European Aquatics Championships: Omnicam4Sky special camera captures split images above and below water By David Davies
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 - 08:18
Print This Story
Credit: European Aquatics
Grup Mediapro company Omnicam4Sky has provided a host of special camera solutions - including the Waterline Dual Cam that allows the capturing of split images above and below the waterline - for use at the European Aquatics Masters Championships, which took place in Belgrade from 26 June to 6 July.
Established as an R&D-driven subsidiary of Grup Mediapro in 1997, Omnicam4Sky is focused primarily on the development of innovative camera systems. It has long-standing associations with sports federations including FIFA, UEFA and Conmebol, and in the last month alone has supplied special cameras for events including the UEFA Women's Champions League Final and the UEFA Europa League Final.
Omnicam4Sky's involvement in the European Aquatics Masters Championships provided a particular opportunity to showcase the breadth of its recent innovation. Multiple units of its Underwater PTZ solution - which constitutes an aluminium rail with underwater glass dome enclosure for Panasonic UE-80 UHD cameras - were used to capture the artistic swimming, swimming and jump events.
Omnicam4Sky also provided one K2 remote-controlled track camera with stabilised 15 8 Canon lens and pan-bar (essentially a regular tripod with zoom and focus handles instead of traditional joystick control) for the swimming events, as well as a single AquaJib - which comprises a pole with underwater glass dome enclosure housing a Dreamchip Atom SSM500 ultra-slow motion camera - for jump events.
But arguably the most intriguing single solution from Omnicam4Sky to be utilised at the championships was the Waterline Dual Cam. Employed throughout the artistic swimming events, the Waterline Dual Cam provides two perspectives on the same image - one from above the waterline, and one from below.
Jorge Quinta Gaspar, CEO of Omnicam4Sky, says that the origins of the current camera stretch back as far as 2009 and a swimming training centre project in Portugal. We had a railcam with a Sony Z700 PTZ camera on top, and underwater there was a small zoom camera, which was a Sony HXR-MC1, he recalls. It was pretty similar to what we see now in the artistic swimming event, where the concept is to have the two cameras - one outside the water and one inside - and then stitch the two images together.
Controlled remotely with a motorised iris focus zoom lens and multi-matrix support, the Waterline Dual Cam enables a seamless, horizontal line that clearly divides the integrated waterline image regardless of the presence of waves and ripple effects.
The current HD solution rectifies the principal challenges encountered with the 2009-era product. It wasn't so good in terms of manipulating the images with the software we were using, and as a result the final effect wasn't too great, says Gaspar, who adds that the moving underwater camera was ultimately deemed to be unsuitable for actual swimming competitions because the waves it created in the swimming pool could affect the swimmers. So, what we have now is a much better quality solution that revolves around fixed cameras which run along a track [some distance] above the water, and also close to the waterline, that can be controlled very effectively in terms of pan and zoom.
Software upgrade
Integral to the performance of the latest-generation solution is the significant evolution of the control software, which means users can now benefit from access to very high-quality 3D imaging of the cameras in use . An extensive period of testing before deployment also proved to be invaluable.
We are always testing new things and looking into possible improvements, confirms Gaspar. For instance, for a long time we were using plastic domes with the PTZ solutions, but more recently we have switched to glass domes as part of our ongoing efforts to get the best from the cameras.
In terms of the performance of the Waterline Dual Cam at the European Aquatics Masters Championships - where host broadcaster duties were shared between Arena Sport and RTS Serbia, the feedback received from the operators has been very good, with the system performing well throughout the event , he says.
Read more Arena Sport and RTS Serbia share host duties for European Aquatics Championships
Gaspar also points out that the Belgrade event was by no means the only major recent aquatics-related outing for Omnicam4Sky solutions, with the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships - which took place in Doha from 2-18 February - involving extensive use of the 4Sky four-cable suspended dynamic camera system. Incorporating a stabilised camera head, a choice of Panasonic or Sony cameras, Canon lenses and remote OCP camera control, 4Sky is able to move dynamically across a sports field or arena from virtually any spot or angle - allowing it to shift vertically and horizontally across a pre-defined indoor or outdoor space.
We have worked on a lot of aquatics events in recent years, using our own camera systems developed in-house, confirms Gaspar, adding that in Doha the 4Sky was employed by Sky as part of its coverage. We are always innovating, both in terms of new systems and improvements [to existing ones], in order to capture the kind of images and angles that wouldn't have been possible even relatively recently.
He also thinks that a continual focus on making its special cameras as easy to use as possible has contributed significantly to Omnicam4Sky's current prominence in the sports market. Everything we do is from the ground-up with [a major emphasis] on making it all versatile and user-friendly for the operators, says Gaspar. You really don't want to be making any aspect of the production more compl
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
European Aquatics Championships: Omnicam4Sky special camera captures split images above and below water By David Davies 
