Hannover 96 using Blackmagic Design switcher

The Atem 1-M/E production switcher Atem and the M/E broadcast panel by Blackmagic Design are the key elements in the HD production studio that German soccer club Hannover 96 has established in its own stadium, the HDI arena, writes Birgit Heidsiek. The whole concept for equipping the studio was developed by Hannover 96. The new studio is an upgrade of an SD system that was managed until now by an external service provider.

Other products in the new studio are the Thunderbolt device Ultrastudio Express that captures or outputs SDI, HDMI, Component, S-video or component video train as well as the live production mixer Atem Television Studio. The full broadcast quality production switcher with real-time H.264 encoding allows it to capture live events directly to files for internet distribution.

The content produced with this equipment is distributed on two giant screens in the stadium, on about 60 monitors in the business lounges and VIP’s areas of the HDI arena. In addition, the material will be posted to the Hannover 96 fans on the website when the game is over. The content includes the live transmission of the soccer games for up to 49,000 fans in the stadium, live reporting by two commentators, pre-recorded films about the team, the press conferences after the game, interviews and highlights.

The entire technical production is handled by media technology engineer Christian Martin, who runs the production stadium television with a team of 20 staff members. On matchdays the broadcast programme is a mix of live feeds by four HD SDI cameras, which are located at different places in the stadium as well as the prerecorded contents. The content which is generated at the stadium is fed and steered by the two Atem videomixers, while the broadcasting of the game takes place simultameously and provides Hannover 96 with a seamless HD workflow.