Find 308 HD OBVans in our Online Directory and 40 more in our new Print Directory at IBC

RTV Slovenia HD2

RTV is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in the country's capital, Ljubljana, it has regional broadcasting centres in Koper and Maribor and correspondents around Slovenia, Europe and the world. RTV Slovenija's national radio services operate under the name Radio Slovenija, while the television division carries the name Televizija Slovenija or TV Slovenija. The names are sometimes Anglicized as Radio Slovenia and TV Slovenia, respectively. There are 3 national and 4 regional radio services, which can all be heard online as well. RTV Slovenija also finances the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the Big Band RTV Slovenija. RTV recently got the delivery of two HD OBVans to cover sports, shows and cultural events. HD1 will be introduced in the HD OBVan Directory 2013, while HD2 already is online.

Get the technical specs here

AMV Upgrades Trucks with Studer

The Vista 9 is being installed in AMV’s “Revolution” truck, a 53-foot double-expando trailer formerly known as “Resolution.” The Studer Vista 5 M3 is going into a 50-foot broadcast truck called “NYLA.” Both vehicles are being completely refurbished with the latest video and audio gear. Once back on the road, both trucks will be ready to handle any mobile broadcast situation—AMV has done production for the MTV Video Music Awards, the Metropolitan Opera’s live-to-theater broadcasts, the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and many other high-profile events. All Mobile Video (AMV) is one of the USA's premier providers of end-to-end video and audio solutions for broadcast, entertainment, programming and events, with sound stages and studios throughout Manhattan, while also maintaining a fleet of mobile trucks nationwide.

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New dblux OBVan with RTS

With the launch of OB4 HD, the Danish broadcaster dblux has further expanded its fleet of high definition outside broadcast vehicles. The new truck is reserved primarily for TV and other major events such as the broadcasting of sporting competitions and concerts. All the equipment onboard the new vehicle – and in particular the intercom system – represents the state of the art. The new flagship of the dblux fleet is already making waves in the Danish broadcasting industry. “It has been used inter alia to provide coverage of Champions League matches, and not only our clients but also OB4 HD’s crew are delighted by the possibilities and production quality it affords,” says Ostergaard. “In fact, OB4 HD has become a potent symbol of the company,” concludes Ostergaard. “Everywhere we go, it turns heads and attracts enormous interest.” OB4 HD will be introduced in detail in the HD OBVan Directory.

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HD OBVan Directory 2013

The 2013 Directory will feature about 40 new HD trucks from all around the world: China, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Qatar, Cyprus, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Germany. In addition to detailed listings of the installed equipment we will show the various working areas inside the truck as well as views of the monitor walls and the floor plan. You also will find a review on the FIFA Confederations Cup and a preview on the FIFA World Cup. We also will introduce the ANO Panorama OB fleet which will broadcast the Sochi Olympic Games to the Russian audience and report about the ongoing DTM race events accross Europe. A case study about the Al Jazeera sports channel beINSport will also be included in this year's directory.

Find 308 HD OBVans online

Ready-Made ERC Makes FCC a Plug-and-Play Operation

The FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 came to an end, allowing all involved parties to take a slight breather to reflect on the lessons gathered so far, whether successes or potential areas of improvement. On the HBS side, one of the definite successes is a new — and vitally important — engineering concept: the pre-commisioned Equipment Room Container (ERC), which was tested in situ at the International Broadcast Coordination Centre (IBCC) in Belo Horizonte. At previous FIFA events, HBS' Broadcast Compound at each venue included an Equipment Room that was the beating heart of onsite broadcast operations, connecting to all operational rooms (Multifeeds Production, Technical Operations Centre, Audio Control Room, etc.). The Equipment Rooms for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ were re-assembled, tested, and troubleshot onsite over a period of 3 weeks at each venue. The process worked very smoothly, but required long periods of time onsite, periods that the ERC was designed to do away with.

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BTV Studio 150m² and 300m²

Sony Professional Solutions Group China installed two HD Studios at Beijing TV - one with a size of 150m² and one with 300m².  BTV is a government-owned television network in the People's Republic of China. It broadcasts from Beijing. The channel is available only in Chinese. Get the technical specs for both studios here:

BTV 150m² HD Studio

BTV 300m² HD Studio

Clay Paky Sharpys Dazzle on Norwegian Idol Final

Respected lighting designer, Anders Busch, specified a host of Sharpys for the closing show of the international TV show phenomenon. “The concept for the Norwegian Idol finale 2013 was that it should not look like every other TV talent show,” explains Petter Nilssen from lighting equipment supplier, Elektrik Solutions AS. “The production designers didn’t want the ubiquitous supersized LED or projector screens, they wanted something different. In addition the producers wanted to have as many people in the audience as possible. In order to do this they needed a 360 degree stage.” This presented a considerable challenge - how to create enough variety in the background image for the TV cameras to work with.

