Several tech developments at the Las Vegas show focused on straightforward ways to bring cinematic imagery to sports coverage
The annual TV tech tradeshow NAB 2025 has just come to an end in Las Vegas, with one of the standout developments being the proliferation of products aimed at bringing filmic images to live sports.
Digital film camera manufacturer Red showcased its Cine-Broadcast Module, which enables its cinematic cameras, the V-Raptor XL [X], V-Raptor [X], V-Raptor and V-Raptor XL camera systems, to slot into live broadcasting workflows.
This makes it possible to shoot sports footage with filmic shallow-depth-of-field and, as part of the live production workflow, create beautiful filmic slow-motion shots.
The slo-mo images are created through integration with EVS’s XT-VIA live production server, creating visually striking 4x super-slow-motion at 4K and 8x super-slow-motion at 1080p.
CBS Sports will be integrating the Cine-Broadcast Module into some of its productions, showcasing the high cinematic image quality of the Red camera systems.
“Red is excited to share our groundbreaking Cine-Broadcast Module on the NAB show floor this year,” said Red CEO Keiji Oishi. “This innovative technology will enhance productions worldwide by seamlessly blending cinematic and live broadcast imagery.”
EVS product marketing manager Ignacio Revuelto, adds: “This paves the way for cinematic quality cameras to elevate sports productions.”
Rather than creating a module for an existing camera, Grass Valley went a step further with the launch of the LDX 180 – a large imager camera designed specifically for live production workflows.
The LDX 180 “brings the artistry of cinematic storytelling into fast-paced live production environments, delivering true cinematic depth of field with all the speed and precision of a broadcast camera,” says Grass Valley.
The camera is built on the company’s LDX 100 Series camera platform, so it fits directly into Grass Valley’s existing live production workflows, reducing setup time.
“The LDX 180 is the only large imager camera that delivers cinematic storytelling without compromising speed, connectivity, or workflow integration,” explains Paul de Bresser, Product Manager for Cameras at Grass Valley. “This is not just another retrofitted cinematic camera, the LDX 180 has been purpose-built for the realities of live workflows, bringing greater emotional depth to live productions and enabling broadcasters to unlock new capabilities in cinematic storytelling for sports, concerts, and drama productions.”
Meanwhile, as well as working with Red on integrating its cameras into live sports production, EVS also used NAB to demonstrate a recent update to its XtraMotion platform that creates a cinematic effect by simulating a shallow depth of field from images captured with a traditional live production system camera.
XtraMotion takes under three seconds to apply the super slow-motion effect, even when combined with other effects such as deblur.
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