IBC 2019, 13-17 September, Stand 7.A01: Cinegy, the global leader for broadcast playout software in the cloud, has announced that it will showcase the full scope of its 8K recording, capture, archive, and encoding capabilities during IBC 2019.

On its IBC stand, Cinegy will feature the eye-popping Sharp 8M-B80AX1E 8K displays, the first 80-inch 8K professional display to be mass produced. The Sharp 8M-B80AX1E has 33 million pixels (7680 x 4320), four times that of 4K UHD and sixteen times the resolution of full HD.

Cinegy CEO Jan Weigner said, “Earlier this year we announced that our entire software-defined television product range is now 8K capable. We had an opportunity to thoroughly test and confirm those capabilities on Sharp’s new 8K displays at their Hamburg offices.

“We connected a small PC running our Cinegy Player 3 software and played 8K clips that had been filmed by a Sharp 8K camera and the results were astonishing. I can confirm that Sharp’s 8K displays are the only ones to date that legitimately display a true 8K picture using existing NVIDIA graphics cards on a Cinegy software-powered PC or workstation.”

Peter Heins, Senior Product Manager, Visual Solutions, Sharp Information Systems Europe, further clarified, “We are proud to be working with Cinegy, showcasing our latest addition to Sharp’s 8K ecosystem. We are delivering on our vision to charge the world with 8K, offering resolution that transforms our ability to display reality and Cinegy is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this vision. The new 80-inch 8K display will support new and exciting business applications that rely on ultimate image precision and clarity, and we look forward to seeing the benefits of our collaboration with Cinegy.”

In addition to showcasing real-time 8K imagery on its stand, Cinegy will also feature other 8K-ready products that are expanding Cinegy software’s appeal in enterprise IT and professional AV markets.

Weigner added, “All of this is to clearly illustrate, rather than just talk about, the fact that working in 8K from end to end – in real time - has never been easier. Affordable 8K SDI cards are readily available, Sharp’s display is the current 8K benchmark, and our software, in combination with our Daniel2 GPU codec, eliminate any obstacles to 8K production. Furthermore, by bringing the Daniel2 codec to Adobe Premiere for Windows and Mac, we open up the world of 8K production to millions of existing Adobe users.”

Cinegy will demonstrate its 8K capabilities on in Hall 7, Stand A01 during IBC 2019. For more information, visit www.cinegy.com

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About Cinegy
Cinegy develops software solutions for collaborative workflow encompassing IP, capture, editing and playout services tools, integrated into an active archive for full digital asset management. Either SaaS, virtualizable stacks, cloud or on-premises, Cinegy is COTS using standard IT hardware, and non-proprietary storage technology. Cinegy products are reliable, affordable, scalable, easily deployable and intuitive. Cinegy is truly Software Defined Television. Visit www.cinegy.com for more details.

About Sharp Information Systems Europe
Sharp Information Systems Europe (SISE) is a division of Sharp Electronics Europe, which offers a unique portfolio of award-winning document management and display solutions to help organisations transform the way they engage with information. Sharp’s industry-leading MFPs and large production systems sit at the heart of integrated applications for digital transformation, while our display solutions include innovative video walls, digital signage displays and interactive flat panel displays for collaborative presentations. Our mission is to develop new products that support individual expression; creating life enhancing experiences that let you be original. For more information, please visit www.sharp.eu


Cinegy PR Contact:
Jennie Marwick-Evans
Manor Marketing
jennie@manormarketing.tv
+44 (0) 7748 636171

A slight majority of U.S. consumers say they “have never heard of” Next Gen TV (aka ATSC 3.0) according to a new survey from Hub Entertainment Research. This is comparable to the 58% who have never heard of 8K TV but much larger than the approximately 20% who had never heard of 4K TV.

This lack of knowledge of the next generation broadcast standard is just one of numerous conclusions about the current state of the TV set in American homes revealed by Hub’s “Evolution of the TV Set.” The results are from an online survey of 2,500+ U.S. consumers taken in May and June. The survey included both TV and non-TV homes.

Despite the proliferation of viewing video on mobile devices, the TV set still remains the dominant source of news and entertainment in the U.S. household Hub concluded. It found that the average home has 2.7 TV sets and that two-thirds of those homes have at least one smart TV set that is connected to broadband. The TV set in the living room or family room is still the most popular, with respondents saying that 81% of viewing happens on TV sets in those rooms. Half of those “most used” sets are connected to a pay-TV provider while 41% are connected to a streaming TV source.

