Macs power poker coverage

Among the many curiosities on display this week at NAB is the unique creation of the Italian company Clonwerk, called U-Bet. The company has rigged a full-sized card table, complete with playing cards and poker chips embedded with sensors, to automate the broadcast of poker tournaments. The system is totally Mac-based.

U-Bet automatically displays each player's hands, bets as they are made, and continuously totals up wins and losses. The information is stored in a database that can be instantly accessed by a broadcast director for on-air use. The system also comes with a video/audio module that supports recording, editing and real-time graphics to reduce post production time.

So far the company says it doesn't yet have a deal with a US broadcaster to use the technology, but is working on it. Clonwerk specializes in soup-to-nuts broadcast solutions, creating everything from the graphics to the database software and broadcast hardware.

by MacNN Staff