Velux 5 Oceans Race’s Captivating Start Captured By Livewire Digital M-Link Systems

Six of the eight yachts started the solo round-the-world race on Sunday 22nd October, with Alex Thomson, the youngest skipper involved, equipped with Livewire Digital’s M-Link Integrated Media Station (MIMS) on board his Hugo Boss yacht. All the competitors are using Livewire’s M-Link Voyager H.264 AVC software for conducting live interviews and sending back ‘Store and Forward’ video.

The M-Link media system caught on camera the dramatic moments when Alex’s yacht was knocked onto its side, resulting in a broken winch in the cockpit. Amidst all this drama and pressure, Alex managed to record the events and subsequently conduct a live interview, even managing to commentate over captured footage, thanks to the ease of use of M-Link’s advanced features.

Alex Thomson was highly impressed by the M-Link system, exclaiming “Brilliant! I have never been able to do this before - it has completely changed what is possible to broadcast from the yacht. There are some incredible stories to tell and the M-Link system will help make that possible.”

To capture the dramatic on board events, Livewire’s M-Link media system incorporates digital delay technology which buffers the last two minutes of video. By simply pressing a ‘crash' button, the historical video and subsequent events can be recorded automatically to tape ready for inclusion in live interviews or for high quality ‘Store and Forward’ pieces.
In addition, a ‘Diary function’ allows Alex to simply press a button and record his impressions and emotions to camera, building up a video dairy of the voyage.

Tristan Wood, Managing Director of Livewire Digital, explained: “M-Link offers state-of-the-art H.264 AVC codec technology but maintains backward compatibility with previous generations of installed equipment such as the ‘videophone’. This is very important as it allows new technology to be used where possible but does not turn it into a barrier.”

For more information, detailed analysis or images of the yachts or the Livewire Digital equipment, please contact:

Rob Boella – email:rob.boella@livewirepr.com
T: 020 8339 7440 F: 020 8339 7441
Livewire Public Relations, 32 Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 6HX.
Website: www.livewirepr.com

Company contact:
Tristan Wood, Managing Director, Livewire Digital
Email: enquiry@livewire.co.uk
T:01372 731 400 F:01372 731 420
Units 14 & 15, First Quarter, Blenheim Road Epsom.
Website: www.livewire.co.uk