A Hole in One: LiveU and Disc Golf Remote Production
Pulsea Disc Golf Media enhanced coverage by adopting the LiveU IP-video EcoSystem solutions to produce the event remotely with the highest quality.
The Background
Disc Golf may not be a sport immediately familiar to many, but it has a long history dating back to the early 1960s. Previously known as frisbee golf, it’s a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target. It uses rules similar to those for golf with the sport usually played on a course with nine or 18 “holes”.
Very popular in the US, it’s also played across Europe and further afield. The US Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) was founded with the primary goal of “creating a stage for the top athletes in our sport to showcase their skills while giving fans an opportunity to socialize and enjoy watching history together as a community.” A European equivalent was established by the Professional Disc Golf Association Europe (PDGA Europe), with Pulsea Disc Golf Media, a division of Rockway Oy, handling the media technology implementation.
The Challenge
There were ten broadcasts, remotely produced, from seven countries: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Spain. The biggest challenge in disc golf productions is the location and shape of the courses. Courses are mainly located in sparsely populated areas, including forests. Trees, bushes and variations in the terrain play a central role in the sport, but they also cause challenges in terms of producing the events for broadcast or streaming when using traditional methods. To provide the dynamic and exciting coverage required, Pulsea turned to the LiveU IP-video EcoSystem.
The production capacity was expanded to 12 cameras for the complete European Tour with the addition of Pulsea’s LiveU technology, as bringing the entire system from the US to Europe would have been challenging and expensive.
The Solution
Broadcasts were directed from Rockway Oy’s studios in Helsinki.Through LiveU’s local partners, Mediatrade, the remote productions used multiple multi-cam LU800s and related servers. Feeds were sent wirelessly, using SIM cards from local mobile operators. The system also had the option of sending the director’s instructions as talkback directly via Audio Connect to the camera operators. Camera people could move freely around the courses with the LiveU units. With the help of additional batteries, it was possible to handle two transmissions a day (more than seven hours).
The fully produced HD streams were sent to the Disc Golf Network, where viewers could watch the live video via its website or app. Tests were carried out to see if 4K would have been possible and the answer was always “yes”. The delay was kept constantly low and Sony cameras were used, one operated with a DJI RS3 gimbal, and the broadcast also used a Mavic Pro 3 drone. The cameras were routed from the receiving LU2000 servers with NDI to Vmix and Tricaster.
The Results
Using this system enables mobile remote productions from anywhere, if the destination has a 4G or 5G mobile phone network. This also adds to the cost savings and sustainability of productions, reducing travel and resources on-site. Without LiveU and this overall workflow, bringing Disc Golf to viewers would be almost impossible in a cost-effective manner.
Creating dynamic, viewer-engaging sports content, content that serves to drive monetization, provides many challenges, especially when factoring in the cost efficiency that’s essential. This project brings together the multiple benefits the LiveU EcoSystem brings, especially when combined with remote production.