MONTREAL—Grass Valley has announced that Cloudbass has selected its LDX 150 series cameras and K-Frame VXP production switchers for two new IP remote production vehicles, set for completion later this year.
The deal is part of Cloudbass’ plans to expand its IP production capabilities.
Cloudbass is one of the UK’s leading providers of outside broadcast solutions and services, with an extensive fleet of UHD, 1080p/1080i, HDR/SDR OB trucks, and scalable SMPTE 2110 and 2022-6 IP units.
The two new vehicles, which are being built by integration partner dB Broadcast, will include 32 LDX 150 cameras, three LDX C150 compact versions, and one K-Frame VXP production switcher.
“Designed specifically for remote production, Cloudbass’ new trucks leverage Grass Valley’s technology for its seamless integration into IP-driven workflows, flexible format support, and superior image quality. Grass Valley’s solutions are the perfect fit for our operational needs,” explained Mike Beaumont, technical director at Cloudbass. “Deploying an all-IP workflow, reducing weight and energy consumption, and delivering outstanding image quality will enhance our efficiency and production capabilities”
Built in collaboration with dB Broadcast, the trucks are designed for both on-site and remote production workflows, ensuring flexibility while optimizing space, weight, and power efficiency, the companies said.
Reducing energy and operating costs were a core part of Cloudbass’ brief for the new units. The benefits will include significant weight reduction leading to lower fuel consumption and emissions, while faster deployment times will reduce the need for prolonged power usage and crew on-site. The scalable, software-driven workflows will enable Cloudbass to optimize energy consumption based on production needs, while the remote production-ready technology minimizes travel requirements for production crews, the companies explained.
“It’s our mission to lower energy consumption and operational costs in live broadcasting even as we increase our operational capability,” said Beaumont. “Grass Valley’s NativeIP camera transmission removes the need for traditional base stations, helping us to streamline systems and improve efficiency, which is very important to us.”
To optimize space, the trucks are compact builds with limited rack space, yet they are designed to handle a mix of HD, UHD and super slow-motion cameras with the flexibility to configure camera outputs as needed – including producing SDR versions of the feeds alongside the HDR versions directly from the head.
“We ticked all the boxes for remote production with NativeIP, while delivering the high-quality results their clients require, such as flexible output configuration, no UHD compromise, color space and HDR support to successfully bring the project together”, explains Daragh Bass, Grass Valley’s director of business development, EMEA. “The collaboration with Cloudbass reflects the growing adoption of Grass Valley’s market leading cameras and switchers across the industry, and we’re proud to support them in enhancing their production capabilities while delivering the flexibility and efficiency needed for modern broadcast workflows.”
Grass Valley reported that Cloudbass selected Grass Valley’s K-Frame VXP and LDX camera systems to meet demanding broadcast requirements with limited space, daily redeployment, and IP-based workflows. The K-Frame VXP offers Cloudbass a powerful combination of advanced HDR/SDR color mapping, flexible keyer configurations, integrated multiviewers, and native 100G IP connectivity, all in a compact 6RU frame. On the camera side, the NativeIP support, flexible output configuration and 3x/6x super slow motion capabilities make the LDX Series ideal for hybrid HD/UHD workflows, with robust image quality and custom HDR color space handling. Combined with intuitive control and remote configurability, these solutions enable Cloudbass to deliver high-performance live production with agility, quality, and creative control, Grass Valley explained.
Cloudbass’ new trucks are scheduled to make their debut in top-tier English football coverage this coming fall, supporting high-speed, multi-format workflows for one of the most watched leagues in the world. Mike Bryan, technology director at dB Broadcast, added that “Grass Valley’s IP-based architecture is a perfect fit for this project, helping Cloudbass maximize both operational efficiency and sustainability. We’re excited to be working with them to deliver trucks that are not only powerful but also future-proof and energy efficient.”
