For the first time in Germany, a single OB produced simultaneous live 2D and 3D broadcasts, writes Adrian Pennington.
The broadcast was produced by German outside broadcaster TV Skyline for Polish and Dutch 3D channels. Feeds from six pairs of Sony HDC 1500 cameras on side-by-side rigs plus two IK-HD1’s on 3D Polecams and a 3D Steadicam with P1 Sony cameras fitted to a P+S Technik freestyle rig were routed to Skyline’s multi-format OB truck Ü5HD.
For beauty shots TV Skyline used its own pan/tilt/zoom remote head Sport:Cam 3D. Convergence was via Sony stereo image processors (MPE-200) controlled by five stereographers and a master stereographer.
The director had a 24-inch 3D monitor and a 42-inch 3D Sony monitor for preview. Slow motion was produced via two EVS XT2’s with 3D option.
For the 2D signals the Ü5HD used eight additional cameras, including TV Skyline’s own Goal:Cam. All the 2D cameras were managed by a Kahuna video switcher, which was also used for mixing the 3D signals.
The director of the 2D feed could also use signals from the main 3D cameras and the two stereo Polecams. The slow-motion operators could also select from 3D and 2D cameras.
Plazamedia together with TV Skyline produced the Universum Boxing-Evening at the Sports and Convention Center in Schwerin. The bouts were broadcast live in 3D for Dutch channel Sport1 and Polish pay-TV platform nShow 3D. In the event TV Skyline aired the preliminary fights before the European Boxing Union’s heavyweight match between Poland’s Albert Sosnowski and defending champion Alexander Dimitrenko.
That event was to have been the highlight of the evening and also broadcast in 3D but Dimitrenko pulled out shortly before the fight after collapsing in his dressing room.
