NRK debuts live video-phone reporting on TV

MUMBAI: Can mobile phones be used to transmit video images live and be broadcast on to TV? That is what the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) did when it covered the Vasaloppet ski race on Sunday.
 

NRK reporter Christian Grotnes who took part in the event was equipped with a 3G phone and commented on his own video images six times during the race. It was broadcast on NRK2. And for the the first time, a video was being transmitted live from a mobile phone and broadcast to TV.

“We decided to test this in order to create a more dynamic broadcast. By using a reporter who was also a competitor, we managed to give the viewers a rather unusual perspective on a ski race,” says NRK Sports editor Oyvind Lund. He does not rule out to use the technology again in the future.
 
 

Adds Gunnar Garfor, director of mobile services in NRK’s division of developments: “This enables us to report breaking news live on TV at an earlier stage and keep it going until our normal broadcasting equipment is in place. Having this possibility makes us more flexible in various situations.”