CTV, part of the Euro Media Group, has just taken delivery of what has been described by UK coachbuilders, A. Smith Gt. Bentley (ASGB) as “probably the largest outside broadcast trailer ever built.”
The expandable 84sqm full HD OB vehicle was manufactured by ASGB in collaboration with ProjectBuilders, a division of Belgian broadcast and production company VIDEOHOUSE. The truck comes complete with DirectOut equipment including 25 KYRA MADI monitoring and line checking devices which were specially designed for CTV.
“DirectOut actually ended up designing a new product based on our requirements which has since been publically released,” commented CTV’s Paul Francis. DirectOut added a headphone output on the front panel, incorporated PFT technology (Power Fail Through ensuring that signal transmission via the BNC MADI port is maintained in case of power loss), enabled channel selection on the front panel to be locked as a precaution against accidental changes, and reduced the unit depth from 25cm to 20cm. “We particularly appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the later design stages of the KYRA MADI monitor as it ensured that we received the equipment most appropriate to our project.”
In addition to the 25 KYRA units, DirectOut also supplied two M.1k2 MADI routers along with some extra I/O modules and an ANDIAMO AD/DA converter.
“DirectOut equipment forms the primary monitoring and routing system in this OB truck,” continued Francis. “Signals between the audio desk, VTR/DDR, stage boxes and monitoring are all routed using DirectOut M.1k2 router. As for the KYRA devices, they have made the operator and client monitoring much simpler and more flexible. By using the technique of constructing and routing MADI streams in this way we have reduced audio installation cable in this truck by over 80 per cent, which is a huge achievement.”
