Sky New Zealand Relies on EVS for Advanced Live Productions

Aiming to deliver the most exciting viewing experience to millions of worldwide rugby fans,SKY TV New Zealand productions opted for a complete EVS technology-based architecture for all recordings and fast turnaround editing operations.  The live production operations of all matches were covered by four HD mobile units and two flyaway production kits distributed to different venues around the country.

Each OB unit was equipped with six to eight XT series servers, depending on the number of games.  Up to 24 cameras and five Super Motion systems were used to cover the top matches. EVS’ live production systems were used by SKY TV production teams at all venues to generate a comprehensive number of replays, including Super Slow Motion and quick highlights of key actions from every match.

Motion and quick highlights of key actions from every match.SKY TV New Zealand is one of the first broadcasters to deploy the new generation XT3 EVS servers to produce a globally broadcast event. In addition to a significant increase in capacity and media processing bandwidth, the XT3 system under LSM control (Live Slow Motion) allowed SKY TV productions to support two Super Motion HD camera feeds for record and instant replay in the same machine.

Complementing the on-site coverage, SKY TV has built a centralized indexed media server at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Auckland. Composed of four networked XT2 servers, the indexed media server is used to manage the recording of all rugby matches feeds as well as unilateral feeds. Ingested material is logged using IPlogger, part of EVS’ content management suite IPDirector. The advanced browsing system of IPDirector is also used by production and post-production teams to instantly retrieve specific match actions for summary, highlight and magazine-style programme creation in Final Cut Pro. Using EVS XF2 technology, the system also provides the official archive of all matches of the event.

About EVS
EVS designs leading broadcast and media production systems for sports, news and TV entertainment. Its innovative Live Slow Motion system revolutionized live broadcasting, and its reliable and integrative tapeless solutions are now widely used for non-linear editing and 3D HD productions across the globe.
The company’s dedicated systems offer a complete production platform: live slow motion (LSM), super and ultra slow motion, clips creation, fast turnaround editing, production and archive asset management, time delay, multi-camera and multi-feed recording, logging, live graphic analysis, digital transmission, multi-format ingest and play-back, second screen delivery. Main software applications like the IPDirector® or MulticamLSM® are designed to control the industry’s most robust and flexible production platform, the XT series server. The world’s leading broadcasters, such as NBC, BSkyB, FOX, RTBF, RTL, NHK, CANAL+, ABC, ESPN, TF1, CCTV, PBS, CBS, BBC, ZDF, Channel One, Channel7, RAI, TVE, NEP, MEDIAPRO, EUROMEDIA, BEXEL, ALFACAM and many others use EVS’ solutions.
The company is headquartered in Belgium and has offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Approximately 400 EVS professionals from 20 offices are selling its branded products in over 100 countries, and provide customer support globally.