Vidovation Inks US Distribution Deals With Antelope Camera Systems, DoCaption

VidOvation has reached agreements with two European equipment vendors — Antelope Camera Systems and DoCaption — to offer their product lines to the U.S. market. Antelope Camera Systems, based in Germany, is well known for its high-frame-rate camera systems in sports and live action applications. France-based DoCaption offers subtitle and captioning solutions, including the frame-accurate scoreboard data encoder and decoder for broadcast sports applications.

Antelope Camera Systems specializes in the development of mini cameras and high-speed imaging technology for the broadcast market, providing solutions for sports and live event production as well as feature and documentary films. The Antelope camera family — together with the first fully integrated real-time deflickering solution for live broadcast slow-motion systems — are the major products developed by Antelope Camera Systems. The company offers the world’s smallest, fully integrated professional 2K and 4K HDR live broadcast cameras: Antelope Femto, Antelope Nano, and Antelope Ultra 4K. Antelope Camera Systems is also well-known for its smallest high-speed camera, Antelope Pico, which provides slow-motion perspectives in live broadcast at 350fps in native HD, while simultaneously outputting a 1080p50/60 signal via HD-SDI for live television production.

DoCaption’s flagship LRBox line features a comprehensive series of hardware tools for 3G/HD/SD-SDI ancillary data management including, but not limited to, closed captioning and subtitling. The cost-effective, versatile LRBox provides on-the-fly video ancillary data insertion, extraction, and bridging capabilities, together with an on-screen-display engine for monitoring. The most recent addition to DoCaption’s LRBox platform, the scoreboard data encoder and decoder, allows for frame-accurate insertion of scoreboard data into an SDI video signal. The system receives data from various scoreboard brands by connecting directly to them using their specific protocols. In sports applications, this process ensures video is synchronized with the game clock, ultimately improving the accuracy of game replays and official reviews.

“Making both of these product lines readily available in the U.S. is going to be thrilling for broadcast and production companies,” says Jim Jachetta, EVP and CTO, VidOvation. “The Antelope line of mini cameras and DoCaption’s LRBox ancillary data management platform offers the kind of innovation that broadcasters welcome. Knowing that VidOvation stands behind both vendors’ systems, with the kind of support U.S. broadcasters expect, makes these new agreements a win-win for everyone.”