Posts Tagged ‘EVS’
Gearhouse Broadcast Helps Take Sky Sports F1 Coverage on the Road
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
After competing in a fully competitive tendering process, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Projects Solutions division was awarded the contract to build a series of interconnecting Flyaway Pods for satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting for their coverage of Formula 1 motor racing. Since the award of the contract in late October 2011, the design, build and integration of the Pods took four months to complete.
Sky Sports are broadcasting Formula 1 races for the first time in a deal which started in March 2012 and will run until 2018. Sky Sports are broadcasting all the races, qualifying and practice sessions live and uninterrupted on their dedicated HD satellite channel Sky Sports F1 HD. All races are being produced in HD and 5.1 audio which has added a new dimension to Sky Sports coverage.
Sky Sports full onsite broadcast specification is a mixture of portacabins linked into the Flyaway Pods which contain the servers, audio facilities and all the technical equipment needed to support the production. The portacabins house the main production gallery, on air EVS, editing, logging and the production office.
The bespoke Flyaways, built and integrated by Gearhouse Broadcast, comprise of four 17 tonne interconnecting airline Pods that are standard Q6 construction with aviation bases. They are made up of a MCR Pod housing all the distribution, routing and camera control, a Server Pod housing all the EVS, Avid and SAN storage, an Audio Pod which houses the 5.1 audio control room and a Stowage Pod which is used to store all the loose equipment.
When the F1 races are in Europe the Pods will travel on flatbed trucks and when the races are taking place outside of Europe they will fly as cargo on Boeing 747’s.
An overview of the equipment chosen for the project includes EVS XT3 Servers, Omneon MediaGrid storage, Avid, Harris Glue, Pro-Bel Routers, Grass Valley Kayenne Mixer, Grass Valley Karrera HD Vision Mixer, Lawo Audio Console, Riedel Communications System, a mixture of Panasonic 3100 and Sony HDC-1500’s Cameras and Fujinon Lenses.
“Gearhouse Broadcast’s Flyaway Pods are the perfect solution for Sky Sports F1 needs; the Sky team will have an identical production facility at all 20 races. This is vitally important to the success of their broadcast as the production team can focus on their roles without having to find their way around different facilities around the globe” explained Kevin Moorhouse, Chief Operating Officer at Gearhouse Broadcast.
Darren Long, Sky Director of Operations said “We chose Gearhouse Broadcast because we needed a very specialist facility company that had the experience to understand the complexity of how to build and then deploy one of the most complex broadcast systems to 20 racetracks around the world”.
From broadcast to post: workflow integration from EVS to Avid and Final Cut Pro
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Recently, clients have been coming to Gearhouse Broadcast attracted, in part, to its experience and offerings in the area of workflow integration from the broadcast truck to the edit suit. In the past, file compatibility and transfer speed rendered live broadcast and post-production very separate entities. Not any more.
Through its close relationship with EVS and recruiting experts with particular skills in data management, Gearhouse Broadcast has developed fast, agile and seamless workflow solutions- whether you’re dealing with two camera channels or 20.
Gearhouse Broadcast tailors ingest to your specific file types and codecs, and utilises EVS’ XFile, XHub and XStream products to plug in to your Avid or FCP suite.
This means post-production can begin the moment the on-air light goes out.
Gearhouse Broadcast Confirms its Commitment to EVS with a Multi-Million Deal Including Over 20 XT3 Servers
Friday, June 24th, 2011Gearhouse Broadcast, a market leader in TV broadcast services specialising in Equipment Rental, Equipment Sales, Outside Broadcast, Project Solutions and Systems Integration, has recently confirmed its long-term commitment with EVS solutions for production servers and associated systems. The terms of the agreement include a mix of new and upgraded systems allowing Gearhouse Broadcast to be at the cutting edge of live production technology.
Among EVS’ top clients, Gearhouse Broadcast is extending its existing comprehensive range and inventory of servers (including 57 latest generation XT2+ Servers and supporting IPDirectors, XFiles and XHubs) with the addition of 20 new XT3 servers introduced by the Belgian manufacturer at the NAB Show in Las Vegas last April. The new XT3 server offers eight full configurable video channels with 96 audio ports and six 3D channels. It’s the first system to natively support all popular codecs without requiring hardware changes.
This transaction additionally includes the full upgrade of their existing rental fleet of EVS systems including IPDirector content management suites, XF2 media storage allowing them to guarantee their clients the most efficient and advanced production tools.
Gearhouse Broadcast’s headquarters are located in the U.K. with operating offices in Australia, US, Qatar and India. With a large inventory and always investing heavily in new technology, experienced engineers and a wealth of global experience in exceeding broadcaster’s needs, the company offers a full range of solutions and a proven track record in the delivery of broadcast solutions for all types of live broadcast events including football tournaments, Olympic Games, major reality television shows and music concerts.
