WRC deploys LiveU HEVC
October 16, 2018
WRC Promoter, the company that’s responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World Rally Championship, has for the first time used LiveU technology to help bring a fresh approach to its rally coverage. LiveU’s LU600 HEVC solution was used at the recent ADAC Rallye Deutschland in Germany, which took place over four days, for transmitting live footage from different stages of the rally, interviews in the service park, and file transfer from the field. The LiveU units were controlled and monitored remotely via the LiveU Central management platform by WRC TV personnel.
Up until now, they have mainly relied on satellite and RF to cover the events around the world, with stages spread up to 250 km around the Service Park at each rally and have relied on motorbikes to deliver material from the field to the studio. They have been looking at ways to further increase the flexibility and dynamism of their coverage and to do so cost-effectively.
Based on industry recommendations and their own tests, the company turned to LiveU and its HEVC cellular technology, using it for the first time in Germany, working in HD.
Florian Ruth, Director of Content and Production, WRC Promoter, said, “Using LiveU allows us to think about covering the World Rally Championship in a different way. It enables us to work in areas we have never been able to in the past as we have always had to think about transport and delivery of the produced footage. With LiveU we don’t need any exit routes from our stage positions anymore. Also, we don’t have to shuttle memory cards back and forth with helicopters or couriers as all this can be done by LiveU.”