BSI tests live 4K wireless camera on Rugby Premiership coverage

Broadcast Sports International (BS)) has completed a series of live low-latency tests with the 4K

Tony Valentino, Broadcast Sports International, Managing Director UK

version of its wireless camera system on Aviva Rugby Premiership coverage. Managing Director Tony Valentino told SVG Europe the OB company aims to be the first to use a low-latency 4K wireless camera system live on air at a sports broadcast – possibly as soon as this weekend for the Harlequins v Saracens match at the Twickenham Stoop on December 2.

Before that, BSI will be demonstrating the latest version of its 4K wireless system at SVG Europe’s FutureSport at the Kia Oval on Wednesday 29 November.

Many sports events are already aired in 4K; however where broadcasters use specialist mobile and wireless cameras, the shots are captured at 1080p/50/3G and upscaled to 4K. So far, said Valentino, nobody has used images from a 4K camera with a wireless link for a low-latency live sports production application.

The company’s HD wireless camera-back system, ‘Real Freedom’, is already established as a working solution for live productions. It has camera control, RF and audio, and control of Iris, Paint and Focus. BSI’s R&D teams in Watford and Baltimore have been working on the 4K version of this for some time, and the first live test took place in September at the Aviva Rugby Premiership in Northampton.

“This was the industry’s first test of a 4K wireless camera system and there is no doubt that it demonstrated exceptional picture quality,” said Valentino. “Everyone who saw the images from the camera was blown away by the video, and it was difficult to believe it was not from a cabled camera.” A second test took place at the Rugby Premiership in October, where BSI added Ethernet camera control, RF transmission and 4x3G signal distribution.

BSI is a provider of wireless cameras, and other special cameras such as roof-mounted cameras, goal cameras, ref-cams, and wireless microphones originally designed for sports broadcast. They are used in some notable large projects – for example, they supply all the on-board cameras for NASCAR, and cameras and mics for PGA Golf, and provided wireless cameras for the Presidential Inauguration in the USA

In the UK the BSI office is working on some large productions such as Aviva Premiership Rugby, Premier League Football, and motor racing, where it provides wireless cameras on a hire basis with a technical crew.