NBC Olympics, NHK, and CCTV are among the broadcasters that have committed to use a new XDCAM HD camera system from Sony that will make its debut at NAB. The PDW-700 camera can capture full-resolution 1920x1080 4:2:2 images at 50 Mbps and works hand-in-hand with the PDW-1500 recording deck.

Swisscom has selected the Media Links MD6000 high performance video transport system in order to satisfy the video requirements of its contract with UEFA for the 2008 European Football Championships to be held in Switzerland and Austria in June. The deal has been overseen by Media Links’ regional partner VIDI.

The Summer of 2008 is shaping up to be the Summer of HD as the Beijing Olympics make the transition to a complete HD infrastructure. The world' biggest sporting event will also be the biggest showcase for new HD technologies and workflows as broadcasters from around the globe deliver thousands of hours of live event coverage in glorious HD. If you're interested in learning more about how broadcasters and vendors are gearing up for the Beijing OIympics be sure to sign up today for the Sports Technology Forum at NAB. The one-day seminar on April 16 will feature industry experts from NBC Olympics, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, and more discussing the exciting developments in Beijing. Unless you're making the long trip to Beijing this will be your easiest opportunity to go behind the scenes at the Beijing Games!

Reuters reports that the head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday he is "ready, willing and able" to stop broadband providers that unreasonably interfere with subscribers' access to Internet content. The comment by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin came at the start of a day-long FCC hearing centering on allegations that some broadband providers such as telecommunications and cable companies have been improperly blocking or hindering some content.

The New York Times reports that IBM is giving the mainframe a serious face-lift today. A model called the I.B.M. z10, which is being introduced Tuesday, is far faster and has three times the data-juggling memory of its three-year-old predecessor, the z9. With sports leagues and networks increasingly becoming data and IT centric there just might be a place for the new systems in the sports market.

Intelsat, Ltd., a provider of commercial satellite services, and SISLink, the provider of satellite uplink services in Europe, have formed a strategic alliance to launch an HD-ready automated video delivery service for satellite newsgathering (SNG) users in the United States.

The announcement in January of Apple’s Macbook Air stole the consumer headlines but for hardcore broadcast professionals who need high-end graphics and video capabilities the hope was there was something around the corner that would meet their needs. Today those rumors turned into reality as Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook lines have been revamped with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory, and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Read on for more specs.

Intelsat, Ltd., a provider of fixed satellite services, announced two new senior level appointments. Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Dave McGlade has appointed Kurt Riegelman to the position of Senior Vice President, Global Sales, and Tobias (Toby) Nassif to the position of Vice President, Satellite Operations & Engineering.

TV2GO Inc., an international satellite transmission and video production company, recently uplinked Super Bowl XLII to broadcasters in Europe and Asia in HD using FOR-A’s frame rate converter, the FRC-7000.

RF Central, a digital microwave technology provider, is unveiling its RFX-CMT-II camera-mounted transmitters in both 2 GHz and 5.8 GHz at Booth C6622 at NAB 2008. While the 2 GHz unit is designed for live ENG news and sports broadcast applications and the 5.8 GHz unit is geared for live sports stadium, arena coverage and license free applications, both offer complete HD upgradeability with the latest in high-quality, low-latency, HD encoding technology.

Snell & Wilcox is introducing a variety of new products with a wide array of functions for its industry-leading IQ Modular intelligent infrastructure system. These include an SD/HD down stream keyer, single- and dual-channel SD/HD/3G digital amplifiers, a new serial interfacing module, and a new second-generation Hyperion intelligent processor module. Also included in the new modules are two modules for Dolby E audio processing with automatic tracking delay and a Dolby E decoder.

At the 2008 NAB Show, Snell & Wilcox will introduce significant enhancements to its flagship standards conversion and upconversion products, and will also introduce a new range of low cost SD / HD converters to its Kudos+ product range.

HITACHI has upgraded the performance of its SK-HD1000 camera, the company’s HDTV studio and field production camera to an outstanding 60dB HDTV Signal to Noise Ratio at F10.0 and a real-world resolution of 1100Horizontal TV Lines. This translates into the cleanest, sharpest digital processing HDTV camera picture you can presently buy. Furthermore, complimenting this performance benchmark, HITACHI introduces new functions, control panels, CCUs, and other production accessories.

Russian TV Times has signed a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement on the Intelsat system, expanding its program offering into Europe. Through its contract on the Intelsat 12 satellite located at 45 degrees East, RTVT will provide up to 30 channels of Russian news, film and sports programming to the estimated six million strong Russian-speaking population of Europe. The channel lineup of RTVT includes Feniks-Art, Bridge TV, Sarafan, Russkij Extreme, Travel Channel (UK), TV Centr International, ESPN Classic Europe and WorldMadeChannel.

A total of 144 regular season Tampa Bay Rays games will be televised regionally in 2008. The Rays TV Network and ION Television will televise 67 games, including 20 home games in 720p High Definition (HD), while FSN Florida will broadcast 75 games, 37 of which are available in HD. Two additional games between the Rays and Florida Marlins will be seen in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area on Sun Sports as part of the Marlins' regional TV schedule.

Cinematographer/producer, veteran diver, and founder of Liquid Pictures, D.J. Roller, recently wrapped principal photography on a new IMAX 3-D film entitled “ Wild Ocean.” All underwater sequences were shot with two Fujinon HA10X5B-W50 HD Cine Style zoom lenses mounted on a Cameron/Pace Fusion Underwater HDTV 3D camera system. The lenses are encased in specially made lens barrels for the rig and affixed to custom-designed Sony HD-950 cameras. Roller used that system with two of the Fujinon lenses and one back-up.

SAMMA Systems’ Barry Nulman and Bland McCartha, shared their wealth of archive knowledge with members of the post-production community at the Hollywood Post Alliance’s Technology Retreat in Palm Springs, CA on February 21 and February 22. The two participated at breakfast round tables to discuss the state of archiving with their fellow attendees. Members of the Hollywood Post Alliance include those who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content.

The 2008 WNBA Draft will be held in Florida on Wednesday, April 9, as a conclusion to the week-long celebration of events surrounding women's basketball. The draft will begin at 1 p.m. ET and be televised live on ESPN2. The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, owned by Washington Mystics President and Managing Partner Sheila Johnson and located in Palm Harbor, Fla., will host the draft.

Holophone, a manufacturer of surround microphones and Rycote, a manufacturer of professional audio windshielding and shockmounting systems, have teamed up to develop windscreen systems for Holophone’s entire line of surround microphones — H2-PRO, H3-D and H4 SuperMINI.

MASN will televise every available Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles game and for the 2008 season 80 games will be in HD. The HD games will be evenly split between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles and will include the first home game for both teams. The Orioles host Tampa Bay on March 31 and the Nationals’ are at home April 7 against the Florida Marlins.

The Toronto Blue Jays have partnered with Rogers Sportsnet, CBC and TSN to broadcast 144 games during the 2008 season. For the first time in the clubs history, all broadcasts will be shown in high definition by all three networks.