SuperSport’s new 4K/UHD IP native OB truck, IP1 in South Africa, is kitted out with the latest in advanced broadcasting technologies including Calrec’s 64 fader Artemis+ audio mixing console with Calrec’s ImPulse audio processing and routing engine (main) as well as the Calrec’s Type R IP modular mixing system (submix) + Dolby Atmos/Dolby Laboratories 5.1 (available stereo down-mix). Let’s take a look inside this one of the most advanced OB trucks in the world.
   

SuperSport plan to use the OB truck to broadcast live sports events in 4K ultra high definition, including local rugby and football. SuperSport, which produces more than 750 live productions every year, will no longer be limited by 1080p – they will also use the truck to provide 4K feeds from South African games to international broadcasters.

Dheshnie Naidoo, Head of Production Operations at SuperSport who led the team that designed the truck, said the decision to embrace IP in the OB truck’s design gives SuperSport greater “scalability and flexibility” in its broadcasts.

The entire state-of-the-art truck, which took 18 months to design and build in conjunction with Broadcast Solutions Group, is built for modern broadcasts over internet protocol (IP SMPTE 2110 NMOS compliant) networks, including satellite and fiber. Naidoo continues: “We can broadcast from anywhere provided there is internet connectivity…It gives us the opportunity to broadcast even from remote areas, in places that have never hosted a concert or sports event, in a cost-effective and efficient way, with less people-intensive rigging and setup.”

«Calrec’s approach has always been to create solutions that allow broadcasters to migrate to IP at their own pace,» says Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec. «We’re very pleased to see long-time customer SuperSport take full advantage of Calrec’s IP native broadcast technology to provide greater scalability and flexibility to enable them to broadcast from anywhere. Being part of advanced projects like IP1 for a prominent broadcaster like SuperSport is what Calrec is all about — offering cutting-edge, proven and reliable technology that enhances workflows and viewer satisfaction in a cost-effective and efficient way.»

SuperSport’s OB track IP1 offers unprecedented production power in a single vehicle, while still retaining a very comfortable working environment. Production facilities include a Sony XVS 9000 4 M/E switcher, and space for as many as 14 EVS replay operators. The truck is wired for 30 cameras, including Sony 3500 Ultra HD, 5500 super-motion and 4800 ultra-motion cameras.

Dheshnie Naidoo add: "We needed to be able to cover a lot of those events in Ultra HD for world feeds, so we needed a new truck which would have all the tools we need, and which we could very quickly configure to each job.