Vizrt and LiberoVision Analysis Tools Take Center Stage at 2011 Stanley Cup Final

June 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Bergen/Zürich, Norway/Switzerland, June 14, Vizrt Ltd. (Oslo Main List: VIZ)

As the hockey world fixes its eyes on the final act of the NHL season – the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks – the Zürich-based sports analysis company LiberoVision plays an important role in illustrating to viewers the many why’s and how’s tied to player decisions.

Now fully part of the Vizrt workflow and supporting seven different sports, including soccer, American football and ice hockey, the award-winning Libero Highlight one-box solution allows broadcasters to produce realistic 3D replays without the need for additional infrastructure.

“Based on nothing more than your existing TV images, Libero Highlight instantly grabs the viewer’s attention and lifts sports analysis to a whole new level,” says Julia Vogel, Sales and Marketing Director at LiberoVision. “LiberoVision’s patented image processing technology instantly transforms the camera feeds into realistic 3D representations that allow viewers to essentially fly over the playing field to review key moments in the action from the best possible perspectives.”

In the US, NBC Sports and VERSUS, both members of the NBC Sports Group, are using Libero Highlight for 3D replay analysis during the best-of-seven games final. In Canada, The Sports Network (TSN) is using Libero Highlight’s interface to visualize tactical aspects of the game. TSN is Canada’s leading, English-language sports TV channel.

“LiberoVision is a great tool that better allows us to tell the story of the event,” says Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and VERSUS. “It provides a unique, tactical perspective that helps us take the audience inside the glass and gives them the best seat in the house.”

VERSUS has been using Libero Highlight for live, on-air replay analysis of its games since the 2010 NHL playoffs. Before this year’s Stanley Cup Final, NBC featured Libero Highlight during its 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games hockey coverage and for the 2010 NHL playoffs. TSN are primarily using Libero Highlight for post-game analysis and various shows tied to the Stanley Cup final.

”LiberoVision’s realistic 3D support for analyzing key moments of the game, changing from one camera to another while always keeping the essential players clearly visible, is a great example of how broadcasters can now highlight game-changing decisions better than ever before,” says Paul Graham, VP and Executive Producer, TSN.

Libero Highlight has already been well received by broadcasters around the world. The software has been used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, other high-profile soccer events, for NFL and NCAA football, Major League Baseball, NHL hockey games, as well as NBA and NCAA basketball coverage.

About LiberoVision
Now fully acquired by Vizrt, LiberoVision’s 3D sports analysis and replay system has been integrated into Vizrt’s broadcast graphics and media asset management (MAM) workflow. With this integration, sportscasters can deliver their Libero Highlight clips— with defined starts/stops and annotations—into the Vizrt workflow. They can then control the playback of the clips from an Apple iPad using Viz Anchor or any other Vizrt control software and play it out through the Viz Engine embedded in graphics. It’s also possible to export metadata, such as short text, which is rendered by Viz Engine, Vizrt’s real-time rendering engine. This also means that the LiberoVision analysis can reach videowalls, virtual sets and that it is available for distribution to mobile devices by using the device optimized delivery of video to all devices.

About Vizrt
Vizrt has signed a definitive share purchase agreement in LiberoVision, and now offers sports analysis tools as a stand-alone product, or in combination with our popular content production tools. Our products are used by the world’s leading broadcasters and publishing houses, including: ESPN, ABC, MLB, YES Network, Canal+, Sky News, CBS, Fox, the BBC, BSkyB, ITN, ZDF, Antena3, and FC Barcelona.

# # #

Pipeline Communications is a full service public relations agency, serving clients in the high-technology sector for a variety of markets. The firm is based in Montclair, New Jersey and has been in business since 1995.