WUPPERTAL, GERMANY— Swedish broadcast production provider Mediatec has based its full mobile production fleet on a Riedel Communications MediorNet infrastructure. A total of 20 MediorNet Compact PRO and eight MediorNet Modular systems are installed across 10 Mediatec OB vans.
“We believe that the future of mobile production lies within flexible setup scenarios that can be adapted to specific applications as needed,” said Paul Henriksen, Mediatec CEO.
The cost of operating OB vans is crucial in the profitability of mobile production. Instead of operating a fleet of several large vans, Mediatec uses a wide range of medium-sized OB vans that can be linked together and scaled to form larger systems.
Central to this approach is Riedel MediorNet, the fiber-based real-time signal transport solution for video, audio, communications, and data. When the individual MediorNet systems are connected, they form one integrated infrastructure, thus expanding configuration options and extending flexibility.
Depending on their application, the vans are equipped with different setups. While three vehicles offer a capacity of up to 12 HD-SDI video inputs and outputs via MediorNet MN-HD-6-IO cards, five trucks provide eight HD-SDI-I/Os. The two smallest feature MediorNet Compact PRO systems instead of MediorNet Modular systems and offer four HD-SDI inputs and outputs each. Mediatec also uses the MediorNet backbone to distribute signals for its Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom system. The fleet is equipped with Artist 128 mainframes and Artist 1000 Series control panels, which interface seamlessly with MediorNet in a single integrated infrastructure.
To enable video connectivity between two remote locations, Mediatec has equipped each OB van with a stagebox system consisting of one or two MediorNet Compact PRO devices. Connected via simple fiber links, the Mediatec stageboxes can transport up to 16 HD video signals to the OB vans.
One of the first events in which Mediatec used this approach was the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, where the companu was the official technical event supplier. The Mediatec MediorNet system interfaced with other Riedel systems, such as the 31 commentator booths that Riedel equipped on behalf of host broadcaster SVT. The commentator booth setup consisted of 31 Artist CCP control panels, 31 Connect Trio interfaces, seven MediorNet frames and eight Artist digital matrix intercom mainframes.
