2009 World Series | Sports Technology Blog

Litepanels, Bexel Light Up Fox Sports Booth

Light (or is it Lite?) makes right for Fox Sports is using Litepanels LED lighting in the announce booth at Citizens Bank Park. The lighting grid, available through Bexel Broadcast Services, is configured in a single row of six panels with each panel featuring its own dimmer. MLB Network is also using the system for its lighting needs.

Fox Sports and MLB Network are both relying on Litepanels LED-based lighting systems.

The biggest benefits of the LED panels include less heat (which not only keeps talent more comfortable but also saves energy on air conditioning and cooling) as well as less power, preventing overloaded circuits and even bigger potential problems. And then there is smaller benefit: “This replaces a bunch of heavy hardware,” says Fox Sports’ Rod Conti. “Plus it’s so easy to use and install.”

MLB Network Calls Denali Summit Home For Philly WS Games

MLB Network has all hands on deck in Philadelphia for the World Series has there is enough space in the truck compound to accommodate a full-size production unit. Even better for MLB Network? The unit is NEP Denali Summit, a two-trailer unit that has all the bells and whistles for major entertainment productions, making it a perfect fit for MLB Network’s pre- and post-game coverage.

Denali Summit will be MLB Network's home during World Series games in Philadelphia.

“It’s phenomenal,” says Brad Cheney, MLB Network Engineering Manager, who was responsible for creating the flypack-based system used in New York. “It’s such a big and powerful truck and it allows our executives to help with the production first hand. Not to mention that the tape and audio areas are all full sized.”

The only part of the crew not on hand is the graphics department as Vizrt integration and other high-end graphics are inserted at the MLB Network facility in Secaucus. Audio probably gets the biggest lift because the Yankee Stadium set up involves two audio mixers. Audio in Philadelphia only has one mixer, making it easier to tweak settings. Also helping the mixer is that Denali Summit has the largest Calrec Alpha Blu Fin console in the U.S.

“It’s nice to have this kind of room and firepower because anything we need Denali can make happen,” adds Cheney.

MLB Network Flypack System a Hit During Game One

MLB Network’s use of an innovative flypack/fiber-based transmission set up during the first game of the World Series was as free of errors as Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee’s performance. The system pumps camera signals, along with clean and dirty feeds of the game and press conferences, back to the MLB Network facility in Secaucus, NJ.

Brad Cheney, MLB Network Engineering Manager, inside the MLB Network cabin outside Yankee Stadium.

All signals are encoded using NTT MPEG4 encoders, crunching camera signals to 35 Mbps prior to deliver over 160 Mbps circuits. “We already owned the encoders and had the bandwidth via the Vyvx and HTN circuits so we could multiplex the signals without buying extra paths,” says Cheney. “We’re maximizing new technology used at the network.”

Brad Cheney, MLB Network Engineering Manager, put the system together in a week with the help of MLB Network Director of Broadcast Systems Mark Henry, Clark Media, CP Communications, and Bexel. “For the technical director and the control room staff it’s just another studio show but the cameras are miles away,” says Cheney.

The Clark Media flypack includes Sony HDC-1500 cameras, a 32×32 router, and audio capabilities. Bexel and CP Communications lined up the fiber gear that was required and a Riedel intercom frame was brought in and connected via IP with Secaucus.

“It’s nice when our technology partners understand what we’re trying to do and spend the long weekends working when they didn’t know where we were going,” says Cheney. If the Anaheim Angels defeated the Yankees the plan would have been scrapped in favor of a production truck.

“I see this as being the future of small-camera production when we can leverage the fiber infrastructure,” says Cheney. “This is a really good launching pad for making much better programming for the network.”

F&F Productions Takes to the Field for MLB International

F&F Productions is once again at the center of MLB International’s coverage of the World Series, with its GTX15 production unit serving as home base for telecasts from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. “We’ve been using the same vendors for at least three years,” says Russell Gabay, MLB International VP and Executive Producer. “International feeds can be complicated and their familiarity with the show makes the set up that much more efficient. And their engineers make suggestions on how to do things better.”

F&F GTX 15 is at the center of the MLB International World Series production from Yankee Stadium.

