DIXON SPORTS USES BLACKMAGIC DESIGN ULTRASTUDIO 4K WITH DIXON MEDIA PORTAL

Fremont, CA – July 13, 2017 - Blackmagic Design announced today that its UltraStudio 4K capture and playback devices are being used by Dixon Sports as part of their Media Portal next-generation video server. The Dixon Media Portal was built around the UltraStudio 4K to meet the needs of one of the biggest sports broadcasters in the world, the WWE. The Media Portal’s affordable modular design and flexible architecture remove the constraints of previous first-generation servers to enable workflows that were previously impossible.

Dixon Sports Computing is the world leader in logging and managing sports video, and its products are used by sports broadcasters and organizations, including Fox Sports, PGA TOUR Entertainment, DirecTV, MSG Network, TVG and SKY New Zealand. Their recently launched Media Portal, by playing directly from and recording directly to editing storage systems such as Avid ISIS, replaces expensive first-generation servers that have been traditionally used for capture and playback. This eliminates transfer times, advanced planning about what needs to moved and when and the reliance on expensive servers and their proprietary storage. To provide capture and playback features, Dixon Sports uses Blackmagic Design’s UltraStudio 4K.

UltraStudio 4K provides the Media Portal with rack mount Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 based capture and playback, which includes 4:4:4 and dual channel 3D stereoscopic, Ultra HD and 4K capture and playback. UltraStudio 4K also comes with the latest high performance 6G and 12G-SDI video technology, and are perfect for equipment racks, post production suites or flyaway kits. The combination of UltraStudio 4K and Media Portal products give customers the ability to quickly work with and manage the incredible amount of video required for sports broadcasting.

“When we were designing the Media Portal, one of the driving factors was that we wanted to provide great value by bringing down the per channel costs to a fraction of the typical video server set up and at the same time providing more capability. One of the most important aspects of this was making sure that the capture and playback features were the absolute best and most flexible. Blackmagic’s UltraStudio 4K fits that need perfectly,” said Michael Dixon, founder, Dixon Sports.

Media Portal provides direct capture and playback ports to existing storage, making all the video in the editing SAN or NAS instantly available and edit live during capture and playback anything in the library. The Media Portal also can turn editing storage into hybrid editing sources and recorders adding speed and flexibility to the editing process. This next-generation video server allows editors to play sequences and edit from original video files without finaliz-ing the edit package and creating new media files which clog storage resources. The Media Portal also allows new workflows, including "live" distribution over the Internet, transcoding with QC playout for quick turn around productions and sync'd playback of multiple channels as if the event were live.

“Dixon’s philosophy is to fit into the customers’ workflows, not make them change to fit ours. Building the Media Portal next-generation server, with Blackmagic Design’s hardware, provides us the power and flexibility to fit into our customers’ most demanding existing workflows, while at the same time creating new workflow opportunities,” said Dixon. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the new workflows the Media Portal makes possible. The Media Portal with UltraStudio 4K handles any format, hardware system or future workflows our customers may throw at us.”

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Product photos of the UltraStudio 4K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

ABOUT BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

