ESPN BRAND WORLD CUP 3D

CASE STUDY
ESPN
TELECASTS

The Client delivery to Bristol, Pixel Power aided in its integration

with the rest of the transmission chain being
ESPN not only dominates sports broadcasting
assembled in the live 3D Technology Lab for the World
worldwide but they created the concept of a dedicated
Cup broadcasts. The system was used to control breaks
sports channel more than 30 years ago. Still based in
between commercials and program feeds as is
the small town of Bristol, Connecticut they have grown
common in Master Control, only in this case operation
from one small building to a large campus in a constant
was done manually for the World Cup, rather than
state of expansion.
being automated.

The Challenge
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was already shaping up to be
a breakthrough event for soccer coverage in the US.
ESPN, as the holder of the US broadcast rights, already
had plans in place for massive HD coverage. What had
not been anticipated in the early planning was
Stereoscopic 3D coverage of the games. Once Host
Broadcast Services confirmed that 25 games would be ESPN has integrated its BrandMaster 3D into its
made available in 3D, ESPN decided to make The World main Master Control facility in preparation for
Cup the launch event for its newly announced ESPN 3D ESPN 3D being promoted to full-time status
channel. This meant that a separate 3D transmission beginning in February 2011.
chain had to be built from scratch in only a few
months. Key parts of this chain would need to be 3D
Master Control and Channel Branding systems, but
such products were only just being designed. The ESPN
team went out to NAB in April 2010 with a list of ESPN’s operators also used a Pixel Power Management
requirements and a fixed deadline in their heads Console to edit template-based graphics within
dictated by the kick-off in South Africa. BrandMaster on the fly when necessary. Prebuilt
graphics could be opened merely by double clicking on
a selected graphic inside Management Console. The
The Solution system allowed operators to edit any field within the
ESPN were pleased with the quality of the 3D branding displayed template, preview their changes, and
graphics shown by Pixel Power, the overall ease of use, automatically publish back to the system for output
and by the integration of graphics and Master Control into the final program stream with the correct aspect
in a single system. Shortly after NAB they ordered the ratio, 3-D image convergence, resolution and font
first stereoscopic BrandMaster 3DS system. Upon style.
Initial tests and all the World Cup games were carried
in 1080i in a frame compatible (side by side) format. As
soon as the Games were over the system was
reconfigured in a 720p dual stream (separate left eye
right eye streams) configuration.

The Results
The system was successfully installed and
commissioned, operators and engineers were trained,
and everything went on air in time for the big launch of
ESPN 3D. Reviews of the channel output were positive
and ESPN is gaining valuable experience and market
exposure as the leader in this new technological A master control operator at ESPN’s Bristol, CT,
development. campus electronically inserting 3D commercials
and other graphic elements.

Realising the Benefits

Not only did the use of BrandMaster 3DS meet the 3D
needs of ESPN for the World Cup, but it offers the
opportunity for them to experiment with a new style of
combined Master Control and Branding and the unique
control options possible in BrandMaster such as the
unique VSP control panel with full color TFT displays in
the switches and screen-based graphical displays with
gestural control.

In late 2010, ESPN integrated its BrandMaster 3DS into

its main Master Control facility in preparation for ESPN
3D being promoted to full-time status beginning in
February 2011.

Summary
ESPN had unique challenges in timescales, budgets and
new technology for an event that was one of the
highest visibility launches in the company’s history.
Pixel Power worked closely with them at every stage,
assisting with planning, evolving the product to meet
real-world needs and providing onsite support
throughout the critical phases and the launch. This
close partnership was an essential factor in the great
success of the project.

To learn more about PixelPower, go to www.pixelpower.com

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