BLACKMAGIC REPLAY USED FOR WORLD PARA ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS

  Workflow Production upgrades replay workflow for the event, improving efficiency and quality.

Manchester, United Kingdom - Monday, October 6, 2025 - Debuting at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Paralympics, Para ice hockey quickly became a favorite among audiences thanks to its high action, physicality and quick gameplay. Following the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) with some modifications, players use double blade sledges, under which the puck can pass, along with two sticks incorporating a spiked end for pushing and a bladed end for shooting.

With each game consisting of three 15 minute periods, matches are fast paced and dynamic, requiring not only a solid live production workflow for broadcasts, but one that is flexible and efficient, especially when it comes to replays. Thailand based production studio Workflow Production took these requirements into consideration when it came to live streaming the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Bangkok. Upgrading to Blackmagic Replay marked a significant step in improving the efficiency and quality of replays for its live production clients.

“We were already familiar with Blackmagic Design before this event, having previously used its gear in multiple international sporting events, including a multitude of national and world table tennis events and championships,” said Workflow Production Owner Natthanaphon Chokapinunthana. “Our prior experience with Blackmagic products made it easier to integrate the Blackmagic Replay system for live replays within the event’s stream and broadcast, ensuring smooth operation and familiarity with the workflow.”

A SCALABLE AND EFFICIENT REPLAY SYSTEM

The World Para Ice Hockey Championships were broadcast live on multiple digital platforms, including the official Facebook and YouTube channels of the sport’s federation and several national sports associations, as well as aired on sports channel TSport, ensuring that the matches reached a wide audience, providing accessibility for both local and international viewers. Workflow Production was responsible for live streaming to Facebook and YouTube, sharing a program feed with the local TV station for the additional platforms.

“Blackmagic Replay was chosen for its superior system flexibility compared to our previous setup, which used a replay software along with a hardware system that was heavily limited due to the mainboard's eight slot PCIe. The limited number of slots restricted the number of DeckLink 8K cards that could be installed, ultimately capping the number of camera inputs and complicating the process of sending output back to the switcher. Blackmagic Replay effectively resolved these hardware limitations by offering a more scalable and efficient solution,” explained Chokapinunthana.

According to Chokapinunthana, Blackmagic Replay also provided several additional advantages, including better resource management, especially for storage. “Its dedicated monitoring tools allowed operators to recheck the hard disk usage and replay performance in real time,” Chokapinunthana said. “Also, having a built in replay interface eliminated the need for third party plugins or workarounds; Blackmagic Replay is an all in one solution. Finally, faster turnaround during editing was paramount. The operators instantly accessed clips, trimmed them as needed, and exported them directly without additional steps.”

CAPTURING THE ACTION ON THE ICE

For the live stream, three Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 cameras, as well as Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K digital film cameras, captured the action on the ice, all feeding into an ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher complete with an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 10.

“The URSA Broadcast G2 was chosen for its versatility, with cinematic applications during live productions. It offers a cost effective solution without compromising on image quality and professional features, making it a highly efficient option for large scale sports productions,” noted Chokapinunthana. “We have consistently used ATEM switchers, recently upgrading to the ATEM Constellation 8K for its higher input/output capacity, allowing more cameras and video sources to be connected simultaneously. With its expanded I/O options, it’s perfect for handling a complex multicamera production such as this event.”

For the replay workflow, HyperDeck Studio HD Mini, HyperDeck Studio HD Plus, HyperDeck Studio HD Pro, and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro broadcast decks provided URSA Broadcast G2 and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K recording into shared storage via a Blackmagic Cloud Store Mini 8TB network storage solution, with an UltraStudio 4K Mini capture and playback device and DaVinci Resolve Replay Editor control panel driving replay generation in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

“We optimized the setup by integrating HyperDeck recorders, ensuring that recorded footage was managed effectively and aligned with the specific needs of the production. This approach not only enhanced replay quality but also improved overall workflow efficiency,” said Chokapinunthana.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of working on this event was the challenge of designing the production workflow, particularly in terms of camera positioning and system integration to deliver visually compelling shots,” concluded Chokapinunthana. “The team took great pride in ensuring that the final output was visually appealing to both the audience and the organizing sports federation. Successfully executing a large scale live sports broadcast with precise camera angles and seamless technical operations was a highly satisfying experience.”

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Product photos of URSA Broadcast G2, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, ATEM Constellation 8K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel 10, HyperDeck Studio HD Mini, HyperDeck Studio HD Plus, HyperDeck Studio HD Pro, HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro, Cloud Store Mini 8TB, UltraStudio 4K Mini, DaVinci Resolve Replay Editor, DaVinci Resolve Studio, DeckLink 8K Pro and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/media/images

ABOUT BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk

 

 

 

 

