The Hong Kong Jockey Club has begun broadcasting horse racing events at its Happy Valley and Sha Tin racetracks in HD with two newly installed Viz Arena systems from Vizrt.
Viz Arena is a system powered by Viz Engine 3.2 comprising Viz Artist 3.2 animation tools and the Viz Video 3-D control application. Viz Arena enables broadcasters to superimpose static and animated 3-D graphics over the live coverage of a sports event.
During the installation period, the Viz Arena system was calibrated at the Happy Valley and Sha Tin racetracks in two stages. First, camera lenses were calibrated independently from the venue. Later, a second calibration took place at the venue to achieve the best match between the virtual and real images.
Viz Arena can calculate real-time distance measurements and object placement during live action. HKJC uses Viz Arena to create several virtual lines on the track that show how far each horse and jockey are from various points along the track to the finish line. The resulting image helps viewers see the position of each horse and how the horses compare when crossing the finish line.
For more information, visit www.vizrt.com.
