User Report
Boston Sports Now a Glass Act
by Ryhaan Williams Cannock
Project Manager
Venue Services Group
SMPTE fiber is fast becoming a necessity at stadiums
and sporting venues across the country and in the coming years,
and we expect the need to grow as more and more broadcasters move
to high-definition telecasts.
Most camera manufacturers, including Sony, say that their high-definition
cameras require a fiber connection from the camera head to the CCU
to bring out the best in picture quality. With that in mind, Sony
decided to provide SMPTE fiber in one fan-centric sports town: Boston.
The choices for sports arenas were Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark
in the country and home of the Red Sox, and the Fleet Center, home
to the Bruins and Celtics. Sony approached Venue Services Group
(VSG) to accomplish this rewiring project.
Sony Broadcast decided to use Mohawk/CDT's new three-circuit SMPTE
fiber, which has three separate SMPTE camera cables bundled within
one shielded jacket. It is available in riser-rated and plenum-rated
versions, and allows for the installation of three camera circuits
at each junction box location.
The cost of the cable is less than three single SMPTE fibers and
there is an additional cost savings in pulling one cable for three
circuits instead of three individual cables.
As a project manager for VSG, I had just finished the broadcast
cabling for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. VSG had been contracted
to extend and relocate the broadcast cables from their old location
within Fenway to the new television truck compound.
I was charged with coordinating the move between the Red Sox management
team, local affiliates and the common carriers. As a natural transition,
I began working with Sony and Mohawk to facilitate the fibering
of Fenway.
SEVEN LOCATIONS
Working with the local broadcaster, we decided that seven primary
camera locations would be necessary for the fiber install at Fenway
Park. Each location could support up to three cameras.
Sony also decided to experiment with different types of connectors,
so we installed two conventional Lemo connector pigtails and one
Stratos connector in each location. The use of the Lemo pigtails
allowed for easy installation on site, requiring only the termination
of SC connectors for the fiber and Amphenol connectors for the copper
portion.
For the 2004 season, we returned to Fenway to fiber three new camera
positions for the New England Sports Network (NESN), once again
employing the Lemo connector that has now become the Fenway standard.
NESN has been using a National Mobile Television HD truck since
the last half of the Red Sox 2003 season.
Sony was so pleased with the work done at Fenway that it decided
to tap VSG to fiber 14 camera positions at the Fleet Center, home
to the Bruins and Celtics. This work was crucial, as NESN and Fox
Sports Net New England were scheduled to broadcast all the home
games of the Bruins and Celtics in HD, and the networks required
an infrastructure similar to that of Fenway Park. By using a combination
of single- and triple-strand fiber, Lemo connectors and a newly
developed Mohawk/CDT plenum-rated cable, the Fleet Center was fibered
and ready in record time for the opening games of both the NHL and
NBA seasons.
Doing the right thing on a project and controlling costs requires
a balance that we strive to maintain, as it helps build our relationships
with clients and develop successful partnerships with our vendors.
Using Mohawk cable was a prime example of this.
Working alongside people from Mohawk and the various venues, I
felt the line blur between client and vendor. The right relationship
among a system integrator, vendor and client can help high-profile
sports venues such as the Fleet Center and Fenway Park move into
the high-definition future.
Ryhaan Williams Cannock is a project manager with the Venue
Services Group, a division of National Mobile Television. She can
be reached at ryhaan.cannock@vsg.tv.
For more information, contact Mohawk Cable at 978-537-9961 or
visit www.mohawk-cdt.com.
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