Faced with a busy summer of sporting and music event production, Irish OB specialists Television Mobiles (TVM) decided to boost its fleet with the commissioning of its first 3D-capable OB. The fully featured, 30-camera HD 3G truck, offering monitor capability of 1080/60p signals, holds the first Vista 9 in Europe to incorporate backstop PFL at the heart of the audio control. The 52-fader console is configured with 760 Input Mono Equivalent Signals and 680 Output Mono Equivalent Signals, with 16 channels of audio embedded in an Evertz hybrid router. “The new unit had to be fully 3G capable and audio embedded,” explained TVM owner Bart Arnold. “As for backstop PFL, this was part of the original spec – if you are used to fader-controlled backstop PFL it is hard to do without, and provides a more elegant fade solution.” Studer implemented this now standard Vista option for TVM. “We also like the layout of the Vista 9 – particularly its ease of use for someone moving from analogue to digital, and we like the optical fibre options of Studer’s D21m and new Compact stage boxes. The desk itself has some nice innovative features, such as FaderGlow.” This last feature provides the operator with an instant overview of the console status by illuminating each fader in one of eight freely assignable colours. After an 18-month gestation, coachbuilders A Smith Great Bentley delivered a vehicle that provided TVM with a flexible studio environment. The design was a particular challenge to their Senior Design Engineer Bob Hanks, but he came up with a solution to meet the requirements. “This included separate Tx/comms areas – and a very large sound production room with the digital mixer placed in a quiet environment where it is not exposed to the clutter of comms and line checks, and leaving the engineer to focus on the sound mix. This concept works well and the truck is adaptable to our work model.”www.harman.com
