The South African Broadcasting (SABC), the official broadcaster of the 2010 World Cup, is using 10 Slate 1000 video production systems from Broadcast Pix for soccer's biggest international tournament. The Slate systems are handling HD coverage for public viewing areas near each venue for those that could not get tickets to the events.
Matches are being played in 10 stadiums in nine South African cities. FIFA has authorized the development of "fan parks," based on a concept pioneered at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. These fan parks are located near each stadium to provide live video coverage of the action on large screens for overflow crowds.
Johannesburg-based dealer and integrator Questek Advanced Technologies sold the Slate 1000 systems to the SABC. Justin Thathiah, Questek sales executive, said the SABC chose the 1 M/E Slate 1000 because of its integrated Fluent production tools, including clip and graphics stores, multiview, and Inscriber CG. The fully integrated system also provides support for 1080i, 720p HD and SD sources.
Each venue has several dedicated cameras that are used to entertain the crowd outside of live match coverage times. The Slate 1000 will be used to switch the video and add clips and graphics. Following the World Cup, the SABC will use the Slate systems for regional programming throughout the nine provinces in South Africa.