Sochi 2014 Winter Games to be broadcast in Super Hi-Vision for first time

By Gary Anderson

January 27 - Action from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will broadcast in Super Hi-Vision digital format for the first time, which has 16 times the resolution of HDTV with 22.2 surround sound, according to Games organisers.

Coverage from Sochi will be provided using brand new spidercams, rail cams, and cameras mounted on snowmobiles, while filming will also be carried out from helicopters and airships above the Black Sea resort.

In order to provide the requisite amount of coverage, 120,000 pieces of equipment, 10,000 radio stations, 1,600 video cameras, 5,000 televisions and 20 video screens will be used.

Organisers claim the new spidercams will provide an unprecedented level of freedom to cameramen, allowing them to move fluidly and freely in three dimensions and provide unique angles which are not possible using other technologies.

ANO Sports Broadcasting (Panorama) will provide the national signal for the Olympics throughout Russia using a team of 535 technicians from 10 Russian regions, with another 40 working remotely from Moscow.

To deliver the national signal for all Games events, Panorama will use 12 outside broadcasting vans (OB vans); three with 24 cameras, four with 16 cameras and five with 10 cameras; there will also be seven digital satellite news gathering vans (DSNG vans), a mobile control room and a media office.

In addition, viewers will be able to watch live broadcasts of all Games events, highlights and medal ceremonies on the Panorama website, the official Sochi website and on the RussiaSport mobile app.

Spidercams will be used at Sochi 2014 to allow viewers to get closer to the action ©Getty Images

The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) will provide the international television signal which will be used by broadcasters from all sports venues based at the International and Gorki Broadcasting Centres which are part of the International and Gorki Media Centres.

From here the signal will be transmitted to broadcasters on television networks all over the world.

The picture can be improved and mounted at the Main Media Centre (MMC), located near to the Olympic Park in Sochi, and final editing can be done by broadcasters who have the right to broadcast the Games, both in Sochi and in the country in which it will be broadcast.

In total, 90 broadcasting companies including sub-licensees and broadcasting unions from 123 countries, have broadcasting rights at the Sochi Olympics, which is expected to attract an audience of around three billion.

For the Paralympic Games, more than 335 specialists and technicians will be involved in transmitting the international signal using nine OB vans - three with 24 cameras, three with 16 cameras and three with 10 cameras - three DSNG vans, and nine TV journalist teams.

Panorama says it also plans to broadcast the Paralympic Winter Games in full at www.russiasport.ru.

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