The World Series is the culmination of the heaviest production year ever for MLB International as it included the World Series, the All-Star Game, and the World Baseball Classic. Gabay says baseball fans around the globe should expect more of the same in 2010. “There is a real thirst for baseball internationally,” he explains. “And because it is no longer an Olympic sport there is a mandate within the league to keep it growing.

This year’s World Series production originates in F&F GTX15 where camera feeds and replays gathered by both Fox Sports and MLB International come together. “We have an unbelievably great relationship with Fox Sports on both the technical and production side,” says Gabay. “We share information all the time, network the EVS systems, combine our footage requests, and share audio and effects. And both sides also save on costs so budgetarily it works out.”

The world feed is based around eight main Sony cameras located at low and high first and third base, high home, centerfield and booth cameras. In Philadelphia an RF camera will be added to the mix, giving director John More and producer Pete Tome the tools to tell the story for an international viewer. More »

ESPN International Goes Deep For Global Audience

Once the first pitch is thrown tonight ESPN domestic will take a backseat to Fox Sports in terms of game coverage but ESPN International will be all over it courtesy of MLB International’s world feed. And for Michelle Lynch, ESPN International operations producer, the first pitch is actually the beginning of a quiet period that lasts until the game ends.

“The in-game coverage is very seamless as MLB International has figured that out,” says Lynch. ESPN will rely on the English/Canadian flavor of the international feed for the English speaking audience and has announcers on hand at Yankee Stadium to voice over the world feed for ESPN Deportes.

This year marks the first time ESPN, for both its international and domestic coverage, will not have a production truck, a result of the Yankee Stadium truck compound not providing adequate south western exposure. ESPN is connected to Bristol via a fiber line that carries five multiplexed signals. ESPN International’s Béisbol Esta Noche has its own fiber connection out of the ballpark.

That situation will change in Philadelphia this weekend when ESPN will have a hybrid uplink truck. But ESPN will only make use of the production facilities in the truck as the signals once again will be sent back to Bristol via fiber.

Fox Sports Gears Up for Series, but It’s People That Make the Difference

Fox Sports is once again relying on the talent of its crew and the ability to tell a clean story instead of a massive technology outlay for the 2009 World Series. “You can only cover so much, and you can’t have equipment for the sake of having equipment,” says Jerry Steinberg, Fox Sports, SVP of Field Operations. “When you reach a point with optimum coverage, why add more stuff if it doesn’t add anything?”

He says the key to the big-game feel has less to do with having dozens of cameras than with more-subtle shots, such as aerial views from a blimp. “It’s not about how we can make an event a big event but how we cover it, and we cover big events better than anybody. We have the best baseball director in the game [in Bill Webb] and his guys.”

Fox Sports will rely on approximately 20 cameras and more than 70 microphones to help convey the drama of a World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. And there are some additions: two new xMo super-slow-motion systems from Inertia Unlimited feature improved camera systems, and TrackMan is the new hot toy in the Fox MLB arsenal.

“It’s a 3D Doppler radar system that tracks the pitch from the release of the ball by the pitcher to the catcher,” explains Steinberg. The Doppler radar system, located behind home plate, captures a wealth of data: spin rate, the distance the ball drops, where the player’s hand is located when the ball is released, speed leaving the pitcher’s hand, speed crossing the plate, and more. It was just put into use for the ALCS and is still in its infancy in terms of how graphics will eventually translate that data into something the viewer can easily understand.

“Right now, we’re working on developing the graphic interface and making it interesting for the viewer,” says Steinberg. For example, graphically displaying the pitcher’s release point relative to his “slot” (the optimum release point) can help the viewers understand when a pitcher is tiring.

Placement of the xMo systems is critical to the production. Because Yankee Stadium does not have a low-camera position behind home plate, the two systems are placed in center field and down the first-base line in the low-camera position. During the ALCS, the system captured some great shots for both Fox Sports and Turner Sports.

Much of the equipment complement has been used by Fox year in and year out, including analog microphones on the field that capture everything from players’ sliding into a bag to the slap of a tag and the chatter on the field. “We use the same analog Sennheiser RF mics we began using 15 years ago,” says Steinberg. “They still work better than anything out there.”

