Norway’s TV2 adds 3D football

[Larry-G]

TV2, Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster, on October 11th supplied Norway’s first-ever live national 3D transmission. The 3D broadcast was of the Norway vs Cyprus UEFA football international to Canal Digital’s pay-TV operation. The game, from Norway’s national football stadium Ullevaal in Oslo saw the home team win 3-1.

TV2 used a T-VIPS JPEG2000 Gateway unit (TVG 450) to carry the video. “When it comes to broadcasting live sports, it is vital to remain at the forefront of technological advancements and for this reason we are delighted to be working with T-VIPS, a cutting-edge company that has real 3D expertise,” said John Inge Brattetveit, CTO, TV2. “The TVG450 JPEG2000 Gateway solution enables TV2 to broadcast top quality 3D video content cost-effectively and provides advanced technology to sync the left and right eye pictures, critical when broadcasting in 3D.”

The TV2 owned OB Team recently took delivery of a 3D-ready Outside Broadcast truck, the only one of its kind in Scandinavia, which was used to produce the broadcast. Five 3D cameras were set up within the stadium to provide true 3D images. The first national 3D broadcast took place October 11, during a qualifying match for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship between the Norwegian and Cypriot national football teams. The 3D video was available to both satellite and cable customers of Canal Digital.

T-VIPS pioneered 3D video transport over JPEG2000 in 2009 when it was trialed for a live Korean surgical video transmission. It has since been involved in a number of live 3D projects including Opera in Sweden and most recently the IAAF World Athletics championships in Korea.

“We have extensive global experience working in live sport and 3D transmissions and it’s a real pleasure to be working on such an innovative project on our home turf,” said Johnny Dolvik, CEO, T-VIPS.

 http://www.advanced-television.com/index.php/2011/10/12/norways-tv2-adds-3d-football/