Wimbledon 2024: EMG Connectivity and ACS add new cameras and an electric van for Championships coverage

Wimbledon: The view of Centre Court from the new flown rail camera position

EMG Connectivity and ACS (Aerial Camera Systems) made some significant enhancements to their support of the host broadcast operation at Wimbledon, with some new camera positions including a flown rail cam on Centre Court and the use of a new electric van as part of EMG / Gravity Media’s sustainability initiatives.

ACS provides specialist cameras and crew, while EMG Connectivity is RF equipment supplier to the Championships. Both organisations extended their contracts with WBS (Wimbledon Broadcast Services) in 2023 by four years.

ACS sales director Matt Coyde said: “It’s one of the highest profile and strictest environments to work in, from a health and safety perspective.  The club works to very high standards and there is limited space onsite so we’re rigging cameras in a lot of public areas where the spectators and fans are.

EMG Connectivity UK & group commercial director Chris Brandrick added: “For stadium sports, we might be rigging in car parks, gantries and hoists where spectators aren’t allowed. But here, we’re amongst the fans.”

The installation of a new 20m suspended flown rail camera on Centre Court was a prime example of rigging cameras and cables close to spectators.

The new 20m suspended flown rail camera on Centre Court

Following some work to the broadcast centre roof, the rail camera normally positioned on the roof was relocated to Centre Court. The camera covers the expanse of the court and the spectators within it.

Installation was a complex operation and required the design and build of support brackets and for ACS to come up with a method of making it look discrete and to ensure it didn’t disrupt operations on Centre Court, explained Coyde.

He said: “A lot of effort went into the design and implementation. We made some bespoke brackets to support the rail, which needed approval from the AELTC as they are attached to the building structure. The brackets can remain in situ and then each year we can continue to install the railcam, operate it safely and then remove it.”

The rail camera is comprised of an in-house designed ACS SMARThead with a Sony HDC P50 with a wide-angle lens that is capable of capturing UHD/HDR footage. It is controlled remotely by an operator based in the Centre Court OB truck.

In addition, with Wimbledon Broadcast Services keen to add more “movement” to the Whisper-produced Access All England feed, prompting the addition of the ACS FanCam Cine – a cinematic style RF camera on a gimbal – for the 2024 Championships.

Read more Wimbledon 2024: Whisper expands offering with enhanced access All England feed

A joint project by sister companies ACS and EMG Connectivity, it builds on the provision of cameras for the Access All England feed that was introduced last year when Whisper was appointed by WBS as its production partner.

Brandrick explained: “We provide three of the Access All England wireless cameras that do site-wide coverage, and last year we were asked if we could adapt a conventional on-the-shoulder cameras to a discreet Cinematic style RF camera on a gimbal.

“There were lots of those doing pre-recorded content, so we were asked to adapt a wireless kit so that when a handheld is not in use it could be converted to make one live. So, we did that, but there was no camera control. This year, they wanted that again so we provided an ACS Fan Cam – a Sony A7S on a Ronin Gimbal with an RF backpack and also requested camera control.  As this was a last-minute request, we couldn’t put up a full UHF infrastructure to allow camera control to reach all the parts of the grounds, so we decided to supply a 4G Cyanview data system for tally, colour control and iris. The 4G connectivity struggled a bit in the basement, but out on the grounds it worked well.”

ACS sales director Matt Coyde and EMG Connectivity UK & group commercial director Chris Brandrick at a rainy Wimbledon 2024

A drone – supplied and operated by Aerios – was introduced for this year’s Wimbledon Championships, providing aerial shots of the grounds.

EMG Connectivity fitted a miniature HEVC transmitter to the drone, which allows full UHD/HDR video to be sent from the drone supplied on site to the compound along with a Cyanview camera control system to rack the aerial camera. A reception site was established on the roof of the broadcast centre which allowed the drone to work in multiple locations around the site

Brandrick said: “One of the challenges with the drone was to ensure we did not interfere with its control. This required careful selection of frequencies in the 2GHz spectrum as well as careful filtering of the transmission equipment. The spectrum is so busy here at Wimbledon that we’ve had to use national assignments from existing broadcasters to accommodate everything.”

ACS also added a fourth remote robotic head to cover the practice courts for additional coverage of players warmups. The four robotic cameras are comprised of SMARThead compact remote heads with Sony HDC P50, ENG lenses and 12G fibre transmission system used in all positions.

Walk of Champions

The ‘Walk of Champions’, in which the finalists’ journey from the changing rooms to Centre Court – and back again, for the winner – is the “money shot” of the Championships, says Brandrick.

Chris: “Effectively, it’s the RF Steadicam that takes the finalists from the changing rooms through the corridors of the All England Clubhouse, passing photographs of previous champions before pausing at the point where they will step out onto Centre Court for their historic finals showdown.

Watch EMG UK’s behind the scenes video of the Walk of Champions 

After the match, the winner retraces their steps through the corridors until they reach the Championship balcony, where they are greeted by the roar of cheering fans.

“This has challenged us for a number of years, as it’s quite a convoluted route and we used to have to rely on outside antennas to receive the signals.  A few years back we managed to install cabling and an antenna infrastructure within the ceiling of the corridor which allows us clean runs and less anxiety”

Also new for this years Championships and in line with sustainability efforts, a new electric Mercedes van is being used for daily runs between Wimbledon and EMG/Gravity’s base in High Wycombe, reducing carbon emissions. AELTC has provided a charging location at the Wimbledon grounds, and it can be charged at the EMG / Gravity office.

Coyde said: “It’s been a really interesting experiment for us, as we’re keen to see how we can roll out electric vehicles more widely across the fleet. It feels like a tangible thing that we can do to address issues around transport emissions which are a big issue for broadcast when it comes to sustainability.”

Matt Coyde with the electric Mercedes van being used for daily runs between Wimbledon and EMG/Gravity

Additionally, a new GPS system has been introduced for internal camera tracking, providing greater accuracy and efficiency in antenna selection. ACS has also rolled out more dual 12G SMPTE-based fibre, a bespoke product designed to transport 4K video and data with added features for fault finding and system monitoring.

“When we looked at how we need to transport 4K video and data, we looked to see if there was a suitable product and didn’t find one with all services and future proofing needs as well as add-on features, especially around fault finding and signal or system monitoring so we decided to build our own SMPTE fibre transmission encompass all these elements,” said Coyde.

“The system we created is dual 12G, with a separate 3G HDR channel and data paths plus a bespoke power over SMPTE solution. It means that where we have a standard remote head position you don’t need any additional cabling other than a SMPTE cable – all the services you need for that camera are incorporated into that solution.

“It’s also very flexible so if it’s a long run and / or single mode fibre is deployed, we can do local power as well. And with the data channels we can add additional services over time like audio channels and return video.

“And one of the big aspects is that we have a lot of diagnostics built into the base station systems so we can quickly identify potential issues whether it be fibre cabling or a local problem with the head. And that’s all built on our experiences of delivering services in the field.”