Winter Olympics 2018

Cueing between venues is - I think - now likely to be handled locally in Korea using a Calrec remote production audio solution. In Sochi the system was more 'news like' with everything coming through in and out of Salford, and no additional infrastructure at the remote end to assist. This Calrec remote system probably integrates with the Calrec sound desks in the UK creating a distributed 'desk' with processing at both ends (reducing latency between remote sources)

Remote production is becoming far more common now (even though the BBC has effectively been doing it at the Winter Olympics for many years) so better solutions are being found.

Also - it's likely that low latency circuits - both between venues (suspect uncompressed SMPTE 2022-6 may be being used over 10Gbs connections) and the IBC and between South Korea and the UK (suspect JPEG 2000 over IP - which is frame not GOP based) - are being used this time - whereas in Sochi they may have been more compressed (and thus more delayed)

Having said that they don't operate on the same day, there's been a bit of a pile-up of Alpine events today, with a Yongpyong/Jeongsong sandwich, including a bit of an overlap. Provided it's not too windy again today.

Some awful sound quality on just returning to the studio in Salford.

Good to see a bit of common sense from the BBC tomorrow and Football Focus bumped to BBC2 to enable uninterupted coverage on BBC1 from 10am-1.45pm, with Britain having realistic chances of picking up three medals between 11.30am and 1.30pm.

Does the OBS provide ISO cameras to certain events such as hockey? It’s the type of sport where one feed would be good to all but I could see rights holders want to take different feeds to cut their own replays and highlights. That is in comparison to Curling where I would expect ISO feeds to be offered as there are three or four games in play.

Also NBC has a nice feature on their NBC Sports App which offers an “enhanced feed” to their NBC Primetime show and right now a live stream for the Short Dance.













Brief commercial break before competition begins. The inset box shows the warm ups.



Graphic shown as a teaser of what’s on a different channel. This was on NBCSN showing the biathlon promoting short dance on NBC.



Mike Tirico interviewing Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir about ice skating. Johnny said something he could go on about what someone’s dress. He got a sentence or two saying. Mike said incredibly we’ve run out of time and that you can keep talking about it and he will listen. They corrected himself and saying that Tara will listen.



Edit : Thought I would add this. NBC is currently airing the Short Dance and the app was already running Short Dance enhanced stream. The two streams have different information - NBC’s is a bit generic and the already running channel has the standings, TEAM USA competitors and a second video stream showing the coach.

Not normally. Although alternate angles are present in the OBS provided replays, and there can be some made available at the IBC after the events.

NBC spend a lot of money on adding their own cameras and facilities on top of the OBS supplied feeds. They may also be taking ISO feeds of individual OBS cameras at the site.

I'm not sure if there's separate feeds of each rink at the curling, but there's at least two. Where there's events not covered live, OBS do provide highlights to rights holders to use in their own packages.

Yes - NBC often arrange their own facilities and/or arrange to take clean feeds of OBS cameras as ISOs. The former are directed by NBC, the latter by OBS (so NBC have to be careful using the latter live). Historically NBC used to have their own trucks or flypacks and production on-site to integrate these facilities. This year at the Winter Olympics they are using remote production and deploying some remotely controlled routing and commentary / talkback gear, along with a small amount of on-site EVS, that allows them to route ISOs and main feeds back to the US, where they are integrated remotely.

For sports with multiple simultaneous events there will usually be separate OBS cut feeds of each - so rights holders can select which match to watch. All of these should land at the IBC.

Usually only NBC take OBS cameras ISOed. Most other operations will deploy their own cameras if they want to cover specific players or competitors. The issue with going the NBC route is that only OBS will be directing the main event coverage cameras, and NBC won't have any control of them. They are useful for additional replays or highlights - but more dangerous to cut to live. Historically NBC have had some criticism in the US for 'dirtying up' the OBS feed - as dropping in your own cameras and replays can mean you hit jump cuts etc. as you leave and return to the OBS cut feed.



I don't think ISOs would be used for this - instead I expect there will be multiple OBS cut feeds of each simultaneous match (or at least more than one of them).

I'd expect all lanes to be covered for the Curling these days - but I might be wrong.

It's the same as Olympic and International Athletics coverage where you will routinely get multiple track and field cut event coverage provided to you separately (running, horizontal/vertical jumping, throwing etc. are usually all separate cut feeds) as well as an integrated 'best of' feed if you don't have the facilities to switch between feeds.

What OBS do provide - in addition to a cut feed of events - is beauty cameras as ISOs - which can be used to leave/join an event, and used live (or turned around on EVS) as backings for your own graphic tables etc.

Didn't realise this until now but the BBC have a Coming Up sequence when the Red Button is switched on at the start of the day. Not sure these graphics have been used on BBC One/Two.

I'm sure I've seen some similar looking graphics on one and two.

There’s a few trucks I think for hockey and in the mountain complex. And the remote production system is called NEWBERT which fits in six flight cases and sends six HD JPEG2000 feeds back to Stamford, four return feeds, plus an EVS system, intercom, and data.

Yup, all four sheets at curling are covered separately, and at least one of them is available in 4K.

OBS generally also provide at least half of the 12 beauty cameras at any one time - usually ones relevant to the venues in use on the day.

They're also providing (as an optional extra) Multi Clips Feeds for some events, which are essentially an instant highlights channel, with extra angles and slo-mos which might not have otherwise been used on the main feed.