AJA Video Systems will debut its TruZoom technology at IBC2013.
The company has been working closely with MLB Network, Major League Baseball's 24/7 cable TV network, to bring the TruZoom software to market for highly detailed region-of-interest extraction from 4K video. The TruZoom application controls AJA's Corvid Ultra with TruScale hardware, which supports 4K/2K/UHD/HD/Dual-link and SD workflows to produce scaled output video at 1080p, 720p or 1080i. The software allows customers to rapidly keyframe scaled elements onto a timeline from 4K sources to deliver incredible image quality.
First tested in March 2013, TruZoom was deployed by MLB Network during a handful of regular season games in June, with plans to use the technology in the fall for two Division Series game telecasts. MLB Network's workflow involves capture with either a Canon C500 or a Sony F55 camera, shooting first base and second base on a preset. The camera signal is delivered over fiber to an OB truck, where it's converted back to electrical video and plugged into the AJA Corvid Ultra with TruScale card, which is housed in a custom-configured HP Z820 Dual Xeon 3.10 GHz workstation with an NVIDIA Quadro K4000 GPU. Record and playback is facilitated via an internal SSD RAID array made up of eight Samsung 840 Pro 512GB SSD drives connected to an Areca RAID controller.
4K imaging with TruZoom enables the MLB Network to see close plays in a much better light than before, as well as to offer viewers an unprecedented look at the game of baseball. Without TruZoom, producing this level of replay required a multi-step process using a server and a DVE, which doesn't yield anywhere near the 4K-quality level.
For more information, visit AJA at IBC Stand 7.F11.
