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NHK camera for synchronised swimming at the London Olympics

A new camera developed by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Twinscam, is to be used for the international feed of synchronised swimming at the London Olympics.

A new camera developed by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Twinscam, is to be used for the international feed of synchronised swimming at the London 2012 Olympics.

Keiichi Kubota, NHK’s executive director-general for Engineering commented: “We are delighted to hear the news that Twinscam is adopted in one of the most fascinating international event. I am sure the audiences across the globe will be thrilled by the new way to look at the water sports.”

Twinscam is a solution to all difficulties rising from the characteristic of this sport- not being able to capture the whole range activities taking place below and above water in one camera because of the different way light refracts in air and water. The need for image processing to synthesise images taken above and below water prevented combined images to be in time for live broadcasts as well.

Kubota said: “The newly developed Twinscam combines images shot by two separate cameras set above and below the water to produce an image that looks as if it had been shot by a single, half-submerges lens. It produces a single realistic image with smooth zoom and pans, even in live broadcasts, revealing all the underwater effort of the athlete- generating a never before seen view of the synchronised swimming to international audiences”

Twinscam has already been tested in live broadcasting in Japan from 2010, but it is the first time to be used in Olympic Games.

www.nhk.or.jp