SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2019: Thursday’s Latest From Vegas
The NAB Show is now winding down after a hectic, news-filled week, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are still on the show floor chasing down the hottest stories. To make the onslaught of announcements easily digestible for our readers, SVG is sending you a daily SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2019 roundup, with all the top stories gathered together in one easy to read blog from our newshounds.
Today’s edition features Adder Technologies, Akamai, Artel Video Systems, Atto Technology, AT&T, Cloudian, Cobalt Digital, CyanView, Dejero, DMC Broadcast, DVEO, Encompass Digital Media, FingerWorks Telestrators, Hawk-Eye Innovations, IBM Watson Media, Infortrend Technology, Intelsat, JVCKENWOOD, Legrand AV, Live CGI, Masstech, Media Links, Nextologies, Octoshape, PSSI Global Services, Qvest Media, Red Bee Media, Shotover, Sony, Sportradar, SportZcast, SquareBox Systems, Telestream, The Video Call Center.
NORTH HALL
Mark Rowley, CEO and co-founder of Live CGI (Booth N1334), said eSports production professionals looking for a cost-effective solution to the challenge of building studio shows and programming around eSports content will want to check out the new Live CGI Newsroom. “It takes the power of Sportscenter into a laptop as [all of the on-air talent] are CGI avatars,” he explained. “Why build out a streaming studio with switchers and other equipment when you can go all software? Use avatars because eSports is already a video game so you can have video over the shoulder of the avatar, topic bars like on a newscast, drop down virtual monitors, and fly around the studio.” The Quinstream video player requires flesh-and-blood talent to wear a sensor and microphone and then a camera captures their movements, which are then used to power the avatar.
CENTRAL HALL
Sony’s Booth (C11001) features a look at some next-generation technology from Hawk-Eye Innovations that can not only automate offside calls by tracking arms and legs, but also can use that data to power next-generation nearly-real-time 3D models of a match. “We track 17 different points on the skeleton of every player as well as the ball via six cameras around the field,” said Ben Figueiredo, Business Development Manager at Hawk-Eye Innovations. “And another application we are thinking about is skinning that data with virtual graphics that allow the user to see a 3D model of the game and then move around the 3D world. And the latency is only 18 milliseconds to generate the replay and then the user can rewind, scrub back, and view from any angle you wish to see it from.”
CyanView (Booth C8630) is offering the latest version of its camera control units, including the Cy-R10 remote interface. With multicam live productions increasingly using cameras that do not have a dedicated CCU, the Cy-R10 solves a big problem via a remote interface that has the ability to control any camera over any communication channel, bringing remote capabilities to the current ecosystem. Also all cameras can be controlled by a single unit providing an access point to a camera network from a remote location using a single connection like IP, Bluetooth, 4G (ideal for marathons or drones), and even USB. “CyanView, control everything from one RCP, select a camera, and then paint it,” said David Bourgeois, CyanView, founder and CEO. The LeMans 24-hour race uses the system to control upwards of 40 camera systems.
Among the cool toys at Shotover (Booth C1313) is the brand new B1 Bulletproof, a light, 6-aix gyro stabilized platform that can be affixed to the front of any vehicle for unique and thrilling shots. At the booth, Shotover has the mount affixed to the front nose of a small helicopter showing its versatility for aerial shots. The unit has been garnering the attention of many sports broadcasters at the show this week.
Legrand AV (Booth C8715) is introducing the Vaddio RoboSHOT 40 UHD, the company’s 4K PTZ camera designed for live production applications. The camera features gunlock, sharp 4K video, 40x zoom, and can stream directly from the camera; according to the company, it is ideal for use in sports stadiums and arenas where remote PTZ capabilities are needed. The RoboSHOT 40 UHD controller allows users to connect up to 80 cameras at once over Ethernet and control via one user interface. The camera also represents Legrand’s foray in the broadcast business. “People in the broadcast industry might don’t know the Legrand brand very well,” commented Kent Cawthorne, CTS, VP of Sales, Solutions and Consultants, Commercial AV, Legrand AV, “which is why we really focused on our standard brands – Chief, Da-Lite, Vaddio, and Middle Atlantic – to get the word out who Legrand is and how we can support the broadcast business and content creation in general.”
SOUTH LOWER HALL
Just as NAB concludes on Thursday, The Masters will tee off from Augusta National and, for the third consecutive year, IBM Watson Media (Booth SL5005) is delivering AI-powered highlights. A new feature this year will be highlight reels that capture a player’s entire round in three minutes. Senior Product Manager, David Kulczar explained that IBM Watson Media analyzes video from every player and scores every stroke based on characteristics that may indicate a significant or exciting moment, including player hand gestures and crowd noise. These excitement factors are scored, combined and ranked to create a highlight clip. The service is being showcased at the IBM Watson Media pod at the company’s NAB Booth.
