Broadcast equipment and production services provider Bexel has purchased two new LDK 8300 high-definition, Live Super Slo-Mo camera systems from Grass Valley(tm) that will first be used by NEP Supershooters during the live production of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” HD (720p format) telecasts each week during the season.
Veteran U.S.-based mobile production company NEP Supershooters and its SS25 all-HD truck is producing the NFL “Monday Night Football” games for ESPN this season with a full complement of Grass Valley HD equipment. This includes 14 Grass Valley LDK 8000 WorldCam HD cameras, a Grass Valley Kalypso(tm) HD production switcher, a Grass Valley 110 HD switcher, a Grass Valley Concerto(tm) Series HD-SDI video router, and numerous Grass Valley GeckoFlex(tm) signal conversion modules. This season, two LDK 8300 Live Super Slo-Mo cameras, provided by Bexel, will be included at each game.
“We’ve always been impressed with the image quality we get from Grass Valley cameras and the results we’re seeing with the new LDK 8300 slow-motion cameras are just stunning,” said Tom Dickinson, COO at Bexel. “ESPN continues to up the ante of its production values and the addition of the LDK 8300 to the ‘Monday Night Football’ telecast is another example of that. For viewers, replays will now feature more clarity and allow them-and the games referees-to better analyze plays immediately after they happen.”
The Grass Valley LDK 8300 uses the same head block as its normal speed HD equivalent, the LDK 8000, and features the company’s proprietary Dynamic Pixel Management sensors to produce uncompromised, native 1920×1080 and 1280×720 images at 1X, 2X, and 3X (selectable) speeds. While used in a live production, the LDK 8300 achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 57 dB at the 1X live output while the 3X SloMo replay S/N ratio is an impressive 54 dB The LDK 8300 also offers superior colorimetry and video processing that’s equal to the LDK 8000 Series.
“The Grass Valley LDK 8300 has impressed sports producers and TV viewers wherever it has been used because there’s no other camera that produces this level of clarity and color reproduction in HD,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley. “Having it used as part of the ‘Monday Night Football’ telecast is a testament to its pioneering image-acquisition technology and ability to work side-by-side with Grass Valley’s LDK 8000 HD cameras for a totally seamless HD experience that fans have come to expect from ‘Monday Night Football.”
The LDK 8300 camera system includes the unique AnyLight feature, which uses sophisticated algorithms running in the signal processing unit to compensate image flickering-which is often experienced with slow-motion sports content shot under mixed artificial lighting conditions. AnyLight features five presets (including off) that allow the operator to dial in precisely the amount of correction required for each set-up.
The result is that during multi-camera productions like “Monday Night Football,” pictures created with the LDK 8300 can be seamlessly intercut with those from the LDK 8000 cameras. The LDK 8300 also features a new HD fiber optic transmission system that can send HD signals up to 2.4 miles (4,000 meters). Using the LDK camera control systems (OCP and MCP) the LDK 8300 is compatible with all LDK 8000 system accessories, including viewfinders and SuperXpanders units.
The LDK 8300 Live Super Slo-Mo camera was tested during the 2009 NBA finals and performed perfectly, leading those involved to remark that the images captured included some of the best-looking HD replays ever seen in an NBA telecast, and ESPN’s production crew to include them for this season’s “Monday Night Football” telecasts.
About Grass Valley: 50 Years of On-air Innovation
With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world’s most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world’s leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you’re watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you’re watching Grass Valley at work.
For information about Grass Valley products, please visit www.grassvalley.com.
About Bexel Broadcast Services
Bexel is the pre-eminent worldwide provider of broadcast services including video and audio equipment rentals, fiber services, new audio sales, used equipment sales, and repairs/maintenance. Bexel provides brilliantly designed and flawlessly executed systems and solutions to all customers – including producers of the biggest and most important televised events in the world.
For more information, visit www.bexel.com.
