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The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), the largest horse racing venue in China, has begun broadcasting events in HD at its Happy Valley and Sha Tin Racetracks through the use of two newly installed systems from Vizrt (Bergen, Norway). HKJC broadcasts to all betting offices, on their own television channel and throughout the venues via the Viz Arena system.

Viz Arena is powered by Viz Engine 3.2 and composed of Viz Artist 3.2 animation tools and Viz Video 3D control application. Viz Arena enables broadcasters to superimpose static and animated 3D graphics over live coverage of a sports event. It is the same system that was used to enhance coverage of high-profile events such as the Summer Olympic Games.

The HKJC had been broadcasting in SD. "We went with Vizrt because of the company's ability to provide robust services and features in HD," said Oonagh Chan, Head of Broadcasting Services. "We consider the current version of Viz Arena unmatched in quality. And having a support team based here in Hong Kong was invaluable during the integration and installation. Live sports event broadcasting requires a system that is responsive and easy to use because there is no room for mistakes."

During the installation period, the Viz Arena system was calibrated at the Happy Valley and Sha Tin racetracks in two stages. First, camera lenses were calibrated independently from the venue. Later, at the venue, a second calibration took place to achieve the best match between the virtual images and real images.