Kurt Heitmann
ELMSFORD, N.Y.
As a provider of high profile event coverage for major television networks worldwide, we cover everything from marathons and golf to the Super Bowl. We were tapped this year by NBC to provide wireless camera coverage of the recently concluded 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We selected the Link wireless camera systems from Vislink News and Entertainment for their reliability and the fact that they provide the best picture quality in the industry. As a prodcution company we rely on the Link systems not only for their ease of use, but also because they have the lowest latency in the industry, and this gives us a leading edge.
USED MULTIPLE SYSTEMS AND CONFIGURATIONS
Our coverage of the Winter Games involved serveal areas. For the opening ceremonies we used four Link L1500s operating in the 2 GHz band. Two more L1500s were deployed on Steadicam rigs to provide additional coverage during the ceremonies. Two of the company's L1400 units were used in a handheld configuration for coverage of events in the athelete's staging area, which was located next to the opening ceremonies building. These L1400 hand-held units also accompanied the athletes during their walk to the main arena and into the seating area. They saw additional use during the opening ceremony, including closeup shots of the athletes directly from the stands.
Once the ceremony was over, three of the cameras were relocated to the major Winter Games venues, including figure skating, speed skating, alpine skiing and freestyle/snowboarding. The fourth unit served as a spare throughout the events-just in case.
For the figure skating coverage, the L1500 saw service in the athlete's warm-up area and was also deployed to the "friends and family" section of the stands to capture the raw emotions.
The L1500-equipped camera was also used to cover speed skating in the athlete's area.
The L1400-equipped cameras saw service in covering alpine skiing and freestyle/snowboarding. We trained them on the arrivals near the finish and also to capture the "friends and family."
If you spot a certain theme in the use of our equipment, it's that we used it to provide the necessary ultra low delay coverage into areas that traditional cameras with wires or fiber cables just couldn't go. We were there to capture the moments that others missed.
GEAR HAD TO BE ROCK SOLID
These Winter Games events were often back to back and it was necessary to deploy systems with anything but ordinary configurations, and these had to be readied within very tight time frames. Our choice of the Link wireless equipment was based on the extreme robustness of the gear and the fact that we can depend on them in run-and-gun situations under adverse conditions.
We've been working with Vislink for many years and have use their Link Research and Microwave Radio Communications equipment for capturing some of the world's highest profile events. When the world is watching, you can't take a chance on having your system fail. This has always made Vislink an easy choice for us.
Kurt is the president of Total RF and has been in the broadcasting business for more than 25 years. He has won three Emmy awards in the area of sports broadcasting. He may be contacted atkurt@cpcomms.com.
For additional information, contact Vislink News & Entertainment at 800-490-5700 or visitwww.vislinknews.com.
