Sony and NEP have joined forces with Belgian tech company Citymesh to trial two separate 5G workflows during coverage of the Belgian Cup Final.
The three companies worked on the project on behalf of media group DPG Media.
The workflows both utilised the private 5G network set up by Citymesh.
The first consisted of a Sony FX3 camera equipped with the data transmitter PDT-FP1, which uploaded images through the network directly to the cloud, allowing NEP Europe’s engineering team to test, review and check the efficiency of that workflow.
The second workflow consisted of a Sony FX9 full-frame camera equipped with the CBK-RPU7 remote production unit, which was then connected to a PDT-FP1 to enable maximum utilisation of the 5G connectivity from Citymesh. At the other end of this connection, the NXL-ME80 (Media Edge Processor) decoded the signals and handed them over to NEP’s OB van based outside the King Baudouin Stadium.
“The success of this trial is made even greater with context,” says Kurt Galens, technical producer for DPG Media. “Taking place in an outdoor stadium with a seating capacity of over 50,000, and an eager audience to fill it, the consistent performance achieved demonstrates that the utilisation of 5G in event broadcasting is practical and has the potential to be used as a trustworthy alternative for legacy workflows.”
