BOISE, ID — Boise State University’s Broncos football team is now shooting HD game footage for live board display and Web streaming using four Panasonic (www.panasonic.com) AG-HPX370 P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders. Boise State has won 22 straight college football games and is currently ranked #4 in the nation. Previously, game-day video had been shot with mini-DV camcorders.
Fiberpipe, Inc. in Boise handled the purchase and integration of the HPX370s, along with two AG-HPG20 P2 portable recorders and an AJ-HPM200 P2 mobile recorder/player. The AG-HPX370 is an interchangeable lens camcorder offering 10-bit, 4:2:2 , independent-frame full 1920 x 1080 resolution AVC-Intra recording. The P2 HD shoulder-mount cameras are also being used to capture varsity soccer, and are slated to be used this winter for men’s and women’s basketball. The football coaching staff has also integrated an AG-HPX300 P2 HD camcorder into its video analysis activities.
All four HPX370s are deployed at each home football game, with two shooting low-angle, side line shots; one shooting main action up high from a basket on the 50-yard line; and one used as a roaming promo cam to capture crowd shots. The team travels with one or two HPX370s to shoot low-angle highlights at away games.
While video is shot in HD, there is mixed video output this season, prior to a planned transition to widescreen, HD video boards throughout the campus sports facilities. All game video is currently produced live in 720p, archived and output to the football stadium’s Sky Suites over the new BroncoVision HD channel. Content will also be used for the Blu-ray DVD release and for viewing on BroncoVision, the official video portal of Boise State Athletics.
Each HPX370 is equipped with two 64GB P2 cards, which accommodate the recording of an entire game. The school began the season shooting DVCPRO HD, but has since migrated to AVC-Intra 100 capture. Editing is done using Adobe Premiere.