Innovation can come from places that you least expect. In the world of live sports remote production, the latest development in truck technology is coming out of Irvine, CA.
Built around an IP transmission model, the Big West has built and launched its own live mobile production van.
Just over a month ago, the Big West Conference launched its own mobile-production vehicle, one that will help it produce content for live digital distribution for up to 50 events over the remainder of the academic year.
It's great for us to be able to tell our story, says Steve Chen, digital content/new media director at the Big West. As great as our TV partners are, this is very different in that I'm working with a producer that's going to be covering the Big West day in and day out. Everything is more tightly integrated in the office, and being around our staff that knows our teams is tremendous.
Built on an IP transmission model, the truck is designed around a proof-of-concept that fits a complete high-definition production solution into a 23-ft. Mercedes Sprinter van.
The truck, which is built around an IP transmission model, will help the Big West produce over 50 live events for digital distribution for the rest of the academic year.
Ross Video plays a major role in the control room in the form of a Carbonite switcher and an XPression graphics system, which makes consistent on-screen branding possible. On the replay end, Big West went with the NewTek 3Play 425 and left room and infrastructure available for a second replay system in the future. Audio runs through the Behringer X32 digital audio mixer.
On-site, the Big West TV-production team deploys four cameras for basketball: three Panasonic HPX-370s (one at high center court and one under each basket) and a Panasonic HPX-500 with a longer lens (next to the high-center cam for tighter shots). For certain events, such as the women's volleyball championships, GoPro cameras are set up on the sides of the net, and the shots are used for interesting replay angles.
The crew, which usually totals 12-13 people including on-air talent, runs fiber for all the cameras (two 100-meter runs, two 200-meter runs, and one 300-meter run) and digital audio feeds for the communications lines. There's a few thousand feet of cabling inside the truck as well.
The Ross Video XPression graphics system helps create the consistent branding that the Big West wants for its broadcasts.
Setting up IP for transmission is rather simple: the truck gets two hard lines when it arrives at a venue, one straight into the encoder and the other the network for the truck itself. The crew is also very excited for the truck's inclusion of ARQ (Auto Request) technology: if a decoder misses a packet, it requests that the packet be re-sent and chronologically inserted into the timeline before going out to the buffer, thereby eliminating packet loss.
The Big West hired Andrew Lahey to serve as executive producer on the project and to completely build and integrate the truck. He expanded on the Sprinter van, which serves as the control room, with a 14-ft. attached trailer housing the engineering pod.
It's any tech geek's dream [to build a truck from scratch], says Lahey. When I met with Steve to take on this project and saw where they wanted to go with it, it was pretty much exactly what I had imagined I would do with it if I ever had the opportunity. The Big West has really brought me in as one of their own, and we've been able to tackle this in, I feel, an incredibly short amount of time. It was an honor and a great experience.
Attached to the sprinter van is a 14-foot attached trailer that acts as an engineering pod.
The Big West's discussions on building a truck began in November 2012, when the league's first-tier television-rights package were up for negotiation. The concept got the formal OK from Commissioner Dennis Farrell in May, and the truck was built in less than a month in late summer and early fall.
As for using the van, Chen says the Big West will produce two basketball games per week, staying within a driving radius of the Irvine offices, which includes five of the conference's member schools, to limit wear and tear. In scheduling, extra care will be taken to include games with schools from outside that radius.
To start, Chen notes, student crew members from a nearby non-Big West private school - Chapman University in Orange, CA - will be deployed so as not to show any bias towards one member institution.
Andy and his crew are teachers, says Chen. All of these students coming to us are learning how to produce live events professionally. I think they are doing a tremendous job, and these students are benefitting, and it will benefit the industry in the long term.
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
Innovation can come from places that you least expect. In the world of live sports remote production, the latest development in truck technology is coming out of Irvine, CA.
