The Weather Network Selects Hybrid For New Trackless Virtual Studio HD Solution

The Canadian Weather Network has selected leading virtual studios and camera tracking manufacturer, Hybrid, for its upgrade to a 24/7 on-air virtual studio look, broadcasting in HD.
The Weather Network broadcasts nationwide in Canada and reaches an average of 9 million Canadians on TV every week. They decided to move to HD in early 2011 and wanted to combine the launch with an exciting new on-air look to enhance the viewer experience. The solution needed to be both robust and efficient and able to generate a range of stunning virtual studios our of a relatively small physical studio.
Hybrid's Neon was selected for the quality, ease of use and affordability of the system. The Weather Network were impressed with Neon's graphics output and internal chroma keyed, with the robustness of the overall solution and with its flexibility, enabling staff to easily set up and operate the system as well as change the look and feel.
Neon is a powerful, trackless Virtual Studio enabling control and movement of multiple virtual cameras in real-time. The system has all the 3D graphics power of Hybrid's complete 3D virtual studio solution Krypton, which interfaces with Hybrid and third-party camera tracking systems.
The Neon solution enables the Weather Network to create a spacious on-air look, incorporating real-time camera movements but without the need to invest in the complexity of camera tracking. The solution can be upgraded to include camera tracking at any time in the future.
Launch date for the new HD broadcast and virtual studio look is scheduled for later this month.
Olivier Cohen, Hybrid CEO, said: "We are excited to be working with the Weather Network. They are staking their excellent brand and reputation on Hybrid's trackless virtual studio solution Neon and have come up with a design for a stunning set of interconnected virtual studio spaces using our technology, which will both engage and inform viewers."
NAB attendees can see Hybrid technology in action at Stand C9849.
(KMcA)