Details of the kit that will be included in new Ultra High Definition (UHD) OB trucks being built by Arena Tele vision and NEP Visions is starting to emerge.

As Broadcast has previously reported, Arena is spending £20m on three trucks: OBX, OBY and OBZ. At NAB, it was revealed that each one will feature an IP-core and will use of Grass Valley LDX 86N series 4K cameras with XF fibre base stations.

Also included will be the manufacturer’s Kayenne K-Frame switchers, GV Convergent IP/SDI router control and configuration systems, and iControl facility monitoring.

The first of the new fleet, OBX, will support up to 32 cameras and will be built around a Cisco IP switch running 10GigE and, where enabled, 40GigE. It will be capable of handling both baseband and IP.

Arena group managing director Richard Yeowart said: “We believe that basing our infrastructure on emerging technology will deliver the most powerful and advanced OB trucks in the world, capable of providing the service and flexibility customers will be expecting and demanding in the coming years.”

At the same time, NEP Visions is configuring four OB units that are UHD/HD switchable. Each one will include a Platinum IP3 router from Imagine Communications to provide signal distribution, audio multiplexing and de-multiplexing, multi-viewing and test and measurement, along with routing capabilities. The Platinum IP3 will support both SDI and IP.

Also included in the build are various Selenio signal processing, monitoring and distribution modules, including the MCP, 6800+, X100 and X50.

In November 2015, a fi re at Visions’ UK HQ resulted in the loss of equipment and trucks worth “tens of millions of pounds”, including a large inventory of cameras, lenses and six OB vehicles.

Topics