Cloudian (Booth SL6821) and Telestream (Booth SL3308) have combined their Cloudian HyperStore and Telestream Vantage technologies to provide advanced intelligence for search and analysis of media files by using automated enriched metadata tagging. Under the joint offering, Telestream Vantage creates a media-aware overlay on the Cloudian HyperStore object storage platform. According to Cloudian CMO Jon Toor, Vantage processes and analyzes media files, providing services such as auto-transcription and captioning, keyword analysis, ingest workflow and asset QC automation, and active library management functions. It also automatically creates enriched metadata that is stored with the associated content in HyperStore.
Adder Technologies’ (Booth SL8620) Infinity Series is going 4K at this year’s NAB Show, with the launch of AdderLink Infinity 4000 (ALIF4000); a dual-head, high-performance 4K IP KVM matrix over a single fiber. The ALIF4000 delivers pixel-perfect picture quality to single or dual 4K screens over a single fiber link. And, because the ALIF4000 is fully compatible with the existing Infinity range, it can be phased in to an existing Infinity KVM matrix without the need to rip and replace. Following the show, the AdderLink Infinity 4000 will be available as a demo unit, with general availability planned for July.
SquareBox Systems (Booth SL5421) has introduced a new affordable, entry-level version of its CatDV asset-management system – dubbed CatDV Essential – specifically aimed at smaller organizations looking to launch their own MAM. According to VP of Business Development for North America, Jeremy Strootman, CatDV Essential brings the primary collaboration and search tools of the traditional CatDV system to smaller workgroups of up to eight users. Upon launching the out-of-the-box platform, CatDV Essential automatically ingests, catalogs, and creates proxies for all assets in the new user’s library. Then the user can evolve their MAM as its content library grows. VP of Business Development for North America Ryan Servant said the system is ideal for high-school athletics and smaller sports organizations.
Artel Video Systems (Booth SL9111) is taking part in a live demo of the Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) specification here at NAB Show. Created by the Video Services Forum (VSF), RIST serves as a common industry specification for low-latency video contribution over the internet. During the demonstration, Artel’s ARQ IP Streaming System is set up as a transmitter to deliver video over the internet from Artel’s headquarters in Westford, Mass., to the Cobalt Digital booth here at the show. At Artel’s booth you can also take a gander at the company’s new Technology and Engineering Emmy Award, which Artel received for pioneering its reliable transmission method for live contribution and distribution TV links.
Infortrend Technology is debuting a high-bandwidth 2 x 25-Gb iSCSI SAN solution at the Atto Technology booth (SL7624). Infortrend CTO Bart Harrison believes that as 4K becomes the norm and with 8K on the horizon, this new 25GB iSCSI SAN system will serve media organizations that require faster and more efficient I/O to exchange data across networks. A single 25GB Ethernet (GbE) lane offers 2.5X bandwidth and is backward-compatible with 10GbE. With two 25GbE ports per host board, the storage system offers high bandwidth over Ethernet networks. A dual-controller GS 3000 system can support up to eight 25GbE ports with two host boards per controller. In addition, Infortrend is highlighting a “SAN in a box”, featuring a portable SAN storage system housed in a Pelican case.
SportZcast (Booth SL5616) is prioritizing the expansion of scorebots into every and all sports venues possible. ScoreHub, the company’s next generation of the Scorebot 4000, is off to a fast start with live data implementation in over 2,800 venues. In addition, the company is moving towards an even bigger push into the new world of legalized sports betting with real-time updates of odds, spreads, and much more. SportZcast’s live production solutions are currently being deployed in JVCKENWOOD’s (Booth C4415) live demonstration at NAB Show 2019.
FingerWorks Telestrators (Booth SL6412) is emphasizing its push toward more player tracking, implementation of ReVu/Neo360 virtual reality graphics, and a new user interface that is adaptable to the individual’s tendencies and workflows. Also, the company’s recent partnership with Sportradar is being showcased in the form of new interactive stats that add an extra layer of storytelling. In addition, the player-tracking and identification applications will soon be in play during the upcoming NFL season.
SOUTH UPPER HALL
PSSI Global Services (Booth SU5802) has on display its Los Angeles-based Sprinter van, one of 16 trucks that the company absorbed in its acquisition of CNN’s fleet last year that have been upgraded to services a wider variety of clients. “For this year’s show, our approach is touting ourselves as the world’s transmission experts,” said PSSI Global Services GM Clint Bergeson, “Not necessarily just satellite, which is our specialty and remains our backbone, but multi transmission modes.” The 40-foot Sprinter van on display features gear from Media Links and Nextologies that allows the vehicle to transmit via fiber, satellite, or the public internet. An in-booth demo shows footage from a Nascar race in Bristol being transmitted from Nascar’s Charlotte facility to PSSI’s teleport in Pittsburgh via AT&T GBS fiber, where it is ingested, transcoded, and sent out to Las Vegas.
