SIS Live uses 135 Q-Down183-A at Wimbledon

The British service company uses these Crystal Vision converters to broadcast the classic tennis tournament in full high definition for the first time.

SIS Live has acquired another 36 Q-Down 183-A to Crystal Vision converters to, among other services, use them in the broadcast, for the first time in HD, of the Wimbledon tournament. SIS Live has provided all high definition technical services to the BBC Sport broadcaster during the coverage of this event that takes place in London between June 22 and July 5. SIS Live has deployed four mobile units for the occasion, as well as eight links from Wimbledon to BBC headquarters. SIS Live, which had 99 of these Q-Downs, needed another 36 teams to cover the tournament.

The Q-Downs have been installed in the On Site Central Apparatus Room (OSCAR) in Wimbledon (a point that is being used by SIS Live as a primary distribution point) as well as in a dozen vehicles distributed in the environment. The Q-Downs have been placed between the 1080i high definition signals and the 625 line standard definition signals, and are also used for equalization and reclocking of the HD signals. Known for its short-term transformation of just 16 lines, the Q-Down183-A provides eight reclocked HD or SD input signals, along with three SD signals selectable between analog (composite, Y/C, YUV and RGB) or digital. SIS Live has selected these converters for their embedded audio as well as their variable delay of up to one frame and 50 lines of down conversion from Sony cameras.