PVI Virtual Media Services
Encyclopedia
PVI Virtual Media Services is one of the companies behind the virtual yellow-down-line
shown on television broadcasts of American football
games in the USA and Canada
. Founded in 1990, PVI Virtual Media Services was a wholly owned subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) with a research and operations facility in Lawrenceville, NJ before being acquired by ESPN
in December, 2010. The company pioneered the vision-based, match moving
technology that allows the virtual insertion of images and video into broadcast video signals in real time, i.e., while the program is being broadcast. In addition to the virtual yellow down line, the technology has been used to place virtual advertising in broadcasts of soccer, baseball, ice hockey games and, more controversially, on some TV news shows, including the CBS
2000 New Year's Eve
show when an NBC
logo behind Dan Rather
in Times Square
, NY, was covered over with a virtual CBS logo. Originally marketed as L-VIS (Live Video Insertion System), their systems are now called inVU systems to emphasize their use of pattern recognition
of images, and that motion sensors are not required on the broadcast
cameras that the system is working with.
and knew that they had developed advanced, vision based pattern recognition and tracking technology for various US defense agencies. A contract was placed with Sarnoff to develop a prototype that was delivered in early 1994. Although the prototype showed great promise in the laboratory, it proved wholly inadequate when tried out at the Baltimore Orioles
1994 season opener. Roy Rosser and a small team of programmers and consultants spent the next 18 months re-engineering the system, inventing novel methods and algorithms of pattern recognition and tracking so that the match making could work to the standards required by TV broadcasters under the variable conditions of a real game using the computing power then available. In July 1995, the system was first used to place virtual advertising behind home plate on a cable broadcast of a Trenton Thunders game
. Later in the year, the L-VIS system was used to provide Parmalat
virtual advertising in the center-circle of a soccer pitch during the Parmalat Cup played at the NJ
Meadowlands Stadium
. In April 1996, the San Francisco Giants
became the first MLB team to regularly use the L-VIS system for virtual insertions for their home games at Candlestick Park.
On April 16, 2004, PVI aired Strike Zone, High Home Cam, and Ball Tracer on Fox's prime time broadcast of a New York Yankees
-Boston Red Sox
game. However, Fox retired those three graphics after the prime time telecast.
1st & Ten (graphics system)
1st & Ten is the name for a computer system that generates and displays one version of the yellow first down line that a TV viewer sees during a live broadcast of a college or professional American football or Canadian football game A competing system that performs the same task using different...
shown on television broadcasts of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games in the USA and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Founded in 1990, PVI Virtual Media Services was a wholly owned subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) with a research and operations facility in Lawrenceville, NJ before being acquired by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in December, 2010. The company pioneered the vision-based, match moving
Match moving
In cinematography, match moving is a visual-effects, cinematic techniques that allows the insertion of computer graphics into live-action footage with correct position, scale, orientation, and motion relative to the photographed objects in the shot...
technology that allows the virtual insertion of images and video into broadcast video signals in real time, i.e., while the program is being broadcast. In addition to the virtual yellow down line, the technology has been used to place virtual advertising in broadcasts of soccer, baseball, ice hockey games and, more controversially, on some TV news shows, including the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
2000 New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
show when an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
logo behind Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, NY, was covered over with a virtual CBS logo. Originally marketed as L-VIS (Live Video Insertion System), their systems are now called inVU systems to emphasize their use of pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
of images, and that motion sensors are not required on the broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
cameras that the system is working with.
History
The company was founded as Princeton Electronic Billboard (PEB) in 1990 by Roy Rosser and Brown Williams, based on patents on match moving enhancements filed by Roy Rosser. Brown Williams had been a senior manager at Sarnoff CorporationSarnoff Corporation
Sarnoff Corporation, with headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology....
and knew that they had developed advanced, vision based pattern recognition and tracking technology for various US defense agencies. A contract was placed with Sarnoff to develop a prototype that was delivered in early 1994. Although the prototype showed great promise in the laboratory, it proved wholly inadequate when tried out at the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
1994 season opener. Roy Rosser and a small team of programmers and consultants spent the next 18 months re-engineering the system, inventing novel methods and algorithms of pattern recognition and tracking so that the match making could work to the standards required by TV broadcasters under the variable conditions of a real game using the computing power then available. In July 1995, the system was first used to place virtual advertising behind home plate on a cable broadcast of a Trenton Thunders game
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...
. Later in the year, the L-VIS system was used to provide Parmalat
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
virtual advertising in the center-circle of a soccer pitch during the Parmalat Cup played at the NJ
Nj
Nj or NJ may stand for:*New Jersey*Nanojoule , an International System of Units unit of energy equal to 10−9 joules*Nj *Narva-Jõesuu, Estonia*Nordjyske Jernbaner, a Danish railway...
Meadowlands Stadium
Meadowlands Stadium
Meadowlands Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home venue of Soweto Panthers F.C. in the Vodacom League. It was built in 2008 for the 2010 World Cup....
. In April 1996, the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
became the first MLB team to regularly use the L-VIS system for virtual insertions for their home games at Candlestick Park.
On April 16, 2004, PVI aired Strike Zone, High Home Cam, and Ball Tracer on Fox's prime time broadcast of a New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
-Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
game. However, Fox retired those three graphics after the prime time telecast.
External links
- http://www.sportvision.com/info/PVI-SVG PVI Virtual Image Services
- http://www.sportvision.com/ SportVision
- http://www.publicidadvirtual.com/sitio2010/main.html/ Publicidad Virtual
- http://www.brandbrigade.com BrandBrigade