Germany's DSF Joins Leading Sports Broadcasters in Selection of vizrt for Live Graphics Production

Adding to the list of major sporting events employing vizrt solutions for live 3D graphics creation and rendering, PLAZAMEDIA, the technical operations arm of DSF - the leading sports broadcaster in Germany - recently selected vi[z] and vi[z] modeling solutions for live broadcasts of the Bundesliga (Germany's national football league). The systems are used on German pay-tv platform, PREMIERE, on its six new pay-per-view sports channels that went on-air August 11th after a rapid three-month inception period. PLAZAMEDIA is a subsidiary of DSF, which is owned by the Kirch Gruppe, Germany's leading media group.

PLAZAMEDIA's recent selection of (vizrt) solution marks the fourth in a series of high-profile networks turning to the newly formed vizrt for the graphics production requirements of their marquee live sporting events. With recent sales to NBC for its Summer Olympics Games coverage; the U.K.'s Sky Sports for all of the network's live sports programming including Premier League (UK national football), and CBS Sports' third season of use on NFL Football game and pre-game coverage, vizrt solutions are clearly gaining popularity among the worlds' leading live sports broadcasters.

"We are thrilled by the response to our solutions from the industry's top sports broadcasters," said Petter Ole Jakobsen, Executive Creative Developer (Executive Pixel Pusher) of vi[z]rt. "Our vizrt solutions are being used by networks renowned for their sports productions and live coverage of some of the world's most high-profile events. The power, flexibility, and ease of use of our range of graphics solutions make them ideal for productions in which quality design and speed-to-air are crucial elements for a successful broadcast."

PLAZAMEDIA has four vi[z] modeling licenses for the design of their live, on-air graphics and 13 vi[z] licenses for live graphics rendering. PLAZAMEDIA runs vi[z] and vi[z] modeling on a combination of eight SGI Onyx computers and seven NT-based computers. The vizrt software is used in conjunction with custom database software that distributes all rendering jobs using a custom on-air machine control called "Control Center" that then performs rendering through the vi[z] software. Used in conjunction with other design software, vi[z] modeling and vi[z] are used to create a custom-designed graphic look in real-time.

"There are no second chances when you're airing raw data live," explains Harald Dreyer, Head of Graphics, PLAZAMEDIA. "We need the information to air quickly, accurately, and exactly the way we want it to look. With the vi[z]rt software, we get just that. It's a turnkey solution for us. And we can scale it towards a higher-end SGI Onyx system or lower-end Windows NT platform. We appreciate that scalability, because not every production requires an Onyx."

NBC, Sky Sports, and CBS Sports are among the world's leading sports broadcasters now employing vizrt software. NBC will feature real-time 3D digital video effects utilizing vizrt's solutions during the Summer Olympic Games, and Sky Sports is now utilizing vi[z] 3D broadcast graphics and vi[z] content pilot for all of its live sports productions. CBS Sports also employs vi[z], vi[z] modeling and vi[z] content pilot for live graphics creation and control of its NFL football pre-game show, "The NFL Today," and for graphical requirements during the live football broadcasts. This year's upcoming season of NFL Football will be CBS Sports' third season producing the programs' graphic look with vizrt software.