The 2008 Beijing Olympics
and Paralympics
on the 91Èȱ¬
91Èȱ¬ Resources on track for Olympics coverage
The 91Èȱ¬'s core operation is fully HD
and tapeless for the first time
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All live coverage on the 91Èȱ¬ HD
Channel in 5.1 surround sound
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Centralised access to media server
supporting multiplatform output
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Onsite media management
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Working across continents – split
operation in Beijing and London
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Major rollout of broadband and mobile
services
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New compression technology – Dirac
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91Èȱ¬ Resources, the commercial facilities arm
of the 91Èȱ¬, is partnering 91Èȱ¬ Sport to
provide coverage for the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and Paralympic Games.
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It has been working with 91Èȱ¬ Sport and
Siemens to design a multiplatform orientated
facility within the dedicated International
Broadcast Centre (IBC) and will be providing
staff from 91Èȱ¬ Post Production and 91Èȱ¬
Studios, as well as working with SIS Outside
Broadcasts – formerly 91Èȱ¬ Outside
Broadcasts – to deliver coverage from Beijing.
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Traditionally the main coverage of the Games
comes from a broadcaster based in the
country that hosts the Games. This year, the
host broadcast will be provided by Beijing
Olympic Broadcasting (BOB). BOB will be
responsible for producing the international
venue coverage and delivering the signals
(totalling around 91) to the IBC. BOB will
then deliver an international signal package,
comprising 44 feeds, to rights-holding
broadcasters and unions in the IBC – in the
91Èȱ¬'s case, via European Broadcasting
Union (EBU) facilities.
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The 91Èȱ¬ is broadcasting 300 hours of
coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
this year on 91Èȱ¬ One and 91Èȱ¬ Two, plus
2,450 hours on 91Èȱ¬i, as well as online, radio,
news, nations and regions and C91Èȱ¬. There
will also be live coverage on the 91Èȱ¬'s HD
channel.The time difference of seven hours
between the UK and China means that,
although there will still be live peak-time
coverage, it will be supplemented by
interactive, broadband streamed media and a
new focus on mobile content, all designed to
improve the viewers' access to the Olympics
on demand.
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The entire event coverage of the Summer
Olympic Games will be HD for the first time,
enabling the core 91Èȱ¬ operation to be HD
and tapeless.
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The IBC facility
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The 91Èȱ¬ has worked with 91Èȱ¬ Resources to
plan and build a multiplatform orientated
production facility at the International
Broadcast Centre (IBC), which is located on
the Olympic Green in Beijing. The main 91Èȱ¬
studio will be in nearby Ling Long Pagoda
and will provide spectacular views of the
main stadium and Olympic Green.
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There will be centralised access to the
media, which is being fully managed on site,
with 91Èȱ¬ News, 91Èȱ¬ Nations and Regions
and Graphics, as well as 91Èȱ¬ Sport, all being
able to access the content and metadata,
maximising the multiplatform access to the
central media resource.
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It is a split site operation with media storage
and editing taking place in Beijing whilst
logging is carried out by a team in London,
which will operate live throughout the night
to compensate for the time differences.
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The venues
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In addition to 44 feeds from the host
broadcaster, providing 3,800 hours of
footage, the 91Èȱ¬ will supplement that
coverage with its own unilateral cameras and
presentation positions, covering the stories
of the UK athletes competing in sports
where there is a key British interest.
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In this, the 91Èȱ¬ is supported by SIS Outside
Broadcasts, formerly 91Èȱ¬ Outside Broadcasts.
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Facts and figures
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There will be 44 feeds from the host
broadcaster providing 3,800 hours of
footage.
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The 91Èȱ¬'s EVS server will store up to
1,000 hours of HD content
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There will be 18 edit suites at the
91Èȱ¬'s IBC facility in Beijing
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There will be 16 logging stations at
91Èȱ¬ Television Centre in London
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91Èȱ¬i is sending back seven streams of
video from Beijing to London
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The 91Èȱ¬ has a potential live presence
at 14 venues
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There will be eight P2 camera teams
in operation
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More than 200Mb/s of fibre are being
used to transport signals between
Beijing and London
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Live 5.1 sound on 91Èȱ¬ HD Channel.
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