International. Valencia Club de Fútbol has used devices manufactured by Blackmagic Design to modernise the audiovisual production system at the Mestalla stadium and provide fans with a better experience during matches.
The Spanish team was looking for an adaptable platform that would allow different signals to be transmitted to five giant screens and to superimpose graphic elements on live images. Once the different options were evaluated taking into account these requirements, IDCromvideo developed a flexible and effective system around Blackmagic products, according to Julio Tárrega, in charge of the broadcast of audiovisual content in the stadium.
"Previously we only had a marker with a graphics signal generated from a computer, through a DVI connection, and another live SDI signal supplied by the broadcaster. The switching between the two was done through a mixer," explained Tárrega. "We now have four live signals, three cameras, an additional signal provided by the station, two playback systems and two LiveCG Football character generators. All these contents are directed to the five markers of the stadium."
Although an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio mixer is used for each marker, Valencia CF needed an operator who could monitor all signals to optimize switching and synchronize contents when needed.
"Thanks to the development tools offered by Blackmagic, IDCromvideo was able to create an application for touchscreen devices that allows the operator to select the signal they want to transmit through the main output of the mixer or overlay a background image. On the other hand, we had the need to see and capture all the sources sent to the bookmarks, so we installed a Blackmagic MultiView 16. Additionally, we used a second MultiView and an H264 recorder to master all the content," said Tárrega.
"Our club has always been committed to providing viewers with dynamic audiovisual content that enhances their experience as fans of a football match. The ability to embed graphic elements on a live video signal was imperative to achieve our goal, and that's why we designed a production system based on Blackmagic's ATEM mixers, Julio concluded.
