Fox Sports is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 with a new HD camera angle that sounds like something out of Caddyshack but would make NASCAR founder Bill France proud: Gophercam. The specialty camera, based around Sony one-third-inch CMOS chip imaging technology, a DPA microphone and built by Inertia Unlimited, will be placed within the pavement of the track on the apex of each turn and give viewers a gopher’s view of oncoming NASCAR race cars zipping overhead at upwards of 200 mph. “No gophers were harmed,” jokes David Hill, Fox Sports CEO, “and this is the most compelling shot I have ever seen in the history of sports. It reinforces the speed and precision at which the sport is raced.”

The Sports Video Group, Fox Sports, Speed, Bexel and Game Creek Video gave 23 electrical engineering and TV production majors from the University of Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of Central Florida the opportunity for a first-hand tour of the Daytona 500 broadcast compound in the latest effort to find the next-generation of engineering talent. "We believe that helping engineering students is a win-win for everyone: the students, the schools, the networks, and even SVG sponsors," adds Kerschbaumer. "Helping match up top-quality students with SVG member and sponsor companies is more important than ever."

Show Partners, a provider of broadcast television production, crewing, and design services has joined the Sports Video Group as a premier sponsor. Aspera Inc. a software development company that creates innovative high-performance bulk data transport technologies and IBM, a top provider of computer products and services have joined the Sports Video Group as corporate sponsors.

FSN North last Saturday presented the Second Annual “Hockey Day Minnesota.” This year’s broadcast eclipsed over 14 hours of hockey coverage and captured the high school, college and professional levels of hockey. The day featured five epic contests headlined by two outdoor games played not in an arena but on a frozen pond in Baudette Minnesota. Amid swirling winds, below zero temperatures and weather just as harsh as the weather during the NFC Championship game in Green Bay, the FSN North crew overcame the elements and delivered Hockey Day to legions of fans.

Later this week the National Basketball League will put the emphasis on HD coverage of its All-Star game and slam dunk contest but with the help of Newtek’s Tricaster production system it has recently begun to give fans the chance to see the All-Stars of tomorrow today. The NBA’s Development League (D-League) is comprised of 14 teams and the Tricaster is used to help produce all D-League games for live Webcasts to fans around the world.

wTVision, a developer and integrator of broadcast software, is packaging SporTVU's on-air real-time graphics object tracking system to give soccer fans in Portugal, Spain, and Belgium new insight into their favorite sport.

Chyron will mark its entry into web-based graphics production at NAB 2008. Following its acquisition of Axis Graphics earlier this year, Chyron is launching an online division called Chyron Online. Chyron Online will feature an array of web-based services including maps, real time weather displays, 3D Charts, graphs, financial quotes and a vast toolset for news graphics. Chyron will be in booth SL3713 at NAB and will feature a full graphics workflow demonstration.

SAMMA Systems is taking media migration to the next level with the introduction of significant enhancements to its award-winning product range at NAB 2008. SAMMA Systems will launch a unique tape media rating technology that adds another measure of efficiency and cost-saving automation to the migration process, and the addition of support for digital videotape formats enabling digitization to move beyond analog inventories.

Harris Corporation will showcase many new technologies at NAB this year including demonstrating their expanded range of multiviewers, introducing the Harris ZX5000 transmitter for HD Radio and analog FM broadcasters and showcasing its latest advancements in server system technology and storage protection.

RF Central is introducing its new RFX-PMR-II portable digital receiver at NAB 2008 (Booth #C6622). The receiver is available in both SD and full HD configuration. The rugged unit offers exceptional performance for portable links and is designed for easy and quick set-up for ENG and field applications. In addition, it is weather resistant for broadcasts during adverse climate conditions.

P2 users can expect a 64GB P2 solid-state memory card to be available from Panasonic this fall, doubling the storage capacity of the P2 card from the current 32GB capacity and providing HD recording time dramatically greater than any tape or disc-based system.

