The 2008 Beijing Olympics
and Paralympics
on the ´óÏó´«Ã½
´óÏó´«Ã½ Resources on track for Olympics coverage
The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s core operation is fully HD
and tapeless for the first time
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All live coverage on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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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´óÏó´«Ã½ Resources, the commercial facilities arm
of the ´óÏó´«Ã½, is partnering ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport to
provide coverage for the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and Paralympic Games.
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It has been working with ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport and
Siemens to design a multiplatform orientated
facility within the dedicated International
Broadcast Centre (IBC) and will be providing
staff from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Post Production and ´óÏó´«Ã½
Studios, as well as working with SIS Outside
Broadcasts – formerly ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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
´óÏó´«Ã½'s case, via European Broadcasting
Union (EBU) facilities.
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The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is broadcasting 300 hours of
coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
this year on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two, plus
2,450 hours on ´óÏó´«Ã½i, as well as online, radio,
news, nations and regions and C´óÏó´«Ã½. There
will also be live coverage on the ´óÏó´«Ã½'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 ´óÏó´«Ã½ operation to be HD
and tapeless.
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The IBC facility
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The ´óÏó´«Ã½ has worked with ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 ´óÏó´«Ã½
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 ´óÏó´«Ã½ News, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Nations and Regions
and Graphics, as well as ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 ´óÏó´«Ã½ is supported by SIS Outside
Broadcasts, formerly ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 ´óÏó´«Ã½'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
´óÏó´«Ã½'s IBC facility in Beijing
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There will be 16 logging stations at
´óÏó´«Ã½ Television Centre in London
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´óÏó´«Ã½i is sending back seven streams of
video from Beijing to London
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The ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 ´óÏó´«Ã½ HD Channel.
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