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Universiade to Be Broadcast in HD Format

Several dozen state-of-the-art Panorama vehicles arrived in Kazan and were dispersed among the Universiade’s twelve sporting facilities. The fleet includes three 24-camera OB vans, four 16-C, and five 10-C vans, seven DSNG units, thirteen mobile power units, two mobile depots for special vehicles, a mobile central switch room, etc. The Panorama production team employs a total of over 290 cameras, including slo-mo and super slo-mo cameras, a Robycam spider camera, cable-suspended cameras, mini- and micro cameras to be placed in spots that are inaccessible for camera operators, etc. Cameras come complete with camera cranes, carts, and even a number of Segways. The latter will enable a cameraman to shoot while in motion at up to 30 km/h, using a special stabilization system.

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Camera Corps Goes Extreme in Europe and South America

Working in partnership with Pittsburgh-based outside broadcast production company NEP Visions, Camera Corps has provided a wide range of support equipment for the fast-action sponsored television X Games series shot during April, May and June in Europe and South America. "We were active at a total of three events in Brazil, Germany and Spain," adds Camera Corps' Senior Technician David Sisson. "Four Camera Corps technicians attended each event, working with David O'Carroll and his colleagues to capture dynamic close-up images of the action as well as long-range wide-angle views. Equipment used at each event included Camera Corps Q-Ball remotely controlled pan/tilt/zoom/focus cameras, Camera Corps VHR pan/tilt heads, point-of-view cameras and long-range optical fibre links. The Q-Ball heads were operated as com-cams, providing images of the presenters as they described the action.

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Diva Cricket Launched for Season’s Major Cricket Events

Diva Cricket serves as an enhanced DVR-type player and includes a rich level of statistics and editorial content tailored to cricket fans. Built on deltatre’s market leading video asset processing system, FastForward, the innovative functionality of Diva Cricket is available on the web as well as iOS and Android platforms for tablet and smartphone, and has already been integrated into the digital offerings of leading broadcasters, such as Sky Sports and STAR Sports. Commenting on the extension of Diva to cricket, Paul Bristow, Chief Commercial Officer at deltatre, said, “Few sports possess the wealth of statistical data that cricket does. Therefore, it was natural to bring Diva’s elegant data and video synchronisation capabilities to create an immersive experience for the hundreds of millions of cricket fans worldwide.”

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Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts. The festival organiser, Michael Eavis, a farmer in a Somerset valley, stated that he decided to host the first festival, then called Pilton Festival, after seeing an open air Led Zeppelin concert at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music 1970; fourteen people invested everything they had to build the stage. The size and nature of the festival, held over three or four days in the open air, with performers, crew and paying festival goers staying in tents, caravans and motorhomes, has meant that the weather is significant. Glastonbury is the largest greenfield festival in the world, and is now attended by around 175,000 people [1] requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water and electricity supply. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for good causes. Get some impressions of the 2013 festival.

Another Glorious Glasto for Robe
Stagebox at Glastonbury Festival
RG Jones and Martin Audio Maintain Winning Formula for Glastonbury
TCS Delivers on Large Scale at Glastonbury Festival
Avolites and Avolites Media Supply New Consoles and Media Servers
Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Washes and VL3500 Spots are 'Glastonbury Workhorse Fixtures'

P!NK Takes Off with Sennheiser

International superstar P!NK’s The Truth About Love arena tour is wowing audiences around the world with its incredible mixture of chart-topping tunes, aerial acrobatics, and sheer no-holds-barred entertainment – all powered by audio equipment from Sennheiser. The 140-date 2013 tour sees P!NK perform like never before, flying above the audience, dancing between two stages and diving into water – a demanding high-energy extravaganza that required custom solutions from the audio specialist. Today’s arena shows offer ever-increasing level of spectacle, fusing sound, vision, special effects and pure performance. In taking to the road with The Truth About Love tour, P!NK has raised the bar even further, with an elaborate game-show themed concert that takes off in every sense – exploding into wild baroque performances and taking to the air with extensive aerial acrobatics driven by a wire system that lets the star travel to every corner of the arena. But how do you maintain great sound and all the emotion when everything is in motion?

