Pioneering network builds new gear package with help from NewTek, Vizrt
By Jim Bask
Big South Set for Summer of Upgrades as Conference Digital Network Preps To Enter 12th Season
The Big South Conference is one of the trailblazers in college sports-video production, having launched a digital network in 2005 at a time when only the Big Ten Network existed. This summer, the league is looking to keep itself ahead of the game, making the commitment to substantially upgrade its production capabilities.
Entering its 12th year, the Big South Network will undergo a sweeping technological upgrade that will take its productions to “TV-ready” levels.
“The Big South has always been pretty progressive in this space,” says Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle Kallander. “We are proud of what we’ve been doing, and we are being very aggressive in trying to continue to enhance and improve.”
At the core of this latest upgrade is the NewTek TriCaster 8000 production switcher with TriCaster Advanced Edition software and the NewTek 3Play 440 replay engine. In the past, the conference, which has an agreement with ESPN3 for selected games, has used outside production companies on games distributed via ESPN3, whereas games on the Big South Network were handled by the schools. This new gear package hopes to place that power in the schools’ hands, pointing them down the path of maintaining ESPN3-level standards across all productions regardless of distribution…[continue reading]