Sportcast GmbH has ordered two new OB vans from Grass Valley™. The wholly owned subsidiary of DFL, Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH, produces the basic programming of all matches of Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga in Germany as well as the DFB-Cup games of DFB (Deutscher Fußball Bund). The new compact OB vans will allow Sportcast to further extend their productions.
The two OB vans are identical. Built on 12m Mercedes Benz truck bases, the completed units will provide an excellent working environment for production crews. Each will be equipped with six Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite HD cameras plus an LDK 8300 HD Live Super SloMo camera. A 3 M/E Kayenne XL™ Video Mixer package including the new Kayenne XL control panel – just recently introduced to the market by Grass Valley – provides the main production control, with another 2 M/E Kayenne XL Panel to allow simultaneous secondary production control.
The truck’s infrastructure relies on a Grass Valley Trinix™ router with the capacity for up to 256 inputs and outputs and on Grass Valley GeckoFlex™ modular products. Other equipment in the turnkey contract includes a Lawo audio console, Riedel intercom and Fujinon lenses. The OB Van competence center of Grass Valley in Weiterstadt, Germany is managing the whole project from system design up to training.
“We want to provide high quality production coverage which matches our premium coverage of Bundesliga,” said Josef Nehl, Managing Director of Sportcast. “Of course we are very familiar with Grass Valley equipment and systems solutions from our daily business with our contractual partners. Grass Valley came up with an innovative design with an excellent use of space and a very competitive price. Finally, we were certain that all would work perfectly based on Grass Valley’s extensive systems integration experience.”
“This is another great example of the transition to HD, meeting the expectations of audiences who demand this new quality standard whenever they turn on their televisions,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley. “With these new trucks Sportcast will be able to bring the same crystal clear images and production values to every game on a Bundesliga weekend schedule. We see this contract as a benchmark for bringing uncompromised HD production into the medium sized market, and in extending the scope of high definition sport on television.”
The order for these two units was placed in March 2009, with the requirement that both vehicles be available for the next football season in the last quarter of the year.
Sportcast is responsible for television coverage of all matches for DFL’s media partners, and as such is the biggest originator of sports television in Germany.