Next month’s Asian Games a landmark event for NEP Visions

NEP Visions, a division of NEP Broadcasting, the leading international provider of outsourced teleproduction services critical to the delivery of live sports and entertainment events, has been awarded the key contract to provide host HDTV coverage at the 15th Annual Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, scheduled to run December 1 through December 15 and will produce more than 2,000 hours of television coverage.

Using equipment from both the UK and the US, NEP will provide exclusive coverage of the Asian Games opening and closing ceremonies, and all the athletics and gymnastics in HDTV, in addition to extensive coverage of the various competitions.

To adequately provide comprehensive coverage of the international competition consisting of 45 participating countries vying in 39 sporting events from more than 40 venues NEP Visions has made a significant investment in the most modern, flexible and fast assembly fly pack infrastructure and has shipped nearly 95 tons of equipment in fly packs to Doha. Additionally, more than 80 members of NEP Visions award-winning team of digital architects and engineers will be on hand to capture the events.

The enormity of this live, high-profile event scheduled to be watched by more than 1 billion viewers involves meticulous planning and coordination of equipment and manpower; there is simply no room for error or delay, says Doug Fletcher, NEP Visions unit manager. From the opening ceremony to the closing credits, the success of the broadcast is dependent on the fluid operation of the production team. With more than 20 years experience handling live sporting events, I m confident that our qualified team of professionals is up to the challenge.

For this massive operation, NEP Visions will establish 12 production galleries spread throughout the Games, all of which will feed into four master control rooms three SD and one HD. Equipment for the event includes: nine LDK 6200 and 30 LDK 6000 Super SloMo HD cameras; eight LDK 23 and 42 LDK 200 Super SloMo SD cameras; 10 SONY HDW recording tape decks and three SONY DVS 7350 Vision switchers; two HD Calypso consoles; 14 HD EVS XTs and 15 SD EVS XTs; and 12 Yamaha MC7L – 48 input sound desks. Additionally, NEP Visions has shipped more than 1,000 monitors and 270 microphones for use during the Asian Games.

NEP is working closely with Host Broadcast Services (HBS) and IMG Media in covering the Asian Games. NEP Visions has partnered with IMG Media and HBS on a number of prestigious events over the years and looks forward to making this year s Asian Games as memorable for the viewers as it will be for the participants, comments Martin Anderson, managing director of NEP-UK. Providing coverage for events of this caliber truly brings NEP s vast capabilities and tremendous reach into focus.

Sanctioned by the Olympic Council of Asia, the Asian Games, which take place every four years, is the second largest international multi-sport and multi-national event next to the Olympic Games. First held in New Delhi in 1951 with 489 athletes from 11 countries competing in six events, the 2006 Asian Games is expected to have more than 10,500 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions participating in 39 sports, breaking all previous records. This year s event will commence with its Opening Ceremony on Friday, December 1 and conclude with its Closing Ceremony on Friday, December 15.

NEP is proud to contribute its expertise and services to the broadcasting of the 15th Annual Asian Games, states NEP Broadcasting Executive Vice President Dan Wilhelm. NEP has a long history in handling large scale events such as the Asian Games from inception to completion. Additionally, since developing our International Events Group and with last year s acquisition of Visions a company with a great reputation for its work covering top international events such as Wimbledon, the French Open and the World Cup NEP has substantially strengthened its global reach.