Newsletter from 02/10/2012
And Everything in Between ...
MOBILE PRODUCTION
MIRA Mobile Television Upgrades M-6 to HD with Grass ValleyThe new M-6HD is being rebuilt at MIRA Mobile’s facility in Wilsonville and will begin covering Pac-12 events in November. It will feature six Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite HD cameras, six Grass Valley 3G Twin Base Stations—allowing the M-6HD's cameras to use either triax or fiber cabling, and a Kalypso™ Video Production Center switcher. M-6HD will mostly operate on the West Coast, initially producing basketball games during the Pac-12 season and then work some NBA, NHL, and possibly some MLB events on the West Coast in the future. To leverage the most from its switcher investment, MIRA Mobile TV purchased a new Kayenne™ Video Production Center switcher for its M-9HD truck and moved M-9HD's existing Kalypso to M-6HD. With Grass Valley's compact and light weight switcher frames, the entire switcher installation was completed in just four days. On that fourth day the M-9HD truck was then used to produce an NFL football game in Seattle, Washington (Seahawks vs. the Tennessee Titans).
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F&F Productions Adds Four Grass Valley Kayenne
F&F Productions, a premiere mobile production company based in Clearwater, Fla., will be expanding the capabilities of its fleet of high-definition (HD) outside broadcast (OB) trucks with the additional purchase of four new Kayenne™ Video Production Center switchers, which will be upgraded to—or installed as—the new Grass Valley 3G-ready Kayenne Video Production Center with the new K-Frame available in Q4. The first of the new Kayenne switchers has already been installed for the NFL football season in the US. The remaining three switchers are scheduled for a staggered installation between December and January. Prior to this order, F&F Productions already had one Kayenne switcher installed. This order, which will give F&F Productions an all Kayenne fleet, allows the company to do bigger productions because of the creative power of the Kayenne switcher, providing the company with a significant competitive advantage. The 3G-ready Kayenne will offer pristine 1080p (3 Gb/s) support, enabling F&F Productions to produce the high-quality productions that producers are demanding, in a wide variety of HD format—including stereoscopic 3D—allowing F&F Productions to realize a fast return on its investment and grow its business.
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SIS LIVE Announces the Launch of OB 14
OB 14 will be used extensively on the BBC’s Match of the Day contract but will deliver various ad hoc outside broadcasts throughout the year, particularly in the theatre, comedy and light entertainment genres. A key feature of the truck is that it can operate either fully expanded or completely closed up, making it perfectly suited to operate in restrictive city centre parking spaces. OB 14 is HD and 3G capable, multi-purpose, comprising an expandable production area, adjacent to comprehensive vision, engineering, VTR and audio areas. It is capable of up to 12 x HD multi-format cameras plus radio cameras and has a recording capability which utilises 3 x EVS and 3 x HD CAM units. OB 14 offers an incredibly flexible production space that features the latest 3G technology, a Sony MVS7000X and an Evertz EQX router and glue. Additional features include a 2ME video mixer and a Calrec Omega Bluefin digital audio mixer, which delivers 5.1 surround sound with Dolby E encoding. The truck is designed for future tapeless workflows, being wired for EVS XT3 Xfile and Xfly.
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MCP Team Up with Ross Video for Small Format Remote Sports Truck
Mobile Content Providers (MCP) based in Plantation, Florida, selects Ross Video as the core technology provider for their new Small Format Vehicle. Built specifically for Live Sports Production by Systems Integrator Mobile Studios of Boca Raton FL, the new vehicle features a Ross Carbonite Production Switcher and XPression Real-Time Motion Graphics System. MCP’s founders Mitch Rubenstein and Ray Colaiacovo are combining years of experience and new workflows to push live remote productions into a new era - where quality and efficiencies can co-exist. The maiden voyage for MCP’s MB2500 truck was scheduled for August 31st. "Ross components have allowed us to be a cost effective, high end production company able to service a variety of major networks,” said Mitch Rubenstein, Founder, Mobile Content Providers. “There are no concerns from any potential clients when we tell them we are a Ross truck. We have been embraced by the marketplace."
