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Price Does Matter: IP Production - A Cost-Effective Solution for Media Production

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions had a significant impact on many areas, including media production. Remote production over IP has gained popularity due to its more attractive logistical and economic benefits for media companies. Even large TV companies have started adopting technologies and methods typically used in streaming services and small-scale productions.

TV companies started using personal mobile phones for professional video production, and it turned out that the picture quality was quite satisfactory for the end consumer.

IP remote video production offers several benefits:
- Cost reduction. There's no need to buy new equipment, as most studios are already equipped. Travel and accommodation expenses are minimized since staff don't need to travel.
- Efficiency. With fewer business trips, more events can be covered with the same number of people. Networked equipment is used more efficiently and setup/takedown is faster than with traditional video production equipment.
- Scalability. The LAN can easily scale up by adding more hardware. If needed, IP switches expand the settings.
- Security. AV networks controlled via software are secure due to encryption, firewalls, and authorization methods. Compared to analog systems, the risk of hacking is lower.

The move to remote production over IP during the pandemic has shown that it can be a cost-effective solution without significantly compromising quality. While there are still challenges to overcome, such as minimizing video latency, the trend towards IP remote production shows promising potential for the future of media production.

Learn more on www.slomo.tv!

videoReferee®-FSK: Football Starter Kit by SLOMO.TV

In the modern world of sport, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system has become an integral part of officiating. This technology allows referees to review controversial moments and make informed decisions.

One of the most striking recent examples of the importance of VAR was the men's football opening match between the national teams of Argentina and Morocco at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The match ended 2-1 in favor of Morocco after the VAR disallowed Argentina's final goal. In this historic case, the VAR system helped to fairly assess the situation and make the right decision.

As the VAR technology helps to avoid mistakes and ensure fair results, it is becoming increasingly popular in world football.

VAR is a complex system that includes an administrative component, technical resources and referees.

The administrative component consists of rules that define the procedure for using the VAR. This is an important element of the system, ensuring its efficiency and transparency.

The technical side includes the equipment required to operate the VAR system.

The most important element of this system, however, are the referees, i.e. the human resource. Referees must be well-trained, highly qualified and constantly improving their skills. Their professional life is one of continuous self-improvement.

Comprehensive training in VAR technology requires a system that allows judges to master the technology and improve as effectively as possible. SLOMO.TV’s Academy system solves this problem. It allows football organizations of all sizes to train new referees, warm up the VAR team before matches and improve the skills of veteran officials.

Academy is a training server for TV and VAR teams and is already used by many sports leagues, federations, TV companies and broadcasters.

While standalone training systems are effective, football organizations still need to optimize their workflow and resources for maximum efficiency. As a result, they tend to look for ways to perform multiple tasks with minimal equipment. If possible, the hardware solution should be able to be used not only as a training system, but also as a VAR system during actual matches.

SLOMO.TV offers a comprehensive VAR solution videoReferee®-FSK Football Starter Kit, designed to meet the current demands of modern sports. The videoReferee®-FSK system is ideal for leagues and associations at all levels, providing both a solution to existing needs and new opportunities for growth.

The system is unique in that it combines two functions: it can act both as an 8-channel videoReferee® VAR server and as an Academy training simulator. This solution makes it possible to train in the absence of live signals without the need for an external Academy server. An important feature of videoReferee®-FSK is the ability to warm up the VAR team before the match using the updateable library of training clips.

Built on a compact yet powerful 2U server, the system can also be “field-upgraded” to a 12/16 channel VAR system with the purchase of a temporary or permanent license. The server is equipped with 16 SDI I/Os, which allows it to be upgraded remotely.

videoReferee®-FSK can be used as:

- 2 separate 8-channels servers – videoReferee®-8F and 8-channel Academy system;
- videoReferee®-8F VAR system for full-fledged video refereeing;
- videoReferee®-AV/AVM VAR system with 12/16 recording channels (when a temporary or permanent license is purchased).

All standard licenses are available for videoReferee®-FSK – SSM camera support, 3G support, RRA option, remote workplaces and others. SSM cameras require the use of multiple channels, and to comfortably work with them, you may need to expand the number of channels on the VAR server with an additional license.

videoReferee®-FSK is a VAR system that not only provides accurate and reliable support to referees, but also implements

Quality Loop technology in football.

Quality Loop is an advanced training technology with an extended methodology. It is fundamentally supported by the Academy training system, both separately and as part of videoReferee®-FSK.

