Livewire have designed and built a new range of waterproof HD cameras for the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. Each yacht has five fixed and two handheld 1080i HD cameras, these have been designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the nine-month race.

The fixed cameras are mounted on each of the lower spreaders, the base of the mast, the stern and at the navigation station. All can be controlled from the Media Desk HD console, from an onboard laptop or even remotely from Race HQ.

Camera features include:

• Compact design
• Low power requirement
• Capable of withstanding extreme environment
• Roll Compensation to keep the horizon level as the boat heels over
• Night vision
• Full control of pan & tilt movement and full control of camera settings
• IP based management

Example footage from the cameras onboard the yachts can be seen on the Volvo Ocean Race TV website, one particularly good example of use of the onboard cameras is Il Mostro Gybes

Microphones

Bespoke waterproof microphones have also been designed and built for the yachts. These feature:

• Lightweight machined plastic body
• Detachable windjammer
• 20dB of isolation from structural born vibration
• Integrated pre-amp

HD Stern camera, roll compensated with IR flood	Pan/tilt/zoom HD spreader camera	Roll compensated HD Mast camera	Waterproof microphone