NEP has outlined some of the innovations behind its coverage of The Wimbledon Championships.
Working in collaboration with Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS), NEP is deploying its OB trucks with IP technology aimed at providing increased demand for high definition and HDR content, as more broadcasters utilise 50p HDR technology.
Providing end-to-end support for WBS, NEP UK & Ireland is deploying a range of solutions leveraging NEP Group’s global production ecosystem.
Fletcher, a specialty capture division of NEP, is utilising its TR-ACE (Totally Realtime Automated Camera Engine) 1080p SDR AI-driven automatic camera system. Utilising image recognition and LIDAR, TR-ACE autonomously tracks players enabling a single operator to handle the entire system, said NEP.
The company’s asset management tool, Mediabank, is providing remote access to highlights, press conferences and other video content for ingest, management and distribution to rights holders. A 10G link to Mediabank in Oslo is provided from IMG via NEP Connect, said the company.
OBStv, a division of NEP Ireland, provided edit and ingest facilities via two OB trucks for qualifying matches. NEP Edit and Ingest are providing over 130 EVS products and 1PB of central storage, including asset management for over 10 on-site and remote broadcasters.
NEP Group’s Creative Technology (CT) live events company collaborated with SMT to stream all 18 courts for the qualifying competition using UHD cameras and court microphones, providing feeds and scoring graphics for local broadcast. CT is also working with NEP to enable radio talkback and microphone facilities for hosts, rights holders, and key personnel.
Additionally, NEP has launched a technical operator 15-day training programme, delivering training across a range of departments including cameras, audio and vision.
Sam Broadfoot, technical project manager at NEP UK, said: “Each year, our collaboration with WBS reaches new heights, and The Championships 2024 is another chapter in our longtime partnership, one where we’re delivering an in demand HDR viewing experience to audiences around the world.
“The relationship we have built with WBS is truly exceptional, and it drives us to push the boundaries of broadcast technology and innovation. This year, we’ve installed over 90km of cable, 150 talkback panels, 93 Sony cameras and 50 EVS machines. We’re extremely proud to have over 500 dedicated crew members onsite, all working tirelessly behind-the-scenes supporting WBS to bring The Championships to screens and platforms everywhere.”