Among vendors, Samsung is the dominant player with 48% of those planning on buying a Samsung-branded smart TV set in the 12 months (LG is a distant second with 12%).

Half of the sets in American households are 50 inches or bigger and fewer than three years old, Hub said. Almost half of all U.S. homes now have a streaming media player, according to the survey and 75% of homes stream TV shows or movies to a connected TV screen.

When it comes to new technologies, consumers are most interested in 4K and HDR sets with more than 75% of respondents expressing “a lot” or “some” interest in the high resolution imaging technologies. However, while 4K TV sets are now dominant on the retail floor, only 43% have used a 4K TV set to watch actually 4K content.

Television technology is becoming more complex to consumers as they navigate terms such as 8K, HDR and frames per second, according to David Tice, co-author of the study.

“As smart TVs, connected TVs, connected devices, and TV voice-control devices proliferate, many new services and features have suddenly become available to TV set users”, said David Tice, co-author of the study. “But TV manufacturers and services have a long record of inadequately educating consumers on their offerings. TV brands and content distributors need to work together to increase consumer awareness, as these great new features won’t help sell TV sets or services—or command a premium—if people don’t understand them.”

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

CES 2019 will be marked as the true debut of 8K television.

In Las Vegas, four TV makers — LG, Samsung, Sony and TCL — announced they'd be shipping 8K big screen models to North American retailers this year, like it or not, ready or not. Other brands, including Changhong, Hisense, Sharp and Skyworth, fronted their LVCC booths with 8K prototypes, likely waiting to gauge sales by the top tier brands before announcing their own U.S. 8K product plans.

8K ON DISPLAY AT 2019 CES

While there was boastful excitement amongst the 8K TV vendors in Las Vegas — several banded together at CES to form the 8K Alliance — excitement among retailers, the industry and consumers at large is questionable.

This lack of excitement is reflected by 8K sales forecasts. CTA projects than 200,000 8K TVs would be sold in the U.S. this year compared to projected sales of 22.2 million 4K sets, growing to a mere 1.5 million 8K units in 2022. But there are those who believe these and other similar 8K forecasts are optimistic. A couple of months ago, Samsung forecast North America 8K sales of just 100,000 units in 2019, and only 759,000 sets in 2022.

"8K [is] just another distraction encouraging customers to second guess that aspirational 4K purchase," opined Robert Cole, founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based World Wide Stereo. "My guys on the floor learned quickly not to lead with the 8K story. The presentation was more about it being future-proof with the best technology available. As more 8K TVs are released, the story will evolve."

“Considering there is no content for 8K at the moment and the technology hasn't been standardized, making the leap isn't for everyone,” agreed Jon Abt, co-president of Glenview, Ill.-based Abt Electronics, which has sold around a dozen of the first Samsung 8K model. "It's certainly at a very early adopter stage at the moment, but the upscaling from 4K is promising for today's buyers. There will be an influx of sets in 2019 at lower price points, which should open the market up.”

“We were one of two retailers in Texas to receive Samsung’s first 8K TV," said Kris Dybdahl, VP of Bjorn’s Audio Video. "We have sold one or two already to our early adopters. It looks great with the internal 8K demo content, as well as the up-converted content that we play on it on a daily basis.

"However, in a perfect world I wish the manufacturers would have held off a little while longer before trotting out 8K," Dybdahl continued. "By bringing 8K out so quickly after 4K, when most people still don’t have a 4K set yet, I think causes confusion in the customers mind — even the possibility of should I wait to see if there will be 16K?”

Here's a rundown of the 8K sets announced at CES and scheduled to go on sale this year:

LG: Five 8K models are coming from LG in the second half of 2019, with pricing likely coming in June: the 88-inch Z9 OLED, and four LCD-based NanoCell models — SM80, SM85, SM90 and SM95. All five LG 8K sets will be imbued with the company's ThinQ smart home platform and Google Assistant, DolbyVision HDR and LG's next-gen Alpha 9 processor designed to enhance up-conversion.

