NRK, the Norwegian national TV broadcaster, has selected a UTAH-400 HD routing switcher and four dedicated control panels to serve as the core of a stand-alone flyaway pack that is mainly used for broadcasting remote sporting events.
The equipment was first deployed for NRK’s coverage of the IBU World Championships Biathlon in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which took place in February. During the event, 30 NRK reporters, producers, editors and technicians were on the ground for two-and-a-half weeks to broadcast the 10-day event. Future plans call for the 64 x 64 HD router, which is loaded 32 x 32, to journey to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The UTAH-400 control panels are ideal for a fast-paced remote operation because they make configuring the routing switcher intuitive, fast and easy. The router's crosspoint redundancy, as well as redundant power supplies and controller cards, are valuable for a remote application when reliability is critical.
The government-owned NRK runs three main TV channels, three main radio channels supplemented by niche offerings, and a significant programming presence on the Web and mobile phone platforms. It's estimated that every day, 80 percent of Norwegians watch or listen to NRK programming.
NRK is also a longtime customer of Sandar, a Norwegian provider of routing switchers that was acquired by Utah Scientific in 2008.
