Clear-Com and Nucomm Provide Technology to Olympic Broadcasters

The Vitec Group Broadcast
Systems Division companies Clear-Com Communication Systems and Nucomm are
helping viewers stay close to all of the action as the broadcast networks
assume their positions for the coverage of the games.
China ’s National Broadcaster CCTV is
entrusting Clear-Com, for its intercom networking needs. Clear-Com is providing
a link between CCTV and the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), the hub of
all broadcasting activities for the Olympic Games, and CCTV’s new Television
Culture Centre (TVCC) as well as the existing CCTV headquarters. Among C CTV’s
arsenal of communication equipment are two of Clear-Com’s Eclipse Omega systems
with 144 ports in total, which form the heart of the network at the IBC and
TVCC, and a n additional six Eclipse PiCo units, each providing up to 36 full
duplex/4-wireless ports that are deployed throughout the arenas for electronic
field production. Furthermore, Clear-Com’s Eclipse V-Series user control
panels, which support 5 Chinese (Kanji) characters per key display, are
installed into various production rooms for crew members to stay in synch
during production hours.
In addition,
13 of
China’s
leading broadcasters have selected Clear-Com products for use within 14
OB vans including two belonging to Shanghai
TV (STV). While
each of the 14
OB
vans is relying on different combinations of equipment to broadcast the games,
all are dependant on Clear-Com’s Eclipse Digital Matrix to act as the
heart of their communications systems. Available in a variety of
configurations, the typical
OB van setup features Clear-Com’s
32-port Eclipse digital matrix system and I-Series control panels with built-in
microphone headset connections and four display key modules along with a
keypad. Designed with a high level of fault tolerance, Eclipse
offers continuous operation throughout the entire Olympics production with the ability to run 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, which is reinforced by built-in layers of redundancy
measures. Many broadcasters have also opted to add FreeSpeak (formerly
Freespeak10) digital wireless beltpacks for fully integrated communications for
the production teams as they move through the broadcast centers and sporting
stadiums.
Nucomm, is
providing the first HD airborne microwave system sold to a broadcast
network in P.R. China
, CCTV. Nucomm’s
CamPac
2 wireless microwave
camera
transmitter; a small, lightweight
HD/SD COFDM unit intended for
moving camera applications is
installed within CCTV’s helicopter
. The network is also using
Nucomm’s
Newscaster DR
,
a lightweight HD/SD COFDM microwave receiver for portable and mobile video
applications . In addition to providing overhead shots, the helicopter serve
s
as
an airborne repeater for CCTV during the games. On the ground, two
motorcycles send pictures up
to the helicopter where they are
relayed back to a Nucomm portable
receiver terminal.
Extending
its presence during the Olympics, six of Nucomm’s CamPac 2 wireless
camera transmitters and six of its Newscaster DR diversity receivers
are being
used by 3G Wireless LLC, an industry leader implementing wireless HD
technology,
all
of which are stationed at the Hong Kong-based Sha Tin competition venue and
Beijing-based Workers’ Stadium
for delivering superior HDRF coverage for the
host world feed.
The Nucomm system was used
during
portions of the opening ceremony and is being utilized
during
several competitions including the Keirin Track Bike racing event, where one of
the CamPac 2s is transmitting via a camera-back system for a follow camera, and
the equestrian event, in which the other
CamPac 2 is linking back POV shots
during the event’s featured “jumps.”