Dutch Winter Olympics Coverage Handled by Universal Videohub

[Kerry de Boer]

Blackmagic Design announced that Dutch broadcaster NOS deployed the Blackmagic Universal Videohub 288 for signal routing and distribution during its coverage of the Olympic Winter Games. Built by live production specialist Broadcast Rental, the Sochi facility will handle more than 60 live signals from across the Games.

As well as live feeds from commentary positions in more than 40 sports venues, the master control room, based in the International Broadcast Center at Sochi, will also receive inputs from ‘Holland House’, where Dutch athletes, coaching teams and supporters congregate, to take viewers behind the scenes of the team’s Olympic experience.

The Universal Videohub is controlled via a touchscreen monitor and software, and will distribute HD-SDI video signals into the unit’s ingest system for editing, where two broadcast feeds for transmission in the Netherlands will be produced. The router will also manage distribution of signals to multiviewers and monitors within the control hub to assist with signal selection. A tally system is also connected to the Videohub to monitor the status of the router. Information from the tally, such as time codes or feed titles, can be viewed in the under monitor displays in the multiviewers, giving production staff all the information they need about each feed in a glance.

For more information, please visit http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/p ... seID=58766

Wow! Even the Dutch equivalent of the BBC is using Blackmagic Design products. Very cool.

Now, I'm interested. Whilst switching between two SDI channels, what does it look like. Is it abrupt or can you have something like a dissolve or dip to black.

Thanks
Petra

The Videohub ist no vision mixer and it has no frame synchonisation. It is to connect various sources and destinations. If you are using genlocked sources in the same resolution, a hard cut may work. Dissolve - no. But it isn't the job for a Videohub....

You can use the videohub to preselect sources to your vision mixer. E.g. You have two studios with cameras,but only one small vision mixer. So you can switch all cameras from studio 1 to the mixer, if you record in studio 1 and 1 hour later you record from studio 2 and its cameras at the same control room. So you can do without reconnecting any cables...