Covering Europe’s Oldest Regatta from the Water and the Air
Infoteka brings the Blue Ribbon Regatta to sports sailing fans worldwide using LiveU's live video streaming technology
THE CHALLENGE
First held in 1934, the Blue Ribbon Regatta is Europe’s oldest and largest round-the-lake regatta. This year, over 500 boats with more than 2,500 sailors on board participated in the prestigious race which took them across Lake Balaton in Hungary.
The offshore sports event posed a special challenge to the production crew from Infoteka, tasked by the host broadcaster M4 sports (a member of the national Hungarian TV network) to cover the regatta. With no stable connectivity available on and above the water, the crew had to get creative when it came to transmitting the camera signals from the lake.
"The Blue Ribbon international sailing competition has been produced by Antenna Hungaria and broadcast on the Hungarian sports channel for several years now. Even the first time, we already used LTE based systems in the helicopters and motorboats, but these were not offering such high level technical solutions as LiveU, where full technical support is also provided by Infoteka. After this year's successful event, negotiations have already started regarding developments in our further cooperation.”
Gabor Jancso, Producer at Antenna Hungary
THE SOLUTION
Optimized for mobile live productions, LiveU’s portable and lightweight video field units were chosen to deliver the live feeds to the lake shore where the OB van was located. Infoteka deployed a total of four LiveU units; three units were connected to cameras onboard motorboats, while one unit was used in a helicopter capturing the sailing action from a bird’s perspective.
Powered by multiple SIM cards, the LiveU technology allowed the production crew to leverage bonded cellular networks for the transmission. Special frequency modems and external antennas ensured the feeds could be received with minimal delay and maximum quality.
”In July, 2022 Infoteka participated in the Balaton Blue Ribbon Round-the-lake Regatta for the 10th time using LiveU's best-in-class solution. With LiveU, we have gained extensive experience in live video transmission from the air, by sea or on the ground. Over the years, we have proved that with LiveU's high quality, creative solutions, our clients’ high expectations can be met. And this is exactly what distinguishes us and LiveU from the competition.”
Janos Laczko, CEO of Infoteka
