HBS Xplore second screen remote production of FIFA World Cup

A new EVS technology called Xplore will be used by FIFA to help its broadcast rights holders deliver enriched second screen experiences of the World Cup next summer. Xplore, shown behind closed doors at NAB, is part of EVS’ 360-degree sports technology and is a professional application of consumer facing technology, C-Cast, first revealed by SVG here.

“Using C-Cast technology remotely located news and sports production teams can review all the content that is recorded on the main server, preview all clips and take decisions instantly,” explains EVS Marketing Manager EMEA Sebastien Verlaine. “The viewing media is proxy and once clip decisions are made the hi-resolution version will be transferred over. This process makes all of the material recorded on the main server available to broadcasters.

“Xplore reduces the cost to broadcasters by reducing the number of operators at a venue, it makes the process of clip selection and package building much faster and it makes much, much more of the material available than ever before.”

The second screen experience is a key addition to the World Cup 2014 production plans of FIFA’s host broadcast partner HBS.

“The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will be a global multimedia event and the Second Screen user will not be bound by the constraints of a TV schedule,” HBS states. “Such an event where so much content is produced already and can be made available to rights holders instantly through the FIFA MAX Server, is the ideal platform for FIFA and HBS to deliver an increased package of multimedia content.”

The Belgium server manufacturer estimate that its central storage servers [XstoreSAN] used by HBS to store all media at the World Cup next year will be 20 percent greater in capacity than for South Africa 2010.