Any number of firsts will be achieved at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Not all will get Gold Medals.
But a Canadian designed and developed tool for media transmission and distribution may well deserve one, if the experiences of broadcasters across the country are any indication.
It made its debut during the Olympic Torch Relay, and it was integral to helping provide the live coverage of the cross-country celebrations, both on TV and online.
Following every runner and every moment of the cross-Canada event was a camera mounted to a caravan bus, driving just ahead of the torch runner. The technology involved was used to captured the scenes in real time, and distribute it so that online viewers could watch via video streams from CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca, the official websites of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.
Dubbed 'the Olympic Torch Cam', it followed the flame throughout its trip from Halifax to BC Place in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games Opening Ceremony -- during which additional special coverage was planned.
Also leading up to the Games, the Canadian manufacturer came forward to provide details of the technology, and to begin the device's more formal roll-out to the broadcast media industry.
Dejero Labs Inc., based in Waterloo, ON, calls the device its "Wireless Broadcast ENG Solution" -- pending a more formal trademark declaration.
The device uses innovative and patent pending wireless technology that allows a video signal to be transmitted from wherever there is an available cell phone or Wi-Fi connection. The technology that provides the continuous video feed uses an additive process to unite multiple wireless signals to deliver broadcast quality video.
But less than a month ago that idea of pervasive coverage of the torch relay was ruled out, partly due to technical reason but mostly the prohibitive costs of traditional satellite uplinks and mobile production vehicles.
"This is a whole new way for the broadcaster to get live remote material," said Alon Marcovici, Vice President, Digital Media and Research, Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. "It can reduce costs and still be reliable. We can be more nimble, not just about costs, but by getting the journalist where they need to be. It not only helps TV, but it will help other media, too. This approach really opens the doors for other content providers."
That's what Dejero is certainly hoping.
Dejero's CTO Bogdan Frusina, reached in frantic weeks leading up to the Olympics, acknowledged that "Things have gone faster than planned -- and that is a good problem to have. Now that CTV has gone live with news about this Canadian technology, we're getting inquiries from all over the world."
It is able to take a full raster feed from a broadcaster's camera, compress it down, and deliver the signal over cellular channels that have been bonded together in order to increase available bandwidth.
Using a standard H.264 codec and MPEG 4 compression algorithm, users can set target bit rates, ideally around two megabits per second, Frusina explained.
It uses off-the-shelf hardware components where possible, but it is in the software where the real magic takes place.
Knowing how to best use the wireless signal, and being able to split the bandwidth requirements across multiple channels, is crucial. The system is always scanning available carrier channels, and it is determining how best to offload and deliver its data packets. It's a real-time investigation, Frusina added, so that any buffer is down to about one second.
That limited latency period enables live two-way communications or en-hanced video signals, depending on the requirements and system settings.
"In my opinion, it marked a watershed moment for the coverage of live events. We can now do broadcasts without a satellite truck, anywhere there are multiple wireless signals. [It's] yet another example of the leading-edge technology we are employing to deliver the Games to Canadians like never before," added Marcovici.