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BBC use Digital Voodoo in StingRAY project
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| London, July 26th - Polar Graphics are pleased to announce today that they were involved in the supply of Digital Voodoo 'Iridium SD' broadcast SDI video cards to the BBC for use at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. Polar Graphics is the Master European distributor for Digital Voodoo, who are based in Melbourne, Australia. |
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StingRAY System
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| The cards are being used in
a device called 'StingRAY'. StingRAY is a Windows 2000 based system that
delivers real-time, broadcast quality, graphic transition stings to vision
mixers. The device produces Fill & Key video signals (4:4:4:4 SDI
standard) which are genlocked, and are 'played' using a broadcast standard
GPI closure. StingRAY was developed as an in-house project by Dave Bevan of BBC News. Bevan was commissioned by BBC Outside Broadcast to deliver 23 StingRAY devices for deployment at the Commonwealth Games. BBC Outside Broadcast have elected to purchase 10 units, with the rest being provided on a 'rental' basis. StingRAY saw it's first production outing at the Epsom Derby, followed by further live tests at Royal Ascot. As these tests proved successful, a StingRAY device was deployed at Wimbledon and used repeatedly on the BBC2 John Inverdale show. Bevan says that the project was the result of previous work he completed for BBC Outside Broadcast, a 3 channel still store, being used on a current BBC Outside Broadcast contract. StingRAY and it's underlying technology is being considered for deployment on other BBC News projects, both in the BBC News Centre at the BBC's TV Centre campus in West London, and in the BBC News Political Broadcast Centre at Millbank, Central London. Bevan says of Polar Graphics "Polar Graphics have been an integral part of the StingRAY for Commonwealth Games project, both in the supply and rental of Digital Voodoo cards. Early in the project, their technical support was particularly valued." Colin Prior, Head of BBC Outside Broadcast says "We are very pleased with this innovative product. StingRAY fills a specific need in our operation and we are delighted to be using it at the Commonwealth Games." The BBC have estimated that with global re-broadcasting, coverage of the 2002 Commonwealth Games will reach an estimated audience of 1 billion people. |
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