Super Hi-Vision being considered for Wimbledon

Mervyn Hall, broadcast liaison manager for The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, is looking towards aerial cameras and Super Hi-Vision for future Wimbledon broadcasts.

In an exclusive interview with 3D Focus, Hall, who has been in charge of broadcast operations at Wimbledon since 2002, also spoke about his impressions of the Wimbledon 3D coverage which the BBC is currently broadcasting on the BBC HD channel.

“I think our overall impressions were that it worked very well indeed" said Hall, "We learned some things of course. We didn’t get absolutely everything right. But we thought here the coverage looked terrific. It bought an entirely new look and, if I might say so, dimension to Wimbledon and Centre Court and we were pretty satisfied”.

When asked if Wimbledon coverage would feature the dramatic sweeping aerial shots as seen in other sports broadcasting such as Euro 2012, Hall revealed the Wimbledon broadcast team were looking at introducing aerial cameras next year.

“We are investing aerial cameras. I have seen them both at Roland Garros and other tennis events. We are actively and seriously investing it. The problem here is that it probably doesn’t enhance the feeling of peace and tranquillity of the site but we do think there are places where an aerial wired camera would work and in fact we are doing some surveys during this championship with a view to perhaps having a trial one for 2013."

Mervyn Hall is also impressed by the enhanced picture quality of the Super Hi-Vision format. This year, the BBC and NHK will install three Super Hi-Vision public screens for the London Olympics and, in the future, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships could be seen in 16 times greater detail than HD too.

He said “We will certainly be looking at Super Hi-Vision with our host broadcaster the BBC. I am really impressed by Super Hi-Vision. I’ve seen it at IBC and NAB. I think it’s mighty good stuff and we will certainly be actively encouraging the BBC to look at it in more detail – we would welcome it here”.

The coverage of Wimbledon Tennis coverage has often been a test-bed for broadcast innovation. It was the site of the very first colour transmission in the UK. A ‘Live at Wimbledon’ studio was constructed on the broadcasting roof this year and there is now a dedicated online channel. Also, for 2012, two remote cameras have been installed outside the player’s entrance replacing the previous cameraman and Mervyn Hall said they are looking into introducing more remote cameras in the future.

The BBC HD channel is currently broadcast 3D coverage of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in association with Can Communicate and Sony.

 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MERVYN HALL 

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