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TV Pro Gear Flypack: Everything Old is New
The concept of a removable Flypack that can be used inside a van or removed for shooting inside a venue was pioneered by Andrew Maisner in 1978. On top of the Flypack is a top-loading 3/4" U-matic video recorder. On the side table is an Ampex 2" video recorder. The $90,000 recorder in a small package was an incredible engineering feat for that era. However, it was very delicate and often failed. Notice the 8-input audio mixer with rotary knobs and the small video switcher next to it. Yes, the FLYPAK has certainly evolved from a 3/4" wood-paneled unit in the back of a Chevy Van to a complete digital mobile studio capable of handling up to 8 cameras, instant replay, graphics, and live Internet streaming. All in Full HD! nstead of a Chevy Van, the FLYPAK now fits in the back of our custom FLYPAK Sprinter van: A complete mobile production unit capable of live Satellite Uplink with a second box to carry your cameras, headsets and the rest of the gear necessary for a complete live production. Both the FLYPAK and FLYPAK Sprinter are available to rent for your next shoot, or TV Pro Gear can custom-build a unit to meet your specifications!
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Sportvision Utilizes Universal Videohub 288 to Support NASCAR Broadcasts
With each NASCAR race, Sportvision provides video feeds to network partners throughout each live race. The Sportvision broadcast truck is located downstream in the broadcast process, with RACEf/x graphics added directly in the trailer and the final product played out live. To support this broadcast infrastructure, Sportvision has installed a Universal Videohub 288 router in its broadcast truck on site. One of the primary responsibilities of the Universal Videohub 288s is to allow Sportvision to manage the multiple feeds required by each respective network. Broadcast right holders use different formats; some networks require 720p, while others need 1080i. The Universal Videohub allows Sportvision to interface with both formats in a single router, offering a single routing solution that eliminates the confusion that would come from managing multiple routers to handle each format. Sportvision has produced more than 15,000 live events for broadcast partners worldwide, delivering graphic enhancements while capturing real time performance data for television broadcasts, online applications and wireless devices.
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SuperSport South Africa Extends OB Fleet with RTS Systems
The South African pay-TV provider SuperSport has just added a new vehicle, OB4HD, to its fleet of high definition outside broadcast trucks. OB4HD was equipped to be multi-functional by Sony Professional Solutions Europe in Basingstoke and will be used by SuperSport primarily to provide live coverage of sporting events. The truck’s two slide-outs allow the company’s outside broadcast team to work in comfort with state-of-the-art equipment including 29 high-definition cameras. As well as a virtual studio manager, the truck has been fitted with an intercom system from RTS that ensures flawless communication between all members of the crew. The nerve centre of the high-tech control room is provided by an Advanced Digital Audio Matrix (ADAM) from RTS linked to a variety of RTS keypanels, the models in question being 24 KP-12-CLD, twelve DKP-16-CLD, four KP-32-CLD, three KP-32, one KP-32-CLD and one KP-12. A wireless RTS belt-pack system (three BTR-800 and twelve TR-800), a two-wire intercom system also from RTS (two DSI 2008 and six BP-325) and 69 headsets from the RTS MH series – including the MH-402 model which offers active noise reduction (ANR) – further secure communications within and beyond the high-end vehicle.
