SIS LIVE helping cruise line company Cunard to celebrate 175 years

Leading broadcast connectivity expert SIS LIVE will help the world share in a historic spectacle this Bank Holiday Monday (25 May) when it provides live event streaming of the three Cunard Queen cruise liners uniting to salute the city of Liverpool.

It is the first time the three majestic liners have met on the Mersey, and the spectacle marks the luxury cruise company’s 175th anniversary, as well as Cunard’s link with Liverpool, its base from 1840 until 1967.

SIS LIVE is providing three trucks from its SNG fleet to collect feeds from the showcase, facilitate satellite links, and stream the footage to large screens at the docks and at the nearby Liverpool Echo Arena.

SIS LIVE will also provide a live webcast using its in-house encoders, to be hosted on Cunard’s website ‘We are Cunard’, as well as their own YouTube channel.

David Meynell, managing director, SIS LIVE, said: “SIS LIVE is delighted to be involved in this historic and newsworthy spectacle. The sight of Cunard’s three liners sailing in formation towards Liverpool will attract interest throughout the world, as well as among crowds gathered locally. I am confident the footage we stream will do justice to what promises to be a stunning sight.”

SIS LIVE’s SIS 60; a dual path, fully redundant HD SNG vehicle, will collect footage from various cameras filming from different angles, including an aerial helicopter, and uplink it to satellite IS905 using its dedicated satellite capacity.

SIS 81, another vehicle in the SNG fleet, will then downlink the feed to Woodside ferry terminal, provide full audio mix and clean effects and transmit the footage to a large screen at the docks there. Finally, SIS 51, the third truck on the job, will be located at the Liverpool Echo arena and will also downlink the feed from the satellite, provide audio mix and clean effects, and transmit to a large screen at the arena for various viewers.

SIS LIVE’s Network Operations Centre in Milton Keynes will downlink the feed from the satellite and provide an encoded live stream to YouTube. The feed will also be downlinked from the satellite by various major broadcasters for news coverage.

The afternoon’s events will be followed by a digital light projection on the famous ‘Three Graces’ – the three landmark buildings at Liverpool’s pier head which define its skyline. The middle Grace, The Cunard Building, was completed in 1917 and served as the company’s headquarters. A firework display promises to provide a spectacular finale to the day.