU's local partner Telemedia will provide onsite support during the event.

Sarah Harrop, Marketing and Communications Manager at Absa Cape Epic said, At the 2017 race we realised how valuable it was to have live footage transmitted from the route to integrate in the live TV and web streaming productions. Thanks to LiveU's LU600 HEVC's equipment, we can transmit coverage from the ground and air of the Women's, Men's and amateur racing. During the testing phase, we were excited to experience the superior quality of the equipment. LiveU's portable technology could take our live streaming production to a whole new level, with real time broadcast-quality pictures coming from the course.

Yaal Eshel, VP Sales, LiveU, said, This is a great example of how the LU600 HEVC is taking us beyond news. Extreme sports are particularly popular throughout Africa and this event offers a perfect example of how our technology can be used to cover extreme sporting events from every angle. As well as the LU600 HEVC solution, we're going to be providing other products such as our LiveU Solo one-touch wireless streaming encoder for live interviews and LU-Smart mobile app for behind-the-scenes coverage in the village.

About Cape Epic

The Absa Cape Epic is the world's premier mountain bike stage race. The route changes every year, leading aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through roughly 700km of unspoilt scenery and 15 000m of accumulated climbing, over some of the most magnificent mountain passes in Western Cape in South Africa. The Absa Cape Epic is the most televised mountain bike stage race in the world and the only eight-day mountain bike stage race classed as hors cat gorie by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). This official UCI status makes it a highlight on the professional racers calendar. The Absa Cape Epic also attracts aspiring amateur riders wanting to test themselves against the best. It is a full-service race, meaning that everything is taken care of from the start - all riders need to think about is riding.

In 2016 the Cape Epic PTY (ltd) was acquired by the IRONMAN group, part of the Wanda Sport holding company. In terms of IRONMAN's strategy, the Cape Epic will be the pinnacle event of a world series in which stage races around the globe offer qualifying slots for the South African race.

About LiveU

LiveU is driving the live video revolution, providing live video streaming for TV, mobile, online and social media. Let your audience become part of your story with high-quality and flawless live video, transmitted from anywhere in the world, through the use of our patented bonding and video transport technology. LiveU creates a consistent bandwidth and a reliable connection so you can acquire, manage and distribute high quality remote live broadcasts over IP. Our broad portfolio of products sets the industry standard for live video production. From backpacks to smartphones, and satellite/cellular hybrid to external antenna solutions, LiveU offers a complete range of devices for live video coverage anytime, anywhere. In addition, LiveU offers extensive cloud-based management and video distribution solutions. With over 2,000 customers in 80+ countries, LiveU's technology is the solution of choice for global broadcasters, online media, news agencies and social media.

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