The Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix with Blackmagic Design solutions

Commentary teams from Globo, RTL, ZDF Sport, Viasat (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) and Finland's MTV3 use Blackmagic solutions to send signals wirelessly from the paddock, pitlane and starting grid.

BP Satellite Solutions, a company that provides the FIA ​​Formula One World Championship with camera RF link services, is using different satellite solutions. Blackmagic Design in its transmission infrastructure. Among them, Compact Videohub and Videohub Smart Control stand out. The commentary teams from Globo, RTL, ZDF Sport, Viasat (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) and Finland's MTV3 are using this solution to send signals wirelessly from the paddock, pitlane and starting grid.

The Dutch company has developed its links based on the Compact Videohub router and the Videohub Smart Control control panel.

A total of five wireless cameras were used, for example, at the recent Indian F1 Grand Prix, distributed over the fiber network. Riedel and recording the signal on several HyperDeck Studio SSD recorders. Capturing in ProRes, HyperDeck Studios is used for playback and subsequent quality control after production.

During the race, BP Satellite Solutions provides broadcasters with transmitters, receivers and intercoms. They also supply IP-based audio equipment and Blackmagic Design's SmartView Duo monitors for commentary positions.

For coverage of Formula 1, broadcasters such as Tv Globo in Brazil or RTL in Germany acquire the signal from the rights holder Formula One Management (FOM) and subsequently package it for broadcast with the corresponding comments. The basic output is carried out from a master mixer that includes signals from the trackside, pitlane and the camera on the helicopter. From there, other sources are included such as telemetry or signals from on-board cameras from FOM as well as the signals generated by each broadcaster.

In this work scheme, Globo TV at the Indian Grand Prix worked with eight signals from FOM with ATEM camera converters connected to two ATEM Studio studio converters. Signals were sent to the Blackmagic Design Compact VideoHub via four Fiber to SDI Mini Converters. An ATEM 2M/E mixer with an ATEM 1M/E broadcast panel was used in India to mix the packaged signal with race commentary while the audio was embedded and de-embedded using Blackmagic Mini Converters from SDI to audio and audio to SDI.

The final Tv Globo signal was sent via satellite, with support from Multilink Holland, the technical partner of FOM and the EBU for global video distribution and its broadcast in Brazil.