HDR Denmark Uses Nevion IP For Live Horse Racing Coverage

Nevion has announced that HDR Denmark has deployed Nevion equipment and software for IP-based remote-production. The solution enables HDR to provide live horse racing coverage in Denmark with a minimal on-site crew. It also makes optimum use of resources in the central studio and control room in Copenhagen.

HDR Denmark selected Nevion’s Virtuoso for JPEG 2000 IP WAN transport with FEC protection, VikinX Sublime X2 hybrid router for baseband routing in the central facilities and Flashlink equipment for AV processing and Tally. HDR also picked VideoIPath to control the whole set-up from the central location. The implementation process ran smoothly, with the solution going live just three months after the project started, in time for the launch of the new Race Track channel in January.

Regular productions are now taking place with just one cameraman and two journalists at the racetrack and one host, one guest and one producer at the Copenhagen studio. The equipment is transported to the race-track in a car, and set up by the on-site cameraman. Live productions feature up to six video feeds from the race-tracks and three return feeds, as well as multiple audio, including comms.

In all, HDR Denmark is now providing coverage of 260 race days a year from nine different tracks for the Race Track channel.

“With horse racing having a comparatively small audience in Denmark, the production could not be of the same magnitude as some of the larger shows and events we handle, otherwise it would not be viable,” Marc Bostrøm, system integrator for HDR Denmark says. “We recognized that IP remote production was the only option to achieve the level of nimbleness and cost-effectiveness we needed. The Nevion solution provided all this and gave us the centralized control, low latency and the protection we needed too.”

“IP remote production makes it economically possible to provide professional coverage for sports that do not have a huge audience, which obviously benefits the viewers and also provides a viable business for us,” Bostrøm says. “With Nevion’s help, we have learnt a lot about the possibilities offered by IP, and we are looking at ways to capitalize further on this.”

“Often discussions around IP remote production focus on making large-scale, high-profile, international productions cheaper. This project shows IP can also extend the opportunities for live production and create new revenue streams. We are proud to have helped HDR Denmark achieve this for their business,” Hans Hasselbach, Nevion CCO says.