Canadian sports network boosts on-air look with FOR-A’s digiWarp-EX II virtual studio system

The Score, Canada’s ‘Home for the Hardcore’ sports cable channel, recently acquired and implemented FOR-A’s digiWarp-EX II virtual studio system to boost its on-air look and feel, marking it the first time the network has ever utilised virtual sets.
With its competitive price point and ease of operation and set up, the FOR-A system enables small studios to generate virtual studio programming.
All of The Score’s 24-hour-a-day sports news and information programming is enhanced with digiWarp-EX II. The Score’s sports content is heavily graphic influenced, designed for an 18 to 34 year-old male demographic.
Prior to its acquisition of the digiWarp-EX II system, The Score broadcast their programmes from a small 20’ x 30’ converted office space. To achieve a grandness of size and perception of depth, The Score decided it needed to work with virtual set technology which would allow them to design multiple studios with a new look for each show, all within one physical space.
Since implementing digiWarp-EX II last autumn, The Score has cut costs and time by not building physical sets. digiWarp-EX II’s template-based feature allows The Score to easily drop in as many backgrounds as needed. “Once the camera is in position, you just load the template, and the virtual set is up and running,” said Kevin Harkins, director of Technical Operations, The Score.
“You can set up a whole show with the click of a button. To go from one set to another in a matter of minutes, is a huge benefit for us. Previously, it could take up to an hour to change over a hard set. digiWarp-EX II makes live television effortless.”
Graphics from the virtual set can flow right into a ticker system that runs continuously along the bottom of the screen on The Score – an effect not possible with a traditional, physical set.
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