Local TV viewers in Springfield, MO, witnessed live race action June 6-9 from the Lake of the Ozarks for the inaugural Lake of the Ozarks Invitational Power Boat Race (Lake Race 2013) with the help of bonded IP newsgathering technology from Dejero.
Event producer and director, Ned Soseman of LakeTV (a Broadcast Engineering contributing editor), employed three Dejero LIVE+ 20/20 transmitters and a Dejero LIVE+ Mobile App for iPhone to transmit the HD broadcast to local Fox affiliate KRBK-TV in Springfield via a private Wi-Fi network supplied by Dejero.
"With the Dejero equipment, the quality of the HD signals from each camera and the backhaul to KRBK were nearly pristine," said Soseman. "This production proves that a bonded cellular platform is not only much less expensive than a temporary satellite uplink for long-form live field productions, but is also just as reliable. Dejero enabled us to create the appearance of a million-dollar production on a budget that was much smaller."
LAKETV deployed the LIVE+ 20/20 transmitters to three fixed camera positions on the decks of private condos overlooking the 2.5mi, NASCAR-style course. In addition, the production crew used an iPhone equipped with the LIVE+ Mobile App to gather live "beauty" shots with natural sound in the event's vendor village area. All feeds were backhauled via Wi-Fi to the production's on-location control room.
After switching and editing in the on-site studio, another LIVE+ 20/20 transmitter sent the feed to the KRBK studio 90mi away, where it was received by a Dejero LIVE+ server for playout. KRBK broadcast more than six hours of live HD footage over the two-day event.
To maximize bandwidth for the HD signals, the production took advantage of Dejero's ABR encoding technology to bond available cellular networks to the Wi-Fi link. "We were expecting upwards of 30,000 people, and we weren't sure the local cell towers could handle the congestion," said Soseman. "Dejero's bonding capabilities ensured that we would have the bandwidth to transmit high-quality, 1080i video with minimal latency."
