FOUR CRYSTAL VISION HIGH DEFINITION CHROMA KEYERS PURCHASED FOR VIRTUAL ADVERTISING SYSTEM BY SPORTVISION (June 2006)

Following extensive testing and evaluation, US sports broadcasting technology provider Sportvision has acknowledged the affordability, quality and flexibility of Safire HD by purchasing four of Crystal Vision’s High Definition chroma keyers, to assist in the expansion of its renowned HD virtual advertising system.

Sportvision provides sport and entertainment products designed to enhance the viewing of major sporting events including the Olympic Games, US Baseball league, Super Bowl and Wimbledon. Virtual advertising generates important revenue for the sports industry and describes the process of adding virtual graphics to special billboards placed around the stadium. Because the graphics can’t be seen by the sports players and spectators inside the venue, the adverts can contain moving elements, which otherwise might distract the players. Another advantage of virtual advertising is that the adverts can change during the course of a game and therefore the same premium advertising space can be sold to several customers. Using the same concept as in virtual studios, a main component of the virtual advertising system is the chroma keyer. Generating a key signal, the chroma keyer enables the virtual advert graphics to be keyed into the video signal and subsequently onto the dedicated green or blue billboards. The graphics system is linked to a camera tracking system also operated by Sportvision, so that the size and shape of the graphics can be adjusted in accordance with the camera’s movements, including panning and zooming. This means that the resulting image of the advert will always be the correct size and seen to be located on the billboard behind the players.

Sportvision has been applying virtual advertising technology to sporting broadcasts for several years. Previously it was using another manufacturer’s product for the chroma keying, but with an increase in business and a need to upgrade from Standard Definition to High Definition, Sportvision was keen to evaluate Crystal Vision’s new High Definition chroma keyer – Safire HD. Offering cost-savings and a more flexible solution, Safire HD is ideal for multi-standard environments as it can be used with both High Definition and Standard Definition sources. Sportvision’s extensive testing of Safire HD commenced with their first demonstration in December 2005 with further in-situ tests being completed in February 2006. Sportvision was particularly impressed with the high chroma keying quality and ease of control offered by Safire HD as well as the fact that other Crystal Vision interface modules would fit into the same frame.

The four complete systems Sportvision has purchased from Crystal Vision for use in four outside broadcast trucks, each comprise of a Safire HD High Definition chroma keyer, LKEY HD High Definition linear keyer and two High Definition Distribution Amplifiers. All the modules in each system are housed in an Indigo 2U rack frame and controlled by the dedicated Safire Remote Control Panel. Sportvision is very pleased with its new, compact system, which is ideally suited to be moved to different stadiums within the USA as required every week. Marv White, Chief Technology Officer at Sportvision stated that he was “particularly impressed by the level of assistance received from Crystal Vision during the design, proof of concept and optimisation of the system”. Because the system is so easy to use, staff training has been completed quickly, while system set-up and changing the settings on air no longer poses the problems that may have been encountered in the past.

Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers and a full range of digital and analogue interface equipment including converters, decoders, encoders, distribution amplifiers and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.

Further information about Sportvision can be found at www.sportvision.com.