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ATEM a Run-away Success at Graduate Fashion Week

Made up of 22 catwalk shows and an exhibition with more than 40 universities participating, the four day event culminated in a gala awards ceremony hosted by designer Henry Holland and television presenter Zara Martin. The official production partner for GFW is Fashion Scout International (FSI), having won the contract two years ago. Seeking to step up the shows video production quality, FSI brought onboard Brightonart Ltd, who have for the past two seasons worked with FSI during London Fashion Week. In each of the theatres Brightonart was running a live HD mix, capturing in 1080i50, comprised of two camera sources connected over SDI to a Blackmagic ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher with Broadcast Panel. In addition, static and animated graphics were played from the ATEM’s built in media player enabling end slates and titles to be added in realtime.

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Capital Sound Extends its Optocore Network

When the Rolling Stones arrived at London’s Hyde Park on July 6 to perform the first of two concerts at the AEG-Barclaycard British Summer Time 10-day season, they were safe in the knowledge that their glorious oeuvre of classic rock favourites would reach the 65,000 or so fans situated in proximity of any of the ten delay towers courtesy of an Optocore redundant fibre distribution system. Capital Sound had been awarded the sound reinforcement contract by promoters AEG Live/Loud Sound — Royal Parks’ new tenant — and the London-based production company deployed the Optocore system that they purchased in 2011 for the Take That Progress Live stadium tour — supplemented by a further eight newly-acquired XR6-FX converters.

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EVS Provides Multiple Systems for Ashgabat Olympics Complex

Istanbul-based Polimeks was commissioned to develop the architectural concept and to build the various premises. Policom Technology, a subsidiary of Polimeks, is responsible for the supply and installation of multimedia systems to be used at the complex and is collaborating with the Turkish systems integrator specialist AKFA Technology to implement the live broadcast production infrastructure. ‘Ashgabat Olympics Complex is a major project that will have a significant impact on the region. The venue is designed to show – with the forthcoming Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in 2017 – that it’s a key contender for hosting major international sporting events and attract sporting federations,’ said Burak Dagdeviren, project coordinator at Policom Technology. ‘It was important that the live broadcast facilities matched the same brief.’

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POOLgroup’s SGM P-5s highlight Barack Obama in Berlin

Barack Obama recently visited Berlin for the first time since his election as US president. The highlight of his 25-hour stay in Berlin was his speech before an invited audience of 5,000 people at the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The technical planning and equipment necessary to transmit his speech to the world media was undertaken by event production company, POOLgroup on behalf of the German Foreign Office and the Federal Press Office. At first glance, it may seem absurd for an event taking place under a cloudless blue sky to require artificial outdoor lighting. But it was feared that such was the positioning of the stage on the Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, while intense sunlight would be expected on one side the other might be plunged into semi-darkness.

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Sky Sticking with 3D

BSkyB’s 3D director, John Cassy, in a blog, reaffirms Sky’s commitment to 3D arguing that progress – while not quite what the industry had hoped – was still being made. As of last week, more than half a million BSkyB TV customers had signed up to watch 3D, “bringing to a close our strongest quarter of growth to date,” Cassy says. “Certainly the ongoing economic downturn has meant that households are tightening their belts, and people have upgraded their TV sets to 3D at a slower rate than the industry first forecast,” said Cassy in his note. “Some potential viewers may have also delayed experiencing 3D, preferring to wait for new technologies, which mean they don’t have to wear glasses.”

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Sony Shipping First 4K Video Player for the Home

Sony is now shipping its new 4K Ultra HD Media Player, hoping to kickstart the promise of Ultra HD video quality on home TV sets. At $699 with 10 pre-loaded 4K Hollywood films, the delivery of Sony’s FMP-X1 player comes just over six months after Sony announced it at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The player is designed by Sony to give its customers a source of 4K programming and a reason to buy a new UHDTV set. The player is compatible only with Sony-brand 4K TV sets and comes with a $200 voucher toward the purchase of the player to customers who have previously purchased the Sony XBR-55X900A ($4,500 list) or XBR-65X900A ($5,500) 4K TV models.

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FAME for Ultra HD Rollout

FAME is an initiative led by the EBU and DIF, the Digital Interoperability Forum, a group representing pay TV operators on technology matters. It’s also supported by the European Commission. All participants have agreed to share knowledge and experience for the ultimate benefit of all viewers. Together they analysed the barriers and keys to making Ultra HD a success in Europe. The agreement last year at the International Telecommunication Union on the baseline technical parameters for Ultra HD (ITU-R BT.2020) has given momentum to the new technologies. The sets needed to display Ultra HD will be entering the shops in the months and years ahead. However, FAME participants emphasised this week that any future television system must provide significant enhancements over HDTV.

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