Customer:
M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore Ravens (NFL)
Country:
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Case Study
M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the current home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. Ground was broken for the new stadium in 1996, shortly after the Ravens arrived in Baltimore from Cleveland. The first game played at the new stadium was on Sept. 6, 1998 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which they lost 20-13. In 2012, M&T Bank Stadium hosted its largest capacity game with a total of 71,200 fans on site. M&T Bank Stadium is currently one of the most praised stadiums in the NFL for fan amenities, ease of access, concessions and broadcast facilities. The in stadium presentation rivals top network television broadcasts, resulting in the ultimate live sporting experience. Fans are presented with nine 4K and eight HD recorded camera angles for varied replay highlights, multiple 200 foot wide by 36 foot high video boards, along with four upper deck video displays providing stats, graphics and highlights to fans, creating a memorable viewing experience.
Overview at a Glance:
Provide a state-of-the-art replay system that amplifies the in stadium experience
- Meet and exceed the quality of highlight replay packages fans are accustomed to seeing on television
- Short-turnaround replays that elevate the game story
- Slow motion, split screen, motion control, and multiple angle instant replays with embedded graphics packages
The Challenge
On gamedays, the Baltimore Ravens production team are tasked with providing their fans with the most unique and visually stunning viewing experience they can offer within the stadium. To achieve the standard of broadcast viewers and fans have become accustomed to, the customer required an instant replay system that could provide numerous production tasks on the fly, with state-of-the-art highlight replay packages for the gameday audience.
The first challenge Evertz faced, was providing the customer with an efficient workflow solution that would give replay operators the ability to instantaneously use live footage for high quality broadcast level replays.
The amount of money the Ravens have spent over the last three years to make this stadium great... it's all about bringing fans into the stadium for a unique product.
– Jay O'Brien | V.P Broadcasting and Gameday Productions, Baltimore Ravens
Second, to meet demand for short-turnaround instant replays that could elevate the game story, it was critical the system could support high quality and unique visual content. Slow motion, split screen, multiple angle instant replays with embedded graphics packages are today's standard for broadcast instant replays. The customer needed a replay system that has the functionality to perform high-end craft replay creation, with motion control and multi-camera angle usage.
Technology at a Glance:
Connect multiple replay systems in a streamlined workflow to manage and create content, including importing, exporting, logging, file transferring, and file playout.
- Clip playback solution that supports a distributed system design
- Instant access to all content on the network for effective logging capabilities
- Integrated transcoding engine for convenient import and export of multiple codecs
- Touch screen interfaces for fast navigation
Third, the Baltimore Ravens production team needed a replay system that could provide angles with extreme zoom-in technology for ultra close-up viewing needs. This feature is a key element of any NFL football game broadcast, as production teams often need to zoom into a shot or move frame because of visual obstructions.
The ability to zoom into frame using 4K and HD camera content provides the ultimate viewing experience and can help determine the proper call, sometimes determining the outcome of a game.
It's really hard to impress people who have worked in this industry their entire career. The zoom functionality in the DreamCatcher™ is a 'WOW' moment.
– Jay O'Brien | V.P Broadcasting and Gameday Productions, Baltimore Ravens
Fourth, to fulfil the many production requirements needed throughout a full NFL Game day stadium broadcast, the customer required a replay platform that was capable of performing a multitude of television production tasks. The customer required a system that could connect multiple replay systems in a streamlined workflow to manage tasks and create content. Importing, exporting, logging, file transferring and file playout between systems are some of the necessary requirements.
We know that the product on television is great to watch, so we need to give our fans the best angles, 4K, incredible graphics, moments that you can't have on television.
– Jay O'Brien | V.P Broadcasting and Gameday Productions, Baltimore Ravens
The Solution
To accommodate live sports productions that vary in length, the Baltimore Ravens production team utilized DreamCatcher™'s loop record technology. The camera inputs are always recording into the system, insuring operations can use the most live and current gameday visuals in their highlight packages and game elements. Every frame is captured into the DreamCatcher™ so when a big play happens, that moment is immediately ready for use.
Also, the DreamCatcher™ Replay platforms installed at M&T Bank Stadium are designed with operator features and needs in mind. The replay operator has the capability to use motion control technology for any replay created, adding a level of production seen on major television networks. Another reason for the DreamCatcher™'s success in the live sports market is the ability to leverage its Angle Awareness feature. Because of the constant record on all input channels, the operator has the ability to swap to any angle of interest while keeping timecode and frame sync locked.
Now that we're able to ingest nine 4K angles in our control room, that gives us nine angles we can zoom in on with crystal-clear resolution.
– Jay O'Brien | V.P Broadcasting and Gameday Productions, Baltimore Ravens
The zoom technology in the DreamCatcher™, allows the replay operator(s) to add a key element in the storytelling of a live sporting event.
Using a mouse or touch screen interface for fast navigation, the replay operator can zoom into any portion of the screen, up to 400%, all while maintaining perfect image quality.
Finally, the versatility and multi functionality of DreamCatcher™ system is what makes it such a powerful tool for venue live production.
System-to-system connectivity in a busy working and time sensitive environment is another reason operators thrive and are able to master the platform and use it to its full capabilities.
The Evertz Team is part of our Ravens family, they are invested in our show [as much] as we are, and so if we call someone from the Evertz Team on the weekend, on a night... they pick up... There's some loyalty between the Ravens and Evertz, because on Gameday we have a rock solid product that always delivers.
– Jay O'Brien | V.P Broadcasting and Gameday Productions, Baltimore Ravens
The Future
Along with being a leading global manufacturer of broadcast equipment and technical solutions, Evertz also provides the Baltimore Ravens with tremendous on site customer service, and specialized product knowledge of the replay system.
Evertz understands the needs and wants of their customers. Evertz continues to collaborate with customers on new technology and software ideas that will help keep the production running smoothly, and equipment up to date.
Evertz is an industry leader in the level of customer service and support it provides with all of its DreamCatcher™ products. Evertz adapts with the changes in the industry to create custom workflows for specific customer requirements. Evertz continues to work with their partners on collaborative efforts on new and innovative products for the industry and client specific needs.
They listen to us, they want to hear if we have any ideas of how to make their product better... I think that's a really neat relationship.
– Steve Groff | Director of Broadcast Technical Operations Baltimore Ravens