The Isle of Man TT race festival is a test for bikes and riders. Those covering the event for TV also face challenges in capturing the action from the 38 mile course with bikes clocking an average speed of over 125mph.
ITV (the UK commercial brodcaster) commissioned programme makers North One Television to provide daily coverage from the island. In turn, North One turned to SIS-Live Special Cameras for the demanding task of capturing on-board action.
Paul McNeil, manager, special cameras at SIS-Live says the company sought out a solid-state solution from Stack: "Tape was not going to work on the bikes because of the vibration and because tape only lasts one hour and the races were longer than
that. So we went with solid state." McNeil says.
"SIS Live approached us to evaluate the DVR PRO against competitors. It soon became clear that they needed better quality than was available. After the trials we supplied a new motorsport DVR, capable of recording up to 15Mbps. SIS Live declared the pictures the best they had seen from a solid-state device." said Stack's Managing Director, Alan Rock.
In all, SIS-Live Special Cameras with 14 DVRs as part of ITV's coverage of the Isle of Man TT race festival. SIS-Live equipped 10 bikes in each race with on-board cameras and Stack DVRs.
Designed with mobility and ruggedness in mind, Stack's DVRs deliver the highest quality video recording even under the most extreme conditions. The DVRs capture video and audio that is equivalent or better than DV tape but far more tolerant than non solid-state devices to high-vibration and intense shock and temperatures. Stack DVRs feature a rugged machined aluminium housing designed and manufactured to protect the unit in harsh and extreme environments.
Stack have since launched a DVR specially aimed at video professionals - the DVR2-540. The DVR2-540 offer 10 selectable fixed bit-rates (1 to 20 Mbps) and Variable Bit-Rate (VBR) that can achieve bit-rates in excess of 30Mbps, even up to 50Mbps - dependant on image content. This matches the maximum bit-rate of Blu--Ray (in comparison, DVD's maximum bit-rate is 9.8Mbps).
The higher bit-rate not only gives sharper pictures and more vivid colours but is better capable of capturing fast-moving content such as sport without introducing compression artifacts.
An option on the DVR2-540 is Intra-frame (I-frame) only record mode - a great benefit to video professionals using a non-linear editing system such as Avid or Final Cut Pro.
For more details or to view raw footage from our range of DVL/DVRs, contact us: 888-867-5183 or
Email: sales@stackltd.com |