Premium ContentClick on Premium Content on the Featured navigation bar for information.
Fingertip catches, bruising sacks and instant replays during Sunday’s Super Bowl will show up on your high-definition TV sharper than ever, a result of CBS’s contracting with Level 3 Communications for “uncompressed” video services to help broadcast this year’s game, said Level 3 executive Mark Taylor.
Taylor, vice president of media product and strategy, said the process will reduce the amount of equipment needed for compressing the video to make it smaller and easier to transfer.
The process also will reduce delays and will increase the simplicity and quality of post-production work, including putting together highlight packages, Taylor said from Level 3’s Denver-area headquarters.
The difference between watching a “compressed” and an “uncompressed” feed is comparable to the difference between listening to an MP3 digital music file and a CD. The CD file, like an “uncompressed” feed, is much larger and of higher quality, Taylor said.
This will mark the first time that an uncompressed feed has been used during the Super Bowl to broadcast the game worldwide.
The technology, while producing better visual images, is of even greater benefit to the broadcasters because the transfer speed is faster, Taylor said.
“People may scoff at the value of a fraction of a second, but it’s important to minimize delay, especially in live sports,” Taylor said.
It also will make a difference for some viewers.
“The last thing you want to hear is your neighbor cheering before you get to see that touchdown or conversion,” he said.
Sometimes there are delays in the feeds from various TV providers, so people watching a program on satellite television could get something before someone watching it on digital cable, or vice versa.
Although the feed is uncompressed before it reaches CBS, the video is compressed at least once before it shows up in homes because of size limitations.
Level 3 worked with the NFL and broadcasters this year to provide video delivery for every NFL game.
The Broomfield, Colo.-based company, which began in Omaha as subsidiary of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc. and still has operations in Lincoln and Omaha, also conducted successful test runs with uncompressed feeds during Denver Broncos games this season.
In a statement, Bob Mincieli, director of broadcast operations at CBS, said: “This year, we worked with Level 3 to test uncompressed HD feeds in the delivery of various NFL games and have been impressed with the results. Our mission is to deliver the best possible sports viewing experience for our audience.”
Level 3 hopes the uncompressed HD feed will make a noticeable difference for viewers and broadcasters, so other companies will consider the service worth the extra cost, Taylor said.
“This is the first step,” he said.
The company declined to say how much the NFL is paying for Sunday’s transmission.
Contact the writer:
444-1414, ross.boettcher@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
