EVS Deploys Live Solutions at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Host broadcast organization HBS confirms its ongoing collaboration with live production technology specialist EVS to supply equipment for the live production coverage of the Women’s World Cup in Germany.  Match productions involving multiple outside broadcast (OB) facilities, as well as broadcast companies, will rely on EVS solutions for all live replays, highlights, and graphic analysis throughout the event.

Games are played in nine different stadiums throughout Germany (Augsburg, Bochum, Frankfurt, Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg, Berlin, Dresden, Leverkusen, Sinsheim) and are covered by 16 HD cameras for regular matches and up to 18 HD cameras for top matches. Each camera angle is recorded on five XT series servers (six channels each) controlled by 5 LSM remotes connected through a high bandwidth media sharing network, allowing live operation teams to control any instant shot for slow motion replays, prepared advanced highlights packages, and closers.

All systems are managed by IPDirector, EVS’ production content management system, which allows reviewing and smooth handling of all recorded media and key sequences. The system is used to exchange files transparently via Avid and Apple FCP editing suite for advanced montage.

Initially introduced by HBS in Johannesburg last summer, the Epsio live graphic analysis system has been added to the live OB setup for the replay of controversial actions involving offside player positions. Integrated into the XT system and controlled by the LSM remote controller, Epsio manages an autodetection of the playing field with autographic overlay creation, allowing operators to draw a line in under five seconds that shows the offside positions of players.

All live program feeds are gathered at the IBCC (Broadcast Coordination Centre) based in Frankfurt, which is mainly dedicated to unilateral broadcast operations. Following the successful operation of last year’s World Cup media exchange platform, which was based on EVS systems, various broadcasters covering this year’s Women World Cup have opted for smaller scale workflow based on EVS servers and content management system offering similar capabilities.

At ARD-ZDF, live incoming feeds are recorded on two EVS XT series servers, allowing the production team to create extra highlights and polished edits using EVS live editing tools or Avid suite. All media is recorded natively as Avid DNxHD codec, based on EVS’ new webservice API.

“HBS and EVS have been working closely together for over 10 years providing the sports broadcasting market with technological solutions that answer the most demanding requirements during live event operations,” said Pierre L’Hoest, CEO of EVS. “This strong collaboration between a world class host broadcast event specialist and a leader in live sports broadcast technology has led to a cross-fertilization of live event productions offering even better content creation at a faster pace and increased efficiency.”