Arena Television streamlines with Optocore
Aug 26, 2011 12:13 PM
The Arena OB7 truck, rigged with the new Optocore system in preparation for the Aviva Rugby Premiership season.
In order to streamline transmission between one of its flagship OB trucks and the production gantry during sports event coverage, Arena Television of Surrey, England has invested in further Optocore ‘new generation’ converters. Head of Sound, Tim Rowden, and Sound Guarantee, Mark Reed, were seeking a more elegant cable management system by replacing the vast lengths of analog multicores with fiber, After weighing their options, they turned to Munich-based Optocore, pioneering leaders in fiber optic networking, and its locally based reseller/integrator, HD Pro Audio.
Since they were also looking to reduce rack space in their OB7 scanner, and incorporate MADI streams and 128 x 128 digital talkback onto the network, HD Pro Audio recommended they upgrade with two X6R-FX 16-channel A/D converters (configured 8 Mic In/8 Line Out) and a pair of X6R-TP (16 Mic In), along with a DD4MR-FX dual MADI, video and data network enabled device. This also gives them access to Optocore’s SANE (Synchronous Audio Networking plus Ethernet) platform.
The solution has also enabled Arena to configure a 40-In, 8-Out remote stage box in the gantry, with 8-In, 8-Out plus MADI feeds to the Calrec production console in the 8-camera HD truck. This superior networking architecture boasts the advantages of ultra-low latency, high channel count, and greater reliability in a more economical package. The equipment was purchased in time for the start of the new Aviva Rugby Premiership season, which Arena televises for ESPN.
Arena Television has been using Optocore optical fibre solutions since 2008, running a DD4ME MADI interface, DD32E configurable network devices and X6P converters.
“We have been impressed with the existing Optocore systems,” Reed said. “But, when Tim and I looked at the possibilities for the new season, including copper, we realized we could make cost savings and create a more elegant solution than having stage boxes at each end linked by six 8-pair multicores of 200 metres each.”
Reed went on to detail some of the advantages of the latest Optocore technology in OB truck applications.
“At its extreme, we could have up to 3km of multis to fault find and to bring the talkback circuits and MADI streaming down just 200m of fiber makes a huge difference in terms of cable rigging,” he said. “With an X6R-FX analogue interface and DD4ME in the truck, Arena can reduce rack space from 3U to 2U — without the necessity of the DD32E on top.
“It was the ability to plug analog from the jack field to the fiber system via the X6R that makes this viable.”
This solution also provides direct analogue interface to the MADI streams via the patchbay, since the X6R is wired across the jack field and the DD4MR across the mixing desk.
Up in the stand gantry commentary box the rack of radios now operates analog over Optocore fiber via wired XLRs and SMPTE fiber terminations. The X6R-FX in the gantry provides the interface to the OB truck, linked by the two X6R-TP SANE devices on top, which provide the network.
The new system made its rugby debut at the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series. Afterwards, Reed gave the new system a big thumbs-up.
“This offers us a more efficient cable management system, saves vast amounts of rigging and fault finding time and meets the financial implications of buying the copper cable against analog,” he said. “From a practical point of view the big advantage in the truck has been the ease of implementation and the fact that one box is replacing two multis.”
In order to streamline transmission between one of its flagship OB trucks and the production gantry during sports event coverage, Arena Television of Surrey, England has invested in further Optocore ‘new generation’ converters. Head of Sound, Tim Rowden, and Sound Guarantee, Mark Reed, were seeking a more elegant cable management system by replacing the vast lengths of analog multicores with fiber, After weighing their options, they turned to Munich-based Optocore, pioneering leaders in fiber optic networking, and its locally based reseller/integrator, HD Pro Audio.
Since they were also looking to reduce rack space in their OB7 scanner, and incorporate MADI streams and 128 x 128 digital talkback onto the network, HD Pro Audio recommended they upgrade with two X6R-FX 16-channel A/D converters (configured 8 Mic In/8 Line Out) and a pair of X6R-TP (16 Mic In), along with a DD4MR-FX dual MADI, video and data network enabled device. This also gives them access to Optocore’s SANE (Synchronous Audio Networking plus Ethernet) platform.
The solution has also enabled Arena to configure a 40-In, 8-Out remote stage box in the gantry, with 8-In, 8-Out plus MADI feeds to the Calrec production console in the 8-camera HD truck. This superior networking architecture boasts the advantages of ultra-low latency, high channel count, and greater reliability in a more economical package. The equipment was purchased in time for the start of the new Aviva Rugby Premiership season, which Arena televises for ESPN.
Arena Television has been using Optocore optical fibre solutions since 2008, running a DD4ME MADI interface, DD32E configurable network devices and X6P converters.
“We have been impressed with the existing Optocore systems,” Reed said. “But, when Tim and I looked at the possibilities for the new season, including copper, we realized we could make cost savings and create a more elegant solution than having stage boxes at each end linked by six 8-pair multicores of 200 metres each.”
Reed went on to detail some of the advantages of the latest Optocore technology in OB truck applications.
“At its extreme, we could have up to 3km of multis to fault find and to bring the talkback circuits and MADI streaming down just 200m of fiber makes a huge difference in terms of cable rigging,” he said. “With an X6R-FX analogue interface and DD4ME in the truck, Arena can reduce rack space from 3U to 2U — without the necessity of the DD32E on top.
“It was the ability to plug analog from the jack field to the fiber system via the X6R that makes this viable.”
This solution also provides direct analogue interface to the MADI streams via the patchbay, since the X6R is wired across the jack field and the DD4MR across the mixing desk.
Up in the stand gantry commentary box the rack of radios now operates analog over Optocore fiber via wired XLRs and SMPTE fiber terminations. The X6R-FX in the gantry provides the interface to the OB truck, linked by the two X6R-TP SANE devices on top, which provide the network.
The new system made its rugby debut at the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series. Afterwards, Reed gave the new system a big thumbs-up.
“This offers us a more efficient cable management system, saves vast amounts of rigging and fault finding time and meets the financial implications of buying the copper cable against analog,” he said. “From a practical point of view the big advantage in the truck has been the ease of implementation and the fact that one box is replacing two multis.”
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