Bolin Technology Adds NDI 6-Ready High Bandwidth and HX3; FreeD; and 255 PTZ Control Steps to Indoor and Outdoor Camera Line

Bolin Technology will bring its NDI-certified outdoor and indoor PTZ cameras to IBC 2024, running from September 13-16 in Amsterdam. Bolin will showcase the entire NDI-enabled broadcast-quality PTZ camera line. Among the new features are: FreeD protocol support with accurate data reporting; 255 PTZ control steps; and NDI-Certified, NDI 6-ready high bandwidth and HX3 support. The company will exhibit in Hall 11, Stand A39, during IBC.

IBC 2024 marks the first time Bolin will showcase its entire line of NDI-Certified PTZ cameras in Europe. Bolin is the only NDI 6-certified company for outdoor PTZ cameras.

“Our showing at IBC this year represents a dramatic shift in the capabilities of our entire line of indoor and outdoor PTZ cameras,” says Kyle Lo, Bolin Technology CEO. “Support of the FreeD protocol means customers can incorporate virtual or augmented reality studio elements in their live productions with great accuracy. PTZ control with 255 steps provides granularity to a live shot that’s so smooth it’s on-air worthy. Combined with NDI-Certified, NDI 6-ready high bandwidth and HX3, these PTZ cameras increase the creative production possibilities in any environment. With the NDI certification process, users are assured reliability in any NDI environment. Every feature and video flow are available right out of the box. We are excited for IBC and cannot wait to show our industry friends the entire NDI PTZ lineup.”

FreeD

FreeD (Free Dimensional Video) is a protocol developed by Replay Technologies that enables the capture and rendering of immersive, three-dimensional video content. FreeD helps provide PTZ camera axis data to sophisticated software, which then performs complicated analysis to issue CGI and/or VISCA commands to move the camera intelligently and smoothly. FreeD-enabled Bolin cameras were recently used by a European professional sports organization to automatically track an indoor bicycle race smoothly and intelligently.

Many popular systems support FreeD-generated positioning data, including Axximetry, Brainstorm, Future Group Pixotope, Ross UX XPERIENCE, Vizrt Viz Virtual Studio, Vislink, and Zero Density.

Fan Engagement

Combining FreeD-supplied axis data and sophisticated interpreting software gives broadcasters unprecedented ability to increase fan engagement. Along with animated graphic elements overlayed onto the live-action viewable in the arena or stadium, producers can broadcast enhanced statistics and other relevant information that tracks with designated athletes or performers. The image quality and accuracy of FreeD-enabled Bolin PTZ cameras are why a fan engagement company chose Bolin cameras for use at an NFL stadium in the U.S. to add augmented reality elements to the live game and make them visible to the entire audience.

NDI High Bandwidth and HX3

Designed for broadcasters and content creators, the newly launched NDI 6 provides deeper color, lower latency, reduced bandwidth, and Embedded Bridge. NDI 6 high bandwidth introduces 4:2:2 color. NDI HX3 is the latest version of HX – a bandwidth-efficient version of NDI. It uses advanced compression algorithms to reduce network bandwidth without visual artifacts.

NDI 6 introduces HDR, 10+ bit color depth support, and, with high bandwidth, 4:2:2 color space, enabling life-like video quality with higher contrast, richer colors, and greater detail. “NDI hasn’t been as critical for broadcasters up until now because of previous IP network latency issues and because of its lack of a deep enough color space,” says Lo. “With NDI 6 High Bandwidth, there’s support for 4:2:2 chroma sampling. This is a huge advantage. Along with 10-bit+ color, NDI offers broadcasters accurate compositing and professional-grade video editing.”

The new NDI Embedded Bridge utility enables Bolin cameras to send encrypted NDI streams autonomously over a WAN, streamlining remote production. Users can connect their cameras to a remote LAN with the NDI Bridge tool in host mode as independent sources without a local network or additional equipment.

255 Step VISCA Over IP

Developed by Sony, VISCA outputs control commands to the camera, such as pan, tilt, and zoom. The number of steps indicates the increased granularity of the camera movements. The VISCA standard supports 24 PTZ steps, so an increase to 255 steps represents an exponentially smoother pan, tilt, or zoom.