When Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium and CTV News began planning their coverage of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, the question (a challenge, really) was: "How do we cover the relay every step of the way, live?"

There was a lot of shaking of heads. "Can't be done," some said. "Beyond our technological reach," said others. Current satellite trucks cannot transmit while moving and the cost of transmission 10 hours a day for more than 100 days would be astronomical.

Then someone suggested calling Toronto breaking news channel CP24, which had started experimenting with a new video transmission technology.

CP24 was sending back live reports from their news vans and going live from Toronto street cars using a box the size of a suitcase. Inside the black box (literally) is a maze of wires, circuit boards and processors that takes video from a camera, encodes it and sends it back to the station using cellphone carrier networks or Wi-Fi hotspots.

The result is near-broadcast quality video thanks to the magic of the software and the hardware configuration that's able to combine several cellphone network frequencies and any available Wi-Fi bandwidth to produce a high-quality picture.

Starting in Nova Scotia, the Olympic Torch Cam is following the relay along the entire route from Halifax to Vancouver. When the torch is driven between towns and relay teams, the camera will be looking down the road at the varied and ever-changing landscape that is the Torch route.

Alon Marcovici, Vice President, Digital Media and Research for the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, says, "We are giving Canadians all the tools they need to experience the Games and share in the pride and emotion of the Torch Relay as it crosses the country".

Onboard the Torch Relay pace vehicle, Media 1, Web journalist Patrick O'Keefe and Daniel Fricker are Tweeting in English and French, providing a running commentary.

There is also a Facebook chat feature on the page, which allows viewers to share their thoughts and observations on the run.

CTV.ca Executive Producer Mark Sikstrom, who helped get the project off the ground, says, "There is something compelling about the Torch Cam video. It's a vicarious way to experience the relay and you can't help but get caught up in the enthusiasm that the Torch inspires along the route."

But the technology also has implications for news gathering beyond the Olympics.

"It has opened a world of new possibilities. I can see this technology being used on election tour buses, on helicopters, on the scene of major breaking news from almost anywhere in the country. It's a breakthrough," says Sikstrom.

Which just goes to show that when someone shakes their head and says, "We can't do that," make sure you say, "Why not?"

On Wednesday at around 5:30 p.m. ET, the technology will capture a 22-year-old man from Cole Harbour, whose ferocious athleticism has made him an icon of the modern NHL -- Sidney Crosby.

As he jogs a few hundred metres with the Torch in Halifax, hundreds are expected to line the streets. But thanks to the Torch Cam video, the cutting-edge technology will allow thousands of fans across the country to cheer him on.