Cobham systems used for track and field coverage at IAAF World Championships

Cobham Tactical Communications and Surveillance and its Chinese business partner, CSS Group, provided Cobham’s Solo H.264 ENG TX transmitters, the new PRORXD HD receivers, and associated camera control systems on behalf of host broadcaster CCTV for track and field coverage of the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last month.

The Beijing National Stadium, known as the “bird’s nest” that hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, was the focal point for CCTV’s coverage where CSS Group deployed four Solo H.264 ENG TX, PRORXD HD receivers, and respective camera control systems.

Cobham liaised with CSS for installation, testing, operations before, and during the nine-day games to assist the host broadcaster produce the pragmatic general multicast (PGM) for regional broadcasters around the world. Video signals from the stadium were sent to the central production compound over standard HD-SDI fibre optic systems. Camera control was achieved with Cobham’s specialist four-in-one system enabling four cameras to be controlled over the one UHF channel. The UHF transmitting unit was placed in the stadium and, according to the host broadcaster, delivered excellent performance using minimal power. The UHF transmitting unit was connected to the production compound’s remote control panel with a pair of 500m audio cables.

CSS Group president, product and application development Roger Wong said: “We were the main broadcast services provider for the host broadcaster and provided setup, operation, and maintenance for the technology used for track and field within the stadium as well as RF production for the marathon, including aerial production and transmission.

“Cobham’s Solo ENG and respective camera control systems always provide the very best performance in video quality and robust reliability. We thank them, as well as CCTV for their trust in us to deliver high-quality professional broadcast signals to the world broadcasting community.”

Cobham Broadcast Sales Manager, Asia Pacific, Sue Gilks added: “High quality images are essential for live sport coverage and we are delighted that CSS Group and CCTV had such a high degree of success with our technology in their coverage of a world class event.”

Cobham is displaying the technology used at the World Championships, as well as its latest wireless broadcast technologies, at IBC, taking place in Amsterdam at present.