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BBC Resources on track for Olympic coverage

• The BBC's core operation is fully HD and tapeless for the first time
• All live coverage on the BBC HD Channel in 5.1 surround sound
• Centralised access to media server supporting multiplatform output
• Onsite media management
• Working across continents - split operation in Beijing and London
• Major rollout of broadband and mobile services
• New compression technology - Dirac

BBC Resources, the commercial facilities arm of the BBC, is partnering BBC Sport to provide coverage for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympic Games. It has been working with BBC Sport and Siemens to design a multiplatform orientated facility within the dedicated International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and will be providing staff from BBC Post Production and BBC Studios, as well as working with SIS Outside Broadcasts, formerly BBC Outside Broadcasts, to deliver coverage from Beijing.

Traditionally the main coverage of the Games comes from a broadcaster based in the country that hosts the Games. This year, the host broadcast will be provided by Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB). BOB will be responsible for producing the international venue coverage and delivering the signals (totalling around 91) to the IBC. BOB will then deliver an international signal package, comprising 44 feeds, to rights-holding broadcasters and unions in the IBC - in the BBC's case, via European Broadcasting Union (EBU) facilities.

The BBC is broadcasting 300 hours of coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games this year on BBC One and BBC Two, plus 2,450 hours on BBCi, as well as Online, Radio, News, Nations and Regions and CBBC. There will also be live coverage on the BBC's HD Channel. BBC coverage will build on the success of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics, but be on a much bigger scale. The time difference of 7 hours between the UK and China means that, although there will still be live peak time coverage, it will be supplemented by interactive, broadband streamed media and a new focus on mobile content, all designed to improve the viewers' access to the Olympics on demand.

The entire event coverage of the Summer Olympic Games will be HD for the first time, enabling the core BBC operation to be HD and tapeless, although there will be some SD contributions upconverted from remote sites. There will be parallel transmission in HD and SD and all live event coverage on the BBC's HD Channel will be carried in 5.1 surround sound.

The IBC Facility

The BBC has worked with BBC Resources to plan and build a multiplatform orientated production facility at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), which is located on the Olympic Green in Beijing. The main BBC studio will be in near by Ling Long Pagoda and will provide spectacular views of the main stadium and Olympic Green.

The BBC's space at the IBC comprises 1500m2 and includes TV, Interactive (BBCi), Online, Radio, News and Nations and Regions. The facility includes, production offices, an HD production control suite and an Interactive control room, managing the output of a further seven streams of video being sent to London, where they can be accessed by BBC Online to repurpose packages for web and mobile phones.

The post production area houses 18 edit suites, two large server systems, plus connectivity to the Host broadcaster server and venues. Feeds from the Host EVS server and logging operation will feed into the BBC's EVS media server, which will also support fast turn around editing. The BBC's EVS server will be fully integrated with an Avid ISIS server on site, with file based transfers enabling packages to be edited and features to be made while feeds are coming in.

There will be centralised access to the media, which is being fully managed on site, with BBC News, BBC Nations and Regions and Graphics, as well as BBC Sport, all being able to access the content and metadata, maximising the multiplatform access to the central media resource.

Basic metadata will be ingested alongside content into the Host server and the BBC will supplement this wherever necessary, using EVS IP Director logging and media management software.

It is a split site operation with media storage and editing taking place in Beijing, whilst logging is carried out by a team in London. There are 16 logging stations at BBC Television Centre, where IPTV enabled feeds are logged and then synchronised back onto the Beijing database, as well as being accessible to the BBCi and BBC Online teams. The UK based logging operation will operate live throughout the night to compensate for the time differences.

Capturing quality metadata onsite at the ingest stage has huge benefits to the BBC's ongoing archive and is a much more efficient way of working than managing media back in the UK after the event.

Siemens is providing project management for the IBC build, as well as the BBC's National Stadium facility construction and is contracting Gearhouse Broadcast as Systems Integrators.

The Venues

In addition to 44 feeds from the Host Broadcaster, providing 3800 hours of footage, the BBC has a significant unilateral presence. The BBC will supplement the Host coverage with its own unilateral cameras and presentation positions, covering the stories of the UK athletes competing in sports where there is a key British interest. In this, the BBC is supported by SIS Outside Broadcasts, formerly BBC Outside Broadcasts.

The largest of the unilateral operations is at the main National Stadium, where a fully HD OB operation, complete with its own server based post operation, is being built into cabins for the ceremonies and track and field events.

The BBC has a potential live presence at a further 13 venues. At Qingdao for the sailing, Shunyi for the rowing and Hong Kong for the equestrian events, BBC production resources are more concentrated, so there will be dedicated BBC Post Production edit cabins at the venues, as well as additional presentation and cameras for behind the scenes interviews.

In the Athletes Village the BBC has worked with Team GB to secure a fully remote interview camera operating into the IBC.

Host telecommunications from the venues is largely uncompressed, enabling the maximum quality to be delivered to broadcasters in IBC. For some venues however, the BBC was unable to secure high definition links. To solve this problem the BBC worked closely with engineers from BBC Research & Innovation who have developed a new compression technology called Dirac Pro. This new technology compresses HD signals, so they can be sent down SD circuits, where the HD infrastructure is not available. The equipment is manufactured by NuMedia Technology.

Building on the success of P2 at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup 2006, tapeless acquisition is being used to enhance a fast turnaround workflow and to reduce bulky mobile equipment. In addition to the venues the BBC's eight P2 based camera crews will operate around Beijing and the other Olympic cities.

BBC News will provide SNG (Satellite News Gathering) vehicles operating around Beijing and from the Team GB holding camp in Macau, with signals beamed back into the IBC Dish Farm.

In order to bring these signals back to the UK the BBC will employ more than 200Mb/s of fully redundant international fibre capacity, travelling multiples routes around the globe between Beijing and London. These digital links are supplied by the EBU and also provide voice and data communications between London and Beijing and include the 16 channels of video over IP streaming for the remote logging operation in London.

A satellite link from Beijing directly into Television Centre provides further security for the main BBC One and BBC Two transmission. Facts and Figures

• There will be 44 feeds from the Host Broadcaster providing 3800 hours of footage.
• The BBC's EVS server will store up to 1000 hours of HD content
• There will be 18 edit suites at the BBC's IBC facility in Beijing
• There will be 16 logging stations at BBC Television Centre in London
• BBCi is sending back 7 streams of video from Beijing to London
• The BBC has a potential live presence at 14 venues
• There will be 8 P2 camera teams in operation
• More than 200Mb/s of fibre are being used to transport signals between Beijing and London.
• Live 5.1 sound on BBC HD Channel

About BBC Resources Ltd

BBC Resources Ltd is the largest production facilities company of its kind in the UK. It consists of two core businesses; BBC Studios and BBC Post Production. The size and depth of the company's resources enables it to handle even the largest-scale projects. Major broadcast events BBC Resources has facilitated include Wimbledon, Children In Need, The FIFA World Cup, Live Earth and the Winter Olympics. With a focus on innovation, BBC Resources continually looks to produce technological 'firsts' from virtual reality capability to real-time HD media transfer between remote sites. For more information visit www.bbcresources.com

For further information, please contact:

Georgie Hollett, PR and Communications Manager, BBC Resources
Tel: +44 (0)20 8624 9495
Mobile : +44 (0) 783484 5612
Email : georgie.hollett@bbc.co.uk

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