Chief Executive Officer at Gearhouse Broadcast John Newton comments: “Our contract with a broadcasting equipment leader such as EVS places us at the forefront of live production technology operations. It allows us to meet demanding broadcast requirements for current and future live operations anywhere globally.” Newton continues that “Gearhouse Broadcast provides our global rental clients with the most up to date broadcast solutions on the market and EVS always guarantees the best of live technology while opening up the way to future broadcast operations.”
Head of APAC, EMEA & Events at EVS Luc Doneux says: “EVS is very enthusiastic with the success of its new live production solutions recently introduced at NAB. Doneux continues: “The XT3 platform was conceived to keep up with live production solutions offering unrivalled flexibility, and a real path to future sports broadcast operations. When a leader in TV broadcast rental services, like Gearhouse Broadcast, confides in EVS equipment, it allows us to proudly keep up with market trends offering superior technology, and to open roads ahead towards future of sports.”
Gearhouse Broadcast pass I’m a Celebrity Trial to Return to Jungle for Series Ten!
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010Gearhouse Broadcast is back in the Australian jungle this month after again winning the contract to provide ITV with broadcast equipment and technical expertise for hit reality TV show ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!
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. (more…)
Gearhouse Broadcast provide HD Camera Solutions for Nation’s Favourite Sports Broadcast
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010It seems that no sooner was the World Cup over than the English Premier League was back on our screens and with it the national institution that is football.
The BBC’s football programmes are among the most famous programmes in sports broadcasting, and the fact that all games are now broadcast in full HD is thanks in part to the HD broadcast cameras and infrastructure supplied by the Rental Division of Gearhouse Broadcast.
The BBC’s outside broadcast contractors SISLive are charged with arranging comprehensive HD coverage of matches taking place across the country, and Gearhouse Broadcast are the natural partners for anyone looking for that kind of volume of HD camera rental and HD broadcast infrastructure rental.
HD Camera Rental Specialist
Every match day Gearhouse Broadcast’s Rental Division supply the latest HD system cameras and channel technology to ensure that every kick of every game is covered from every possible angle.
Each weekend you’ll find Gearhouse Broadcast Sony HDC 1500 multi-format HD system cameras positioned around all the grounds to capture the action in full HD as well as HD camcorders to record pitch side interviews and reaction.
These will usually be accompanied by the amazing Sony HDC 3300 Super Slow Motion camera, which allows the programme editor to access slow motion highlights from the game in a matter of seconds.
EVS Hard Disc technology
The boom in demand for HD sports broadcast equipment rental has only been matched by demand for hard drive servers capable of storing and backing up the vastly increased stream of audio and video information generated by HD broadcast cameras.
The undisputed market leaders in this field are EVS, whose EVS XT server and recently launched successor EVS XT2+ are in constant demand among professional sports broadcasters, not surprisingly given their respective 6x300GB and 12x300GB HD standard memory capacities.
Thinking ahead about HD broadcast equipment rentals
Fortunately, Gearhouse Broadcast anticipated some time ago the impact that HD broadcasting would have on the broadcast equipment rental market, and has healthy rental stocks of not only HD cameras and camcorders but has also built up the largest stock of EVS Hard Discs to be found among any UK broadcast rental company.
Indeed, it is currently in the process of gradually replacing all its 60 plus EVS XTs with the XT2+ version.
HD sports broadcast rental experience
Gearhouse Broadcast has a strong track record in supplying broadcasting equipment for sports events, including football.
Many of the HD cameras and infrastructure equipment supplied to broadcasters at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa is now back in the UK and available for sale and rental, and the company also hire HD system cameras, camcorders and EVS hard disc systems to contractors providing coverage for many high profile channels.
Ben McKeenan, Rentals Account Executive at Gearhouse Broadcast, says: “With the combination of technical expertise and levels of equipment we hold, unlike most broadcast equipment rental companies we can act as a One-Stop Shop for the customer.
“From the cameras, EVS servers to the glue infrastructure, we can supply a fully comprehensive package and can back it up with the expert knowledge of our Project Solutions and System Integration Divisions.”
Gearhouse Broadcast Provide HD Camera Solutions For Nation’s Favourite Sports Broadcast
Monday, September 6th, 2010
It seems that no sooner was the World Cup over than the English Premier League was back on our screens and with it the national institution that is football.
The BBC’s football programmes are among the most famous programmes in sports broadcasting, and the fact that all games are now broadcast in full HD is thanks in part to the HD broadcast cameras and infrastructure supplied by the Rental Division of Gearhouse Broadcast.
The BBC’s outside broadcast contractors SISLive are charged with arranging comprehensive HD coverage of matches taking place across the country, and Gearhouse Broadcast are the natural partners for anyone looking for that kind of volume of HD camera rental and HD broadcast infrastructure rental. (more…)