Well we are getting between zero latency and 60Ms (i.e. one frame). And i can say this for sure, as it was my equipment doing the filming. We are using the same RF links that all the other YLE RF cameras are. The only limitations at the moment are the distance away from the receivers. We can easily get 1000m away with a perfect line of sight. The forest does cause major signal problems though, and is the one reason that Timo Mikkola wasn’t also carrying Live gear. There is a few options that we can fix for this in the future, and that is by having some cranes up above the tree line providing a relay for the signal, or by using drones as the relay point. Using a drone at the moment is tough though given the limited battery time.

As for zoom, on our cinema rigs at the moment, we can easily pull x10 zoom with no affect on vibrations.

There is one company that has some beta testing going on at the moment in regards to spacially aware kopters. It is still very early days though. Is it possible for orienteering in the future, yes of course, but it won’t be for many years until it would actually be finanically viable for our sport. Also in my opinion there are other factors in play. Having flying kopters around runners at head height, is both a distraction to them, and a big safety issue. An above tree top view, plus running cams on the ground is the way to go….

About the drones following people. I wouldn’t rule it out in a sparse forest. If the right software engineers have interest (or are paid) to get it done, it could be done even today. With the live GPS data from runners, they could even be followed in a denser forest, by flying above the dense parts, especially if the forest density data from O-map is also fed in.

About the zoom. You’d need to carry much heavier lens to get quality zoom. Also, take into account that on longer lens each vibration is much more visible.

Drones flying at ground level, in a follow me mode without hitting stuff is many many years away. However that wasn’t my point, drones can still be up above the treeline, providing quality footage. There is also a technique called Zoom, which if you have never heard of, may mean that we can actually see more than just dots moving in the forest…..

I still remember back in 2012 in the WOC Mens Relay, 2 controls from the end, there was Lundanes, Holmberg and Prochazka still together. Yes we had the GPS map which was Live, but of course as we know the GPS certainly has a massive delay. Thus while we are all looking at them bunched together at the 2nd last control on the big screen GPS, Prochazka storms out of the forest with a lead. Drones following them from above here would have shown you the true distances the gaps were. You might not like that view, but it certainly would have interested me as a TV viewer.

I agree that more ground cameras are needed, and i spent 7hrs at Jukola running with one also, but there are limitations. I would have happily run entire legs with runners if we could have sorted an HD link back to the OB Van, but at the moment this is just not possible. At the rate technology is going though, maybe its possible in the next few years. Even if it means, using the dreaded drone, as the relay above for the HD signal…

As cameras get smaller, having actual cameras on say the top 20 teams may also be an option, but we still need to wait for the technology to let us actually be able stream it thru thick forest.

I can’t agree with your “thousands of inconspicuous cameras” in the forest though. That would be like watching Discovery Channel and waiting for some rare endangered tiger to come across in front of the sensor so that we can see its rear end for all of 2 seconds…. Plus it would be a tad expensive…

I do agree with more Running Cameraman, and that is something that we are working on. I had actually tried to get some more guys to run with cameras for me this year, but would always run into the issue, that the only guys that i wanted, or felt were quick enough, were still needed by their club teams to race. Giving a 75yr runner a camera cos he wants to help out, isn’t going to give you the shots that you desire. Its a catch 22.

We are trying to improve the TV aspect of the sport, and to be honest, i think its a hell of a lot better than it was a few years ago. Thats only a plus isn’t it??