Many sports arenas still have an ANALOG based production environment while other facilities such as major networks usually have super-OB vans that house an entire DIGITAL studio facility inside large trucks which are set up to capture major sporting events. Either way, whether it be to capture the event for broadcast or feed a large screen stadium system the switcher is a pivotal point for creatively enhancing and delivering good sports and entertainment video coverage.

Case Study

Boston Red Sox score big with Echolab Technology

By Danny Kischel,
Manager, Scoreboard and Video Production
World Champion Boston Red Sox

After the incredible success of the 2004 season, the Red Sox TV and Video department were given the task of rapidly upgrading our facility to accommodate the increasing workload put on our shoulders. Our studio, located at famous Fenway Park, primarily produces the in-park show, feeding the video board live and capturing each game for news and archiving.

Shortly after last year’s win, Echolab, a Boston-based company that has been designing and manufacturing video switchers for more than 30 years contacted us. In fact, it was the Echolab staff who, out of pride for their home team, demanded their management approach us here at the Red Sox and assist with the upgrade to our core video switching technology. They wanted Fenway to have great equipment made in Boston, by Bostonians, for their beloved Sox.

Echolab presented the new Nova 1932 SDI Switcher as an ideal solution that would accommodate our present needs and grow with us into the future. The large 32 Input Nova system allows us far more cross points than the existing switcher for easier access to the array of cameras and sources that we access for the large on-screen presentation.

We now have multiple ME’s (2.5) and each has its own “recall” - this gives us a huge operational advantage and flexibility. Multiple frame buffers let us grab and store frames, releasing us from the mess of scan converters.

The Echolab Nova 1932 allows us to create our entire inventory of graphics, statistics and sponsor advertisements quickly and easily. Our operator can upload and download graphics to the Nova 1932 frame buffers via the system’s TFTP Server. Working in conjunction with a remote PC running Photoshop, we create full screen images or 32-bit images, such as a lower third, and then transfer both the foreground and alpha directly to the Nova to set up a key. We can have a new player’s headshot in the switcher and create up-to-the-minute stats as overlay graphics in real-time - then zing straight up on screen. It’s fabulous.

One of our criteria when evaluating the upgrade was the switcher’s technology platform. The Nova 1932’s unique system-on-chip architecture stores firmware and hardware configuration updates on a Compact Flash memory card. Interconnectivity and networking was a key element to our growing number of digital sources. The Nova switcher gives 10/100-Mb Ethernet port connectivity, supporting simultaneous connections to the outside world through Web, TFTP & XML-RPC servers. This enables our TD to remotely access the switcher from anywhere on our network and, via a web page, check on the switcher’s status and configuration.

The proof was in the pudding. The Echolab installation took place in the week while we were at spring training and their team was here all weekend before and on Opening Day to ensure the smooth transition. Now, with quite a few games under our belts, we can’t remember what it was like producing such a rich, demanding live show without the new Nova 1932. It’s great to have such a committed local company enjoy the success with us here at the Red Sox.