In Broadcast - April 2013 - 36

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 18 - APRIL 2013

N E W S

InGEAR

Q-Ball And Minizoom Triumph In Sochi
Q

-Ball remotely controlled pan/
tilt/zoom cameras and 13
MiniZooms from Camera Corps
delivered high-deﬁnition close-up
images to television audiences
around the world watching the
Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Luge
World Cup competitions in Sochi.
Camera Corps technicians Nick
Bonner and Kes Thornley installed
the cameras and control equipment
ahead of the event for operation
by a Moscow-based broadcast
production organisation working
on behalf of multiple television
channels. 260 athletes took part in
the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World
Cup Stage. Ofﬁcial training runs
were held 11-14 February, followed
by women’s double bobsleigh and
men’s skeleton on 15 February,
men’s double bobsleigh and
women’s skeleton on 16 February,
and men’s quad bobsleigh on 17
February. The Luge World Cup, run
by a separate sports federation, was
held the following weekend.
“The cameras were rigged in
come-and-go pairs and cut into
the programme in quick succession
to give a real idea of speed,” Nick
Bonner explains. “The MiniZooms
can get closer to the action than a
traditional cameraman and provide a

Camera Corps’ Q-Ball remotely controlled pan/tilt/zoom cameras capturing
close-up high-deﬁnition video during the 2013 Luge World Cup in Sochi

much more dramatic viewing angle.
Each camera was mounted in a
ﬁxed frame which allowed virtual
graphics of other faster bobsleighs
to be laid over the top of replays to
show which competitors were taking
the best line.
We also rigged a Replay XD
miniature camcorder onto the
competitors and their sleds. This
records in high-deﬁnition onto an
internal micro SD card. The resultant
sequence was very dramatic and

was played in at the top of the
programme to give an onboard view
of what the competitors were seeing.
The client broadcaster was very
impressed by the ability to operate
the cameras over long distances
via Camera Corps’ Remote Control
Panels. The output video integrated
seamlessly with signals sourced
from much bigger cameras.”
The Camera Corps Q-Ball is an
ultra-compact remotely-controlled
camera head with integral 10x zoom

optics and smoothly-accelerating
pan/tilt motors, all housed in a
robust and fully-weatherproof 115
mm diameter aluminium sphere.
Equipped with a 2 megapixel
CMOS sensor, capable of operating
in daylight or infra-red illumination,
Q-Ball delivers 1080i/720p highdefinition or 625/525 standarddeﬁnition at 50 or 59.94 Hz refresh
rates. Pan and tilt slip-rings provide
the freedom to perform unrestricted
camera rotation at a wide range
of speeds with precise control
of acceleration and deceleration.
Master black and colour saturation
control allow accurate matching with
other video sources.
Camera Corps’ MiniZoom is a
miniature high-deﬁnition camera
with integral remotely controllable
zoom lens. It occupies a two-piece
aluminium housing allowing safe
operation in heavy rain or high
levels of windblown dust. The
MiniZoom can be coupled to any
camera mount using a standard 37
millimetre screw fitting.
The Camera Corps range of
remotely controllable broadcast
production equipment will
be demonstrated at the
2013 NAB Show.

Dejero’s Turnkey ENG Service For Vatican Watchers
ejero, creator of the awardwinning LIVE+ Platform of
bonded wireless uplink solutions
for ENG, offered a special package
of on-location services in Rome for
broadcasters covering the events
surrounding the resignation of Pope
Benedict XVI and the choosing of
his successor, Pope Francis I.
Dejero secured the use of a
rooftop terrace in downtown Rome
with a panoramic view of the Vatican.
The terrace offered an excellent
backdrop for live shots and other
video coverage of Pope Benedict’s
last day in ofﬁce, continuing through
to the naming of his successor.
Broadcasters participating in
Dejero’s full rooftop package had

exclusive access to a portion of
the terrace and were supplied with
power and a dedicated 6 Mbps
Ethernet connection. Each client
also had use of a Dejero LIVE+
20/20 Transmitter, enabling the
broadcaster to encode and transmit
HD or SD video directly over 4G,
3G, Wi-Fi, or Ethernet connections.
Existing cellular towers were
overwhelmed with trafﬁc on the key
celebration days, when more than
500,000 people were in attendance.
To solve this problem, Dejero built
a long-range private Wi-Fi network
within the Piazza at St. Peter’s
Basilica that give broadcasters the
ability to transmit live video to any
destination around the world from

The rooftop terrace in downtown Rome with a panoramic view of the Vatican

a variety of Dejero-powered mobile
devices, including professional
transmitters, laptops, iPads, and
iPhones. With this private network in
place, live HD and SD transmissions
can be broadcast with high-quality
and short latency, even if minimal or
no bandwidth is available from the
cellular networks.
Speaking ahead of the new Pope’s
naming day, Bogdan Frusina, Chief
Technical Ofﬁcer at Dejero said: “The
succession of the Pope promises
to be one of the most high-proﬁle
events of 2013, and these pivotal
events in the life of the Catholic
Church will be closely followed by
viewers around the world. Since
Pope Benedict’s resignation was
so sudden, we realised that many
broadcasters might be scrambling
to secure resources and budget
for their own coverage. That’s
why we’ve created this turnkey
service and made it available to
our customers.”
He continued: “With just a
reporter and a camera operator,
our clients will be able to go live
within minutes from one of the
most scenic locations in Rome. It’s
a perfect showcase for the use of
cellular bonding technology in an

ENG setting that is impractical for
satellite or microwave transmission.”
In addition to the full rooftop
package, Dejero offered its LIVE+
20/20 Transmitters as well as LIVE+
NewsBook and LIVE+ Mobile App
software for rent by broadcasters
seeking to do live reporting from any
other location in Rome or within the
Piazza at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Each transmitter was equipped
with batteries and Italian 3G and
4G LTE SIM cards with full roaming
ability and optional access to the
private Wi-Fi network. Broadcasters
with their own LIVE+ 20/20
Transmitters, laptops running
Dejero’s LIVE+ NewsBook software,
or iPhones and iPads with Dejero’s
LIVE+ Mobile App also had the
option of accessing these private
wireless hotspots in order to
transmit live HD or SD video back
to their viewers.
Key Dejero partners have provided
a critical role in the development of
the Vatican ENG services by lending
valuable local assistance and on-site
support. These companies included
Laboratorio Tevere, Dejero’s Italian
partner, and IDX Technology Europe,
Dejero’s exclusive European
distributor.

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In Broadcast - April 2013

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