IVC Media at Wimbledon
Real time motion video over category 5 structured cabling. IVC provided a multimedia management and distribution solution at Wimbledon for all England lawn tennis club.
As the world's premier tennis venue, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) are always keen to ensure that they provide the most modern and comprehensive communication facilities for broadcasters and media personnel, to enhance the quality of coverage to the millions of viewers' worldwide.
IVC Media are proud to have been associated with the AELTC since 1995 when we installed the original analogue video over CAT 5 structured cabling.
In 2007, the club wanted to implement the new IPTV technology across their updated high speed data network and after extensive consultations the Exterity IPTV distribution system was chosen. This system offers not only very competitive pricing but also excellent quality performance, scalability and a comprehensive range of solutions.
The Analogue and Digital feeds were provided as before from numerous sources including the BBC and other broadcasters, IBM, the clubs own camera feeds and referees channels alongside live 'off air' terrestrial and satellite television. These were provided direct into the central distribution control room and all circuits were duplicated to run simultaneously on new and existing networks in both formats.
IPTV System
In areas where "actual" real time live coverage is required such as Commentary booths and Referees Information Centre the existing Mediastar system has been retained to work alongside the new IPTV system. In the (majority) of all areas where the minor delay introduced by the encode and decode process was not critical, IVC Media provided a full scale IPTV solution that could be easily integrated onto the Wimbledon data Network.
During the championships a total of more than a thousand displays of various types are in constant use throughout the complex using the various technologies implemented.
HD Receivers
The upgraded viewing system also needed to accommodate the latest high definition flat screen displays while still retaining compatibility with older CRT displays. Therefore over 700 new Pro HD Receivers were installed. These units are capable of providing either full 1080 HD output to suit HD equipped displays or SD output in full RGB or composite video to suit older displays.
Live Court Camera Feeds
Whilst all feeds for the major show courts are provided by the BBC, the cameras on the remaining courts are connected to the central apparatus room by original old twisted cabling along with balancing transmitters and receivers. The technology and cabling was very dated and needed to be replaced.
By installing over 1km of fibre cable, along with the necessary fibre transmitters and receivers IVC Media were able to provide high quality video signals to both IPTV encoders and the modulators for the real time Mediastar system.
New Referees Information Screen
Working closely with EDH, who provided the SDI feeds for a scores and information system, IVC Media additionally encoded two new channels across the network to various screens where more match information was required. Looking towards the future IVC Media in conjunction with the AELTC are now looking to encode a full HDSDI version of these feeds across the network to give even more detail and a much improved quality scoreboard system.
Debentures Centre and No.1 Court - Information Screen
In addition to the live TV features of the Exterity HD receivers IVC Media also took full advantage of the built in web browser functionality to display web pages from a central server. These pages included RSL content, news feeds, and details of upcoming matches together with live video content. The video feed could show either archived content or switch to live matches during play. Display of these pages were implemented in both Centre Court and No.1 Court in public and debentures areas to provide visitors with the most up to date information andentertainment.
