Mumbai: Doordarshan came up with several innovations to undertake the coverage of the Presidential Fleet Review of the Indian Navy this year. President Ram Nath Kovind reviewed the Indian Navy’s fleet at a ceremonial event at Visakhapatnam on Monday.
The event witnessed the participation of nearly 60 vessels of the navy, including ships from the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Merchant Marine, aircraft from the Navy and the Coast Guard. The Review also commemorated the 75th year of Independence with the theme ‘Indian Navy – 75 years in Service of the Nation.’
Doordarshan’s coverage of the event this year included a vast array of multi-camera set up on land and water with at least 30 cameras in place. Drones with special lenses were used to streamline the broadcast from land and sea while ensuring seamless connectivity. Various elements of the Fleet Review consist of anchorage, a steam past in a mobile column, a flypast and parade of sails, different formations of large columns of vessels etc. All of this was captured by DD cameras deployed on land and sea.
Doordarshan and All India Radio had been preparing for this mega coverage since October 2021. Teams did extensive site surveys and carried out recce around the venue prior to final deployment on land and sea.
Multi-camera setup included special vantage points on the hills, high-rise buildings and near the shorelines of Visakhapatnam. DD crew was positioned at five such critical points to provide Live visuals. The entire coverage was done in HD format.
Grappling with the challenging environment at the sea, the team of DD Engineers by identifying multiple and critical camera positions brought to life the Indian Navy’s full might and prowess. DD crew was deployed on five ships to provide live shots of the president's yacht during the ceremony. Drones, backpacks, wireless, signal streaming, and satellite uplinks were done at the sea to ensure a seamless live broadcast of the event.
HD camcorders and PTZ cameras were deployed on the President’s yacht. To enhance viewers’ experience, specialised lenses and state-of-the-art high-resolution PTZ cameras were installed.
The grandstand master control room was set up at All India Radio Visakhapatnam to receive all the camera sources from the land and sea using RF, backpacks, data links and satellite down-linking.
The high-definition visuals were made more engaging through graphics and a battery of professional commentators who elaborated upon every detail in Hindi and English as the event unfolded, from the AIR control room.
Uninterrupted live coverage running for almost three hours was broadcast on DD National, DD News, DD India and multiple regional channels of DD, starting from 8.30 a.m on 21 February till the end of the events. The entire coverage is also available through live-streaming on DD’s YouTube platforms.
