And with the popularity of the series showing no signs of waning and new areas of the jungle being added to the show, Gearhouse Broadcast’s technical team has been called upon to come up with ever more complex broadcast equipment solutions to ensure none of the action is missed by its millions of viewers back home.

Providing new audio and HD broadcast solutions

The biggest change to this year’s coverage is a wholesale switch over to professional HD broadcast technology.

Gearhouse Broadcast has upgraded the principle cameras to Sony HDC 1500’s, allied to two EVS XT2+ servers and EVS X files in order to manage the increased storage required for HD.

And, with the addition of new areas to the show, the enhanced camera coverage has been matched by professional audio solutions that extend radio microphone capabilities throughout the challenging and variable outdoor set.

These include a custom built Rf 25-aerial combining and distribution system covering the two celebrity camps, the challenge areas and the TV Studio, a massive area coverage particularly bearing in mind that most of this coverage is in dense and very Humid Jungle conditions.

The second system Gearhouse Broadcast specialists have installed is a comprehensive fibre optic audio network, with up to 11 nodes linking each camp, the challenge area and five audio consoles.

Being in the jungle, waterproofing the systems has become something of an art form with the regular audio crew, now into their 10^th series of the show, developing some ingenious solutions to the often wet and humid conditions, including  the extensive use of self-amalgamating tape and Scotchguard drain piping plastic covering.

Water does get everywhere and so the technical team always make sure they’ve got generous supplies of spare microphones and parts to hand.

Helen Kruger Bratt, ITV Production Executive, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Gearhouse Broadcast again on Series 9.

“It’s no mean feat having to produce over 40 hours of live programming over 3 weeks from the Australian bush. We have reality cameras filming 24/7 out in the jungle in all weathers and terrain: torrential rain, hail storms and lightning strikes can be frequent occurrences in the Australian Outback.”

Gearhouse Broadcast team provide 24/7 broadcast equipment technical support

Among the other pieces of specialist professional broadcast equipment being supplied to the hit reality TV show are flyaway facilities that create a large Production Gallery, an MCR area, a CCU area, a VTR/EVS Room, two big Audio Control rooms and a Comms area.

Working with the latest technology, including Sony MVS vision mixers and a Calrec Omega with Bluefin audio desk, Gearhouse Broadcast can ensure coverage for both the ITV 1 and ITV 2 shows and has provided a technical team offering round-the-clock onsite engineering support.

Eamonn Dowdall, Gearhouse Broadcast Managing Director said “We’re delighted to return to the jungle for Series 9 of ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’

“Once again we have been presented with many challenges working in the tough jungle climate, but we are confident that we have the experience and expertise to deliver the technical facilities required to meet ITV’s needs.”

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.

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.

Technical and production broadcast facilities for the ATP  World Tour Masters 1000

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.

State-of-the-art digital flyaway rigs

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.

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.

Rental equipment AND logistics

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.

Gearhouse Broadcast recently teamed up with web design and online solutions specialists Optix Solutions, to develop a new web presence capable of keeping up with the demands of such a fast-moving industry, and we are pleased to announce the new site went live this month.

Optix Solutions were charged with creating a website that is truly easy to use, quick to navigate and flexible enough to be adapted to reflect every important development in the broadcast world on a daily basis.

At the same time it highlights all the products and services available from our Sales, Rental, System Integration and Project Management departments worldwide, as well as latest company and industry news.

“We wanted a site that is not only simple and satisfying to use and lets people know what we have to offer but that also reflects our position and gravitas within the industry,” said Eamonn Dowdall,Managing Director at Gearhouse Broadcast.

“Given the business we are in it wouldn’t be right to rely on a dull static site that didn’t give the visitor a feel for just what an exciting, technical business we are in. We are absolutely delighted with the result and believe our customers and visitors will be too.”

At the click of a mouse you can check out the latest outside broadcast truck being built at our UK headquarters, what cameras are available for rent in Australia, product sales in Doha or project solutions in India.

With so much to cover, it was vital that the site was designed to be as easy as possible to navigate, to take the visitor where they want to go quickly and efficiently.

We have incorporated a specifically designed filtered search facility which enables the visitor to, for instance, find a product by type, condition (new or used) or brand. In the near future you’ll be able to bid for an ex-rental or excess stock bargain via e-auction.

Case studies are used to introduce the sheer scope of the projects that Gearhouse Broadcast are involved in day in, day out.

Visitors are offered detailed insights into everything from the technology Gearhouse Broadcast supplies to bring ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’ from the Australian rainforest to our living rooms to the creation of India’s state broadcaster Doordarshan’s first custom-built outside broadcast truck.

Specially incorporated 360° panoramic image technology allows the visitor to take a virtual tour of everything from the VTR and audio set up in a HD (High Definition) outside broadcast truck to the wiring and cabling that makes it all work.

Our brilliant new ‘Truck Builder’ facility even enables you to build a virtual broadcast vehicle from scratch, specifying everything from the number and type of cameras and lenses required to the environmental conditions it will work under. Fill in the form and send it off and we’ll come straight back with a quote.

A new blog area allows us to tell you what Gearhouse Broadcast is up to behind the scenes, like news on the audio solutions we delivered to ITV for X-Factor or the lowdown on the latest in camcorder technology. And you can now also follow us on Twitter.

Gearhouse Broadcast will provide ITV Studios with technical and broadcast facilities for series 9 of the production using flyaway facilities which will create a large Production gallery, an MCR area, a CCU area, a VTR/EVS Room, two big Audio Control rooms and a Comms area.

Helen Kruger Bratt ITV Production Executive said “We’re looking forward to working with Gearhouse Broadcast again on Series 9. It’s no mean feat having to produce over 40 hours of live programming over 3 weeks from the Australian bush. We have reality cameras filming 24/7 out in the jungle in all weathers and terrain: torrential rain, hail storms and lightning strikes can be frequent occurrences in the Australian Outback.”

Eamonn Dowdall, Gearhouse Broadcast Managing Director said “We are looking forward to returning to the jungle for Series 9 of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here. Once again we will be presented with many challenges working in the tough jungle climate but we are confident that we have the experience and expertise to deliver the technical facilities required to meet ITV’s needs.”

Working with the latest technology including Sony MVS vision mixers and a Calrec Omega with blue fin audio desk Gearhouse Broadcast will use over eighty cameras with many speciality models to ensure extensive coverage of all the jungle action which will be broadcast on both ITV 1 and ITV 2. A technical team will be supplied to provide onsite engineering support.