
World Rally Championship to return in a flurry of dust, dirt and remote production plans WRC adding more interactivity for fans through WRC All Live with AR By Heather McLean, Editor
Thursday, August 6, 2020 - 10:45
Print This Story
Whoosh!
World Rally Championship (WRC) is back on track with five rallies being held this year, starting with Rally Estonia in September. These post-lockdown rallies bring with them WRC Promotor's plans for moving to a full remote production for live output, which were put on hold in March as the pandemic took hold globally.
In May 2019 WRC Promoter bought all its post production to London, and this year it had been planning an even bigger push towards remote production for each rally. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, that plan was to have all galleries for both live and post production based in London, with NEP at Stockley Park, from the third quarter 2020.
This would have happened after latency testing this summer at the scheduled rallies in Finland, Mexico which was the last rally held before the UK lockdown and Argentina, and finally a full remote rally test in New Zealand, which was scheduled for 3-6 September but was cancelled in early June as the country's borders remained shut.
As WRC returns post-lockdown with Rally Estonia (4-6 September), those plans have been pushed along also, with testing for its fully remote production for live output to run alongside the new schedule of rallies.
Commented WRC director of content and production, Florian Ruth: Everything [for our live remote production tests] got postponed, unfortunately. Technically it would have been possible [during lockdown], but for me it was too risky. I was missing a few latency tests that I wanted to do.
So our testing starts now for the next races, especially our latency and visibility tests. For the rest of the year we will be doing testing, then we go completely live remote for January 2021 at Rally Monte Carlo, our new season opening.
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's a rally car
Moving forward with Rally Estonia
Estonia will be produced in a similar way to how WRC left the plan in Mexico prior to lockdown, says Ruth. We will still have the live production on site and the post production off-site and more flexible than before. But the operation on site will be very much similar.
Things have been adapted for the health and safety of crew, said Ruth: We have reduced the team and crews and we have different production facilities; last year we launched completely new broadcast pods, which with COVID guidelines and the requirements are not feasible anymore, so we got larger OB vans so we're able to respect social distancing and the guidelines, and work with additional pods for EVS or graphics outside the trucks, even. We don't work with our commentator cabins on site anymore because people were squeezed in together.
No changes have been required post-lockdown for cameras at WRC rallies as those positions at different stages of each race have around 100 metres between each one, so are naturally socially distanced. They are alone in the middle of the forest, so our camera operators during work is not affected, and we need the amount of cameras to cover the action, so this isn't affected, Ruth stated.
From a technology side of things, things are very similar to when we stopped [after WRC Rally Mexico]. The next big major step will be in January 2021 when we start to produce live remotely
What is influenced by COVID health and safety guidelines is those back up positions that would normally be staffed on site. Ruth said: Those additional helpers and additional support; those just were taken out. But that doesn't affect the quality of our production. We're trying to travel with the absolute minimum crew as needed, with no back up positions, no second lines, just the absolute minimum needed, he added.
He continued: On site we follow all the FIA guidelines for those racing events; masks all the time, sanitisers, social distancing, cleaning work areas several times a day, and in general being as protective as possible. Also, we consider the learnings from the Formula 1 races, so we follow those, and have to adapt them to the requirements of the national health authority specifics in every place we go to.
But in general, from a technology side of things, things are very similar to when we stopped [after WRC Rally Mexico]. The next big major step will be in January 2021 when we start to produce live remotely, he stated.
Adding AR to WRC All Live
WRC All Live, the subscription-based OTT service for live footage of each rally and a lot more, already includes fan questions and fan videos, which are permanently integrated into programming. However, WRC is adding more interactivity through WRC All Live for fans, including augmented reality (AR) applications.
WRC launched a completely new OTT digital environment at the beginning of this season on WRC , which so far has only been used for three races in 2020. As it was working so well, it has not been adapted further during lockdown.
However, the team are working on new AR developments for the WRC All Live studio, which moves around with the rallies. Commented Ruth: AR and virtual reality (VR) are apps being used. We are working on new AR elements for our All Live studio. As we have a mobile studio, it will be that [the presenter can] wander around the service park with the possibility to show more AR elements within our studio scenes. It will just be a bit more engaging and a bit more attractive for our viewers; it's just a bit nicer than showing full screen boards and so on.
We've run a few tests already, so that will be used for Rally Estonia, and we will keep developing it. Especially for the interactive part, to include and involve fans in our show; AR is a
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...
12/03/2025
SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...
12/03/2025
Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits.
By
Madd...
12/03/2025
TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...
12/03/2025
The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks
By Matthew Corrig...
12/03/2025
Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months
By Jenny ...
12/03/2025
Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation
Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...
12/03/2025
CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....
12/03/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...
12/03/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...
12/03/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....
12/03/2025
Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14
Brie Clayton March 11, 2025
0 Comments
Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade
During Marc...
12/03/2025
Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
12/03/2025
Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...
12/03/2025
THE PLAYERS Championship 2025: AI Commentary, Shared-Reality Viewing at COSM, La...
12/03/2025
Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...
12/03/2025
Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...
12/03/2025
With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...
12/03/2025
Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...
12/03/2025
Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...