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Broadcast Solutions delivers OB Van to Al Kass

Broadcast Solutions has delivered a 31 camera OB Van, plus supporting truck, to sports channel Al Kass in Qatar. The OB Van was designed, built and integrated

Broadcast Solutions has delivered a 31 camera OB Van, plus supporting truck, to sports channel Al Kass in Qatar.

The OB Van was designed, built and integrated at the Broadcast Solutions headquarters in Germany. The live production vehicle, named OB-10, will serve in major live events for the Al Kass sports channel as well as for further TV stations.

For Broadcast Solutions, the Al Kass project marked a further highlight in building live production trucks. The company reportedly proved to have the knowledge and staff to design and build an OB Van for 31 cameras and 29 crew members with coachbuilding, tailor-made interiors and technological solutions in time and budget, and to the customer’s satisfaction.

Samer Younes, technical advisor at Al Kass, said, “We were looking for companies that reach our demands for high-quality and specialised OB Vans and who work as a full-service provider. We found this here at Broadcast Solutions. The company has a more advanced approach to resources and the number of cameras to include directly in the OB. Broadcast Solutions helped us to reach our design goals for this OB Van, which is the biggest one in the Middle East, and we are looking forward to many big productions with this OB Van.”

Al Kass can draw on 31 cameras, nine EVS XT-3 servers (12 channels each), 68 monitors and 240 multiviewer screens for up to 29 operators working in the OB Van. To provide enough space for all equipment and manpower, Broadcast Solutions opted for a trailer design with a single expansion (1.6m) over the full length of the trailer. With a length of 16.5m (with tractor unit), 2.5m (expanded 4.1m) width, 4m height and a weight of 37t, OB-10 works with maximum dimensions and optimised weight.

Because of the protruding expansion, Broadcast Solutions focused especially on chassis stability. No additional stands are needed for the OB Van to be in duty and manned. A further topic the customer addressed was the quick setup time, which Broadcast Solutions solved – OB-10 is in operation within 20 minutes from driving status.

Since the OB Van is in use mainly in the Middle East area a sophisticated air condition system is paramount to the vehicles ongoing operation. The German system integrator included a cooling system with a maximum cooling capacity for equipment and operators of up to more than 50°C outside temperature.

The second part of the project was the related delivery of a supporting truck, with the same size as OB-10, without extension. This second vehicle is the home of all mobile equipment, such as cameras, lenses, tripods, cable reels etc. plus a maintenance room. The storage room is equipped with a hydraulic platform for easy loading and unloading. The supporting truck provides two generators and an UPS unit. The two generators supply 70 kVA each and feed air condition and equipment circuits separately. A special feature is the additional 900 litre built-in diesel tank which enables the generators to work for a minimum of 24 hours, providing electricity for the OB Van under full load.

Full specifications of the Al Kass OB-10:

Dimensions (l/w/h): 16.5m (with tractor unit) / 2.5m (4.1m with extension) / 4.0m

Weight: 37t

Cameras: 20x Ikegami, 3G/HD

7x Ikegami HI-Motion

2x Ikegami wireless

2x Antelope high-speed

Video Switcher: Grass Valley, Kayenne, 4M/E, 80 inputs / 48 outputs

Video Router: Grass Valley, NVISION, 288×450(576), 3G

Monitors: 68x SONY

Servers: 9x EVS, XT-3, 12 channels each

Control Systems: VSM

Tally System: included in VSM

Modular: Snell, IQ series

Multiviewer: Grass Valley, KMV series with 240 screens

Audio Mixer: Lawo, mc2 56 MKII with 48 faders

Audio Matrix: Lawo Nova

Intercom Matrix: Riedel, Artist 128

Wireless Talkback: Riedel / Motorola / Overline UC System

Network Matrix: 9x HP Ethernet switches with 272 ports