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TopVision adds a New Dimension to Live Sports with EVS

Start of the 3D Production

EVS announces that TopVision Telekommunikation, one of Europe’s leading Outside Broadcast service provider, recently made use of its Instant Tapeless Technology for the live production of the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Hamburger SV in 3D HD. The production, which was broadcast by Sky Germany, was the first of its kind in Germany.

TopVision on behalf of SPORTCAST

The live football match was broadcast by Sky Germany on Sunday, 14 March, to a group of VIPs in Munich. The live production of the 3D HD signal in Leverkusen was carried out by TopVision on behalf of SPORTCAST, the subsidiary of the German Football League responsible for the production of all live signals of the first and second Bundesliga matches.

For this challenging enterprise, TopVision employed Sony HD cameras with Canon lenses and Sony 3D boxes, a Sony MVS8000 vision switcher, as well as EVS HD XT[2]-LSM systems for the ingestion of feeds and slow motion action replays. The live 3D HD production required 18 cameras (2 x 9 cameras) and an additional HD OB unit, because the production crews had to generate two separate live signals.

Eduard Palasan, Managing Director at TopVision, said: “One of the main challenges of producing live sports in 3D compared to a standard HD production is that you must perfectly match your cameras and synchronize the signals for the 3D effect to materialize. You must also use the best operators and stereographers. In fact, TopVision plans to increase the use of stereographers, in addition to vision engineers and camera technicians, and plans to accommodate its OB units for this purpose.”

When asked why TopVision chose to work with EVS Instant Tapeless Technology for this type of production, Eduard Palasan replied: “EVS provides reliable machines with network applications that are very fast. Furthermore, the best freelance operators are accustomed to working with EVS technology. No matter where you are located in the world, it is simple to find good EVS operators. Finally, the quality of the slow motion replays in 3D is excellent.”

Bernard Stas, General Product Manager at EVS, said: “The attention is shifting to 3D simply because there is little scope to improve the display of two-dimensional images and people are fascinated by the ‘lifelike’ effects of stereoscopic images. We are also noticing that the use of 3D is spreading. To this day, EVS technology has been used for the 3D productions of live sports, concerts, television shows and even for medical applications, such as brain surgery.”

TopVision also produced on 30 March, the Champions League match in Munich between Bayern München and Manchester United in 3D HD using EVS’ Live Slow Motion technology.

EVS will be demonstrating live 3D solutions in exclusivity during the NAB show at the EVS stand in Central Hall (C9508).

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About EVS

EVS Broadcast Equipment is a leader in the design of hardware and software for the production and playout of sport, news and TV programs in both live and near live environments. Its innovative Live Slow Motion system revolutionized live broadcasting, and its instant tapeless technology is now widely used in nonlinear editing and High Definition Television the world over. The company sells its branded products in more than 70 countries and is capable of providing service in any region. EVS has offices in Belgium, China, Germany, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Spain, and the United States.