Shooting for the cup
Today one of the most famous stadia in the world – the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – hosts the biggest game in football, the World Cup final.
This significance of this event isn't just about the action that's on the pitch; from the secrecy of past lurking beneath the surface to landmark advances in technology attached, this game has a huge significance that many won't even notice.
From the comfort of your sofa, it seems like any other match, with a few cameras beaming pictures into your lounge in a very similar way to the weekly sporting action.
But in reality it's a huge endeavour which requires hundreds of staff working just to show you 22 sweaty men sprinting around a patch of grass.
"[Broadcasting the World Cup final] is different to a run of the mill football match, because there we're only servicing one customer, maybe two if it's split," said Jeff Coleman, technology manager for Host Broadcast Services (HBS), which provides the TV pictures to the world.
"Here we're servicing the whole planet, and we've got the world's broadcasters here in the compound and at the International Broadcast Centre."
Most will take the main feed from HBS, connecting into a huge buzzing server to get pictures from dozens of cameras and a helicopter – 40 cameras in all, which this year will include Ultra HD (4K) recording for the first time too, all to bring the World Cup final from the iconic Maracana to millions of global eyeballs.
The past supporting the future
This historic stadium looks like many others, a cathedral of plastic seating and clean walkways befitting a modern football ground. But underneath this façade live the old terraces, once home the largest attendance for a single football match: the 1950 World Cup final, when Brazil last hosted the tournament.
These hallowed platforms are being used for this year's final too: they provide the ground over which hundreds of metres of cabling is run below the current stands (stumbled upon by engineers one day who realised the logistical potential of the space), playing a vital role in helping run one of the most complex broadcasting events.
It feels sad to such an historic part of work football reduced to being a cable dumping ground – but at the same time there's a sense of continuity that such an iconic part of the old stadium (which couldn't have been used on health and safety grounds) is still being used in some capacity to entertain millions across the globe.
The Cup in numbers
When walking around the Maracana, even when empty save for a few engineers strolling around, there's an overwhelming sense of the enormous job ahead of this crucial game, one that simply cannot be subject to power outages or other catastrophes.
The commentator you hear will be surrounded by 149 doing the same thing in a special media zone, each with power leads, internet connection, lamps and monitors to allow them to beam across the globe.
But problems do arise – for instance, there was a fire in one of the centres in a warm up game – so how do broadcasters cope?
"Nobody noticed [that we had a fire]," said Coleman. "We always have a plan B so that if something catastrophic happens I can get pictures to the world.
"For instance, we have an incorruptible power supply; we've got four generators running but even if three fail we've got enough power to service what we need.
"In fact we only need one camera at the minimum. As long as we've got one, with audio and commentary, you wouldn't really know the difference."
The key is in the redundancy, with backup cameras on the main platforms surrounded by backup cables, making sure there's always something being beamed out from the match.
"Seriously, if we lose one camera out of 40 it would be tough to see it's gone," said Coleman.
But there's an extra challenge here: one where the next generation of TV viewing is being experimentedon, and doing so at one of the most critical sporting events in the world presents its own challenges too.
The next generation challenge
The next generation of TV is already with us: 4K or Ultra HD is slowly creeping its way into our living rooms, although there's hardly any content to watch on these gargantuan sets yet.
This is why Sony is risking an experiment at an event such as this, proving that it can shoot this pivotal game in 4K and broadcast it back in real time to TV networks around the globe.
There are a number of local broadcasters taking the UHD feed, such as the BBC in the UK, but most are using it to see how whether 4K live TV can actually work, such is the technical step up in bringing the crystal clear pictures across.
That explains why there's a separate control centre dedicated just to the 4K signal – a cramped air-conditioned van in the car park outside the stadium.
It might be a tight fit, but inside it will be putting out proof that UHD broadcasting can work from this control centre.
The team might have a wealth of high end equipment to help create the show, but they also have to slip alongside the main broadcasters in the stadium to use the next generation cameras.
And while they'll get help from HBS, Coleman told us that trialling a new tech was understandably far from the main worry: "The world's feed is my priority and I treat 4K as a welcome guest, but low on the list."
Not that that bothers Robert Thorne, Sony's business development engineer. "From Sony's point of view, 4K and HD are equally important. It's on the same level. HBS are providing the HD feed, so that's their priority."
He seems relaxed about the trial despite the enormous importance on the game, and that's partly because he's been here before: Sony filmed the Confederations Cup, a warm-up tournament for the World Cup, last year in 4K too.
"Compared to what we did in Belo Horizonte [for the Confederations Cup] this is a finished product we're producing. That was more of a trial, and was only used internally."
Why can't I watch it too?
But if this show is being produced like any other live event, and TVs capable of showing it appearing in living rooms across the world, why is it being kept behind closed doors?
"No-one is showing it because there's no mechanism," said Thorne. "The issue is the set top boxes; the encoders [to transmit 4K] exist, but it's the global distribution of the content to the home that the tricky part, slowing [adoption] down.
"That's why events like this are needed, as it allows broadcasters – like the BBC – to do tests."
The good news for those itching for a new level of clarity on their TV is there are other ways of getting the content. Netflix is starting to produce some of its shows in Ultra HD, and while it doesn't show live TV it's still an option for broadcasters in the future.
Thorne confirmed it was something Sony had looked at, but said that it still depended on a number of factors.
"There's just so much data, and [viewers would] need a stable bandwidth" he said, before explaining why it wasn't used at this tournament. "With an event like this you start planning four years ago, so not knowing what the technology is going to be like at the cutting edge."
If you want to see the World Cup in 4K, your options are limited. You could have caught the highlights that were sent back to the UK for retailers to show on the new TVs, or you can wait for the official film of the World Cup, which will be shown in 4K.
This mirrors what was done with HD filming, and while it's not certain that 4K will be the future of TV, it's certainly helping the pictures shown on your screen today, with both Coleman and Thorne confirming that the new lenses and systems trialled for UHD quickly filter down to making the 'normal' HD picture look much better.
And don't think 4K is the only advanced trial here: Japanese broadcasters are filming in 8K, which some believe will be an even more futuristic standard, and Fifa is also shooting the World Cup final in 360 degrees, with the intention of using that experience for tablets and phones to give an integrated feel.
So when you're watching the final, remember you're not just seeing another botched penalty decision or welcome offside flag, you're seeing the fruits of years of labour... and quite possibly a pivotal moment in the future of TV.
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