51 XTREME The Congressional Cup
nown as “the grandfather of modern match racing”, the Congressional Cup attracts leading sailors from around the
breaking VR production values with our HD live-streaming production, knowing it would generate enthusiasm with younger viewers around the world,” explains Geoffrey Talbot, executive producer and chairman of the Long Beach Yacht Club Communications and Media Committee. Talbot first became involved in the planning for this project in October 2017. “We believed that adding high-quality VR coverage and making that video accessible online would bring new generations to the sport. We needed to be able to transport all of this data-intensive video live and untethered.” He reveals that the biggest challenge associated with the coverage was creating and maintaining wireless connections from the water back to shore. In all, 13 Samsung INTEGRATING 360° FOOTAGE REQUIRES AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF BANDWIDTH
world. This year’s event, hosted by southern California’s Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC), was the 54th anniversary of this ‘stadium regatta’. The event featured top-ranked skippers from as far away as the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland, as well as the US, competing for the coveted trophy. Alongside the traditional broadcast coverage, it was decided to provide a unique perspective on this five-day challenging race through the use of 360° virtual reality cameras installed at strategic locations around the event – including the boats themselves. Organisers decided that immersive coverage would add substantial value to the coverage, especially for the devoted audience of sailing enthusiasts. A number of companies were involved in the regular and immersive coverage, including TVU Networks, Samsung Electronics America, Telstra Broadcast Services, Boxx TV, broadcast integration and project manager Suitelife Systems and wireless innovation house Ocon Solutions Company (OSC). BUILDING ENTHUSIASM “We were excited to embrace the ground-
Round 360 cameras were deployed. One was used for streaming off the Long Beach Veterans Memorial Pier. A static camera was located on the MV Loynes, the LBYC Race Committee boat anchored at the Congressional Cup start/finish line, while a further camera was used to stream from a mobile power boat with TVU Networks' aggregated cellular connectivity. “But for the most spectacular coverage we installed a total of ten static 360 cameras in LBYC Catalina 37 race boats,” states Talbot. “Streaming from the cameras was achieved using Frontier’s FIO connection at the pier, up to Samsung VR in cloud. The workflow involved Samsung workflow blade servers on the pier.” Switching between the VR sources took place on land near the LBYC pier,
SAFE HARBOUR The Congressional Cup – the “grandfather of modern match racing” – has long attracted the attention of ardent sailing fans. But the question this year was: how to enhance the viewing experience? Using the latest in 360° VR technology, plus a generous helping of good, old-fashioned problem solving and lateral thinking, the communications team at Long Beach Yacht Club delivered something truly memorable
feedzine feed.zine feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook