CBS Sports, BSI select MRC for wireless HD

By Andrew Lippe

Microwave Radio Communications (MRC) manufacturer of video microwave systems for global television broadcast operations, will provide HD wireless transmission systems for use during CBS Sports coverage of golf tournaments beginning next January.

Mike Payne, MRC VP of marketing says between 6 and 14 Link HD systems will be used at every PGA Tour event CBS broadcasts. “It’s a dependable system,” says Payne. “CBS can produce high quality television in places they couldn’t go before.”

Broadcast Sports, Inc. (BSI) will provide the systems to CBS. CBS conducted testing of competing wireless HD systems before deciding on MRC’s technology. BSI will also use up to 10 Link HD systems as well as an HD Helicopter Video Downlink for NASCAR coverage in late 2007.

“The Link HD Wireless Camera Transmit System was selected for its high performance in video quality and low end-to-end video latency,” adds Payne. The Link system achieves the lowest end-to-end HD encode/decode latency currently available in the industry at less than 50ms.

MRC did a variation on the DVB-T COFDM transmitter and drastically improved transmission bandwidth efficiency. Using the MRC’s LMS-T transmitter all primary broadcast HD formats. “Our transmitter has more bits per bandwidth,” says Payne. Thus we have developed a system of the highest robustness. It can handle the harshest of environments.”