Outside Broadcast (OB) provider Timeline Television relied on Axon’s 4K Synapse processing and
Cerebrum advanced monitoring and control system, to deliver UK sports broadcaster
BT Sport’s first live 4K match-day production earlier this month.
BT Sport and Timeline collaborated on the build of a bespoke OB vehicle with an
innovative 4K production workflow, featuring a number of technology firsts, including a new range of 4K signal processing and distribution tools from Axon. BT Sport launched Europe’s first live sports Ultra HD (4K) channel, BT Sport Ultra HD, in
early August, with its first live broadcast being the FA Community Shield match at
Wembley, on 2 August, between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Developed in close cooperation with BT Sport, Axon’s Synapse 4K Production Tool
Boxes (U4T100 & U4T140) ease the challenges of a 4-wire production setup by
carrying Vanc and Hanc data such as timecode and embedded audio. The U4T140
also provides a Dolby© E encoder and decoder. The team also worked together to
develop a new card (GDR416) to accommodate 4K signal distribution in the Timeline
vehicle.
“The Synapse 4K cards Axon developed and custom-built for us intelligently manage
embedding and line routing,’ said Dan McDonnell, Timeline Television’s managing
director. “Our delivery schedule was tight, but Axon met the deadline and provided
us not only with the functionality we needed, but also excellent technical support.
With their expertise, we were able to produce a 4K football match to the same
quality of HD and showcase the best immersive viewer experience.’
Other Synapse modules deployed include 4K up-converters and down-converters. All
other Synapse video processing units supplied are capable of handling 3Gb/s
signals. A number of these video-processing modules have been executed with
fibre-enabled I/O-panels, allowing conversion from video to fibre without the need
of additional equipment. To handle Dolby© requirements in the truck, Axon also
supplied the Synapse DEE28, a multi-format Dolby stream decoder and Dolby E
encoder with voice-over module.
BT Sport also deployed Cerebrum, Axon’s customisable monitoring and control
system. By linking together all the main broadcast equipment from major
manufacturers, Cerebrum’s advanced functionality and broad range of features
simplifies multi-device control onto one easy-to-use interface. It supports a wide
range of devices including routers, production switchers, servers, audio desks,
camera control units, receiver decoders, multiviewers and waveform monitors –
using either Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or third party protocols.
“We used Cerebrum to control all of the matrix, multi-viewers, tally, all of the glue
and lots of other pieces in the production chain, all via 10-inch touch-screens. I
believe that we’re the first OB company to replace hardware with touch-screens and
really embrace advanced control,’ explained McDonnell. “It’s enabled us to do
complicated routing with ease – just with a press of a button. Cerebrum is an
amazing system.’
Commenting on the project, Axon’s CEO Jan Eveleens said, “For a long time our
industry has been talking about the roll-out of Ultra HD, so we’re proud to be a key
partner in the delivery of this game-changer in sports broadcast. And with more
companies seeing the benefits of Cerebrum control in mobile production, we’re
thrilled to see our technology playing a central role in the coverage of many of this
year’s major sporting events. ‘
