SVG Sit Down: BirdDog’s NDI Cameras, Tools Find Believers in Sports Production
By Adam Noyes
When the pandemic began in March, sports production changed worldwide, leaving a landscape where the old way of doing things would no longer cut it. Broadcasters had to find new ways to create their product, with limited crews and an increase in streaming.
BirdDog’s PTZ Cameras have proven to be a valuable tool in bringing these broadcasts together, with the power of NDI.
Sportsvideo.org recently created a great article detailing how BirdDog PTZ Cameras can be incorporated into a great sports production workflow. Check out some highlights from that article, below.
When the global pandemic struck last March, it transformed sports production around the globe, with professionals looking for solutions that could be relatively easily deployed not only at stadiums and arenas but in living rooms and dens. It also created a jump in interest for NDI-based systems, something Australian-based manufacturer BirdDog has been focused on since its founding.
The Cleveland Browns are leveraging BirdDog’s NDI cameras in their studio.
Dan Miall, BirdDog, co-founder and CEO, says that when NDI came out more than four years ago, he and Drew immediately saw an opportunity to develop a chip-based approach to NDI support which would allow it to be more easily integrated into products like cameras, encoders, decoders, converters, and more.
“We were the first company to do NDI in a chip that we put inside all of our products, like converters and cameras, and then we have software applications to tie it all together,” says Eamon Drew, BirdDog, co-founder and CMO. “We were all in on NDI and more recently we have added Dante audio to the arsenal as well, so we have a whole bunch of Dante workflows now.”
Miall says the NDI on a chip approach allows for the processing power to get as close as possible to the glass where the acquisition is taking place (inside the camera) and then to the screen where it is going to be consumed (inside the encoder/decoder).
“Our first product was effectively a camera back that was an encoder that had tally and talkback,” says Miall. “You can decode, encode, and have power all in one cable.”