Megahertz has reconfigured an HD-built link truck into what the company claims is the first 4K Ultra HD truck in the UK and probably Europe, for BT TVOB, the service provider arm of BT Media and Broadcast. It will be on show at IBC.
BT TVOB provides a delivery service from sporting and event locations in the UK, via fibre and satellite, to broadcasters and production company headquarters. The BT truck sits alongside the outside broadcast production vehicle, accepting multiple feeds which are then compressed, multiplexed and fed to the broadcaster via the BT Tower in London. At each point including the input and outputs of the link truck there is quality monitoring to ensure that the signal arrives in excellent condition.
The truck, TES 51, has been used to cover HD sports productions including the Premier League football, rugby and cricket, as well as running 4K UHD trials. The technical area of the truck includes a 96 port Snell router capable of handling a mixture of 4K, 3Gbps and HD baseband signals, and ASI transport streams. In the configuration for IBC, 4K signals are compressed using advanced encoders from NTT.
Jon Flay (pictured), managing director of Megahertz, said “To maintain a leadership position in advanced systems integration and to meet the ever-changing demands of today’s market you need a broad and current skillset in your design and engineering teams, and a versatile and creative approach. Our team’s vast experience and our understanding of BT Media and Broadcast’s commercial and operational requirements has enabled us to design and build this new 4K Ultra HD vehicle. “
