News Stories and Events
from around the world:

May 2004
 SBS Golf Channel Covers SK Telecom Open
Eurovision Winners Stage Music Festival
New Digital links for Sir Bu Na'air Race
BearingPoint Rowing World Cup 2004
Danish Royal Wedding
European Swimming Championships 2004
FIA GT - Digital On-board Camera Test
Sky News Opens Dublin Bureau
Countdown to Euro 2004

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SBS Golf Channel Covers SK Telecom Open
Scotsman Simon Yates ended a six-year title drought when he won the US$400,000 SK Telecom Open by one shot over overnight leader Charlie Wi of Korea and Rick Gibson of Canada today.
Starting the final round one stroke off the lead, the Thai-based Yates fired a final round of two-under-par 70 in the Asian Tour event to triumph at Baekahmvista Country Club, South Korea. He picked up a cheque of US$85,470

It was a nerve-wracking finish on the 18th green. Holding a one shot lead playing the last hole, Yates could have sealed victory but missed a five-foot par attempt which opened the door for Gibson to force a play-off. However, the Canadian agonisingly missed his par putt from four feet to hand victory to his rival.

Seoul based Wave Communications provided SBS Golf Channel with two D-Cam wireless camera systems for their live coverage of the event.
Seoul, South Korea- May 04

Eurovision Winners Stage Music Festival
Channel 1+1 the leading private Ukrainian national channel, whose programming is targeted mainly to people aged 44 and younger, used a D-Cam wireless camera system to cover a recent music festival in the Ukraine.

Channel 1+1, was founded in September 1995 and broadcasts for about 100 hours of entertainment weekly. It is part of Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. an organisation that unites media interests in Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine.

During the music festival Channel 1+1 used the D-CAM for all live stand-ups. Each time the director used the D-Cam in a different position, so as to create the illusion that they had more than one camera on stage. The director was also able to mix images from D-CAM with triax cameras

According to the technical director, Mr Gregory Zinchenko, the D-Cam is the, "best tool for live TV. We didn't have any technical problems during four very tough days our crew would like to thank all of the Gigawave team".

In addition to A D-Cam wireless camera system, Channel 1+1 have an OB Truck equipped with a MTV-D digital transmitter, power amplifier, and antenna.
Kiev, Ukraine - May 2004
New Digital links for Sir Bu Na'air Race
Each May around one hundred 60' traditional Arab dhows gather to race the 50nm from a small island in the Arabian Gulf called Sir Bu Na'air to Dubai. It is a magnificent sight as the crew manually raise the enormous 'Lateen Rig' sail and set course for Dubai.
The Sir Bu Na'air Race, the highlight of the season, is covered by Dubai TV's Outside Broadcast Department and broadcast live in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf countries.

Covering a sailing boat race of this size and distance is not without its problems. Primary coverage of the race involves the use of two helicopters and three chase boats. Pictures from these are linked by microwave link to the OB Truck, which follows the race aboard a 54 metre landing craft. Apart from the finish of the race, the entire programme is produced afloat and beamed back to Dubai TV using microwave links.

Last year Dubai TV used Gigawave MTV-D digital transmitters with MVL-D receivers to relay images from three chase boats to the landing craft. Dubai TV also used tow digital links to relay the main programme feed from the landing craft back to the finish at Mina Seyahi

This year the race was covered exclusively using Gigawave digital links. In addition to the digital links used in 2003 Dubai TV engineers equipped the two camera helicopters with digital down links and used digital 'Rebro' units to relay the main programme feeds via a mid-point relay helicopter.

In addition to D-Cam and D-Cam 'Clip-on' wireless camera systems, Dubai TV also used one of the new, completely redesigned MVL-D 'point-to-point' links to provide live news coverage from Sir Bu Na'air to Mina Seyahi, prior to the race.
Dubai, UAE - May 04

IFP Gets to Grips with 'World Cup' Rowing
A D-Cam Wireless camera system, supplied by Volker Tenner of 'IFP Services', was used provide live coverage of a recent international rowing event in Munich. The D-Cam was, mounted on-board a specialist 'grip truck'.
The '2004 BearingPoint Rowing World Cup' comprises three international regattas organised by the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron (FISA). The D-Cam was used for the second event of the season, held in Munich on the 2230 metre course built for the 1972 Olympic Games.

