Estonian public broadcaster ERR will telecast this year’s international sporting events with remote coverage from London, as well as from its production studio in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn, using its own production facilities supplied as a complete package from Grass Valley. The live production solutions, which include cameras, a production switcher, and production servers, enable ERR to give its audience a front row seat to watch Estonia’s athletes with the clarity and production values they expect, whether in SD or HD, including crystal-clear super slow-motion.
To ensure the success and quality of its coverage, ERR required its production equipment to be capable of creating reliable live coverage, as well as inserting pre-recorded segments into live broadcasts. Another key element for ERR is to seamlessly and easily include archive footage—much of which will be in SD—into an HD broadcast. Having used Grass Valley products for many years, ERR has put its trust once again in Grass Valley to meet these expectations.
To meet ERR’s goals, Grass Valley delivered the production systems on time and within budget, working with its partner in the Baltics, Hannu-Pro. The Grass Valley solution includes the powerful and simple-to-use K2 Dyno Replay System in London, plus seven LDK 8000 Elite cameras and a Kayak HD production switcher in Tallinn. As a broadcast rights holder for the event, ERR has access to all pool footage.
“As Estonia’s broadcast rights holder for this event in London, we are expected to add value to our coverage, delivering it to our audiences with style and flair,’ said Hendrik Reindla, head of TV Productions at ERR. “We cannot do that without our own production facilities on location and in our Tallinn studio. For this high-profile event, we need equipment we can trust. Grass Valley’s cameras and switchers are completely familiar to us, and the K2 Dyno Replay System is proven in live production and integrates well with the rest of our system. This means we can count on the technology performing exactly as expected and focus our attention on delivering the best coverage of the best sports action.’
“Grass Valley enjoys a long standing relationship with ERR, they having been one of the first users of our LDK 8000 Elite camera system,’ said Alan Wright, senior vice president, Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Grass Valley. “Having ERR return yet again to Grass Valley for its live production systems for such a high-profile event, shows the trust and faith that they place in Grass Valley products and solutions.”
