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Sports Broadcasting Technology

FiberPlex Optical Cables Prove Superior to Copper Wiring at NFL Pro Bowl

January 31, 2014

(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)

For anyone who watched Last Sunday's Pro Bowl all-star game, they probably noticed the presence of a steady rainfall. However, the rain affected more than just the players' grips on the ball – it impacted the copper cabling for cameras and microphones as well. The excessive moisture buildup caused the copper cabling to have a few fumbles of its own, but a backup system of fiber optics recovered the ball and saved the program from errors.


This year at the Pro Bowl, the audio reinforcement team had installed a MADI-to-optic conversion box made by FiberPlex technologies. The conversion box allowed them to run fiber optic cables and a FiberPlex audio snake all over the stadium to carry audio signals as a backup system.

Jeff Kang works with Custom Audio in Kaneohe Hawaii, and has provided the Pro Bowl with sound reinforcement for over a decade. This was the first year he had used FiberPlex as a backup in the event that the copper wire snake failed, and continued rain caused the system to glitch out. According to Kang, “The problem was that [the copper snake] would constantly switch between primary and backup because of the condensation.” On the other hand, the fiber systems were unaffected by the rainfall. Kang placed so much trust in these systems that he did not bother having a backup in case it, too, failed..

Even better was the fact that setup for the fiber optics consisted of only a few strands that filled the same role as a 40-pair, 500-pound snake, allowing the crew to dismantle the sound system faster than ever. Kang's team was very excited by the efficiency, with Kang commenting that “My crew looked at me and said, 'We got out of here two hours faster than we normally do.'”

All in all, it appears that fiber optics from FiberPlex provide a significant clear advantage over copper wiring, cementing them in the NFL Pro Bowl technology hall of fame.




Edited by Blaise McNamee