German broadcast production company HD Broadcast is set to unleash its latest UHD 2 OB truck on the start of the German Football Association (DFB) cup matches for the 2020/2021 season, which are expected to start in mid-September.
The stylish OB, which is one of Germany’s largest, can cope with up to 30 cameras, and was planned and built with Broadcast Solutions. It has an interior space of around 60sqm, offering up to 28 staff members a spacious and relaxed working environment, with some quirky design touches. Even fully occupied there is enough space to move inside the vehicle without crowding.
The 16.5m triple-expanding trailer uses a multi-format production system based on 4K/3G-SDI Quad Link and HD/HDR formats, centred around a Sony XVS 9000 UHD switcher with 160 inputs and 80 outputs, with three ICP-X7000 series control panels (up to 4M/E). HD Broadcast’s new flagship is designed as a trailer with three extensions covering the complete trailer length, thus providing two full control rooms, many engineering and slomo workstations and VIP workplaces. A third control room is available with the support van – another 18m trailer.
It houses 10 EVS VIA servers, located under the desk of control room one – fully air-conditioned and soundproofed, including two EVS X-Files, EVS Multi Review and EVS C-Cast Agent. It also has: five UHD HDR shader desks (using Leader LV5600 waveform monitors); multiple sonoVTS QDP 49in and HDRP 24in UHD/HDR displays; Grass Valley Sirius 576x1152 3G multiformat router (including embedding, de-embedding and frame-synchronisation); Grass Valley UHD/HDR multiviewer; VSM virtual studio manager system; redundant servers; Riedel MediorNet/MetroN Stagebox System with eight stageboxes; Evertz GPS pulse generator (including changeover); Grass Valley IQ modular glue; Nevion RS 422 router; A+V GPS timecode system; IHSE KVM Matrix Draco Tera 64-port; and two Avid Media Composers with Avid Nexis storage and three Mog mxfSpeedrail ingest servers.
For acquisition it is equipped with: Sony HDC 4300 and HDC 2400 cameras; Sony BPU 4000 UHD processing; Canon lenses (UHD 90x, HD 95x, HD 86x, UHD 12x, HD 14x and HD 22x); HD 1200 In Goals camera; HD 1200 Polecam; and Sony SRG 360 PTZ; with a selection of Vinten and Sachtler camera support.
The audio control setup includes: Lawo mc²56-MKIII (32-16C-16 channels); two Lawo UHD core routers with 9000 crosspoints, fully redundant; Lawo Kick Close-Ball System (for automated control for close-ball mixing); Allen Health SQ-5 emergency mixer; Dolby 3x encoder, 3x decoder and Dolby Atmos; Riedel Artist 256x256 including VoIP and AES 67 Bolero intercom; 22x Riedel RSP-1232HL panels; 3x AVT Magic Codec VoIP/ISDN; Mobile LAN interface; Waves Plug-In server; Nevion TC router; Bluetooth audio interface; Lawo Dallis / Riedel stagebox system; Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless microphone system and EM3000 wireless in ear system; with Schoeps ORTF microphones, plus Schoeps and Sennheiser cable microphones.
The large space and volume of equipment are reflected in the technical figures. Broadcast Solutions’ technicians installed around 70km of cable, more than 400 RU of rack space and 23 cable trays in the trailer. UHD 2 is also equipped with a UPS unit, which ensures 15 minutes of autonomous operation of the complete OB in case of a power failure.
“The initial planning provided for a rather tight schedule of 10 months for the construction of the UHD 2,” said Constantin Novotny, CTO and CEO of HD Broadcast. However, having worked with Broadcast Solutions before, he was confident it would be delivered on time, and is happy that it now has “a truly unique production vehicle that will attract a lot of attention in Europe.”
The overarching goal in the design and interior planning was to make working in UHD 2 as pleasant and comfortable as possible, while also providing shorter set-up times. Simultaneously with the commissioning of the new UHD 2, HD Broadcast chose a new corporate design, which is repeatedly taken up in various elements of the OB van, and helps shape the ambience of the workplace.
Design touches include electrically moveable tables and slomo spots, electrical windows, both inside and outside to change brightness, and electrically moveable doors, all providing additional comfort. The air conditioning settings, and lighting mood and type, can be adjusted in every room (within eight ‘climate circles’) to meet user’s preferences.
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