Thanks to close co-operation between FISA, BearingPoint (the main sponsor), International Management Group (IMG), Trans World International (TWI), and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) international rowing has become a popular televised sport. International rowing events, such as the BearingPoint Rowing World Cup, are regularly broadcast by a number of European networks such as ARD/ZDF (Germany), FR3 (France), BBC (UK), and Eurosport.

The D-Cam was chosen for its proven performance and for its ease of installation. On the grip truck, it was simply a case of docking the transmitter on the back of the camera - no cables and no fuss. At the receive site a fixed fan beam antenna and MVL-D receiver was all that was required. No tracking, no problems!
Munch, Germany - May 2004
Danish Royal Wedding
Coverage of this years Royal Wedding was a source of intense rivalry between state broadcaster, Danish Radio, and TV2, Denmark's commercial channel.
From the beginning, TV2 set out to provide viewers with the the best possible coverage of the event, their programme starting at 07:30, on the morning of the wedding, and ending at 02:30 the following morning!

At the planning stage, TV2 realised that wireless cameras held the key to their success and contracted Danish facilities company, 'Linktool' to provide them with five Gigawave D-Cam and five D-Cam 'Clip-on' wireless camera systems.

In view of the size and importance of this event, Linktool secured the assistance of UK wireless camera specialists, Total World Sports. In addition to technical support, TWS supplied Linktool with two D-cams, 4 D-Cam 'Clip-on' systems and additional receivers.
During the day cameras were used within Copenhagen city for live coverage of the wedding and procession, as well as news coverage. For live coverage of the royal couple during the procession, one D-Cam was installed on a specialised 'grip truck' that tracked the royal carriage along the route of the procession.

Later some of the cameras were relocated to the royal palace at Fredensborg for coverage of the evening gala dinner, fireworks and the departure of the royal couple on their honeymoon.
Copenhagen, Denmark - May 2004
European Swimming Championships 2004
Last year when TVE decided to use two digital wireless cameras, in place of conventional Triax cameras, for the 10th FINA World Championships in Barcelona the Head of OB Operations put his reputation on the line.
This year, when planning their live coverage of the 2004 European Swimming Championships in Madrid, there were no such reservations. In view of the extensive use of D-Cams during the World Championships, it was inconceivable that TVE could maintain the same high standard that was set in Barcelona without the use of D-Cam wireless camera systems.

The big advantage that digital wireless camera systems offer is that the poolside is kept free of triax cables whist still allowing cameraman and/or Steadicam operators to get close up shots of the competitors before, during, and after each race.

As with the World Swimming Championships, TVE rented the Gigawave D-Cam wireless camera sytems from DORNA, a Spanish company responsible for the live coverage of MotoGP and other FIM World Championships. DORNA has extensive experience of Gigawave products and uses Gigawave digital links for its Pit-lane cameras
Madrid, Spain - May 2004
FIA GT - Digital On-board Camera Test
At Hockenheim, Alfacam once again used Gigawave digital microwave links to transmit live on-board camera pictures direct to a central receive site. This eliminates the need for a helicopter or any other kind of mid-point relay.
At the receive site, located high in the grandstand,.the digital signals were received with a MVL-D RF Head and sent via Triax to the MVL-D Control Unit in Alfacam's digital OB truck. The picture quality was excellent.

This test, along with the recent test at Valencia, clearly demonstrates the potential cost savings of using of digital links to transmit images from on-board camera systems.
Hockenheim, Germany - May 2004
Sky News Opens Dublin Bureau
Thanks to the popularity of the Sky News Channel in Ireland, Sky News have opened a news bureau in Dublin which provides Irish viewers with two thirty minute 'opt-outs' each day.
In addition to the main news studio, Sky News have installed digital microwave links from the Dáil Broadcast Centre and a balcony on the roof of the Dublin City Council Building, with commanding views over the city centre and the River Liffey
The use of digital links has solved all of the problems Sky engineers encountered when planning the two fixed links, and the innaugural transmission went without a hitch. In particular, the use of MVL-D receivers allow the RF Heads to be located on the roof of the building, with the Control Units located in the news bureau.
Dublin, Ireland - May 2004
Countdown to Euro 2004
Alfacam, the high definition production company is gearing up for Euro2004. In conjunction with its 'state of the art' digital OB trucks, the Belgium based company is planning to make extensive use of its D-Cam wireless camera systems for live coverage of the games.
Belgium/Portugal - May 2004