by Myron Love
BRANDON, Man. – It’s a good idea (and wickedly cool-looking) but, without an infusion of money, it may not fly.
“We’re sitting on pins and needles,” says Larry Brown, the president of 360 Replays, a new broadcast television technology system that provides 360-degree, live action images for televised sports events. “We have some irons in the fire, but nothing solid yet in terms of additional financing.”
Over the past five years, Brown reports, he and his partners (including his son, tech whiz Michael, Olympic hockey producer Ralph Mellanby and Glenn Norman, a senior executive at the 1996 Atlanta Games and head of Atlanta-based Omega Productions) have invested close to $1 million in R&D.
They are trying to raise $4 million more through the province of Manitoba’s investment tax credit program.
The technology –called the VantEDGE system – was developed by Brown’s son, Michael who serves as the company’s technology officer. VantEDGE provides "3D-like" video technology for sports replay applications. Check it out here.
It consists of an array of high-quality Pan-Tilt-Zoom video cameras, which is connected to a dedicated 3D processing system responsible for controlling the cameras and processing incoming video. The result is a 360 degree video that can be played back in hundreds of ways, by the end user, even, modifying both the angle and time dimension.
For sports applications this is very useful, allowing for instant replays that don’t miss one frame or any piece at all, of the action.
The cameras are mounted to a circular aluminum rig, or optionally the building structure as a permanent installation. Its low profile design has no impact on live spectator viewing.
Each camera in the system is individually computer controlled, and digitally encoded at 30 frames per second.
The Browns introduced their system to an enthusiastic reception at the International Association of Broadcasters convention a couple of years ago and have tested it in live action at the Disney World Martial Arts Festival in Orlando and at Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) and Atlanta Hawks (NBA) games.
However the conversion of televised sports events to HD has thrown a spanner in 360 Replays’ progress. The VantEDGE system was developed for standard definition broadcasts. Brown notes that while his company is working on adapting its system for HD, it is an expensive exercise.
Brown reports that 360 Replays had a contract offer to install the VantEDGE system at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “We had to turn it down because we lacked the funds to put the hardware together,” he says.
In the meantime, Larry Brown isn’t planning just yet on quitting his day job operating an ESSO station on the TransCanada Highway at Brandon, Manitoba.
Myron Love is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.
