EVS HD solutions play a major role in both UEFA Cup Finals

HD production in Europe took another significant step forward in May with both the UEFA Cup Final in Lisbon and the Champions League Final in Istanbul.
The Finals were produced entirely in High-Definition and EVS HD XT servers were used to provide high quality replays and add new dimensions to the coverage.
The production of the match feed in Lisbon involved 12 networked HD XT machines recording 28 HD cameras including 4 Super slow motion HD cameras. The facilities were provided by Alfacam.
Match coverage in Istanbul relied on 7 HD XT units recording the HD cameras and 4 XT units recording the Super Slow Motion cameras. In addition to providing the replays for the game, the additional production values provided by the EVS video sharing ‘XNet’ network allowed the host to provide a both a Highlights channel and an Instant Slomo channel to Rights Holders. These feeds featured the best camera angles of any significant action, recorded on any of the machines in the Xnet, to be compiled and independently played out while match coverage continued.
While the majority of broadcasters used down converted feeds to make their own live programs they also archived the event in HD for future use, particularly as some of the World’s top players took part in these two games and will also play in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. The growing number of HD productions includes the World Cup tournament itself and will also feature EVS technology.
With the imminent arrival of more European HD broadcast channels (announcements have already been made for transmission in HD by Sky, TF1 and Premiere in 2006) and an existing market for Live transmissions in Asia and America, together with the re-mastering of events like this for later broadcast or for HD DVD release, it makes sense to capture the event at the highest possible quality.
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