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Sencore and EuroLinX Team Up to Cover Wide-Ranging Outdoor Sporting Events
Based in Antwerp, Belgium, Alfacam is one of Europe's largest provider of OB broadcast services and well-known for its high-quality HD coverage of events such as World Cup Football, European Championship Football, and high-profile music concerts. The company has installed Sencore's aG4800 openGear Chassis equipped with aG4802 ASI-to-ASI/SDI receiver-decoder cards in its entire wireless fleet, including the equipment also equipped in airplanes, helicopters, and motorcycles as required for event coverage. The 20-slot openGear aG4800 openGear Chassis can accommodate up to 10 receiver-decoder cards. Together, the systems enable EuroLinX mobile units to select the best signal coming from various airborne relays and then output the signal via ASI and SD/HD-SDI to broadcasting clients. "For large sports events, we're often required to provide multiple HD feeds from multiple fixed and roving platforms, both on the ground and in the air. It's a dense challenge that calls for a dense decoding solution, and the Sencore aG systems fit our requirements perfectly," said Bruno Coudyzer, RF project coordinator at EuroLinX. "The 2RU chassis saves space and weight in our aircraft, and the receiver-decoders provide a great deal of flexibility by supporting different formats from different sources; for instance, they are compatible with our Fujitsu encoders."
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STUDIO PRODUCTION
RTV Slovenia Transforms Production Workflows and On-Air Broadcast Look with Orad
RTV Slovenia’s studio is divided into two areas: one area is based on Orad’s powerful PowerWall video wall technology and the other is based on Orad’s ProSet virtual studio.ProSet offers RTV Slovenia the ability to broadcast engaging weather and sports news shows with captivating cinematography elements. The flexibility of the system enables them to make changes, even at the last minute, to any of the scene elements. Orad’s Xync infrared tracking ensures free camera movement for RTV Slovenia’s three cameras and crane. RTV Slovenia’s main evening news show, Odmevi, main late-night news program, and hourly news programs are broadcasted out of the conventional area of the studio. Enhanced with Orad’s PowerWall, RTV Slovenia is able to broadcast synchronized high-quality graphics on its video walls from a single box with no content tearing. Orad’s TD Control manages the multiple video boxes displayed on the video wall, ensuring simultaneous broadcast of the live videos and graphics.
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Harris Supports Pinewood Studio’s Expansion into HDTV
Pinewood is synonymous with movie production, yet the company has been a major supplier of facilities to television broadcasters and production companies for many years. The new HD galleries feature a range of Harris infrastructure gear, including Platinum™ routers, HView™ SX Pro multiviewers, X50™ frame synchronisers/converters and 6800+™ modular core processing platforms, all orchestrated via NUCLEUS™ network control panels. This complete Harris solution enables Pinewood to reliably distribute, monitor and process multiple HD video and audio signals. Pinewood’s selection of Harris as its technology provider was heavily influenced by its long-standing relationship with the company. Pinewood also owns Teddington Studios, where it has a number of presentation studios in which Harris signal distribution and channel transmission equipment has been successfully installed and operated over many years.
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Bayerischer Rundfunk Opts for EVS Servers
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the Bavarian public broadcaster, has chosen EVS servers for producing sports and in-house TV entertainment programmes. EVS’ high-speed servers are known for their extensive use in OB facilities during live production. BR has placed its trust in EVS technology to deliver a fast and flexible ingest and playout solution for its studios. At Bayerischer Rundfunk, the multipurpose media servers from EVS not only support recording and playout during live sports, but also entertainment and in-studio pre-production. They integrate seamlessly with third-party systems, including Avid Interplay for post-production, the Kurrer QR edit controller and EMC Isilon for storage. EVS servers have been installed at BR’s two main studios located in Freimann and Unterföhring near Munich. They use three six-channel XT3 servers with MulticamLSM for the production of sports programmes and two four-channel XS servers for in-house entertainment programmes in Freimann. Two additional XS servers are used for ingest and playout operations at Unterföhring. EVS’ IPDirector suite helps to manage ingest scheduling, media transfer to post-production and archive, as well as playout.
