GEARHOUSE BROADCAST BLOG+44 (0) 845 820 0000

The Red Bull Air Race World Championships has brought another dimension to the world of motorsport, and broadcast solution specialists Gearhouse Broadcast are helping ensure the very best of the amazing aerial action reaches its growing legion of fans around the globe.

The races are a breathtaking combination of speed and aerial agility featuring the world’s most skilful race pilots, and are set against the backdrop of some of the world’s most spectacular cities, including New York, Lisbon, Abu Dhabi and Rio De Janiero.

Gearhouse Broadcast’s has a proven track record in broadcast solutions and system integration for some of the biggest sporting events on the calendar, including this summer’s football World Cup in South Africa, the Winter Olympics and the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, to name but a few.

So when it came to finding a broadcast specialist able to help capture such a spectacular and fast-moving visual experience, SIVision – the production company of the Red Bull Air Race – turned to Gearhouse Broadcast for their broadcasting requirements.

Central to the broadcast solution supplied by Gearhouse are flyaways – essentially portable production units which contain everything you need to create a broadcast on location and outside.

The flyaways have the advantage of being highly adaptable, vital when it comes to capturing the full spectacle of race planes reaching speeds of 230mph and negotiating a series of air gates just 10 to 13 metres wide.

The flyaways built by Gearhouse Broadcast for the championships consist of audio, video routing, 12 cameras, large router and a large sound system. This is all backed
by a crew of technicians and engineers, 24/7 technical resource and support and full operational logistics management across the series’ eight venues around the globe.

With three races remaining – Lausitz in Germany and Budapest in August and the finale in Lisbon in September – Britain’s Paul Bonhomme, also the defending champion, tops the rankings after winning the first ever New York Race over the city harbour with spectacular views over Manhattan.

THE football World Cup is often described as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, and once again Gearhouse Broadcast is right at the heart of it as the finest players around the globe descend on South Africa this summer.

With a worldwide TV audience of billions, Gearhouse Broadcast is being used by seven major multinational broadcasters to supply both project solutions and equipment.

As well as the Technical Operation Centres (TOC’s), Gearhouse Broadcast is also providing location services such as the systems integration and building of studios and facilities at the international broadcast center for individual rights-holding broadcasters can produce their own style and flavour of transmission back to their home countries.

HBS – Host Broadcast Services

As a service provider to HBS, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Project Solutions team built and installed the Technical Operation Centres at each of the ten stadiums. Gearhouse also supplied engineering staff for each of the Technical Operation Centres.  

ESPN America

We have designed and installed a very large 1200 m² facility for ESPN.  This facility is made up of three production galleries each with its own audio mixer, a central logging and ingest area, an on-air EVS area, Avid edit suites, a transmission area and a remote large studio overlooking Soccer City. There is also a large central production office with various audio, video and communications facilities installed on desks as required. The whole facility is virtually tapeless with a central EVS server for Ingest and logging which is connected to an Avid Unity server to allow transfer of files between Avids, Ingest and on-air EVS machines. We also have three Lawo MC56 audio desks connected together via four cores that allow total flexibility between all the control rooms for transfer of audio signals for the various 5.1 mixes being done. The communications with Bristol and all the remote sites in South Africa is being handled by a large Telex Adam system with 270 ports which include 64 RVON ports.

Univision

Gearhouse Broadcast has supplied broadcast equipment, communication facilities, two control rooms, studio and crew at the IBC in Johannesburg. This facility also has a large EVS and FCP server system making it an almost tapeless facility as well. We have also supplied a remote three camera studio facility that is connected to the IBC via a 3^rd party supplied fibre and data connections.

ITV

Gearhouse have supplied one HD outside broadcast (OB) facility for all of ITV’s pitch-side presentations. The units will supply 2 way interview and presentation facilities pre and post match, together with pitch-side reporter facilities during the match.  The OB facility is a small four camera unit that has been built out of our fly away rigs and installed into a small vehicle that travels around the country. Gearhouse have also supplied crew including Engineer, Sound and Cameramen for the facility. 

ESPN BRAZIL

Gearhouse Broadcast have designed and installed an IBC facility that includes a production control room, studio facility, 12 x ENG kits, EVS servers and integrated Avid editing and storage servers. This facility is on air around 14 hours per day showing matches and background stories that are edited in the four edit suits on site.

