Live 2015 Rugby World Cup Backpack news from Twickenham to Cape Town

The Rugby World Cup 2015 is at its peak, gathering one of the largest TV audiences. This year, eNCA (eNews Channel Africa) is covering the Rugby 2015 World Cup, broadcasting live from the UK to their South African audience. The eNCA crew has been using the Quicklink Midi Backpack, a portable uplink transmission system, to send live interviews from both team players and fans back to their studio in Cape Town.

Their recent broadcast involved reporting live before, during and after the Wales vs South Africa quarter-final match. Reporters Percivale Young and Natalie Powell sent live footage using the Quicklink Midi Backpack outside Twickenham stadium following Wales’s defeat to South Africa.

Sean Thomas, Broadcast Deliveries Manager for eNCA explains why they have been using the Midi Backpack: “We have come to rely heavily on the Quicklink solutions for fast news coverage. Using the Quicklink Midi Backpack at the UK stadiums has given us the opportunity to become more mobile and get fan reactions from just about anywhere. Our correspondent, Natalie Powell, was making use of public transport, and the Midi was the obvious choice for quick effective live crossings. Excellent quality has been achieved averaging between 4 and 10mbps upload speeds, many of which are comparable to SNG van crossings.” eNCA used Sony EX3 cameras for lives, previews, fan interviews and post-match crossings outside the stadiums.

The encoder has also been upgraded to the HEVC/H.265 codec, which benefits users with reduced bandwidth costs and the ability to deliver HD content over limited bitrate connections. Reflecting on the transmission Thomas explained: “The result of the live transmissions meant that we have international and immediate presence at the Rugby World Cup, following the South African fans and team.”