Sky Sports News recently deployed the WMT Agile 2.0 R system from Mobile Viewpoint, which is showcasing the small encoder in the IBC Content Everywhere zone this week.
Designed for harsh environments, WMT Agile 2.0 R is small enough to fit between camera body and battery pack, or can be carried in a small backpack. Its aluminium design makes it extremely sturdy and will survive drops of more than two metres without problems, said the company.
It offers up to eight 4G modems, HD-SDI/ CVBS/HDMI input, a LAN connection, satellite/KA-sat/BGAN support and 32GB of removable storage for recording video locally, and ready for editing.
Sky Sports News selected Mobile Viewpoint as its primary technology partner for its national and international live video over IP contribution network. Sky Sports deployed 10 WMT Agile 2.0 R systems to facilitate the coverage of live sports news from different regions in the UK and international events. At the same time multiple WMT decoders have been added to the current WMT servers at the Sky MCR in London to receive all WMT live streams simultaneously. The first deployment took place on 4 August, celebrating the start of the UK football season.
Mobile Viewpoint and Sky Sports News have been working together for several years with international live broadcasts
of live sports events around the globe.
Ian Brash, technical manager of Sky Sports News, said, “Extensive testing of all the major brands over 30 months showed that the Mobile Viewpoint range best matched our newsgathering requirements. Their willingness and ability to write custom software enhances our user experience and matches our unique conditions. This is technology whose time has come.”