New Major League Baseball Studio 21’s Video Walls
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day earlier this month also marked the debut of MLB Network’s brand new Studio 21 in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The 8,000-sq. ft. Studio 21, named in honor of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, will be home to three daily studio shows: the new regular season morning show: ‘MLB Central’, ‘MLB Now’, and ‘Quick Pitch’. The Studio 21 features more than 1,100 12×16 LED tiles from Leyard Optoelectronic Co. Ltd., Buffalo Grove, Illinois, installed in different configurations for a total of 1,400 sq. ft. of video wall displays.
All content displayed on the video walls and traditional monitors is processed by Orad’s TD Control system, which enables a single operator to manage all studio display content through a simple-to-operate touch screen Graphical User Interface. The largest of the display walls is a 14’ x 25’ foot LED wall, which is being fed content at 4K resolution from an Orad engine. Orad’s TD Control offers real-time 3D graphics and transitions, as well as full program/preview confidence monitoring required for such a complex studio.
MLB Network worked with Orad, Big Studios and Motion Path to design a combination of augmented-reality graphics and what the network is terming ‘extended-studio perception’, which refers to pieces of the set that act as windows with large LED displays behind the scenery.
“We plan to enhance depth by putting images in the displays that ‘extend’ the set, such as ballpark interiors, exteriors, or other outdoor or indoor images,” says Mark Haden, vice-president of engineering and IT for MLB Network. “These LED walls will track the jib camerb’s movements in a spatially correct way. The perception is that we are inside a space with a breathtaking view. The studio will appear gigantic and the depth breathtaking.”
The Orad TD Control system was integrated with the LED wall systems by AVDS, and the motion tracking telemetry of the jib camera sent to the Orad engines with a solution manufactured by Stype Grip.
Orad is a worldwide provider of 3D Graphics systems for broadcast.
MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, and is currently distributed in approximately 70 million homes throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
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