TYC Sports AND TE LE FE Argentina

Designed and installed the IBC facilities for these Argentinean broadcasters in the IBC in Johannesburg, South Africa. This includes monitoring, distribution, production galleries and studio facilities.  Torneos y Competencias S.A. was responsible for hiring the equipment and Torneos y Competencias ARG is in charge of the production of DirecTV Latin America, Fox Sports, TELEFE, Canal 7 and TyC Sports. 

The tournament has kicked off a surge of activity in the broadcast services sector with huge demands placed on manufacturers and broadcast solutions companies, like Gearhouse Broadcast, to provide the most-up-to date equipment and technology. 

Gearhouse have made significant investments in Canon HD lenses, Sennheiser Microphones, Sony HD Monitors and Sony HD Cameras and Camcorders.   In addition to these they have invested in Pro-Bel HD/SD Routers, Tektronix Test Equipment, Evertz VIP Multi Viewers, Harris distribution and glue products and from EVS they have purchased 14 XT2 Servers to add to an inventory of 32 EVS’s to service the demands for this product at the World Cup.  

It’s not just Gearhouse Broadcast’s equipment that is in demand – the sheer logistics of the operation around the whole tournament means that the technical infrastructure behind the scenes has to be spot on, and Gearhouse Broadcast’s Project Solution and Systems Integration expertise had a major part to play.

Gearhouse had over 70 people on the ground putting in 2650 man hours in the weeks leading up to the event.  Once all the equipment was shipped to South Africa, they had just 16 days to build and run system checks before kick-off.

“This has been one of the largest and most challenging projects we have undertaken due to its scale and the complexity of the logistics involved.  Because of the amount of kit and the distance involved, we started preparing for the World Cup 12 months ago and it has been a very complex process” says Kevin Moorhouse, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Chief Operating Officer.

“The size of the country means that our planning and logistics needed to be extremely well organised so that everything was there and in place with plenty of time prior to the start of the tournament.  We’ve got a six-person team just handling logistics from a large warehouse in Johannesburg from which all equipment and materials will be prepared and distributed and a small satellite workshop for our service engineers”.

“Whereas in other countries we would normally be able to source new equipment if we needed it overnight, in South Africa, we had to be more prepared.  We’ve had to bring extra equipment with us because there is no source of broadcast equipment available in the country.  If we needed another VTR, I would have to fly one in, so our planning had to be so much better”

 ”Our goal was to supply cost effective broadcast solutions for all our individual rights-holding broadcasters. The choice of our equipment suppliers for these high profile live sports events is always a carefully considered decision, we choose the most reliable technology on the market every single time”, said Kevin.

A reputation for precision and flexibility helped Gearhouse Broadcast secure the contract to expand existing broadcast services at the prestigious Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre in Doha, Qatar, with associates AV Tech.

The Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre complex is owned and operated by the Qatar Tennis Federation and governed by the Qatar National Olympic Committee, who made Gearhouse Broadcast, which has offices in both Doha and Dubai, and AV Tech preferred providers after the success of a number of previous joint projects.

These have included broadcast cabling and audio visual solutions contracts at the Khalifa and various other national sports arenas including; the Aspire Tower and Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, Qatar Sports Club, Al Arabi Sports Club, Al Khor Sports Club, Al Wakrah Sports Club and the Al Saad Sports Club.

Systems integration project management

Eamonn Dowdall, Managing Director at Gearhouse Broadcast, said: “We are highly skilled in the provision of broadcast infrastructure installations, and in particular, the area of venue cabling having carried out numerous installations in the region previously at prestigious arenas such as the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, the Aspire Tower and the previous installation at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre.

“This installation will be challenging because we need to remove all the existing cables and re-terminate them during the re-install.  Meticulous planning and flexibility will also be required to deal with the changing client requirements.”

http://www.gearhousebroadcast.com/uk/project-solutions/cable–distribution/

The Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre complex consists of a Centre Court with a capacity of 4,250 spectators,  two competition courts with a capacity of 600 people on each, two indoor training and practice courts with a 130 seating capacity plus14 outdoor training and practice courts..

Gearhouse Broadcast’s previous project at the complex included installing a broadcast infrastructure that covered every area of the club, including the field areas, commentator rooms, the stand areas, press rooms and practice courts.

HD upgrade

The new installation will consist of installing wall boxes in two new courts, upgrading the existing TV rooms systems from SD to HD, fibre linking all wall boxes as well as removing the existing TV room equipment, making it safe during building works and then reinstalling it in a new complex.

To complete the installation, Gearhouse Broadcast will be providing a crew of three Riggers/Wiremen and a Project Manager/Engineer.

With audiences regularly topping 10 million, the annual Britain’s Got Talent show has become something of a national institution.

