Panasonic’s High Definition Equipment to be Used as Video Shooting and Recording System for Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games
First Full HD Broadcast of Olympic Winter Games
Following Success In Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Panasonic’s DVCPRO HD Series And P2 HD Series Will Capture Olympic Highlights In Vancouver
Panasonic announced that Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver (OBSV), the Host Broadcaster, will use the P2 HD series with solid-state memory cards for video recording equipment to support the broadcast of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As in the Beijing Games, Panasonic’s “DVCPRO HD” will be used as the recording format.
All international video delivered from the International Broadcast Center (IBC) — which will reside within the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center in February 2010 — to the rights-holding broadcasters around the world, will be produced and distributed in 1080i High-Definition (HD) format. Following the HD standard of excellence set by Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 will be the first Winter Olympic Games captured with HD (1080i) equipment.
Panasonic’s digital technologies, which have been used as the official recording format in nine Olympiads, starting with the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, will capture High-Definition video with superb sound quality for distribution by broadcasters to TV viewers worldwide during the Vancouver Winter Games as well.
“Since Barcelona 1992, Panasonic has been contributing to the video capture and recording of the Olympic Games as an official broadcast equipment supplier with its state-of-the-art technology,” said Tadao Shimozuru, Director of Professional AV Systems Business Unit, Systems Business Group, in Panasonic Corp.’s AVC Networks Company. “In the HD age, Panasonic will provide tapeless and High Definition video equipment during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, including the P2 HD series camcorders and related equipment incorporating the latest video codec ‘AVC-Intra,’ in addition to the proven ‘DVCPRO HD’ format. The P2 HD series employs reusable, solid-state memory based on a no-moving-parts design, which has significantly reduced the need for replacing parts, unlike conventional tape-based and disc systems. In this sense, they can be considered products that do not produce waste, including boxes of used video tapes. We are convinced that our broadcast equipment will contribute to the environment-oriented Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.”
“As in Beijing 2008, during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, everything will be broadcast from the venues in High Definition,” said Manolo Romero, OBSV’s CEO. “We are confident that for Vancouver 2010 we will be able to capitalize on the experience we gained in Beijing 2008 by providing reliable and efficient, high-quality video broadcast to TV viewers around the globe.”
Panasonic’s advanced HD imaging technologies will make it possible for TV broadcast viewers around the world to share the excitement of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games through the company’s latest flat panel VIERA HDTVs and Home Theater Systems. HD video can also be recorded with Panasonic’s DIGA Blu-ray Disc recorder (where available) so that the excitement of the events can be reproduced any time.
Source: Panasonic
Deloitte Announces Sponsorship of U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams
Official Professional Services Sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams
Deloitte announced its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, as well as the 2011 U.S. Pan American Team and the 2010 U.S. Team for the Youth Olympic Games. As a result of its commitment to provide the strengths of its organization for maximum social impact, Deloitte and its subsidiaries will provide support to help the USOC and U.S. Teams operate efficiently and successfully throughout their journey to the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan Am and Youth Olympic Games.
As the Official Professional Services Sponsor of audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services, Deloitte’s subsidiaries will contribute by offering a variety of in-kind professional services to the USOC.
“We believe the business community has a powerful role to play in answering the call to service to help nonprofit organizations deliver results,” said Barry Salzberg, CEO, Deloitte LLP. “There is no better opportunity to put the intellectual capital and business knowledge of our people to work than through the delivery of our exceptional professional services capabilities for the strategic, operational, and financial benefit of the USOC and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls.”
“We are proud to welcome Deloitte to our family of sponsors and appreciate the expertise and support they bring in preparing America’s athletes for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Stephanie Streeter, USOC Acting Chief Executive Officer. “This contribution and the breadth of capabilities they bring will be instrumental in our mission to enable America’s athletes to realize their Olympic and Paralympic dreams.”
Deloitte’s core values – integrity, strength from cultural diversity, and commitment to each other – are reflected in the Olympic Movement. In addition to Deloitte, other member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have committed to the international Olympic Movement. Deloitte Canada is the Official Professional Services Supplier to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and Deloitte UK is the Official Professional Services Provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Separately, subsidiaries of Deloitte have been engaged to provide pro bono services to Chicago 2016 which is bidding for the right to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
USOC
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games. In addition to being the steward of the U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.
Source: Deloitte
Grandson of Jesse Owens Delivers Chicago 2016 Bid Book to IOC
Hand-Crafted Symbols of Chicago Children’s Hopes and Dreams Accompany Submission
Chicago 2016 submitted the official Candidature File to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Chicago’s bid book was hand-delivered by Chicago-native Stuart Owen Rankin, grandson of four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Owens who participated in the 1936 Olympic Games. The bid book contains hand-crafted Chicago stars drawn by children from the Jesse Owens Community Academy, who participated in a send-off event last Friday and shared their hopes and dreams for bringing the Games to Chicago in 2016.
“As a Chicago native and the grandson of Olympian Jesse Owens, I am honored to be involved in this process and am committed to Chicago’s efforts to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Rankin. “I believe that Chicago is an ideal choice for the Games due to its diversity, respect and appreciation for sport, and the legacy that the Games will provide in our communities and for the Olympic Movement.”
A group of supporters gathered at O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday, waving signs and cheering as Rankin departed with the bid book. He arrived in Lausanne on Thursday and visited the Olympic Museum, where his grandfather’s photographs and track shoes are on display, and delivered the bid book to the IOC Headquarters.
At a press conference on Friday, Chicago 2016 plans to reveal the contents of the bid book, which is a response to the 227 questions posed to all bid cities by the IOC. The Committee will discuss key areas of the Candidature File, including environment, urban sport, and community and Games legacy.
“Tomorrow we have the opportunity to reveal a more colorful picture of our plan for a spectacular Games experience,” said Chicago 2016 chairman and CEO Patrick Ryan. “This has been an exciting and historic week, and having the Owens family as part of this milestone has made it even more meaningful.”
Chicago’s plan places the athlete at the center of the Games — with the Games in the heart of the city — and then surrounds the sport competition with a festival of friendship designed to deliver a spectacular Games experience for one and all.
Chicago 2016′s compact, sustainable plan takes advantage of existing infrastructure for accommodations and transport and maximizes the use of existing and temporary venues. 22 of 27 venues are temporary venues or those which already exist. The venues for 22 sports (eighty-five percent), the IBC/MPC, the Olympic Family hotel and accommodations for all key constituent groups are located within an 8 km Olympic Ring.
The Olympic Village is the center of Chicago 2016′s plan, placing 90 percent of the athletes within 15 minutes or less of their competition venues and training sites.
The IOC Evaluation Commission will visit Chicago April 2-8, 2009. IOC members and subject matter experts will be in town to review all aspects of Chicago’s bid, including the proposed venues, and to experience the city firsthand.
Chicago 2016
Chicago 2016 is a 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to seek the privilege of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Chicago. The committee’s board consists of business, civic, athletic, cultural and academic leaders representing Chicago and the surrounding Midwest region. Patrick Ryan serves as the organization’s chairman and CEO.