Equidia vertebrates its remote workflow on Blackmagic Design products

Blackmagic Design‘s ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, HyperDeck Studio Mini and URSA Broadcast have been chosen by Anjou-Image for the production of Equidia‘s content.

The first European channel dedicated to horse racing has opted for the construction of a mobile central control. This infrastructure is used to transmit live high-definition content from several French racecourses. Pierre-Yves Maillet, CEO of Anjou-Image, comments on the installation: ” Migrating from analog to HD is a long and complex process. We’ve been working on this project with AMCO (Anjou Maine Centre Ouest), the regional federation of horse racing, for several years now, and we’re delighted to have successfully taken these first steps.” “The HD capture from Blackmagic Design has quickly proved to be the most suitable solution in terms of quality and pricing.” he adds.

In parallel, Philippe Foucher, director of AMCO, points out: “As a technical group, we support 33 racecourses with their video production needs, and this upgrade has expanded what we can offer. This represents nearly 250 days of filming. Anjou-Image has designed a mobile control room solution based on Blackmagic Design, allowing us to offer a premium quality service to all of our racecourses.”

A versatile mobile control

With a modular design, the mobile central control has enabled Equidia to offer its services directly to the consumer, facilitating access to horse racing via live webcasts or through its app.

Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K units placed at the starting line allow race officials and the production team to re-watch key moments in slow motion. In turn, all live feeds are transmitted to HyperDeck Studio Mini devices for recording purposes.

Pierre-Yves Maillet comments in more detail on the use of these cameras: “It is common for race officials to review race action in slow motion, whether that’s to control the pace in trotting races or to analyze any sudden line changes at the finish of a gallop race, for example. However, due to health and safety measures imposed during the pandemic, staff have not been allowed on track. The ability to review action from the mobile control room has been a considerable asset.”

The rollout of our first mobile control rooms has paved the way for a project of national ambition; The broadcasting of all horse racing in France, accessible to all and free of charge, and in high definition,” concludes Philippe Foucher.