DirectOut Equips “probably the largest OB trailer ever built” for CTV

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CTV, part of the Euro Media Group, is now one of the largest and most well-respected independent OB companies in Europe. Based in High Wycombe in the UK, CTV has just taken delivery of what has been described by specialist UK coachbuilders, A. Smith Gt. Bentley Ltd. (ASGB) as “probably the largest Outside Broadcast trailer ever built.” The expandable 84m2 full HD OB vehicle was manufactured by ASGB in collaboration with ProjectBuilders, a division of Belgian broadcast and production company VIDEOHOUSE. The truck comes complete with a significant complement of DirectOut equipment including 25 KYRA MADI monitoring and line checking devices which were specially designed for CTV.

According to CTV’s Paul Francis, DirectOut are CTV’s first port of call for all their MADI broadcast solutions, and so when it came to specifying equipment for their new vehicle, CTV got in touch. “DirectOut actually ended up designing a new product based on our requirements which has since been publically released,” recalled Francis.

CTV OB 11 Production Area

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At CTV’s request, DirectOut added a headphone output on the front panel, incorporated PFT technology (Power Fail Through ensuring that signal transmission via the BNC MADI port is maintained in case of power loss), enabled channel selection on the front panel to be locked as a precaution against accidental changes, and reduced the unit depth from 25cm to 20cm. “We particularly appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the later design stages of the KYRA MADI monitor as it ensured that we received the equipment most appropriate to our project.”

CTV OB 11 Camera Shading Area

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In addition to the 25 KYRA units, DirectOut also supplied two M.1k2 MADI routers along with some extra I/O modules and an ANDIAMO AD/DA converter.

“DirectOut equipment forms the primary monitoring and routing system in this OB truck,” stated Francis. “Signals between the audio desk, VTR/DDR, stage boxes and monitoring are all routed using DirectOut M.1k2 router. As for the KYRA devices, they have made the operator and client monitoring much simpler and more flexible. By using the technique of constructing and routing MADI streams in this way we have reduced audio installation cable in this truck by over 80%, which is a huge achievement.”

About DirectOut GmbH
DirectOut GmbH was founded in 2008 by a team of professional sound engineers headed up by Stephan Flock, an award-winning classical music sound engineer with over 20 years’ experience in digital audio signal processing design. The company specializes in developing essential pro audio connectivity, networking and bridging solutions for broadcast, studio, live and installed sound applications. Unique in that all members of the DirectOut development team are still active professional sound engineers, the company is thus fully focused on real-world demands and problem solving. The product range, marketed under the brand of DirectOut Technologies®, offers solutions that build bridges between different audio worlds and make systems and formats more flexible. Audio formats supported include MADI, AES67 and RAVENNA. Headquartered in Mittweida, Germany, DirectOut products are distributed worldwide.

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