Whilst an array of international and home-grown stars dazzled the thousands of fans in hockey stadiums across India, millions of armchair fans were treated to a new TV viewing experience during this year's Coal India Hockey India League.
A world feed crew of approximately 150 staff, including camera operators, replay artists, graphic operators and a Dolby Sound team, delivered the flagship event to viewers around the world.
Libero Technology was trialled during this year's competition which provided new graphical technology for half-time analysis. This produced powerful anyalysis through realistic 3D replays and a unique perspective on the game for TV viewers. It gave fans a better insight into controversial or tactically interesting sports scenes through the use of realistic virtual camera images.
An interactive telestration and annotation system combined the full flexibility of Viz Libero's 3D scenes with an interactive user interface for the TV experts. In addition to this, super-slow motion replays, a goalkeeper matrix, real time attack-defence analysis and a team of world-class commentators helped fans better understand the game.
Whilst the main objective of introducing such technology was to improve the overall production of the TV broadcast and as a result the viewing experience, the trial also found it is a solution that could be easily integrated into other levels of broadcast.
The beauty of the Libero technology is that it does not require any additional infrastructure in the stadium, making it suitable not only for hassle-free remote productions, but also fully-featured studio applications.
This is yet another example of International Hockey Federation (FIH) Media Partner Star Sports' striving to produce world-class content. In doing so they are helping create a powerful and recognisable image of hockey as fans become better informed about the sport thanks to the TV coverage they are producing.
For more information about the Coal India Hockey India League, click here. To find out more about Viz Libero, click here.
