Recently, the finals of the 2024 Wuhan Open concluded, with Sabalenka becoming the tournament's "Queen of Defending Titles" and the first three-time winner of the Wuhan Open; Chinese player Zheng Qinwen fought hard for three sets to win the runner-up title, marking her first appearance in a WTA 1000-level final and achieving her personal best. It is understood that after being upgraded to the WTA 1000 level, the Wuhan Open is second only to the four Grand Slams and is now one of the three highest-level tennis tournaments in China. On the court, players such as Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu, Sabalenka, and Gauff presented the audience with a series of exciting matches; while in the studio, many players and guests gathered to discuss their enthusiastic experience of the Wuhan Open.
Hubei Radio and Television Station, in collaboration with Sobey, created a true 3D virtual "Wuhan Open Salon", based on Sobey's Meta.Lux immersive virtual studio and live broadcast solution. A lightweight, professional-grade virtual studio was built at the Wuhan Optics Valley International Tennis Center for recording the interview program "Wuhan Open Salon" and for virtual photo opportunities for VIP viewers. The "Wuhan Open Salon" program is broadcast and distributed on Hubei Life Channel, Hubei Economic Channel Live, and more than ten other partner broadcasting channels, making the Wuhan Open's reach wider.
Ye Mao, Director of the Economic and Social Resources Department of Hubei Radio and Television Station, gave Sobey high praise:
The outstanding technology, excellent service, and professional team made our lives very worry-free, and the program effect and social response far exceeded our expectations! The lightweight virtual studio system is simple and easy to use, the virtual scene design of the meeting room is stylish and grand, and the animation effects are cool. The cloud media assets have a very fast upload and download speed and strong usability. In addition, in addition to providing technical support, the Sobey on-site team also actively helped the guests and VIP customers invited by the station to experience a warm and welcoming reception and thoughtful viewing services, which won unanimous praise from the customers!
This year's "Wuhan Open Salon" has the following highlights:
Numerous matches, exceeding the time limit
During the Wuhan Open, the virtual studio system supported Hubei Economic and Social Television in completing more than 15 interview programs for the "Wuhan Open Meeting Room", far exceeding the program team's pre-match recording plan. The interview guests included: Ms. Brenda, WTA1000 Tournament Director; Wang Tao, Co-Tournament Director of the Wuhan Open; the Wuhan Open Chief Referee; Canadian player Fernandez; and many Olympic champions such as Liu Huixia, Sun Jiajun, Chang Yani, Wang Zhouyu, and Wang Zongyuan.
Technological innovation, heterogeneous primary and backup
This year's "Wuhan Open Salon" virtual studio system adopts panoramic + close-up dual physical camera shooting and real-time directing, seamlessly meeting the shooting needs of interview programs; at the same time, based on the Meta.Lux flagship version + Lite version dual engine, and through SDI + NVI dual signal links to achieve a physical heterogeneous master and backup mode, it realizes safe and reliable 3D virtual studio recording of sports event interview programs.
Cloud sharing, high-speed transmission
To solve the problem of quickly returning the recorded footage and source materials to the station and distributing them to the joint broadcasting station and CCTV video, the Frame.Lux cloud sharing and collaboration system based on the public cloud is adopted. Through the full opening of available bandwidth in cloud object storage and the high-speed upload and download provided by the on-site 5G link, it provides the background video data transmission with faster and more secure audio and video media file transmission capabilities than commercial cloud storage.
Multi-purpose hall, combining professional recording and interactive check-in
It's worth mentioning that, in addition to being used for recording exclusive interview programs, the "Wuhan Open Salon" also provides VIP-level interactive services—VIP clients and viewers can take photos with top international tennis players in the virtual scene of the salon, and take photos with well-known hosts, capturing the most beautiful moments and historical moments in the "Wuhan Open Salon." The photos can also be downloaded via WeChat QR code. During the tournament, hundreds of people, including provincial and municipal leaders, the director of the broadcasting station, Olympic champions, Wuhan Open staff, well-known hosts, special guests, and VIP viewers, virtually checked in, making it another highlight of the Wuhan Open.
On-the-spot recording, solving pain points
By building a lightweight virtual studio system at the event site, not only can the professional recording effect of the on-site studio be achieved, but it also effectively solves the key pain points of the previous on-site recording mode—the uncertainty of player time and the long travel time for guests. Furthermore, the recording time is more flexible, allowing for on-the-spot recording, seizing more interview opportunities without affecting athletes' participation, and enriching the program content.
The successful completion of this year's "Wuhan Open Salon" program is another important demonstration of the Sobey Meta.Lux virtual studio system + Frame.Lux cloud-based shared service technology. It effectively solves key pain points of traditional on-site studios, such as long setup cycles, complex systems, high costs, limited presentation effects, and difficulties in material transmission. It not only revolutionizes the traditional studio live broadcast format but also represents a brand-new attempt at future virtual live interactive formats.
In the future, Sobey will continue to work with industry clients to provide solid technical support and cutting-edge solutions for exciting audiovisual content, helping to present the infinite possibilities of beautiful audiovisual experiences.