Samsung: First to market with 8K last fall, Samsung has already started pre-sales on four new QLED 8K models, all equipped with HDR10+, adaptive brightness and sound technologies, as well as Apple AirPlay 2 and iTunes support: a 65-inch ($4,999), 75-inch ($6,999), 82-inch ($9,999) and 85-inch ($14,999). Samsung also displayed a 98-inch QLED model, but with no word on when or how much.

Sony: The company silently debuted 85- and 98-inch versions of its XBR Master Series Z9G 8K Android TV LCD models. While both sets are already listed on the company's web site, there is no word on when or how much.

TCL: As its CES press event, TCL announced two models — a 75-inch Roku-enabled 8-Series set equipped with QLED and quantum contrast technologies and a Roku hardware reference design that TCL is the first to license, as well as the Q10 QLED Android TV. Only the Roku 8K model is scheduled to be sold in the U.S., however, but in what potential additional sizes, when and at what price TCL hasn't said. 

Pictured: LG's Z9 OLED

LAS VEGAS—Just before the 2019 CES begins Jan. 8, the Consumer Technology Association will reveal its annual electronics sales forecast, and for the first time 8K ultra high definition TV sets will be included in the forecast.

“8K is getting real,” says Steve Koenig, CTA’s vice president of market research. “We’ve seen 8K in previous years, but now I expect every manufacturer will show 8K equipment, and there will be big announcements about plans to begin shipping 8K sets later in the year.”

Koenig’s forecast will also confirm the strength of the television receiver market, showing that 55-inch 4K UHD displays are “now the industry standard,” a dramatic jump from the 42-inch screen which had been the mainstay of the flat-panel industry for several years. Koenig also expects that 65-inch sets will be heavily promoted at CES.

[Read: Is 8K Gaining Traction?]

Although Koenig admits he has “no idea” about the pricing for 8K equipment, he expects the sets will be just one aspect of the renewed focus on TV devices. Advanced TV display technology, including rollable screens, micro LEDs from Samsung and Sony’s short-throw laser projection are among products Koenig expects to see at next year’s CES.

THE RISE OF ‘C-SPACE’

CTA’s Karen Chupka, senior vice president, CES & Corporate Business Strategy, affirmed the staying power of television sets despite the boom in alternative viewing devices.

“At one point, everyone thought the TV set would become a dumb device, yet TVs have become smarter,” Chupka said. “TVs are still a huge part of our everyday lives. While we have all these great technologies being built into things we never thought of, at the end of the day, people are still using TVs, albeit interfacing with them in different ways.”

Citing the rapid adoption of streaming video, as well as user-created content, Chupka characterized as “incredibly important” the growing reality that “content resides on all our devices.” Focusing on the growth of “C Space,”—a conference and exhibit area at CES aimed at content producers, marketers and distributors—she focused on the growing role of analytics and other tools that help marketers and programmers evaluate new opportunities.

“We created C Space with the intent to bring branding, content and marketing people under one roof,” Chupka told TV Technology. “There is so much knowledge about who’s watching what and the ability to create diverse programming. All this data and analytics are becoming more and more important to understanding audiences.”

This year, “Sports Zone,” a popular component of the CES in recent years, has been moved to C Space, because it’s “such an important tie-in,” Chupka explained. The combination means that 2019’s C Space will be twice the size of last year’s event, which drew 22,000 attendees. Chupka expects a larger crowd this year.

Other technologies such as ATSC 3.0 will be less visible—but not absent—from the halls and suites at CES. Koenig does not expect manufacturers to demonstrate 3.0 devices on the show floor, although such products may be on display at the 2020 CES.

WELCOME TO ‘THE DATA AGE’

Along with 8K introductions, Koenig expects other video developments.

“What matters is picture quality,” he said. Technically advanced consumers will be looking for advanced features, such as high dynamic range. Koenig’s research also indicates that 4K sets will dominate U.S. TV sales in the coming year. Nearly half of all new receivers will have 4K displays in 2019, and that figure will rise to 55 percent by 2020, Koenig said.

Television sets are the number one most-owned technology in America, in 96 percent of U.S. homes, according to CTA’s research, with smartphones (86 percent) coming in second place.

“Even in this mobile-driven era, the TV remains the centerpiece of technology in U.S. homes,” Koenig added. “TV is still a major attraction at CES.” He expects that one major issue next month will be the intense global competitive market, especially as more TV brands from China offer innovations, just as Japanese and Korean companies have done in recent years.

