PITTSBURGH—Coachella wasn’t just about covering the music this year for NEP, as the mobile unit supplier used the annual music festival as one of the testing sites for a new system of wireless network cameras that are based on the Visionary Solutions E4000 encoder and D4000 decoder. The system uses the 4K UHD-over-IP encoder and decoder to bypass traditional switch matrix distribution systems for IP networks.
At these events, NEP is using the Visionary units with Panasonic AW-HE130 robotic cameras to create wireless robotic cameras. NEP routes video and camera control data from the AW-HE130’s HDMI output to the E4000. The IP-based robotic data is combined with the output data of the encoder with router data and a switch, which then goes to a Ubiquity Wireless point-to-point transmission system. The data is broken down through the D4000 decoder and routed to the Panasonic Remote Camera Controllers.
Despite having less bandwidth than traditional wired systems, NEP Senior Tech Manager Eddie Sheridan claimed that there was little drop off with the video quality in using the wireless system in NEP’s press release.
Specifically for Coachella, NEP had 24 hardwired cameras, six robotic cameras, as well as some POV cameras. Between the wireless camera network and the use of fiber optic cable, NEP was able to house its six mobile units in a single location on site.
