The 2008 Beijing Olympics
and Paralympics
on the BBC
BBC Resources on track for Olympics coverage
The BBC's core operation is fully HD
and tapeless for the first time
All live coverage on the BBC HD
Channel in 5.1 surround sound
Centralised access to media server
supporting multiplatform output
Onsite media management
Working across continents – split
operation in Beijing and London
Major rollout of broadband and mobile
services
New compression technology – Dirac
BBC Resources, the commercial facilities arm
of the BBC, is partnering BBC Sport to
provide coverage for the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and Paralympic Games.
It has been working with BBC Sport and
Siemens to design a multiplatform orientated
facility within the dedicated International
Broadcast Centre (IBC) and will be providing
staff from BBC Post Production and BBC
Studios, as well as working with SIS Outside
Broadcasts – formerly BBC Outside
Broadcasts – to deliver coverage from Beijing.
Traditionally the main coverage of the Games
comes from a broadcaster based in the
country that hosts the Games. This year, the
host broadcast will be provided by Beijing
Olympic Broadcasting (BOB). BOB will be
responsible for producing the international
venue coverage and delivering the signals
(totalling around 91) to the IBC. BOB will
then deliver an international signal package,
comprising 44 feeds, to rights-holding
broadcasters and unions in the IBC – in the
BBC's case, via European Broadcasting
Union (EBU) facilities.
The BBC is broadcasting 300 hours of
coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
this year on BBC One and BBC Two, plus
2,450 hours on BBCi, as well as online, radio,
news, nations and regions and CBBC. There
will also be live coverage on the BBC's HD
channel.The time difference of seven hours
between the UK and China means that,
although there will still be live peak-time
coverage, it will be supplemented by
interactive, broadband streamed media and a
new focus on mobile content, all designed to
improve the viewers' access to the Olympics
on demand.
The entire event coverage of the Summer
Olympic Games will be HD for the first time,
enabling the core BBC operation to be HD
and tapeless.
The IBC facility
The BBC has worked with BBC Resources to
plan and build a multiplatform orientated
production facility at the International
Broadcast Centre (IBC), which is located on
the Olympic Green in Beijing. The main BBC
studio will be in nearby Ling Long Pagoda
and will provide spectacular views of the
main stadium and Olympic Green.
There will be centralised access to the
media, which is being fully managed on site,
with BBC News, BBC Nations and Regions
and Graphics, as well as BBC Sport, all being
able to access the content and metadata,
maximising the multiplatform access to the
central media resource.
It is a split site operation with media storage
and editing taking place in Beijing whilst
logging is carried out by a team in London,
which will operate live throughout the night
to compensate for the time differences.
The venues
In addition to 44 feeds from the host
broadcaster, providing 3,800 hours of
footage, the BBC will supplement that
coverage with its own unilateral cameras and
presentation positions, covering the stories
of the UK athletes competing in sports
where there is a key British interest.
In this, the BBC is supported by SIS Outside
Broadcasts, formerly BBC Outside Broadcasts.
Facts and figures
There will be 44 feeds from the host
broadcaster providing 3,800 hours of
footage.
The BBC's EVS server will store up to
1,000 hours of HD content
There will be 18 edit suites at the
BBC's IBC facility in Beijing
There will be 16 logging stations at
BBC Television Centre in London
BBCi is sending back seven streams of
video from Beijing to London
The BBC has a potential live presence
at 14 venues
There will be eight P2 camera teams
in operation
More than 200Mb/s of fibre are being
used to transport signals between
Beijing and London
Live 5.1 sound on BBC HD Channel.
Printable version