The MLB’s Oakland Athletics are using RF Central’s RFX-CMT-II transmitter and RMR-X6-II receiver to capture live HD images that are projected on the large displays and other monitor screens throughout its home Cisco Field ballpark.
David Don, director of multimedia services for the Oakland Athletics, oversees the in-stadium video display presentation for all 81 of the Athletics’ home games. He said it became apparent that the available frequency spectrum was getting more crowded, and it was difficult to get quality shots consistently throughout the game. The decision was made to replace the team’s existing wireless camera systems.
The RF equipment is easy to operate and provides much greater coverage. Field tests of the RF Central gear produced good stable images in parts of the stadium where they had previously had some problems. Some images were shot from more than half a mile away, and they were still able to project on the stadium’s video display.
The license-free 5.8GHz CMT-II unit is ideal for sports and remote production applications, offering superb signal coverage and reliability. The CMT-II is offered in either HD/SD or SD models, each featuring the latest in high-quality, low-latency encoding technology. The units are also available in licensed 2GHz and 6.4GHz versions. All versions feature inputs of HD or SD-SDI, ASI and composite video signals.
The CMT-II family of transmitters is available in either HD/SD or SD-only versions and interface with all standard full-sized broadcast cameras as well as most smaller-format camcorders via the user specific mounting adapters.
Representing the latest in maximum ratio-combining technology, the X6-II family offers high diversity reception with new cutting-edge features, including on-screen display of stream data, Ethernet monitoring for remote control access and IP encapsulation for Internet streaming broadcasts. The X6-II is available either as a stand-alone COFDM receiver with ASI output or with an integral HD/SD decoder making local decode and control available.