Mobile production company Game Creek Video used a Grass Valley Kalypso HD video production switcher to produce a live, 3-D, multicamera telecast of an NHL Hockey game March 24 from New York’s Madison Square Garden (MSG). From there, the signal of the game between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders was distributed to an estimated several hundred Cablevision subscribers with 3-D TV sets in their homes.
Simultaneously, Game Creek also supplied a second HD production truck, Legends, for the SD, 2-D MSG Network live broadcast. The Legends mobile unit was launched August 2009 and is primarily assigned for the HD production of New York Knicks and New York Ranger games, and carries a Kalypso HD Video Production Center.
Fans in the Theater at Madison Square Garden were also able to watch the production on a large, 3-D screen, which was provided by RealD using its 3-D stereoscopic processing system. Several other 3-D sporting events distributed to large screens in specially equipped theaters have been produced with Kalypso HD switchers in the past, but consumers couldn’t receive the signal. With the advent of the new generation of 3-D-capable HD sets, and frame-compatible 3-D distribution, this long-time goal has become a technical reality.
The 90 input/48 output Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher was operated onboard Game Creek’s Yankee Clipper 53ft HD production truck. This truck was linked to a second Game Creek “B” unit that housed all of the 3-D processing equipment, supplied by 3-D specialists 3Ality Digital (of Burbank, CA). The company also provided its special camera rigs for the production.
The Kalypso HD is switchable between HD (1080i, 720p and several 1080pSF formats) and SD (525-line and 625-line) formats, making it well-suited for production companies like Game Creek that work with a variety of clients with different SD and HD production needs.