Encompass Digital Media (Booth SU2324) made a big personnel debut at this year’s NAB Show, introducing its new Chief Technology Officer, Scott Brown. He comes with more than two decades of experience in the industry and has driven innovation in emerging technologies with companies like Akamai and Octoshape.
Intelsat (Booth SU2010) and Dejero (Booth C2025) are unveiling the IronRoute blended connectivity and cloud-based content distribution solution for media at NAB 2019. The system delivers reliable connectivity by blending broadband, cellular (3G, 4G, 5G), and satellite connectivity from Intelsat’s global network. According to Intelsat’s GM of Media, Bill O’Hara, the highly flexible and scalable cloud-based content distribution system helps to solve the challenge of first and last-mile connectivity to and from the cloud. In addition, Intelsat announced a new partnership with Aldea to expand satellite and fiber video contribution and distribution networks for media customers globally and use both companies’ extensive presence in Latin America.
The Video Call Center (The VCC) is introducing a couple of key new features to its technology that enables live broadcast of cellphone video (Booth SU11710). The tweaks are designed to further ease-of-use of the product for guests of a live show using The VCC to fill its programming. The company’s list of partner clients continues to grow, including a deeper relationship with the team at Fox Sports Detroit, which is using The VCC to support 17 “Players Only” telecasts this season where guests like Hall of Famer Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, and more can become commentators on the live game broadcast from virtually anywhere.
Masstech (Booth SU3710) is introducing Clover, a new content suite that bridges the gap between content storage and content management for organizations that are not looking to implement enterprise-level MAM and content storage systems. According to CTO Mike Palmer, Clover is an all-in-one solution that offers ingest, storage, transcoding, a configurable workflow engine, content lifecycle management, and a simple UI with a full broadcast toolset and a budget-oriented price tag. In addition, Masstech is launching Federated Search for its MassStore media object framework.
DVEO (Booth SU3306), previously DMC Broadcast, is building off of its recent rebrand with multiple announcements and a spotlight on its IPTV and over the top (OTT) transport offerings as well as their fleet of HEVC encoders. Dozer, DVEO’s error-correcting streaming transport protocol, is a pillar of both DVEO’s OTT solutions as well as its booth presence at NAB Show 2019. In addition, the company’s live stream clients can build off of the Play Server 12ch HD-SDI for ad splicing/overlay during live sport events. For reliable and secure transport, DVEO is shipping a cloud-based content delivery service model for both live and on-demand video.
With the 100G Core Switch and the MDP3040 4K/UHD IP Media Gateway, Media Links’ (Booth SU3324) activity at NAB Show 2019 is centralized around the transport and transfer of media content over IP. The MDP Series now drives the heavy lifting of 4K UHD file delivery. In the real world some of the biggest events in sports, including the FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl, and the Olympics, rely on the company’s efficiency over the internet product ecosystem that ensures end-to-end coverage. Media Links’ IP solutions are currently on display during a live demonstration with AT&T (Booth SU7916) on the show floor.
OTHER NEWS
Red Bee Media has reached record low latency on its live over the top (OTT) feed during NAB 2019, reaching as low as 3.5 seconds, glass to glass which is faster than traditional broadcasting feeds. On the second day of NAB Show 2019, Red Bee Media managed to reach a record low latency on its live OTT feed. Having showcased latency at around 10 seconds on Monday at NAB, the OTT team brought it down to as low as 3.5 seconds on Tuesday morning, 8 April. The feed is created with a live camera transmitting from the NAB trade show floor to its European cloud via the open internet, exploiting the open standard SRT transport protocol. The Red Bee Media Channel Store then processes the live signal for distribution and pushes back to origin and across the content delivery network (CDN) back to Las Vegas utilizing the open standard Chunked CMAF. Red Bee Media is showcasing its managed OTT offering on booth SU1620 at NAB 2019.
Qvest Media is developing and implementing a new media production system for Germany-based Deutsche Welle. Qvest Media is designing the production workflow based on a scalable and modular cloud-native architecture and infrastructure. The broadcaster’s new technology strategy is using the collaborative use of aggregated and produced content for efficient multi-platform distribution. ‘Online first’ marks a change in strategy at Deutsche Welle and the broadcaster is planning to align its multi-lingual, international portfolio of programmes and news more closely with online and in particular social media channels in future. The project to set up a cross-site production infrastructure is being carried out by the Qvest Media team in close cooperation with the broadcaster’s dedicated project team over the next two years using agile methods.