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SWR implements KSC Control System
The Südwestrundfunk (SWR), with its broadcasting studios in Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, is the second largest ARD institution. The daily television, radio and Internet programming of the media company is broadcast to Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate and is received by nearly 15 million people. In addition, SWR reaches people all over Germany with broadcasts supplied to the ARD joint programming ("Das Erste") as well as the stations 3sat, ARTE, PHOENIX, KI.KA and ARD Digital. Renewing the production technology for Studio D at SWR Mainz included using another KSC Commander as master controller. With the aid of the discrete Snell de-embedder parameter control, it is additionally possible to carry out simple audio channel selections with the KSC controllers. Loading existing multiviewer layouts and transferring tally messages and label displays has been implemented for the new Harris multiviewer as well.
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New Canal+ Sports Program Video Wall Powered by Orad PowerWall
France’s leading sports broadcaster, is utilizing the Orad PowerWall solution to create video wall graphics in HD for its new sports program, Grande Soirée du Samedi. Broadcasted weekly, Grande Soirée du Samedi combines elements from popular Canal+ sports shows, Jour de Foot and Jour de Rugby, offering viewers highlights of the week’s most powerful sporting event moments across France as well as major European leagues. The easy-to-use PowerWall system combines live video with graphics, supporting video clips and integrating with newsroom and automation systems. At the heart of the PowerWall solution is Orad’s new HDVG4 render platform. With full support for 3D DVE animations, the HDVG4 platform manages 12 real-time 1080i HD SDI signals, facilitating dynamic effects for the multiplex video boxes. For HD 1080p video walls, content is delivered in 8K resolution, ensuring broadcasters can scan zoom in on the video without it becoming pixelated. For the Canal+ implementation, PowerWall integrates with the existing Orad 3DPlay system, linking content from Stat+, Canal+ Sport’s central database.
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HD Studio Directory 2012
In our HD Studio Special 2012 gives detailed presentations of 41 HD Studios from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Similar to our successful HD OBVan Directories we present each HD Studio on three pages including a technical synopsis with an overview on the installed hardware in the sections lighting, public address, cameras, lenses and pedestals, video gallery, audio gallery, intercom and the listing of the relevant system integrators. In addition to these straight forward presentations we have a dedicated focus on studio lighting, videowalls in studios and fast turnaround productions. Finally we focus on the production of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku.
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SPORTS
SPORTELMonaco 2012: The Edition of Champions!
For 23 years, SPORTEL has been recognized as the world leading sports program market for television & new media. The event brings together more than 2,300 participants from 60 countries every year. The 2012 edition will take place at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, from the 15th to the 18th October. The confirmed schedule of events includes a special press event about the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, a round-table discussion with former sport professionals that are now media personalities in partnership with RMC, the future of sport broadcast technologies, and a dedicated football day in partnership with Golden Foot in the presence of famous football players (world champion) Franco Baresi, (English Champion) Eric Cantona,(World Champion) Lothar Matthaus and the King Pelé.
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Olympic Games 2012 in London - A Review
Details of the $42 million opening ceremony of the 30th Summer Olympics have been cloaked in secrecy. But it was a no-brainer that Danny Boyle – the genre-hopping director who was a key figure in the Cool Britannia wave of 1990s cultural reinvigoration with his first films Shallow Grave and Trainspotting – was never going to settle for standard-issue pomp and pageantry. If Zhang Yimou’s dazzling Beijing opening in 2008 was about automaton-like synchronicity and majestic spectacle, Boyle’s epic opera of social and cultural history was a vibrant work of unfettered imagination that celebrated a nation, but even more so, its people. All this and the more than 300 medal events was covered with 1,230 cameras and send around the globe. Find the reports about how BBC made television History again, about the IBC, the 100m race of Usain Bolt, about Kronomav and the 3D productions, about NHK and the Super Hi-Vision Production and much more in our Olympics Summery.