At their presentation at the “CES Unveiled” preview in New York last month, Koenig’s CTA research colleagues predicted an upbeat holiday sales season, predicting that 164 million adults (about two-thirds of American adults) will purchase technology gifts, spending an average of $464. TV receivers remain the most popular item on the holiday wish list, similar to 2017, with notebook/laptop computers and smartphones/tablets filling the next two spots.

In their presentation, Ben Arnold, CTA’s senior director-innovation and trends, and Lesley Rohrbaugh, director-market research, introduced a new strategic perspective, calling 2020 the start of the “Data Age,” following the “Digital Age” (2000) and “Connected Age” (2010). They singled out the growing use of artificial intelligence—where IoT, which usually stands for “Internet of Things”—has been updated to the “new” IoT: “Intelligence of Things,” in which digital assistants become more specialized and a range of home products are integrated into a “whole home view.”

READY FOR ATSC 3.0

Pearl TV, the alliance of eight broadcast companies promoting Next Gen TV, will be active during CES in anticipation of its 2020 service launch, according to Anne Schelle, managing director.

“Our entire focus is on the commercialization of the very flexible ATSC 3.0 standard,” of Pearl TV, Schelle said. The organization’s leaders and its Phoenix model market partners will be at CES “meeting with various ecosystem partners, reaching out to consumer device manufacturers, automotive manufacturers, and other players to share our service requirements and plans resulting from the Phoenix tests,” she said.

Schelle contrasted the 3.0 rollout to the high-definition transmission and reception launch 20 years ago, which “took several CES and NAB Shows to accomplish.”

“It’s moving much faster in today’s digital environment,” she said. “While we don’t anticipate seeing much in the way of ATSC 3.0 receivers on the show floor itself in 2019, we know that ‘behind the scenes’ discussions will be about new partnerships and new capabilities of future television products—just like conversations in past years.

“CES will be another opportunity to explain how this transition is different than the last one, and how broadcasters are embracing the Internet Protocol capabilities of the new standard,” Schelle added.

Separately, ONE Media, the Sinclair Broadcasting technology unit that is developing Next Gen TV services, will privately demonstrate three configurations of its chip for ATSC 3.0 devices. There will be a simple demodulator package, a demodulator with analog/digital conversion capability and a demodulator with analog/digital conversion plus an embedded turner, according to Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media and Sinclair’s vice president of advanced technology.

First versions of the chip, which was developed by Saankhya Labs, an Indian firm in which Sinclair holds a major stake, were due to be delivered during the past month from a Samsung foundry. The single-chip receivers feature a low-power embedded antenna and were also designed for use in moving vehicles. The chips include a closely coupled antenna array to insure reception in a high-speed mobile environment, according to Aitken. “We’re going after the largest possible markets, including the global market for set top boxes,” Aitken told TV Technology. The new multistandard SDR (software defined radio) chip will support 23 broadcast standards, he added. ONE Media will demonstrate the technology privately in a hotel suite during CES and expects “we’ll have more to show” (possibly on the exhibit floor) at the 2019 NAB Show, Aitken said, adding that he also plans to demonstrate the chip’s capabilities at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February.

Aitken declined to discuss pricing, but said that even in low quantities, the price point will be “a fraction” of what other companies are charging for SDR chips.

SENSORY OVERLOAD

Beyond the renewed vigor within the video category, CES continues to expand its reach into countless digital realms—thereby attracting an ever more diverse array of exhibitors and attendees. For example, the Eureka Park exhibit area—where start-ups and young companies can display their innovations—will have 1,200 small booths next month, up from 1,000 in 2018 and six-fold the size of the first Eureka Park five years ago.

Overall, more than 4,500 exhibitors have signed up to show their wares in the 2.75 million square feet of space at CES’s three major venues in Las Vegas (Tech East, Tech West and Tech South, all of which include multiple buildings), CTA’s Chupka said. Floor space and the expected attendee roster of more than 180,000 people are “tracking ahead of last year,” Chupka added. About one-third of attendees are based outside the United States, and CTA’s tally shows that 65,000 people carry a “senior-level executive” title.

