Orad Gets Into Flow for U.S. Open Coverage

CBS Sports deployed
Orad’s MVP (Motion Video Play) graphics system with Flow Motion during coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, using the technology to track onscreen objects and freezes action. It also uses frame overlays
to show the positions of objects such as players.
For the U.S. Open,
the system revealed quickly and clearly to viewers the frame-by-frame
kinetics of the match, enabling ready understanding of the moves it
takes to make a champion. Specifically, CBS used Flow Motion to track
the distances players ran during volleys, as well as the path of a
player or the ball on selected shots such as aces.
“Whether it’s the Beijing Olympics,
the MLB All-Star game, or the U.S. Open, Orad solutions are being
deployed by leading broadcasters to help viewers understand and
appreciate the accomplishments of elite athletes all over the world,”
said Avi Sharir, CEO and president of Orad Hi-Tec Systems. “Orad’s MVP
with Flow Motion makes it easy and fast for a broadcaster like CBS to
significantly enhance the viewer’s experience. CBS Sports’ deployment
of MVP is further confirmation of our position in the broadcast market.”
MVP’s Flow Motion feature allows
chronoscopic display of selected objects during replay. That means the
viewer sees a shadowed display of the object, enabling a vivid view of
its path. Flow Motion can be used on any type of object — Roger
Federer’s feet, the baseball leaving Carlos Zambrano’s glove, or USC
running back Stafon Johnson’s progress downfield.
Besides Flow Motion, MVP features
include magnifying glass, effectively a super-tight zoom that enables a
viewer to see for himself whether a controversial call was right; and
tracked telestrator, which enables commentators to illustrate with a
freehand drawing how a play progressed over time. MVP also incorporates
full design capabilities for 2-D/3-D graphic elements as well as the
ability to import objects from 3-D Max and Maya. Its built-in element
library includes animated players and ball-highlight elements, 3-D
animated arrows, trajectories, and various magnifiers. Elements also
can be customized by individual broadcasters.
MVP is a compact, rack-mountable
system with a simple GUI to facilitate the fast reaction required for
live sports. Enhanced clips can be produced in only a few seconds,
while more elaborate clips can be used coming in and out of commercial
breaks, for game breaks, TV time-outs, half-time reports, and analysis
shows. Because it is based on patented image analysis technology, MVP
flexibly and cost-effectively generates tracking information without
any need for camera modifications. Objects are moved by jogging the
video server, creating animation key frames that the system transforms
into smooth, real-time animation. The automatic playout control holds
up to 255 live clips that can be recalled and play in real time by
tracking video time code.