London 2012 Olympics is a 3D HD broadcast milestone

Paul Milligan, September 11, 2012

Panasonic produced the first HD 3D live broadcast in Olympic history. HD video signals were distributed by the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) to broadcasters of each country in HD format.

The Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) produced over 200 hours of 3D coverage during the Games, including using the latest integrated twin-lens Panasonic 3D camcorders.

As well as adopting Panasonic’s DVCPRO HD standards as the video recording format, the file-based workflow was based on AVC-Intra standards.

Panasonic provided a wide range of broadcasting equipment to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including the solid-state memory electronic news gathering (ENG) P2HD series cameras.

Panasonic also reckons it provided the largest number of LED screens and the largest area at an Olympic event, with 45 large LED screens in 28 venues.

Forty seven 103-in PDP plasma displays were in action alongside 200 professional sound systems, 2,500 cctv units, 1,000 tv monitors, 30 3D cameras, 300 P2HD/DVCPRO HD recorders and 100 P2HD broadcas camcorders.