In addition to the Prince of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom’s Minister of Trade, 10 other overseas Ministers will take part in the programs.

Chupka is particularly enthusiastic about the growth of C Space, with its larger-than-ever presence by Hulu, NBCUniversal, Turner, Google and other old and new media companies. CES has expanded its “Marketplace” clusters of technologies—each focused on purveyors in categories such as robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, smart cities and travel.

Koenig pointed out the continuing explosion of new programming, including material created for streaming, subscription video-on-demand and other platforms.

“There is so much content out there,” he said, speculating that the “mosaic of sources can be a ‘Frankenstein monster’ of content that consumers have trouble wrangling.” He said he’ll look for ways that artificial intelligence can better help consumers curate their choices. Koenig cited the predictive algorithms (recommendation engines) of Netflix and Amazon Prime which steer viewers to shows they like.

“As algorithms get better and better and train the AIs,” Koenig said he expects that the services will bridge to other digital assistants that will help consumers make viewing decisions. He cited a service, which will be on display at CES, in which LG uses Google Assistant to enable viewers to control the TV.

“It will be interesting to see what is the next level of integration beyond command and control, getting into curation,” Koenig said.

Among other features that he expects to emerge at CES is more audio for home theater, such as a new Dolby Atmos technology that provides “an enormously rich, immersive sound field to go with 4K or 8K.”

WHERE CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGY MEET

The CES conference program—spread over the four days of CES, Jan. 8–12—encompasses more than 250 sessions on dozens of topics. The keynote speaker line-up includes a first-time appearance by LG Electronics President/CTO Dr. I.P. Park, who will appear at a Monday night pre-show event to discuss how artificial intelligence has become the company’s main growth engine. Park is also expected to describe how AI will affect nearly every major industry from technology to healthcare, agriculture, transportation and engineering.

Other keynoters include IBM Chairman/President/CEO Ginni Rometty, who will also discuss AI and quantum in the context of trust and transparency, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, who will (according to CTA) “take a deep dive into the impact of 5G,” especially for use in building smart cities infrastructure. AMD President/CEO Dr. Lisa Su will examine next-generation of computing, especially in terms of gaming and virtual entertainment.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is scheduled to sit down with CTA President/CEO Gary Shapiro for a half-hour on-stage chat about regulatory issues on the first day of CES. Other members of the FCC and Federal Trade Commission are expected to join various public policy sessions, which had not yet been confirmed at press time. International trade issues will also be on the agenda, Chupka promised.

Even after more than 20 years of overseeing CES, Chupka seemed awed at the velocity of changes now infusing the technology industry.

“One thing I think that will be surprising is how many advances there will be apparent in just one year.”

For more information, visitces.tech.

Samsung this week planted its flag in the 8K consumer television world with initial shipments of its new 85-inch Q900 QLED television to select retailer.

Samsung has built an AI-based upscaler, called the Quantum Processor 8K, into the television to produce 8K resolution regardless of the video’s original resolution, the company said. The proprietary 8K upscaling technology is capable of up-resing content from a variety of sources, including streaming services, set top boxes, HDMI and USB sources and even mobile sources, the company said.

Samsung’s Quantum Processor 8K also optimizes audio for each scene, adjusts brightness to the set’s surroundings and drives personalized content recommendations.

Priced a penny below $15,000, the Q900 offers Q HDR 8K, Samsung’s high dynamic range powered by HDR10+ technology. The new TV is capable of 4,000 nit peak brightness, and includes many new functions. They include One Remote, which allows the TV to recognized and analyze devices connected via optical cable and automatically switch image source and audio output to optimize the viewing experience; Ambient Mode, which enables the TV to mimic the surroundings wall pattern and overlay art, personal images or news, weather and other helpful information; and Universal Guide, a personalized recommendation feature that finds live and OTT content on TV, the company said.

In August, Samsung announced the Q900FN QLED 8K television in Berlin at IFA 2018, and at the time said it would begin U.S. shipments in October.

“At Samsung, we’ve worked tirelessly over the years to move the industry forward when it comes to premium picture quality, and the introduction of the Q900FN with 8K AI Upscaling is an integral component as we look to the future of displays,” said Jongsuk Chu, SVP of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics.

The company is also taking pre-orders for the Q900, it said.

More information is available on the Samsung website. 

