Newington, VA – Sept. 11, 2008 – Communications Engineering, Inc. (CEI) announced today that it has been selected by the Maryland Stadium Authority to design and build a new high-definition (HD) digital production system for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the premiere site for sports and entertainment activities in Baltimore.
The project for the Maryland Stadium Authority will entail upgrading the existing analog facilities to a modern HD production facility that can originate HD programming to the stadium’s new HD LED video displays and CATV systems. This project will enable the modernization of the event-day presentation to incorporate the latest HD capabilities.
The new system will include resources to receive and record HD video and audio feeds from network television production trucks, as well as video signals from the dedicated replay system, graphics, cameras, satellite receivers and other external audio and video sources.
CEI will initially develop engineering and operational analysis information, producing recommendations and functional concept level designs that can fulfill the Oriole Park control room requirements. CEI’s work will include generating floor plans, schedules, and power requirements, as well as designing operating consoles, furniture, and interfaces to existing Oriole Park systems. The system will be designed to integrate with the HD broadcast trucks at Oriole Park, as well as Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media initiatives.
CEI will also perform complete integration, testing and training at Oriole Park, and provide equipment and project management services for the entire modernization process, including schedule and budget controls. The project will feature new routing and production switching systems, monitoring equipment, fiber transmission equipment, intercom system and HD cameras.
“We’re excited to be working with the Maryland Stadium Authority and providing new technology for a great sports venue like Oriole Park,” said Frank Giliotti, CEI’s vice president of Technical Services. “This project is also an ideal fit for our broad experience in designing and building state-of-the-art broadcast and audio-visual systems for a wide variety of facilities, including stadiums.”
Key equipment will include Sony HDC1450 HD Triax portable cameras and control units; Canon HD lenses; a Ross production switcher; an Evertz routing system, MVP video controller system and test equipment; Sony HDWM 2000-20 tape decks; a Pinnacle character generator; TVOne format converters; Wohler audio monitors; and Sharp, Panasonic, Sony and Marshall video monitors.
“We’re very excited to be advancing the broadcast technology being used at Oriole Park,” said Vince Steier, technical manager for the Maryland Stadium Authority. “By being able to originate and distribute HD programming throughout the ballpark, we’ll be giving the Orioles’ fans a completely new view of the game, and a greatly enhanced experience. The project is a continuation of the original concepts on which Oriole Park at Camden Yards was designed -- the seamless blend of modern amenities in a facility with a classic feel.”
The Camden Yards project is expected to be completed by February 2009.
Background:
CEI, located in Newington, VA, is a leading, award-winning broadcast and multi-media systems integrator. The company also offers complete equipment service, support and training. Its subsidiary, CEI Sales, supplies products and services to a wide range of clients, and to federal agencies and organizations through GSA. CEI has helped to define the leading edge of systems engineering and implementation for the communications industry since the mid1980’s.