Panasonic will introduce a number of new cameras and products at NAB, including the AG-HMC70, the industry’s first AVCHD shoulder-mount camcorder, at a suggested list price of $2,495. With sports networks and rights holders increasingly turning to the Internet as a means of low-cost distribution finding a low-cost production solution is paramount and the AG-HSC1U handheld is designed to meet those needs.

QuStream will bring four new video interface modules for QuStream's Cheetah range of routers and new Integrity 600 signal processing and distribution modules. to the NAB convention in April.

Quantel has further strengthened its US marketing muscle by hiring three new sales professionals covering the whole of the U.S. and Canada. Manuel De Pena was appointed Vice President of Sales, Eastern Region and Canada. Charlie Taylor was named Vice President of Sales, Central Region and James Howard has joined Quantel as Northwest Regional Sales Manager. De Pena and Taylor will report to Quantel North American CEO, Tom McGowan. Howard will report to Eric Thorne, Vice President of Sales, Western Region.

Miranda Technologies will be highlighting the new Kaleido-Quad-Dual dual quad-split processor at NAB, which combines two independent quad-split processors in a single 1RU frame. Miranda says the Kaleido-Quad-Dual is ideal for applications such as mobile truck monitoring, which typically demands high density monitoring across multiple, high quality but inexpensive LCD monitors.

Camera Corps is now providing sports broadcasters a new imaging option in the form of a new HD MiniZoom miniature broadcast-quality 720p/1080i 50/59.94 Hz HD camera with integral remotely controllable zoom lens.

Avid Technology's Avid DNxHD, a high-quality, low bitrate HD production codec, is the first codec compliant with the new SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) VC-3 standards. SMPTE VC-3 is the industry's only 720/1080 raster, low-bitrate, 8/10 bit, intra-frame, 4:2:2 HD compression standard. It is optimized for compositing, mastering, and multi-generational use.

Intelsat, Ltd., a provider of fixed satellite services, announced a number of executive appointments, effective immediately. Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Dave McGlade has appointed Stephen Spengler to the position of Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, and Thierry Guillemin to the position of Senior Vice President & Chief Technical Officer, both new roles. These roles replace the Chief Operating Officer position vacated by James Frownfelter, who submitted his resignation from Intelsat on 8 February 2008.

Super Bowl XLII set a performance record for Sennheiser. For the first time ever, the musical entertainment during the pre-game and halftime segments of the Super Bowl broadcast had every performer using a Sennheiser G2 wireless personal monitor system.

Stantron, a provider of rack and enclosure solutions for broadcast and professional audio/video applications, will exhibit its full line of products at the upcoming NAB2008 in Booth #SU5613. There Stantron will present an array of rack mountable shelf options for its successful E-Rack and Presentation Racks.

Mark Shapiro, president and chief executive officer of Six Flags, will present a keynote address on Tuesday, April 15, during the NAB Show in Las Vegas. A veteran of the television industry, Shapiro is currently spearheading Six Flags' acquisition of Dick Clark Productions and the launch of Six Flags Media Networks.

Panasonic is bringing 12Hz refresh rates to its 17-inch LCD monitor lineup with the BT-LH1760. The company says the new monitor offers wide off-axis viewing and color reproduction, and provides the motion handling and latency advantages formerly provided only in CRT monitors.

Panasonic’s AW-HE100 multi-format HD/SD camera will be introduced at NAB and provide sports broadcasters an integrated pan-tilt-zoom mechanism with a unique ergonomic-design. The camera supports 1080i, 720p and 480i formats and can simultaneously output both HD and SD signals.

Sports broadcasters looking for new high-quality HD acquisition options have a new choice in Panasonic’s AK-HC1800 HD multi-purpose camera to be introduced this April at NAB. The new addition to Panasonic’s line of cameras is equipped with 2.2-megapixel 3-CCDs that provide native 1080i video capture for high-level, high definition production.