Racing Queensland has recently been on the air with Tactic Live from RT Software for their innovative trotting rods. They can now show a series of virtual images that are displayed live during their race broadcasts to enhance the action for the burgeoning audience.
The project was initiated by PSP, who partnered with Racing Queensland to deliver the solution. Tony Barletta, company directorexplains: “Racing Queensland is a company that is constantly evolving and innovating. They brought this new Trot Rods concept to the racing market and it has been a huge success. Once the concept was proven to be commercially viable, Racing Queensland wanted to improve presentation levels to enhance the action for the audience.They were looking for live timing, sponsor images and distance markers, all of which need to be encoded over live video in a range of lighting conditions, which can be challenging.A feature that has gone down very well, is the previous best time marker.It is a live line marker that shows the previous best time moving with the action as the riders approach the finish line.It really makes clear how far the current racers’ pace is.
“We looked at all the big names in broadcast graphics, but there were a few notable reasons for going with RT Software. They already had their own software technology in-house, while some other vendors relied on third-party vendors. We really had to keep it simple, so this was a big advantage for us. In addition, they opted for a true partnership approach for the proof of concept phase and offered attractive financing.
“We knew that RT software is at the forefront of their field, and they were able to show us past similar projects that also gave us confidence that we were making the right choice.”
Tony continues: “Our additional challenge was that the project was started when the Covid pandemic prevented travel, but RT Software was great and continued to deliver the proof of concept for us completely remotely. This allowed our client to see how it would work and have confidence in what they were investing in. It was signed off quickly and then the fully working system was also installed remotely.
“We are very pleased with the robustness of the system and how quickly we can set it up. We move the system between different locations, so we trust it will work the first time. The recalibration only takes a few minutes and then we are good to go.”
David Brick is Senior Racing Manager at Racing Queensland, “Innovation has been at the forefront of our broadcasts in recent years. This includes the introduction of the driver cam; drone vision; telemetry; and race caller-to-driver interviews. With the TAB Trot Rods continuing to draw attention, we wanted to explore new ways to bring our product to television audiences, including new on-screen graphics. The line-to-beat in particular was well received and we look forward to continuing to improve our broadcast product.”
Mike Fredriksen, Commercial Director at RT Software, “This has been a great project to work on, despite the complications of Covid. We place great emphasis on the personal relationship we build with customers and it is great to hear that Tony at PSP and David at Racing Queensland are seeing such positive results from this partnership.”
