The computer graphics portions of each race are created using a special 3D program created just for the races. How are they mixed in with the footage you already have?

Virtual Spectator is a real-time application that displays a 3D simulation of the race with a lot of useful information regarding speed and position of the boats and the speed and direction of the wind. We simply use a scan converter from VGA to D1 to bring this animation into the Video Toaster. The race rules are created with LightWave and brought in with ToasterEdit.

How many programmes do you create in a year?

Roughly 400 hours per year.

Was the channel always reliant on the Toaster?

I've been working in the TV market from more than 20 years now, and for people like me that have faced and pushed the migration from analogue TV production to digital TV production, it was impossible for me not to look at these kinds of products with extreme interest. More than any other tool, the Video Toaster used to represent a chimera - a real myth for the exclusive use of the people beyond the ocean. I was really happy to learn news about a forthcoming PAL Toaster.

Right now, with this production, we are only scratching the surface of the product - this is great experience for future ideas and productions with the Toaster. Live switching will be of paramount importance in our future projects and the cheapest broadcast video switcher is double the cost of the Toaster and it only switches.

The 3D boat race software is really cool and can be downloaded from here . How did you link up with the people doing the real-time 3D graphical elements?

Sailing Channel signed an agreement with the internet provider that offers this service in Italy. It's a really important tool because offers the spectator the chance to see what is really happening in the race.

How can people interested in viewing your work find it?
www.sailingchannel.it

Techical data:
Satellite: Eutelsat Hot Bird 5- 13° Est
Transponder n. 129
Downlink Frequency: 11.096 MHZ
Polarisation: Horizontal
Symbol Rate: 27,500 Ms/s
FEC Rate: 3/4
LNB frequency: 9750

Thanks for your time Massimo!