PlayStation Tournaments broadcasts the tournament with the ATEM Constellation 8K mixer

Sony PlayStation takes esports further within the framework of PlayStation Tournaments: XP, the new competitions that unite the PS5 community. For its production, High Viz Media used the ATEM Constellation 8K mixer and the ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel device Blackmagic Design.

Combining a high-level tournament with professional broadcasts, players compete in EA Sports FC 25, Tekken 8, Fortnite and ASTRO BOT video games. The event is open to players from around the world and ranges from online qualifying stages to a spirited live final, where competitors form teams based on iconic PlayStation figures (triangle, square, circle, cross) for cash prizes and bragging rights. High Viz Media's production of these events has allowed fans around the world to follow the tournament on both the Sony PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels.

Sam Deans, an independent broadcast producer and director, worked closely with High Viz Media and led production and image mixing, where he encountered a number of challenges, including the sheer volume of audiovisual signals. “We used 42 sources in the mix," Deans said. "Plus, we only had 36 hours on location to do everything, including rigging and ripping. It was an incredibly ambitious schedule for a production of this size and complexity.”

Deans alluded to the outstanding advantages of ATEM Constellation 8K mixer, as it does not require referencing or synchronizing sources at a given resolution or frame rate when processing tournament images. “In addition, because the mixer supports the audio signals integrated into the video inputs, it is extremely useful when capturing shots of the plays in the field of esports,” says Deans.

The device ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel He was also a diligent technical complement to the team, allowing it to handle the considerable amount of audiovisual sources and mix the images quickly and dynamically, which is ideal for tournament coverage. “ATEM's dynamic API (application programming interface) was used for subsequent compositions and custom control systems, allowing for complex cuts with multiple mix banks between each competition,” he adds.

Work dynamics

The space had a circular stage where 12 customized gaming cabins for PlayStation 5 (PS5) were arranged, each equipped with audiovisual and network systems, in order to capture the movements of the players. There was also a studio dedicated to live commentators, as well as a joint webcast area, where five Twitch content creators streamed footage using different styles and optimized production equipment with access to the main competition feed and camera feeds.

The work dynamic relied on DeckLink Duo2 capture and playback cards to upload the contents to the program vMix and be able to see all the images in the same program. Likewise, a switching matrix was used Blackmagic Videohub 40×40 12G SDI to distribute the hosts' signals to the five computers used to transmit content over the Internet.

On the other hand, one of the key requirements was to add graphic overlays to each PS5 signal before it reached the mixer. For this, DeckLink Quad 2 capture and playback cards were used, which processed three video game signals on four computers with the vMix program installed. “These cards are ideal as any SDI port functions as an input or output, making it an affordable and amazing way to add 12 channels of graphics to a production,” Deans concludes.