Qatar-based sports broadcaster Al Kass has expanded its outside broadcast fleet with the addition of two new large trailers that include full-length expansion. The new trucks were supplied and integrated by Grass Valley. The trailers, which are worth more than US $15 million, will enable Al Kass to undertake production capabilities on a much larger […]
Qatar-based sports broadcaster Al Kass has expanded its outside broadcast fleet with the addition of two new large trailers that include full-length expansion. The new trucks were supplied and integrated by Grass Valley.
The trailers, which are worth more than US $15 million, will enable Al Kass to undertake production capabilities on a much larger scale than it presently does.
Although the vans (OB3 and OB4) will be based in Doha, the trucks will travel all around the region, particularly to neighbouring countries like the United Arab Emirates, where sport is constantly produced.
GV often works with local systems integrators to build OB vans but these two trucks were specially built for Al Kass at Grass Valleys OB facility in Weiterstadt, Germany.
“Such OBs that include complex expansion over the full trailer length are always built at the GV competence centre in Germany,” explains Wolfgang Heil, head of OB Van Competence Centre, Grass Valley.
He adds that air conditioning was one of the key design requirements for the OB vans.
“Outside temperatures in Qatar in summer regularly exceed 50° we had to ensure that the staff remained cool and composed while presenting live sports action.”
Both new units are trailers with the Grass Valley patented and full-length expansion to create the maximum internal working space.
The layouts are similar, with a 4 M/E Kayak production switcher and Kayenne XL control panel at the heart of the workflow. The switchers are fitted with all of the workflow options, allowing one switcher to produce multiple versions of an event for local, regional, and international feeds, as well as feeds for in-stadium displays.
Each truck is pre-wired for 15 Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite HD cameras and can accommodate two wireless cameras and an additional five LDK 8300 Live Super SloMo cameras for seamless action replays.
Unit OB 3 will presently carry 10 LDK 8000 cameras, five LDK8300 super SloMo cameras
and two with Grass Valley wireless transmission systems while OB 4 will be equipped with nine cameras and two LDK 8300. Productions, however, can draw on the existing pool of Grass Valley cameras available at Al Kass to create the capabilities required.
Each new OB unit has a matching support truck. Although these are primarily designed to transport cameras, cables and other equipment, Grass Valley claims that its special design enables these to be used for additional production space as well. In fact, one of the support trucks will have an announcer studio with sliding glass doors. This is designed to conduct presentation and interviews on site. The support trucks, too, have excellent air conditioning to make this possible.
Heil says the OB trucks are always customised.
“While we have a series of standard designs for outside broadcast trucks, in practice we never build them. They serve as the foundation of our discussions, to allow us to tailor our designs precisely to the needs of the customer, including their tight schedules. That, in turn, means we can demonstrate our attention to detail.
“On the Al Kass project, we worked through every aspect of the environmental protection, for example, protecting the technology from desert sand and the crew from the ferocious summer heat. It all adds up to a fleet that will deliver excellent service, a long life, and a real return on investment for Al Kass. And, I hope, a continuation of the strong working partnership between Al Kass and Grass Valley that will endure through the run-up to the World Cup and beyond.”
One OB truck from GV was delivered in May and the other is scheduled for delivery in September 2011.
The Missing Link – Riedel Intercoms
Solutions provided include:
2x Artist 128 Mainframe
56x Artist RCP-2016P4 LCD Rackmount
Control Panel
8x Artist ECP-2016P Extension Panel
2x Artist DCP-2116P4 Desktop Control Panel
2x CSX-11 Commentary Extension for Artist
control panels
24x Riedel RIFACE for integrating radios
28x GP344 radios
28x AIR-E1 Headsets
One of the reasons why Riedel was chosen was because of the easy connectivity of its matrices and compatibility with Lawo consoles.
With up to 128 intercom ports per matrix frame, Artist allows a high degree of decentralisation of the entire matrix in a very cost-effective way. As a result the matrix frames can be located near the intercom stations of a specific studio or production facility, saving a considerable amount of wiring and installation costs. Artist matrices can easily connect to other Artist system via a redundant fibre link.
This is especially interesting and comes in handy during operation in the field, where several trucks can easily join together to a single intercom infrastructure. Furthermore, the Artist system can easily be expanded to up to 1,024×1,024 non-blocking ports making installation a secure investment for future developments.
Programming can also be done easily with Drag&Drop programming via Artists configuration software Director.
Its also interesting to note that Riedels CSX commentary system has been deployed in both vans.
The CSX commentary unit allows for commentator functionality together with a simple Riedel Artist Desktop control panel. The unit is docked directly to the back of the Artist panel. This saves space and effort during installation.
Furthermore, Riedels secondary audio channel over AES can also be utilised for commentary applications. As it provides digital audio in broadcast quality and can be used independently to the intercom application, it can be easily used for that purpose.
In addition, Al Kass uses the RiFaces radio, which can easily be integrated into the wired intercom infrastructure.
Riedel is expected to train the end user on the intercom system soon.