Presented by the nation’s favourite hosts Ant and Dec, the show has made household names of the likes of judge Simon Cowell and contestants such as Diversity, Susan Boyle and this years winner Spellbound.

Audio broadcast solutions

With the acts and judges performing live in front of an audience it is essential that the audio broadcast technology and solutions within the studio are of the highest possible quality.

For the fourth year running Gearhouse Broadcast were awarded the contract to supply radio microphone equipment for the judges, hosts and contestants for the ITV live studio show of Britain’s Got Talent.

Gearhouse also provide Radio Frequency (RF) solutions for ITV’s other huge talent show hit, ‘X Factor’ as well as the Britain’s Got Talent spin off, ‘Britain’s Got More Talent’.

Jakki Hewitt, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Rental Manager, said: “With our history of successfully undertaking RF projects such as Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, we have consistently proven that we can provide our clients flexible and reliable solutions to the very highest standards.”

Planning of the show began with a detailed frequency blueprint produced by Gearhouse Broadcast’s audio specialists, and in the end no fewer than 50 channels of radio microphones were in operation.

Broadcast integration and support

Dawn Gray, Britain’s Got Talent, Line Producer for talkbackTHAMES said, “We have worked with Gearhouse Broadcast on many projects before. Highly recommended, Gearhouse proved that their audio department could tailor their service to suit any needs and any schedule that we could throw at them.”

Gearhouse Broadcast audio also managed all stages from planning, kit preparation and delivery to onsite installation. Continual on-site and off-site support is also vital to provide seamless integration of wireless radio microphones given the size of the studio and the unpredictable and spontaneous nature of the programme.

Among the very latest state-of-the-art equipment supplied to meet the very specific needs of the programme were:

• 40 Sennheiser SK5012s
• a new SK5212 bodypack transmitter
• Six SKM 5200 handheld transmitters
• Two SKP 30 plug on transmitters, which when plugged into the microphone connector instantly converts to wireless operation
• Sennheiser’s MKE Platinum clip-on lavalier microphones were used for all presenters and contestants
• A purpose built Titan ProSplit antenna combiner/splitter which fed multiple zones of RF coverage to seven racks of Sennheiser EM1046 receiver cards

What did you think of Britain’s Got Talent 2010? Did the quality of the sound increase your enjoyment of the show? Let us know.

When South African broadcaster M-NET needed an HD outside broadcast truck quickly and on budget they looked no further than UK system integration specialists Gearhouse Broadcast.

In the past Gearhouse Broadcast had supplied M-NET with multi-camera flyaway solutions and, based on the service they received on that occasion, they looked to Gearhouse Broadcast again to provide  this large, custom-built multi-format trailer.

Andre Venter, Head M-Net Broadcast Services Africa, said: “We were looking for a solution to our outside broadcast requirement and as Gearhouse Broadcast supplied us with three flyaways in the past, which were delivered on time and to budget, we turned to them to assist us with a highly specified, time sensitive requirement for a 28 camera HD OB vehicle.

The vehicle was again delivered to South Africa well within the specified time frame and budget.”

Building to outside broadcast performance specifications

The outside broadcast trailer integrated by Gearhouse Broadcast is a triple expanding High Definition outside broadcast unit that caters for 28 HD cameras and up to three versions of 5.1 Dolby surround sound.

The unit’s lateral production area is large, spacious and air-conditioned, with three tiers of desks, which seat up to 12 production staff.

The front desk houses a 4ME vision mixer and space for 84 monitors. The second desk provides 16 monitors and comprehensive communications, while the third desk provides 32 monitors and comprehensive comms and monitoring facilities.

The third expand provides room for a second desk in the VTR area to provide space for up to 11 operators and a co-coordinator. The unit is wired for up to 12 EVS/ 14VTR.

In the vision area there is control for up to 28 cameras by seven operators, plus an engineering test position. The vision router is 576 x 576 and the audio router is 256 x 256 AES and analogue.

The unit is engineered with a large in/out capability to make it ideal for major events and is also fully air conditioned to maintain a comfortable operating environment  even in ambient temperatures of 45 C°.

Take a 360° tour of a Gearhouse built OB truck.

OB truck systems integration services

“We were able to accommodate M-NET’s requirement for an OB truck within a tight deadline and to their exacting specification,” said Eamonn Dowdall, Managing Director at Gearhouse Broadcast.

“The selection of kit being used for this installation demonstrates that Gearhouse Broadcast can tailor the design to a specific market and budget according to individual customer’s needs.