And solid audio, like the pictures, is the result of a solid team based on lead audio mixer Joe Carp. “He’s an aggressive, great mixer, and he has built a great team around him,” says Steinberg.

So, with the Fox team in place, look for Steinberg and company to settle into the Game Creek truck that is the center of their production for what is hopefully a dry and good game. “It’s a privilege to cover a great event,” he says. “You just don’t want to muck it up.”

Debate Over Expanding Instant Replay for MLB Continues

The Los Angeles Times today weighs in on whether or not Major League Baseball should have expanded the use of instant replay for the World Series. The sport is coming off of a number of high-profile umpiring gaffs during the division series and championship series but MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has no plans to expand its use for the World Series. ”I think you can overreact to situations,” Selig said. “It isn’t change I’m afraid of. I’m not sure that would contribute to the improvement of the sport.”

Unfortunately for Selig, even the slightest mistake will be magnified by fans and media alike. Simply put, the situation is as volatile as striking a match in the hills and canyons of Southern California as media and fans in both New York and Philadelphia have a history of not accepting perfection from coaches, players, and umpires alike.

And while he speaks of concerns over making the games longer and the impact on a pitcher waiting out a review those concerns, honestly, ring hollow. First, if he was truly concerned with longer games then MLB would get serious about pace of play. Pick up pace of play and there is time for some reviews.

Anyway, read the article here. If there is any hope it is that Selig said he will “never say never to anything.”

MLB Network Innovates for Coverage from the Bronx

MLB Network, along with technology partners HTN, Clark Media, Bexel, and CP Communications, will cover all the action from the Bronx tonight with the help of a flypack and seven discreet transmission paths that will deliver signals to the network’s broadcast headquarters in Secaucus, NJ.

“We do not have a mobile unit but will use Production Control Room 1 at our plant in Secaucus as our virtual control room,” says Susan Stone, vice president of operations.

The circuits are provided by HTN and the flypack is from Clark Media and includes additional gear from Bexel and CP Communications. “Brad Cheney, MLB Network Engineering Manager, has done an amazing job in creating and executing this plan,” says Stone. “All of our graphics, editing, and tape operations will be generated in Secaucus.”

The network will also have six unilateral camera feeds: three handheld units that will operate in a studio configuration at the set location just past first base; a hard camera in centerfield, and one handheld unit near each dugout. The six camera feeds will be delivered to Secaucus via the HTN circuits.

“We are also sharing a few cameras with our partners at MLB International that will be routable down the seventh transmission circuit,” adds Stone.

Comcast SportsNet Promises Phillies Fans a Plethora of Programming

Comcast SportsNet, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, is giving it’s coverage of Philadelphia’s version of the Big Red Machine the Red Carpet treatment, with pre- and post-game programs for all games, plus never-before-seen footage, nightly specials and additional World Series related programming.

One of the more interesting programs for those in the industry will be Phillies “Insider Access: PGL Crew,” a program that will give viewers the opportunity to see what goes on behind the lens, including listening in on pre-show meetings, a bird’s eye view of the crew watching the games, witnessing what happens in the newsroom during a game and countless other insider moments. The program will air on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. and also on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 11 p.m.

The network will also produce special World Series editions of Daily News Live and SportsNite, plus Race2Repeat, a 30-minute program airing at 10:30 p.m. on any Phillies off days.

The final programming push will cap off a winning season for the network. During the 2009 season, Comcast SportsNet delivered a record-setting 7.14 average rating (212,000 HH) for live game action, a 25% increase over last season’s 5.7 rating, and the highest rated Phillies’ season in Comcast SportsNet’s 12-year history. During the regular season, fans tuned into Comcast SportsNet’s Phillies Postgame Live in record numbers with a 15% increase over the 2008 season. After the Phillies clinched the NLCS, Comcast SportsNet’s Phillies Postgame Live aired from the field at Citizens Bank Park and delivered a 3.3 rating (98,000 households), and peaked at a 4.8 rating (143,000 households) at 12:15 a.m., beating out all broadcast stations in the Philadelphia market (which were also providing live Phillies coverage).