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Sony Professional awarded 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Broadcast Production Contract
Filming and producing each of the 64 2014 FIFA World Cup™ games presents a significant logistical challenge. Working across 12 venues, Sony will provide both systems integration services and event time operations assisting the HBS production crew to deliver matches to fans around the world at the highest possible technical and production standards. Sony will work with third party industry leaders (Riedel for the intercom solutions, Lawo/ABS for the audio mixing consoles, EVS for the mult-media servers and Gearhouse Broadcast for the TOCs) to bring together the equipment and staff resources pool required to address a project of this scale, including among others 340 HD cameras (of which 72 Supermotions), 48 switchers and 816 monitors. Prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, Sony will also provide integration services and event time operations for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
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CANAL+ Kicks Off with Canal Football App Using EVS’ C-Cast
To kick off the new Ligue 1 season with a bang, Canal Plus, the French pay-TV broadcaster, has introduced Canal Football App, a second screen application designed exclusively for Canal Plus subscribers. The app, which uses EVS’ second screen media delivery platform, C-Cast, was successfully launched during the live broadcast of the first headline match of the season between Stade de Reims and Olympique de Marseille. The new app, conceptualised by CANAL+ Sports with the help of the engineering department at CANAL+ and the NetcoSports group for the design and the interface, is the first of its kind providing up-to-the-minute statistics, multicam video clips of all the highlights and bonus material such as Super Slow Motion action replays in full length. It also features filmed reactions from the commentators and special guests from Canal Plus’ live football programme, Canal Football Club, as well as the possibility to interact via social networks. The app is available on iOS for iPad users, and since the beginning of this month on Android for those using Samsung Galaxy tablets.
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Fujifilm Develops Miniature Lenses for MotoGP
The MotoGP™ World Championship is one of the world's most watched sporting events, as well as one of the most demanding to produce, with more than 120 cameras in operation during 12 hours of live coverage, watched by more than 320 million viewers in over 200 countries. Particularly in motorcycle racing, OnBoard footage is a vital component of the broadcast package, giving viewers first-hand experience of racing on a knife-edge in this adrenaline-packed sport. It is however this harsh operating environment that can throw up the greatest challenges, particularly when mixed with state-of-the-art electronic media technology. Yet whether it is coping with bike vibrations resulting from forces over 300G at over 340kmh, full-lean cornering, or adapting to the numerous manufacturers of motorcycles on the grid – Fujifilm has delivered a product unrivalled in the marketplace.
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SHOWS
Sennheiser Catches Coldplay
Touring a mixture of arenas and stadiums in Europe and North America since the later part of 2011, Coldplay’s desire to get close to their fans in such large venues could have caused a number of problems for their wireless monitor systems. But with Sennheiser’s high quality customer support, a bespoke solution ensures that the band never miss a beat. The shows are performed on a main stage with a centre runway projecting out and ending in a second, smaller 'B' stage. In addition there is also a C stage at the back of the arena, right amongst the audience. The entire band wears Sennheiser 2000 series in-ear monitors (IEMs) and in arenas all three stages are usually coverable from the main stage RF equipment. But when comes to stadiums, this hasn’t always been possible. However, Sennheiser came up trumps with an inspired solution, based on the company’s Media Control Protocol. Introduced in January via firmware upgrades to the 2000, evolution wireless ew 500 G3 and evolution wireless ew 300 G3 series, the Media Control Protocol enables rackmount devices of Sennheiser products to communicate directly with control units within an Ethernet network (UDP/IP), allowing them to be integrated into larger audio/video control systems. The units can then be remote-controlled and monitored directly from a central control panel, via an iPad™/iPhone™ or mixing console.