“I believe Gearhouse Broadcast was selected for this project because of our proven and demonstrable experience in the provision of HD outside broadcast installations. We have delivered many previous high profile HD outside broadcast units in the UK and Europe.”

The schedule of a top international tennis player is hectic – as is that of the broadcasters who follow them to all points of the globe to bring the action to huge audiences across the world.

Gearhouse Broadcast Project Solutions Division is proud to have been chosen for the tenth  year in succession to deliver technical and production broadcast facilities for the ATP  World Tour Masters 1000  – nine tournaments throughout the season taking place in venues as far flung as Cincinnati,  Toronto, Miami and Monte Carlo.

Gearhouse Broadcast has also been contracted to provide the technical facilities for this year’s tour finale, The Masters Cup – where the eight top ranked players compete to become the overall series winner – in London at The 02 Arena in November 2010.

Of paramount importance to clients ATP Media  is the ability to provide comprehensive and consistent technical and production facilities for the 50 leading international broadcasters who cover the series whatever the venue, in order to maintain and enhance the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ’ status as one of the most important events on the international sporting calendar.

Key to this is Gearhouse Broadcast’s state-of-the-art digital flyaway rigs, which feature video routing, distribution, communication, CCU and monitor gallery rigs.

After each event these are configured specifically to meet the demands of the next location on the tour so that they can be quickly and effectively integrated and installed by project engineers on site.

The tournaments usually cover two or three courts in the initial stages then go down to one court as the knockout stages progress, meaning that some of the equipment can be removed, configured and then sent on early to the next destination.

ATP Media’s CEO Steve Plasto says: “We opted for Gearhouse Broadcast because we are confident in their capabilities to create the same broadcast environment anywhere in the world. They have demonstrated their expertise and professionalism time and again throughout the Tennis Masters Series tournaments.”

Other services that have made Gearhouse Broadcast the system integration solutions provider of choice include:

• A core technical back up and support crew at every venue
• Infrastructure solutions including portacabins to house equipment, power supply requirements and catering facilities
• Logistical planning to ensure equipment and crew move from event to event smoothly and on time
• Accommodation and administrative support
• Additional top up facilities and equipment to meet broadcasters on-the-spot requirements

Forward planning, site visits and liaison with venue managers through the tournament.

THE football World Cup is often described as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, and once again Gearhouse Broadcast is right at the heart of it as the finest players around the globe descend on South Africa this summer.

With a worldwide TV audience of billions, Gearhouse Broadcast is being used by seven major multinational broadcasters to supply both project solutions and equipment.

Some of the broadcast equipment in South Africa consists of 36 EVS Hard Disk recorders, 42 EVS IP directors, 20 Sony HD 1500 channel cameras plus 42 Canon HD lenses.

It’s not just Gearhouse Broadcast’s rental equipment that is in demand. The sheer logistics of the operation around the finals mean that the technical infrastructure behind the scenes has to be spot on, and Gearhouse Broadcast’s project solution and integration expertise will have a key part to play.

To make sure everything works properly, Gearhouse Broadcast are supplying an array of ‘glue’ equipment, large routing systems, audio and vision mixers, thousands of metres of fibre, video and audio cabling, camera systems , down and up converters, and distribution and monitoring systems.

In case of any technical issues Gearhouse Broadcast Engineers will be on the spot to rectify any issues immediately, we have 82 crew working a total of 2650 main days on this project.

“This is our biggest event of the year, with a massive global audience and definitely the sort of project that we want to be involved in,” says Gearhouse Broadcast’s Rentals Division Account Executive Ben McKeenan.

“We started preparing for this project back in September 2009. Because of the size of the kit and the distance involved, we’re sending it out this month so there is plenty of time to get it all in place and working.

“But it’s non-stop and a lot of this equipment has either come straight from other projects, such as the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and will be straight off elsewhere as soon as it gets back.”

Even with so much equipment half way across the other side of the world, the Rentals Division always strike a balance to ensure they can readily service customers here in the UK and elsewhere.

International Systems Integrator, Gearhouse Broadcast and associate company AV Tech have been awarded the contract to expand the existing broadcast services at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre in Doha, Qatar.

The Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre complex is owned and operated by the Qatar Tennis Federation and governed by the Qatar National Olympic Committee.

As the preferred supplier to the Qatar National Olympic Committee, Gearhouse Broadcast and AV Tech have previously completed a number of broadcast cabling and audio visual contracts at various sports arenas including; the Aspire Tower and Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre, Qatar Sports Club, Al Arabi Sports Club, Al Khor Sports Club, Al Wakrah Sports Club and the Al Saad Sports Club.

The Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre complex consists of 2 indoor training and practice courts with a 130 seating capacity, 14 outdoor training and practice courts, 2 competition courts with a capacity of 600 people on each and a Centre Court with a capacity of 4,250 spectators.

The Gearhouse Broadcast’s previous project at the complex included installing a broadcast infrastructure which covered every area of the club including the field areas, commentator rooms, the stand areas, press rooms and practice courts.

The new installation will consist of installing wall boxes in 2 new courts, upgrading the existing TV rooms SD system to HD, fibre linking all wall boxes and removing the existing TV room equipment, making them safe during building works then reinstalling them in a new complex when building work has been completed.

To complete the installation Gearhouse Broadcast will be providing a crew of 3 Riggers/Wiremen and a Project Manager/Engineer.

Eamonn Dowdall, Managing Director at Gearhouse Broadcast said, “We are highly skilled in the provision of broadcast infrastructure installations, and in particular, the area of venue cabling having carried out numerous installations in the region previously at prestigious arenas such as the
Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, the Aspire Tower and the previous installation at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Centre.”

“This installation will be challenging because we need to remove all the existing cables and re-terminate them during the re-install. Meticulous planning and flexibility will also be required to deal with the changing client requirements.”

Gearhouse Broadcast provides Systems Integration, Project Solutions, Broadcast Equipment Sales and Rental. With an HQ in the UK the company has regional offices in Doha and Dubai.

EX-World Cup Kit

THE football World Cup is often described as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, and once again Gearhouse Broadcast is right at the heart of it as the finest players around the globe do battle in South Africa this summer.

When the curtain comes down on the final on July 11th, much of that equipment, all of which was new for the event, will head back to Gearhouse’s Watford headquarters to be checked and upgraded before being made available for sale from August.

Among the stock that will be available at highly competitive prices are: a wide range of state of the art HD broadcast equipment, Glue, Harris Signal processing equipment; HD Evertz Multiviewer; Snell 128×128 Sirius HD routers; Canon Box Lenses and Tektronix state of the art waveform monitors.

To ensure you don’t miss out you can find regular updates on the equipment that will be available on the Gearhouse Broadcast website – http://www.gearhousebroadcast.com – now or call the Sales Team on 0845 820 0000 to register your interest, check stock availability or discuss your requirements further.

PINEWOOD Studios, home to some of Britain’s most iconic films and television series continues to be an integral part of the nation’s broadcast industry.

As one of Europe’s leading providers of broadcast equipment sales, rentals, project solutions and systems integration, Gearhouse Broadcast is proud of the excellent working relationship it has built up with Pinewood in recent years, and to have supplied the cutting edge technology used to realise some of the most popular shows currently appearing on British television screens.

And Gearhouse recently helped Pinewood break new ground by providing tapeless HD format and broadcasting solutions for the production of CBeebies’ latest hit for early years children, ZingZillas, the first time this technology has been employed at the studios.

HD Format Broadcast

The HD format is an important part of the show’s appeal, which is both strongly visual and musical as it follows primate friends Zak, Tang, Panzee and Drum through their colourful jungle home in their quest put together a daily performance, The Big Zing, inspired by a range of visiting musicians and singers.

Over the past few years Gearhouse has delivered an exhaustive range of audio and video equipment, including cameras and camcorders, both standard and high definition upgrade (SD and HD), MCR hubs, VTRs and infrastructure solutions to Pinewood.

The kit supplied is all specifically tailored to the needs of Pinewood-produced hit series such as the BBC’s ‘Would I Lie to You’, Channel 4’s ‘The IT Crowd’ and Sky 1’s flagship HD sports panel quiz ‘A League of Their Own’, presented by multi-award winning comic actor and writer James Corden of Gavin and Stacey fame.

HD Kit technical support

Gearhouse’s engineers and technicians have established a close working relationship with their colleagues at the studios over the years, ensuring their technical support is available on demand and any additional equipment requirements can be quickly and seamlessly met.

Simon Honey, Head of TV Studio Operations at The Pinewood Studios Group says:  “Gearhouse Broadcast always provide a professional all round package with exceptional customer service, through a dedicated knowledgeable rental team, dependable hands on technical support, and reliable state of the art equipment – at a competitive price.

“With a proven track record in delivering project solutions, we collaboratively provided a seamless HD tapeless workflow for the CBeebies production ‘Zingzillas’, and the results speak for themselves on screen.”