Eurovision Sport commissioned the Geneva-based production company Actua Films for a multi-camera production task aimed at providing real-time dynamic coverage of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) World Cup. The ski course is located in the Morgins region of Switzerland, requiring athletes to climb 600 meters in the Swiss snow-capped mountains. Therefore, it is not feasible to use wired connections for all camera positions along the course, necessitating the search for a wireless transmission solution.
In mountainous areas where satellite or wired networks cannot be connected, the optimal choice is clearly a cellular network connection. The filming equipment must be portable, compact, and easy to use, allowing for quick setup on-site, and the camera signals transmitted to the control room must be of high quality and uninterrupted.
Franck Choquard, Head of Content & Services at Eurovision Sport, stated: "Eurovision Sport has developed an increasing number of cost-effective remote production concepts to support event associations and organizations in their event coverage. There is also a need to optimize setup time and to avoid using long cables for connections between different camera positions. This is where LiveU technology can greatly benefit the ISMF project. In this production project, our 9-camera setup can be delivered by a small on-site team within a few days. Without the strong support from the LiveU team, the implementation of these projects would face more challenges."
Solutions
Eurovision has successfully collaborated with LiveU at other sporting events, so it is logical for Actua Films to choose to work with LiveU for the ISMF event coverage. Signals from various cameras, including handheld cameras, drone cameras, and gimbal cameras, will be wirelessly transmitted using LiveU's portable encoding solutions. Each independent camera position on the ski course is connected to a separate LiveU field encoder—LU800 has proven its capability to handle multi-camera tasks in the most demanding live environments. One LU800 set up at the start and finish lines can simultaneously deliver all frames of three gimbal camera signals and one drone signal, fully synchronized.
Landing results
LiveU's cellular bonding technology integrates multiple SIM connections, ensuring a stable uplink connection and sufficient bandwidth for low-latency real-time signal delivery to the control room. LiveU guarantees the first mile of the remote production workflow, successfully enabling remote directing and remote editing scenarios.
Eurovision has successfully broadcast the final PGM signal on traditional television channels and digital platforms across Europe. Additionally, winter sports enthusiasts can watch the World Cup matches on the association's exclusive OTT platform, ISMF TV. With the cloud-based distribution solution LiveU Matrix, Eurovision can share live broadcasts with global audiences at the click of a button.