ABC Captured NBA Finals On GV’s LDK 8300


Using Grass Valley’s LDK 8300 HD Super SloMo camera, ABC Sports provided viewers with memorable buzzer-beating 3-point shots and HD replays during the week-long 2009 NBA Championship Series Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic.

Helping viewers and announcers analyze plays onscreen the LDK 8300 provided clear replays at 3X speed. Two Grass Valley LDK 8300 Super Slo-Mo cameras also were used in 3X mode for the entire Western Conference Championship series between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets as well as the league Finals.

The Grass Valley LDK 8300 uses the same head block as its normal speed HD equivalent, the LDK 8000, and features the company’s proprietary Dynamic Pixel Management sensors to produce native 1920×1080 and 1280×720 images.

In 3× mode the LDK 8300 achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of 54 dB. Normal speed output for live use is created at the camera control unit (CCU). The blending of the two or three video phases into the standard speed output also improves the signal-to-noise figure by a further 3 dB. It also offers colorimetry and video processing equal to the LDK 8000.

The LDK 8300 camera system includes internal AnyLight software. It uses sophisticated algorithms running in the signal-processing unit to prevent against image flickering, which is often experienced with slow-motion sports content shot under mixed artificial lighting conditions. AnyLight features five presets (including off) that allow the operator to dial in precisely the amount of correction required for each setup.

The result is that, during multi-camera productions, pictures created with the LDK 8300 can be seamlessly intercut with those from the LDK 8000 camera. The LDK 8300 also features a new 3 Gb/s fiber-optic transmission back that can send HD signals up to 2.4 miles. Using the LDK camera control systems (OCP and MCP) the 8300 is compatible with all LDK 8000 system accessories, such as viewfinders and SuperXpanders units.