- New OB van concept with outsourcing of the technology to the support van
- 60 sqm, 24 UHD/HDR cameras, 26 workstations
- State-of-the-art air-conditioning technology for air purification and virus removal
- State-of-the-art UHD/HDR productions
- Modular system for flexible use of EVS and LiveTouch servers
Studio Berlin has added a new large UHD/HDR OB van to its fleet, U10, which has already been successfully used to broadcast the German Television Award (RTL). OB van U10 is designed as a trailer with two extensions (one over the entire length and one in the audio control room). With around 60 m2, the vehicle offers 26 workstations with people benefitting from a relaxed working atmosphere. U10 can handle productions with up to 24 UHD/HDR cameras, plus additional wireless cameras. The most radical innovation that Studio Berlin and Broadcast Solutions have implemented in the Ü10 is moving certain technical areas to the support truck. A total of 10 19” racks of hardware are housed in a particular equipment room in the support truck – this approach is unique in this consistency. A redundant fiber interlink connects the two vehicles.
Nick Zimmermann, Managing Director at Studio Berlin, comments on the strategy behind the vehicle: “The U10 complements our UHD strategy, which we started four years ago with the U9 – also built together with Broadcast Solutions – with another large vehicle. Regular investments in our technical production equipment ensure that we can meet current requirements and rely on the most modern production equipment. A large area of use for the U10 will be the production of the German Bundesliga. Because of Bundesliga’s new rights period but also because of big show productions, the demand for UHD/HDR production capacities is increasing massively.”
Outsourcing the technical racks offers many advantages in the construction and subsequent operation of the OB van. U10 provides more space than usual OB vans of its size, leading to an increase in the number of workstations and equalising their arrangement simultaneously. As a result, minimum distances can be maintained, and acrylic glass shields become superfluous during OB production. Since there is no need for cooling the racks, there are no separate air-conditioning circuits in the OB van. Thus, when planning the air-conditioning system, the focus was on the air-conditioning of the rooms. Broadcast Solutions technicians could specifically address the needs of the people in such a work environment. Broadcast Solutions has in-depth know-how in the air-conditioning of OB vans and in installing the necessary technology and air ducting. In addition, the company has developed new methods for keeping the air clean through extensive testing and research and leveraging these in the U10. The supply air is cleaned of germs and viruses with active filters. Additional treatment with UVC light blast viruses – a technique that is already in use in the health sector but is an entirely novel approach in the construction of OB vans. Apart from COVID-19, these technologies are essential measures to render “everyday” germs and viruses harmless and minimise team downtime due to contagious diseases. In addition, the fresh air system of U10 allows for a maximum of fresh air intake in the production rooms.
With the additional space gained, Broadcast Solutions and Studio Berlin set new schemes in room layout and arrangement, always aiming to respond as flexible as possible to the vehicle’s use in different productions. The two control rooms can be easily and quickly converted into one large super control room by moving doors and monitor walls. Special attention was paid to the design of the vision control area. Studio Berlin has gained a lot of know-how in UHD/HDR productions in the past, which is also reflected in the planning of U10. At vision control, the engineers and designers have four 31” UHD/HDR Class 1 monitors and another 55” monitor in a perfectly coordinated arrangement at their disposal.
U10 also sets standards in terms of reliability during productions. The vehicle is equipped with a powerful UPS buffer. In a power failure, the U10 continues running the entire production for 15 minutes on battery power.
Studio Berlin uses the U10 primarily for large sporting events and show productions. To process the amount of audio and video signals, the audio and video technology is built accordingly. A Grass Valley K-Frame XP Compact vision mixer is controlled via a Karrera control panel in the main control room and a Korona control panel in the second control room. 24 Grass Valley LDX 86N cameras plus wireless cameras provide the video signals. On the routing side, Studio Berlin and Broadcast Solutions opted for Riedel’s decentralised MediorNet routing system. With 38 MicroN UHD units, the vehicle holds enormous capacities for managing the UHD/HD signals.
Studio Berlin and Broadcast Solutions used a new approach for the U10’s servers. In an initial configuration, seven EVS servers and one Grass Valley LiveTouch server are in use, although up to eight EVS or LiveTouch servers can be installed as a maximum. Designing the ergonomics of the Slomo workstations, both partners paid particular attention that various operating concepts of different server variants are considered. A modular system, specially designed by Broadcast Solutions, adapts the workstations to the respective production-specific equipment in just a few steps. The audio control rooms are equipped to meet the need of large productions. A Lawo mc256 Mark III (64 faders) with redundant UHD cores is installed in audio control room 1, whereas a Lawo mc236 (16 faders) is used in audio control room 2. During large productions, the OB has access to eight video and audio stage boxes each. Lawo’s VSM system controls the vehicle. To access more than 39 computers and 25 user stations, Broadcast Solutions integrated an Apantac IP-KVM system.
Using the new U10 and the four-year-old U9, Studio Berlin leverages a fleet of UHD production vehicles that prepares the company for future developments. With both OB vans, Studio Berlin responds flexibly to increasing production requirements for large UHD/HDR productions.