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Soundcraft Vi Platform Perfect for Sezen Aksu Touring
Altincizme, an audio rental company based in Istanbul, recently provided a pair of HARMAN Soundcraft Vi Series consoles as part of the sound reinforcement system for three concerts at Istanbul’s Harbiye Open Air Theater featuring legendary Turkish pop superstar Sezen Aksu. Appearing with her Acoustic Band (featuring Fahir Atakoğlu) she was returning after a 2-year absence from performing live for the Istanbul audience (having been away touring Europe with Vi6 consoles and Altinçizme).Once again the trusty Soundcraft desks were on duty in Istanbul. The Vi1 at FOH and Vi6 at the stage removed any of the risks associated with the unpredictability of a Sezen Aksu performance. FOH sound engineer Serdar Altincizme says he swears by the 2-screen’ solution of the Vi, while monitor engineer Kenan Ozkaplan never seems to part with his Vi6 regardless of the venue or geographical location. Aside from the worldwide availability of the desk, the FOH engineer commends its compact footprint, smooth preamps and the board layout, which has an analogue feel to it.
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Martin M1™ Lighting Desk of Choice on Global Gathering
Martin Professional’s M1 lighting controller was used to control a large moving head rig on the main stage at the 2012 Global Gathering festival at England’s Long Marston Airfield in late July. Electric Fly Productions designed the main stage lighting and were festival lighting/video designers while design firm 250K actualized the main stage set design. Festival lighting operator André Beekmans of The Art of Light used the Martin console on Friday for top acts such as headliner Afrojack, for which André is also the LD, while Nick Jevons of Electric Fly Productions handled the lighting programming and operation for Saturday’s performances. The Martin M1 used at Global Gathering was provided by Electric Fly Productions as were two Martin Maxedia media servers that were used on site. A slew of Martin lighting and video gear was used across the festival including creative Martin LED video screens in the form of the EC and LC Series. A Martin Maxedia system ran the video with operation by Dave Stewart.
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Groundriddim at Japan’s NO NUKES 2012 Festival
Groundriddim, a creative group consisting of Japanese musicians, engineers, directors, visual directors, graphic designers and illustrators, also used a number of other Blackmagic Design products during the live event, including HyperDeck Shuttle SSD recorders, DeckLink Studio capture and playback cards, DVI Extender and Mini Converter Analog to SDIs. Festival organizer Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), a legendary Japanese techno group, created the NO NUKES Music Festival, gathering musicians and sponsors for a weekend of live music with some of the world’s biggest bands, including YMO, Kraftwerk and Asian Kung-Fu Generation. As part of the festival, members of Groundriddim VJ'd for HiFANA, a breakbeat duo belonging to Groundriddim, and YMO. A live performance feed was sent to an ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher, with all switching controlled by the ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel and live performance feeds sent to a computer with a DeckLink Studio for capture. Then, with a PC, Groundriddim added real time effects to live footage and sent this back to the ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher via a DVI Extender, while animation graphics via two MacBook Pro systems were sent to the ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher for realtime keying, and all of these components were then mixed live to the music.
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Robe Award-Winning Innibos Festival
Robe moving lights were again at the hub of the lighting action for a Main Stage design by Johan Ferreira from JSF Productions at the popular 2012 Innibos Festival in South Africa. The four day arts and culture extravaganza, held in Nelspruit at the Bergvlam School Grounds, was attended by 120,000 people. Technical production for the Main and Klipdrift stages was supplied by Martindale, Gauteng based rental company Sound Headquarters, and it was Ferreira’s seventh year of designing the lighting! With the additional resonance of the Award win, more audience were expected and the organisers wanted to generally up the ante on the look and feel of the event and in particular the Main Stage, so Ferreira set about designing something special. The Robe fixtures totalled 52 - a mix of ROBIN 600 LEDWashes, ROBIN 600E Beams, ColorSpot 700E AT and 250E ATs and Scan 575 XTs.
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PRODUCTS
Products for Live Production @ IBC 2012
Our selection covers products from Axon - Broadcast Solutions - BTS - Canon - Chyron - Clear-Com - EVS - Fujifilm - Grass Valley - Hitachi - Ikegami - Lawo - LiveU - LMP - Megahertz - NAC - NewTek - Orad - Riedel - RTS - Sennheiser - Snell - Sony - SSL - Stagetec - TSL - Vizrt - Yamaha
Get the complete overview here