VIDEO DESIGN SOFTWARE AND CHYRON DELIVER SPORTS L-BAR SYSTEM TO COMCAST SPORTSNET

Comcast SportsNet  Mid-Atlantic (CSN Mid-Atlantic) is a regional sports network that delivers live-game coverage and sports news and entertainment television programming to the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore regions of the United States. The network serves as the official television partner of the Washington Redskins, Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, D.C. United and Washington Mystics, as well as the home of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association.

 

Integrating the VDS GameTrak L-Bar system with the Chyron Channel Box produces two unique advantages that transcend the operational silos that often exist between production and master control.

 

The first: Upstream control of a downstream graphics system. By itself, this completely changes the ROI for master control branding by providing Production and Master Control access to a common, high-powered graphics system. 

 

The second: True Preview to Air operations, the GameTrak interface is tightly coupled with the Channel Box Off-line software to provide a real-time HD preview in production control.  The GameTrak L-Bar system leverages the multi-layer display capability in both the Chyron Channel Box and Channel Box off-line software providing an elegant production control interface that easily manages the L-Bar graphics from the GameTrak GUI. From a single Channel Box in Master Control, broadcasters have the ability to display a variety of data including team and player information from various leagues, news headlines, weather forecast information, traffic information, information on upcoming shows, and sponsor information all on the L-Bar while the Lower Third Ticker continues without interruption. Sponsors are easily scheduled with full as-run logging capabilities.  

 

“The Comcast SportsNet  system went to air earlier this month” said VDS’s CTO Mike Dilworth. “Having a major broadcaster such as CSN using the L-Bar system during morning programming to provide viewers with information that complements the on-air programming speaks well to the overall capabilities of both GameTrak and Channel Box”.

The L-Bar system supports multiple programming and scheduling modes. When in Live Programming mode, production personnel can generate content “on-the-fly”, preview it and push it to air immediately, enhancing the live on-air program with complementary content that is contextual and timely. Switching to Automation Mode, the system supports un-attended operation, displaying pre-composed graphics and scheduled playlists all integrated with the station’s automation system.

“We worked closely with Comcast SportsNet  Mid-Atlantic to develop the VDS GameTrak Sports L-Bar system and enhance their on-air operation”, said Larry Mincer, President of VDS. “Live sports news programming tends to be very dynamic and quick-paced. The GameTrak L-Bar’s support for both live-to-air control and unattended automatic control is unique and offers unparalleled flexibility for sports broadcasters.”

 

Channel Box is setting the pace for master control graphics and VDS GameTrak software takes it to a completely new level,” said Bruce Levine, VP of North American Sales at Chyron. The real-time preview incorporates Chyron’s off-line rendering and leverages several enhancements that are in our latest software release.”