The Quality Loop program is designed to continuously improve the skills of your refereeing team.

Quality Loop technology implementation process:

1.The SLOMO.TV team trains regional specialists;

2.Important episodes are selected from the recorded video material for future training sessions after each match monitored with SLOMO.TV systems;

3.The department in charge marks clips and creates collections of both controversial and typical moments of the game;

4.The selected clips are exported to Academy;

5.The pre-selected by the methodologist clips are analyzed at regular training seminars.

Regular training sessions on video refereeing for judges, VARs and AVARs under the guidance of the chief methodologist lead to their improved skills in using the system and the overall development of match video selection and marking methods in video refereeing.

SLOMO.TV not only offers hardware solutions for VAR implementation, but also continuously enhances procedures that contribute to improving the quality of video refereeing globally. This makes SLOMO.TV a reliable choice for football organizations looking to optimize their resources and secure their future development prospects.

Remote VAR server workplaces for medical tracking and team analytics

As a super-technological organization, FIFA uses all the possibilities of video recording not only to make the game interesting and fair, but also to make it safe. For this reason, a Venue Medical Officer at every FIFA tournament must be provided with a replay tablet to play back video footage of any incidents that may occur.

Football players are often exposed to injuries caused by collisions with other players, the ball or pitch and ground equipment (such as barriers, anchors, goals, team shelters, dugouts, benches, flag poles), which can sometimes have a delayed effect on their health. For example, the player may suffer a partial fracture that isn't immediately felt, but may develop into a full fracture if the person continues to play. Head trauma is also notoriously dangerous if left undiagnosed and untreated. Some of the medical problems that may occur to football players on the pitch during a match are as follows: sudden cardiac arrest; fractures and dislocations; spinal injuries; head injuries and concussions; maxillofacial injuries.
According to the study 'Epidemiology of injuries in professional football: a systematic review and meta-analysis', published in 2020, the overall incidence of injuries in male professional football players was 8.1 injuries/1000 hours of exposure. The incidence of match injuries is almost 10 times higher than the incidence of training injuries, and higher in international tournaments than in national leagues. As expected, lower extremity injuries were by far the most frequent location for an injury with an incidence rate of 6.8 injuries per 1000 hours of exposure. The thigh was the most commonly injured anatomical region followed by the knee. Furthermore, the most common type of injury grouping was muscle/tendon injuries.

It is very important that team physicians are able to record and identify such incidents. To this end, FIFA has appointed Venue Medical Officers to be present at all international competitions to assess the health consequences of injuries and the ability of athletes to continue competing after an incident. This can be done using either a dedicated video recording system or a remote independent VAR workplace configured to provide only the necessary feeds.

SLOMO.TV introduces a tablet solution based on a VAR server for medical tracking in sports. Using a standard wireless tablet running Android or iOS and connected via Wi-Fi, the Venue Medical Officers can freely access selected video channels to assess the medical situation on the pitch. The wireless connection allows the tablet to be used remotely from the VAR server. The system is gesture controlled and allows a quick selection of the required channel to review the incident. To examine the situation as closely as possible, the video can be rewound/forwarded, played back at variable speeds, zoomed in and out, and the channels can be switched.

Another new feature for international football competitions is the introduction of a Video Coach, who can analyze the video feeds and make recommendations on game tactics in real time. In line with this trend, FIFA now requires each team participating in such competitions to be provided with 2 dedicated Video Coach workplaces in order to analyze on-field incidents more accurately. Each team is now guaranteed to have a replay tablet on the team bench and a replay device at the media tribune desk.

Thanks to the remote workplace feature, videoReferee® servers can easily handle medical tracking and video coaching tasks for both teams at the same time. A single videoReferee® server can support a replay tablet for the medical staff, a replay tablet for each team bench, and a workplace at each team’s media tribune desk, for a total of 5 additional independent workplaces. The media tribune replay devices are based on standard laptops connected to the server via Ethernet and equipped with dedicated Control-VR panels, allowing team officials to interact with video feeds independently.

Depending on the rules of a particular competition, video feeds can be limited to only those channels and angles that are relevant to the decisions being made. For example, the goal line feeds may be excluded.

In summary, one videoReferee® server can simultaneously provide the operation of 6-8 workplaces, distributed among the video coaches of competing teams, Venue Medical Officer and VARs. Our system can complete all tasks at once - not only to ensure fair play, but also to resolve player health issues and help team video coaches make the right strategic decisions.

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