SIS Live has delivered six new Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) vehicles to Sky News, as the company aims to further improve its coverage of breaking news stories across the UK. The compact HD trucks are the latest in a series of satellite uplink systems commissioned by Sky News.
SIS Live’s teams have worked closely with Sky News to develop six Mercedes Benz Vito vehicles to meet its requirements. The company’s support team will maintain the fleet and provide uplink/downlink services, adding these services to those already supplied to Sky, including camera operators, satellite engineers and satellite capacity.
Each truck carries SIS Live’s reduced-weight DriveForce antenna, which allows it to be installed on a smaller 3.2T vehicle, with the aim of avoiding large vehicle speed restrictions and enabling faster travel to the breaking news event.
On board equipment includes HD, SDI, fibre and wireless camera inputs, and the infrastructure for the installation of future IP solutions.
“As a rolling, 24-hour multi-media news operation, it’s essential we have reliable SNG vehicles which can reach the scene of breaking stories first and send back footage of the highest broadcast quality for inclusion on our multi-platforms,” said Jackie Faulkner, head of operations, Sky News. “SIS Live has once again provided exactly what we requested, with SNG vehicles we can rely on to deliver fast, comprehensive news coverage of the highest quality, as our viewers have come to expect.”
David Meynell, managing director, SIS Live, added: “This bespoke fleet of SNG trucks is the result of another successful collaboration with Sky News. One of the main priorities was that, as a first response news vehicle, the technology not only had to be cutting edge, but also reliable and simple for a lone operator to use.”