INDIAN WELLS CALIF.—As a matter of street cred,Pete Putman launched his annual Consumer Electronics Show Review at the HPA Technology Retreat with a slide of his old Heathkit Crystal Receiver Model CR-1 that still works.

Putman then reviewed the price points of TVs, which are all over the board, but tumbling in general. In 1995, a 50-inch 720p plasma costs $50,000. It would now be had for less than one-tenth of that.

Putman said 170,000-plus people attended CES, including 3,600 companies exhibited on 2.47 million square feet of floor space. Sharp TVs, once renowned for its RGBY pixels is no more. Hisense owns the brand. Panasonic, Putman said, had a single TV on the floor. LG is pressing forward with organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, TVs, in part because it scored the Kodak patent for white OLEDs, which overcome the dreaded phenomenon of the dying blue OLEDs that have plagued the displays from their inception.

Virtual reality was big, as was augmented reality. Putman showed a slide of the line at the Oculus Rift booth that looked like Walmart on black Friday. It was long.

So Putman kept up the TV tour, which included 8KTVs and a screen that’s really too big to be believed. LG had a 98-inch 8KTV; Samsung had a curved 8K LCD, and Konka and Hisense had 8KTVs.

But it was Samsung that showed the “world’s largest” 170-inch TV. Putman said he didn’t know of another 170-inch TV that was not the world’s largest.

“You stood there long enough, you get a nice tan from it,” he said.

One display exhibit that caught Putman’s eye comprised four 65-inch curved OLED panels together, displaying different scenes on both sides.

With regard to high-dynamic range, the route to provision is turning into a maze, but the goal is clear enough on the display side. Just as there were a lot of high-definition TVs in the market long before there was high-definition TV, HDR sets are hitting the floor.

Changhong, one of the many Chinese TV makers, was showing 4K HDR OLEDs, Putman said. Samsung demonstrated 4K HDR over the air, if you could find it, Putman said. LG had a 4K HDR LCD, and Sony had a 4KTV with wide color gamut.

Samsung announced a UHD HDR BluRay player for $350. Panasonic also showed one but did not name a price.
Lenovo showed the Yoga X1 with an 14-inch OLED screen, with three USB Type 3 connectors, important for hooking up things that aren’t here yet but coming, Putman said.

There were also transparent displays and quantum dot displays. QD Vision demonstrated that quantum dot backlighting is more power efficient than LCD, the technology is still contains cadmium, which is pretty nasty to the human body.

Putman said the coolest thing he saw was a rollable OLED display from LG showing video. Sony first showed a tiny rollable OLED in 2010. Putman describe LG’s 18-incher as “too cool for words.”

Putman talked about the superMHL interface for mobile devices for delivery of video up to 8K resolution. He mentioned 60 GHz connectivity, and said 802.11ad Wi-Fi is here with the support of Qualcomm. He called it “Wi-Fi with rocket boosters.”

Also see Pete’s coverage atHDExpert.com.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO—U.S. television networks are taking advantage of advanced video formats, IP-based signal routing, and just-in-time video file transfers to enhance coverage of the NFL and college football season. “Sports coverage is usually at the cutting-edge of TV production technology,” said Ken Aagaard, executive vice president of operations, engineering and production services for CBS Sports. “We tend to lead the charge into new ways of doing things, on behalf of all our networks’ production and operations facilities.”

Drew Brees (#9) during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints matchup in Pittsburgh last season. The NFL kicks off the 2015 season with the Steelers visiting Gillette Stadium to take on Super Bowl champions New England Patriots.4K AND BEYOND
Although fans can’t view the action in ultra-high definition yet, 4K cameras have become a staple of sports coverage. “This will be our fourth or even fifth year that we’ve used 4K equipment in some area of football coverage,” said Michael Davies, senior vice president of Fox Sports’ Media Group Field and Technical Operations. “4K cameras are extremely useful for capturing high-resolution footage that we can then digitally zoom into for HD replays and slow motion clips.”

The Sony HDC-4300 variable frame rate camera is the preferred choice for NFL and college football coverage with at least three of the four networks (ESPN/ABC, CBS and Fox) using the camera system in their mobile football units. Fox is also shooting with the Grass Valley LDK 86 4K and Vision Research v642 2K cameras to shoot slow motion clips.

