Sports

Sony High-Definition Cameras to Cover Every Broadcast Angle for Championship Football Game
More than 50 HD Cameras to Be Used for Main U.S. Broadcast

When the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Arizona Cardinals for the professional football championship on Feb. 1, more than 50 Sony high-definition cameras will be capturing every angle for the main broadcast in the United States.

NEP Broadcasting will provide 10 trailers - its ND3, ND4, SS24 and Silver mobile units - for pre- and post-game, main game and the half-time show featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Sony cameras will be a combination of models HDC-1000, HDC-1500, HDC-950 and HDC-900, as well as an HDC-3300 Super Slow Motion camera in each end zone.

"A production of this scale, with both a domestic broadcaster covering the game, pre-game and half-time show, in addition to the various international broadcasters and world feed, requires many, many more cameras and camera positions than a regular nationally televised game," said George Hoover, chief technology officer at NEP. "That includes a significant number of handheld and jib cameras that you'd never see at any other game. We'll also have more field-level and opposite side of the field camera coverage."

Hoover said that the Sony cameras are a perfect fit for the unique production requirements, in terms of image quality and flexibility.

"The cameras work extremely well, they have fast response and very good sensitivity," Hoover said. "One challenge this year is the game is outdoors. Kick-off will be right at sundown, so you need a wide latitude, and ability to handle significant changes in light levels and color temperatures, especially as the sun goes down. So we'll be starting in mid-day sun for pre-game, and we'll wrap in total evening darkness; the full range of lighting conditions."

In addition, Hoover said, the cameras' ability to handle both the game broadcast and the halftime show will help for setting up what essentially is a full rock concert only five minutes after the first half ends. NEP will share many of the high camera positions used for the main game for wide shots at halftime.

"It's the big game," he said. "These cameras wouldn't be there if they didn't perform."

NEP's ND3 and SS24 units will also use a Sony MVS-8000A switcher for the game, as well as pre- and post-game shows.

"This game is one of the biggest stages for television broadcast production," said Rob Willox, director of content creation for Sony Electronics' Broadcast and Production Systems Division. "Our multi-format live production technology is ideal for this type of event, and will help to add an extra layer of excitement and reality for TV viewers."