The Swiss-based Host Broadcast Services (HBS) has selected Thomson Grass Valley to provide HDTV OB vans for its broadcast coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Thomson will outfit up to seven mobile trucks with Grass Valley brand cameras, switchers, servers, routers and modular products to support the SD and HD broadcasts of the HBS–produced soccer matches.
About 80 percent of all HD mobile trucks that have rolled out in the United States and Europe in the last 18 months have standardized on Grass Valley HD and multiformat production equipment from Thomson.
Thomson will work directly with a number of service providers and mobile unit fabricators to oversee construction of the new all-digital, multiformat mobile production trucks in time for the 2006 World Cup, which will be held in a dozen cities throughout Germany beginning June 9, 2006.
To capture all of the matches and coordinate their coverage, each truck will carry a significant number of Grass Valley products, including one Kalypso HD video production center switcher or one XtenDD HD switcher and 24 LDK 6000 mk II HD cameras. HBS also will use up to 42 LDK 23HS mk II super slo-mo cameras, or optionally, the new Thomson HD super slo-mo cameras; a Trinix digital video routing switcher and a Concerto series multiformat routing switcher for handling SD and HD signals; several Profile 6G servers; and a variety Kameleon and Gecko modular products.
See Thomson Grass Valley at IBC2004 in booths 11.551, 11.561 and OEH201.