UK broadcaster ITV and its primary outside broadcast supplier, 021 Television, have chosen EVS replay servers for broadcasting both Champions League Football and Darts. The servers will work within an Apple Final Cut Pro workflow environment.
The Champions League Football’s HD production setup, which is entirely tapeless, services the world and the UK. The facilities include two of 021’s 24-camera HD scanners and a replay truck with 15 EVS servers.
Each Champions League match can have up to nine EVS HD XT[2] servers dedicated to live coverage, which regularly includes four Super Slo Motion cameras. Three more HD XT[2] servers are used in conjunction with Final Cut Pro for the ITV1 presentation.
All of the XT[2] servers run in the Apple ProRes 4:2:2 codec, which allows for easy transfer to and from the Final Cut Pro suite without any need for transcoding. Individual operators located anywhere on the OB van can access each other’s clips and record trains simultaneously, which makes the workflow efficient and flexible.
The system is currently centered on an EVS XT[2], which allows the editor or producers to select the exact clips they require for editing. Each machine is also independently networked onto two EVS XHub[2]s for backup purposes.
The setup for Champions League Darts, an SD show, takes this integration one step further. Due to extensive transmission slots, there is high demand for cutting features and packages. There is also an entire one-hour highlights show in need of editing on-site for broadcast 90 minutes after the show goes off-air.
