Orad Graphics Systems Enhance CCTV Coverage at Olympics

The five CCTV stations providing Olympic coverage employed an array of HD broadcast graphics systems from Orad Hi-Tec Systems to enhance coverage of the Games.

CCTV1 and CCTV2 relied on an Orad ProSet HD virtual studio system to integrate multiple live and file-based video feeds. CCTV also deployed an Orad 3DPlay system, connected to the official Beijing Olympic Broadcast (BOB) database, in conjunction with the company's 3-D controller and integrated with CCTV's Sobey news system.

CCTV5, the dedicated Olympics channel, used the 3DPlay's customizable controller to meet specific production needs, including translation of the operator interface into Chinese.

CCTV 7 and CCTV HD channels also used Orad broadcast graphics for Olympics coverage.

An Orad outdoor branding system (OBS) was also deployed by CCTV to place 3-D virtual graphics atop the station's headquarters building. To accomplish this, the OBS uses a robotic remote-control camera situated on Beijing's World Trade Center Tower 2 and linked via fiber to the CCTV control room.

Finally, for live studio productions, CCTV deployed an Orad Maestro video wall system, projecting on a 60-square-foot Barco screen. The system is based on two Orad HDVG rendering platforms feeding a combination of live and file-based graphics and HD video directly to the screen.