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Harris HD-STAR helps test signal integrity during live sports events
Nov 14 2009 8:52 AM, By Michael Grotticelli

Sometimes the smallest technology solutions carry the most value for live event production.

One of the biggest challenges for freelance video engineer and RF technician Jason Shank when setting up live video feeds for major golf tournaments and other live events for major sports networks and other clients is making sure the signals from the wireless camera transmitters on-site are being received at the production truck on-site and that there’s no signal degradation or interference to get in the way.

This task usually required Shank to use a camera or other HD source device to test signal strength and continuity, although tying up a camera for this purpose always seemed counter-productive and a waste of a piece of gear that could be used for other purposes.

Working alongside crews from production company Total RF, which provides the RF microwave links at many sports events (usually between five and 10 RF links depending on the size of the golf course or venue), Shank recently used the Harris (Videotek) HD-STAR, a handheld HD signal test generator and monitoring device, for the President’s Cup last month, in San Francisco, for the Women’s Open in Bethlehem, PA, in July and the Celebrity Golf Tournament in Tahoe, UT, also in July.

“In the digital world, a test signal output that actually has something moving on it is imperative for testing signals as you move around a golf course or other large venue,” Shank said. “That’s the only way to get an accurate testing of the RF path. The camera was the best source we had to test with before we got the HD-STAR device, because we could move around the course with it. Now, instead of having to borrow a $100,000 camera from the production company, we’re taking a $5,000 piece of test gear. It makes a lot of practical sense.”

Similar to most live sports productions, each event included multiple mobile production units on-site. The broadcast compound also included editing and graphics trailers as well as hospitality and office units. The trailers were interconnected to route monitoring signals and feeds to and from the course. The core of the production facility was a double-wide mobile unit that housed production, audio, video control, graphics, tape/server/replay, engineering and editing; a mobile unit used for transmission (satellite backhaul to the networks); and a RF/fiber interface trailer. The RF/fiber interface trailer served as the central location where all of the signals from the course passed though on their way to the production control area.

At each golf event, miles of fiber-optic cabling is run to and from the course. The fibers carry the camera signal back to the broadcast compound and carry signals from RF receive sites to the monitors that the talent uses in the announcers’ tower. A number of cameras were used handheld or positioned on special vehicles called “rats,” which move cameras around the golf course. To simplify the installation and cabling requirements, they use wireless RF cameras to add to the mobility. The RF cameras have receive sites scattered around the course, which in turn relay the signal back to the compound via a video cable or fiber-optic path. The fiber is then converted to coaxial cable for distribution to the mobile production units within the compound.