COVID-Safe SmartCart SVX Relaunches at PGA TOUR’s Travelers Championship

Interactive touchscreen system offers onsite presence without the infrastructure

The SmartCart SVX mobile interactive touchscreen system relaunched over the weekend at PGA TOUR’s Travelers Championship. The system served as a live-broadcast-sports presentation, analysis, and interview hub throughout the tournament broadcast, with reporter Amanda Balionis conducting socially distanced player interviews.

In the age of coronavirus, SmartCart founder Gil Cowie believes that the system can be a valuable tool for sports broadcasters looking to have a cost-efficient, safe on-air presence onsite at live events. As sports events take place in fanless venues, broadcasters are looking for new ways to to generate viewer excitement and interest. Cowie sees SmartCart SVX as a focal point for the broadcast, highlighting the action in the background as well as providing a dynamic location for interviews and play analysis.

“This was a major relaunch for us, and it was very successful,” he says. “It is naturally safe because the position of two people on either side of the screen is the ideal design for [social distancing]. When you’re having an interview, you can have the screen and both people at a safe distance all in one shot. We believe there will be renewed interest from customers because of that.”

SmartCart SVX is an interactive touchscreen system designed for live sports productions. With a screen as bright as the latest stadium screens in full daylight, it provides an enhanced presence at an event and adds a new dimension to sports broadcasts. Besides the product itself, SmartCart SVX offers training, assistance, and guidance for operating the system, as well as for developing content to take advantage of the medium for any given scenario.

SmartCart SVX by SmartCart Technologies is also integrated with Fingerworks Fusion system – providing a turnkey solution.

SmartCart SVX is also suited for REMI/at-home production scenarios, which are expected to be on the rise as broadcasters look to safely produce events from a central broadcast center. Cowie cites an example in which a major European broadcaster brought the feed from its onsite cameras to a central studio, where it produced replay clips from the live match. These clips were sent out to the venue via file transfer, and the on-air talent manning the SmartCart SVX was able to easily play out the clips from a touchpad.

“Broadcasters aren’t going to be able to come out in full force anymore,” he says, “so there may be broadcasts with limited people onsite that still want to have a studio onsite.  The SmartCart can be your studio at the game. It can be used for your presentation, analysis, and interviews. What more could you want?”

Cowie also sees SmartCart SVX as a cost-effective way for broadcasters and OTT providers to have an onsite studio presence without extensive infrastructure or crew.

“It definitely adds juice to the productions because the fan gets to hear right from the competitor,” he says. “It not only adds a lovely personal touch but also [displays] stats and information. I think streaming and OTT companies — or any broadcaster that is dealing with COVID — will find that very compelling.”

For more information, visit smartcartsvx.com and telestrator.com.