“The v642 provides higher resolution than HD, variable frame rate, and the ability to work over a single server channel on our Game Creek Encore mobile production unit,” said Davies. “In contrast, the HDC-4300 at full 8x slow-mo requires nine channels.” Fox is adding Vision Research Phantom Flex4K cameras to its football roster to broaden its base of 4K camera options. The Flex4K can shoot 4K footage at speeds up to 1,000 frames per second.

When it comes to using advanced video formats to cover football, ESPN is pushing the envelope this fall, including the testing of the “Pylon Cam,” a custom-molded goal line pylon that houses multiple cameras that can bring new imaging perspectives around the goal line during the game. ESPN has consulted with the NFL on the development of the Pylon Cam since it debuted the device during the College Football Playoff Championship in January. The network tested it during this year’s NFL preseason and, depending on feedback, may decide to use it during the Monday Night Football debut on Sept. 14. It also may utilize the Pylon Cam during some college football telecasts this season.

During the NFL preseason, ESPN tested the “Pylon Cam,” a custom-molded goal line pylon that houses multiple cameras that can bring new imaging perspectives around the goal line during the game.

“We’re active in testing, research and development around new video formats, including 4K, 8K, HDR and more,” said Jon Pannaman, vice president of content and production systems for ESPN. “We’ve also got some other new things that we are exploring in terms of using technology to bring new views to consumers, but we’re not in position to talk about those just yet.”

CBS is also trying out new cameras as it deploys its new SSCBS mobile unit to cover football. In addition to SSCBS’ flagship Sony HDC-4300 4K cameras, the network will be testing its own version of pylon-mounted small cameras and 360 degree-cameras on its “Supracam” two-point aerial 4K camera system. “Supracam is strung between two points in the stadium and flown over to the opposite side of the field,” said Aagaard. “This camera just moves in a straight line, always looking down the line of scrimmage. We would possibly place 360-degree cameras on the Supracam system, giving 360-degree camera views.”

IP ROUTING ADDS CAPACITY
Compared to traditional SDI signal routing, IP-based routing can support far more signal channels and connections. This is why Fox’s Encore unit is equipped with an Evertz EXE IP-based router, Evertz 570IPG high-density IP gateways, and an uncompressed 10Gbps Ethernet infrastructure that can carry and switch the equivalent of 6,900 uncompressed HD-SDI signals.

“We are very happy with the extra capacity that IP provides to our Encore unit,” sDavies said. “This unit probably won’t get fully tasked until we cover the Super Bowl.”

CBS Sports is also using hybrid IP and SDI routing in its new NEP-built SSCBS mobile production unit. “CBS is committing to an IP-based infrastructure for video, audio and communications,” said Aagaard. “As these technologies continue to mature we are prepared to take advantage of them.”

Another big trend in this season’s pro/college football coverage is the expanded use of video file transfers. These files are transferred on a “just-in-time” basis to mobile units to broaden their choice of real-time templates and content during live production; and from mobile units to network storage facilities to allow more people to pull and edit highlights quicker than ever before.

ESPN is using off-the-shelf network-attached storage hard drive arrays to create dedicated network-connected data storage centers for football video files. Available in storage sizes from 6 TB to 2 PB, ESPN calls these dedicated data centers “Bristol Advanced Storage Systems” (BASS); Bristol, Conn. being the home of ESPN’s IP-based (DC-2) Digital Center 2. (When it opened last year, DC-2 was the first-large scale Ethernet/IP-based production facility in the world. It is built around a large Ethernet core of two custom-made Evertz systems that provide 2304x10 Gbps ports, enabling a fully redundant dual path platform with 46Tbps of bandwidth.)

“With all of our football video being directed into a dedicated BASS, our people now have a one-stop-shop for storing, accessing, editing, and playing out football video,” said Pannaman. “DC-2’s tremendous IP-based capacity is central to our ability to utilize BASS for football production. For instance, the facility has the capacity to route and switch more than 60,000 1080p sources at a time.”

There is no doubt that this year’s network football production is more advanced than ever before. But as advanced as it is now, it will likely become even more sophisticated as the 2015-16 season progresses.

“The things that we are doing at the start of the season may well be different by the end,” said Davies at Fox Sports. “That’s just how quickly production technology progresses in U.S. pro/college football coverage.”