CCS Presentation Systems—a Mesa, AZ-based integrator—is building an esports demo room in its newly built U.S. headquarters. The space is outfitted with all the technology a modern gaming production needs, including Sony’s point-of-view (POV) and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras.
Already on a steady rise in recent years with many long-term market and revenue estimates in the billion-dollar range, the COVID-forced sports lockdown accelerated esports’ spread during a time when other traditional live events were dark. With esports now attracting larger audiences, and lucrative sponsorships, esports producers are recognizing the heightened expectations of viewers and advertisers. With an eye on reliability and capturing unique content and vantage points, CCS selected Sony’s cameras based on the reputation synonymous with the brand, their strong history and alignment with the company, as well as the streaming capabilities via H.264.
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The new 800-square-foot CCS Esports Center highlights the full range of CCS resources ahead of a major gaming tournament the company is hosting in fall 2024. The two new Sony cameras—an SRG-XP1 compact 4K 60P IP POV remote camera and SRG-X120 4K 30P PTZ network camera—were selected to establish esports tournaments and events as a live event platform.
“Our Esports Twitch stream originally only showed the matches in progress and the shout-casters (Esports commentators),” said Abe Assad IV, the esports lead at CCS. “We also wanted to showcase the Center and add excitement to the matches by cutting to the players and fans periodically. The Sony cams give our gaming productions a more dynamic feel with a choice of multiple angles in incredible image quality.”
Since their installation last fall, the CCS team has noticed the cameras’ ability to deliver an enhanced entertainment experience for remote viewers as well as reinforce CCS’ visibility across the esports world.
The Esports Center has seating for a dozen fans and all matches are live streamed on the CCS Twitch channel. Sony’s PTZ camera is mounted above the audience seating, and the remote camera is positioned to capture “down the line” shots between two rows of computer stations. Both models are used during live Twitch streams to show a wide shot of the room and a full view of the players at their stations.
CCS is using the SRG-XP1 as a static camera, capturing wide-angle, full room shots that showcase the camera’s field of view (FOV) capabilities.
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“The camera is only a few feet from the first line of players, but they are easily captured with a naturally framed image,” said Assad. “The farthest players are about 30 feet from the camera and are still discernable at that range. The camera picks up the audience in the background and it produces a good fill shot of the entire space while we cut from the PTZ between movements.”
The SRG-X120 PTZ has a dual-purpose role, with the CCS team moving it between tight shots and zoom shots throughout the room to include the shout-casters.
“The shout-caster station is across the entire room from the X120 and when we zoom in for close shots, there’s no difference in quality from the wider shots,” said Assad. “That’s even more surprising considering the low light of the space.”
The new national headquarters and Esports Center rank among the company’s more notable projects for several reasons, and not just the unique distinction of CCS being the integrator and the customer. CCS spent more than two years finding the right location to match their vision and exacting standards. From the initial planning phase, several critical points were priorities, including customer experience, modern technology, and variety. The entire facility houses a range of environments: a first floor Customer Experience Center, conference and training rooms, huddle spaces, multiple Unified Communications room, and, of course, the Esports Center.
CCS needed cameras that could produce and send images from the Esports space to other areas such as the onsite café and lounge, so players and fans remain involved even when they are not in the gaming venue.
“Without any color adjustments these shots felt natural without requiring any detailed color matching,” Assad said. “What we see with our eyes has been very accurate, even in this challenging space.”
He added that while the new Center is a gaming haven for fans and players, it’s a less than ideal situation for capturing content.
“It’s low light, with splashes of bright colored lighting placed in the room with zero consideration given to camera sensitivity,” Assad said. “The Sony cameras reproduce details, shadows, and colors as if they were in ideal studio lighting.”
For all the benefits CCS has realized using the new cameras, they are also aware there’s still untapped potential. The team is not using the cameras’ 4K capability since the video is compressed into a window and then broadcast over Twitch. But Assad noted that as their internet streaming bandwidth expands, 4K may come more into play.
“We’re interested in anything that makes our stream more engaging,” said Assad. “The fact that viewers can see the whole room and the players during matches adds to the excitement of play. And, of course, the potential exposure to new customers is a huge plus for us.”
