The Sports Channel of Israel Adopts Stergen’s 2D to 3D Conversion System for its Upcoming 3D Broadcasts

“Stergen software enables broadcasters and sports production companies to produce games in stereo 3D from their studio,” said Dr. Miky Tamir, founder of Stergen. “This spares them the huge operational costs associated with the transition to stereo 3D sports productions. The system can ingest a ‘program’ feed and automatically detect ‘cuts’ and classify the on-air camera. A convenient scene algorithm is then chosen for the said camera. This presents a very compelling value proposition for those seeking to expand their stereo 3D program offerings as simply and cost-effectively as possible.”

Stergen Live, which receives an HD signal via its SDI input and outputs the conversion results from dual SDI outputs, generates a realistic 3D stereoscopic video program of the event. This is a real time process based on image understanding and application of the real stereo shift to each group of objects.

Designed specifically for 3DTV sports, Stergen’s software takes advantage of sports- specific features, such as the planar and uniformly colored playing field, enabling accurate segmentation of objects like players, balls, and goal posts. A known geometry is then assigned to those objects; for example, players and goal posts are vertical, the field is horizontal, and stands have a known slope. On–the-fly calculation of the scene’s geometry and its stereoscopic 3D image rendering are then performed.

“We have found that Stergen Live is the best conversion technology for sports” said Avi Bar, the Sports Channel’s Chief Executive Officer. “The resultant stereo 3D is the closest we have seen to real 3D shooting and in many cases it’s even better than the real thing. This is a compelling alternative to the very expensive and logistically complicated 3D outdoor production. It’s also the only alternative to 3D display of archive legacy material and 2D pre-recorded games.”

Stergen offers high operational flexibility: in-stadium conversion of a single camera or a number of cameras connected through a matrix switcher, in-studio conversion of a live program feed and after-the-fact converison of pre-recorded footage.

About Sports Channel

Sports Channel, also known as Sport 5 (Hebrew: ספורט 5‎, Sport Hamesh), (Hebrew: ערוץ הספורט‎, Arutz HaSport) is an Israeli television company. Available on cable (via HOT) and satellite (via yes), the company have six channels which are devoted to sport. On December 23, 2007, Sport 5 launched its fifth channel – Sport 5 HD. The channel aired UEFA Champions League, the NBA Playoff games and Wimbledon tournament. Sports Channel is planning to launch its 3DTV channel on April 16th.

About Stergen

Stergen High-Tech Ltd. is an Israeli startup company founded on January 2010 by Miky Tamir, Avi Klinger, Itzik Wilf and TheTime Investment Company. Stergen develops 2D to 3D video conversion technologies for the TV sports market. Its two major shareholders are Vizrt (www.vizrt.com) and TheTime, an investment company headed by Ilan Shiloach, Nir Tarlovsky and Uri Weinheber. Stergen’s mission is to solve the lack of content problem considered as one of the main obstacles preventing a faster spread of 3D broadcasting. Stergen’s technology is an easy-to-use software module residing in a commercial workstation converting in real time a normal sports feed to stereo 3D. It can be placed anywhere on the video path – in the stadium, studio or the cable’s headend.