AETA provides commentary units for African football tournaments
Audio and IP codec specialists AETA Audio Systems delivered a combination of commentary codecs to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournaments.
The African Nations Championship takes place every two years and the 2021 edition was held in January and February. The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was originally due to take place in June and July 2021, however it was also postponed to January and February this year.
At the request of Loca Images, a systems integrator based in Paris, AETA’s technical team adapted the ScoopTeam commentary codec to meet specifications for these events. In total, AETA provided 144 ScoopTeam units, which were used in five locations throughout Cameroon during both occasions.
To meet the competitions’ technical requirements, AETA reduced the number of commentator positions from the regular four to just three. It also had to include a “power-over-Ethernet” feature, which eliminated the need for a main power supply at the stadium.
While ScoopTeam is mainly an audio over IP device, station staff made use of the DANTE interface for the internal networks of each stadium and the ISDN interface for the remote links.
Imed ben Ameur, technical director at Loca Images, designed and managed the installation and stayed on site in Cameroon during both competitions.
He said: “Beyond the technical respect of the specifications, the ergonomics of the ScoopTeam user interface was decisive in our choice.
“We don’t regret our decision for a split second, especially since during the various broadcasts, all the local technicians were able to operate the products with almost no help from us.”
Ameur added that despite the up to 50°C weather conditions, there were no equipment failure during either of the competitions.
“We are very proud to have collaborated with Loca Images on this large-scale project, which clearly demonstrates the versatility of our ScoopTeam codecs,” added Yann Vonarburg, AETA general manager.