Finepoint Broadcast’s Hire Division cites ‘strong demand’ from sports OB sector
Finepoint Broadcast says it is experiencing healthy demand from outside broadcast production companies for its equipment hire services, fuelled by major sports events during 2018 and 2019.
“The television viewing public’s appetite for sport appears to be getting stronger than ever,” comments Finepoint Broadcast hire manager Clive Northen. “This undoubtedly reflects the increasing penetration of large-screen domestic television sets, encouraged in turn by very aggressive pricing and ever-improving product specifications. We are watching closely the transition from HD to 4K which is already happening but, like the advance from SD to HD, looks likely to take some time. 4K television displays already dominate the domestic retail market and 4K content is increasingly becoming available via the Internet.
“During the current year we have supplied high-end production equipment to OB companies covering many major sports events. Among the largest were the Commonwealth Games in Australia, World Cup football in Russia and Asian Games in Jakarta.
“We provided the latest Sony HDC-4300 4K/HD camera channels for all three events along with Canon Digipower box lenses and EVS XT3 slow-motion servers. The HDC-4300 integrates easily into HD workflows and delivers 8x super-slow motion, as well as 4K image capture to standard HD outputs. HDC-4300 cameras interface closely to the EVS servers which feature continuous-loop recording so operators never miss any of the action.
“For the World Cup football we also supplied our newly purchased high-end Sony HDC-4800 4K/HD ultra high frame rate camera systems. These can capture full-resolution 4K UHD images at up to 400p (8x) or Full HD at 800p (16x) to reveal split-second action. Each HDC-4800 can capture content in high dynamic range and next-generation ITU-R BT.2020 colour gamut. The camera also allows Full HD video to be cropped from a 4K source in real-time.
“2019 is set to see even greater demand. As well as providing equipment for the regular UK-based sports calendar we have already been commissioned to supply equipment for four high profile sports events. The Cricket World Cup will be taking place in England and Wales. This overlaps with the Women’s Football World Cup in France, then the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, followed by the Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. To service such high demand we are continually investing in the very latest 4K-ready equipment giving our loyal client base confidence that we can provide the quantity of kit required for their projects. We are also adding more people to our hire desk with the addition of Nico Iriarte as Hire Coordinator.”