Quality and Service wise - what are the top 5 production truck companies and why?

Quality and Service wise - what are the top 5 production truck companies and why?
Why do you ask? It depends on what your looking for,what your trying to produce where your event is. Some companies have a national focus, while others are more regional in nature.

Quality and Service wise - what are the top 5 production truck companies and why?

It would also be hard to quanitfy "quality" are we talking work conditions, equipment conditions, or what the facility is capable of putting on the air? You can ask a million road warriors this question and get a bunch of different combinations of answers. But generally any facility that is comfortable, that you don't have to jury-rig, that gives you what you need at your fingertips, that's well maintained with newer well-maintained gear and a good selection of equipment (very important because even potentially great trucks can misfire with a bad switcher or audio console purchase decision - or even something more rudimentary like video router or ergonomics). Basically a truck that does what the production requires easily, efficiently, ergonomically, cheaply and puts out a good product on the air is a good truck. Obviously as stated it really depends on the needs of the production as to whether a particular truck meets these criteria.

Quality and Service wise - what are the top 5 production truck companies and why?

In alphabetical order:
AMV (All Mobile Video)
Corplex
F&F Productions
Game Creek Productions
NCP (New Century Productions)
NEP Supershooters
NMT (National Mobile Television)

Each of these companies has had one or more units take an important role or the lead role in one or more of the most prestigious Sports and Entertainment events.

Yes that's 7, but there's no good way to draw the line at 5.

This does not mean that the quality and service of other companies is not just as good. Poor performers don't last in this very expensive business.

Poor performers don't last in this very expensive business.

I have to disagree with you. There are some crap trucks out there that constantly have issues. They're cheap to rent, so they're still around. But on the higher end, you are correct.

I have to disagree with you. There are some crap trucks out there that constantly have issues. They're cheap to rent, so they're still around. But on the higher end, you are correct.

Yea in fact it almost seems these days that there are either great working functional trucks or hellaciously craptastic trucks on the road

I have to disagree with you. There are some crap trucks out there that constantly have issues. They're cheap to rent, so they're still around. But on the higher end, you are correct.

Many of the crappiest HD trucks are run by the same companies that run the best ones and are listed on my post.

Hard to believe this thread is still arouind after 4 1/2 years boy has HD come along way since then.

No specific reason for my question. Just looking to see what's out there and what the feelings are from you guys.

With most all broadcast moving towards HD what do you think will happen to all the SD units? I imagine there has to be close to a hundred of them.

With most all broadcast moving towards HD what do you think will happen to all the SD units? I imagine there has to be close to a hundred of them.

The companies sell them or they gut them and re-fit with HD equipment.

Even some of the HD trucks out there have been competely rebuilt (they were HD, gutted and rebuilt with "better" HD equipment).

With most all broadcast moving towards HD what do you think will happen to all the SD units? I imagine there has to be close to a hundred of them.
More than that - especially if you count local TV.

Anything that is able to be salvaged after all that road time will eventually be gutted and upgraded. Some units will be sold to companies that are not HD, but might want a larger unit. Some will eventually be scrapped.

No specific reason for my question. Just looking to see what's out there and what the feelings are from you guys.

With most all broadcast moving towards HD what do you think will happen to all the SD units? I imagine there has to be close to a hundred of them.

Trucks with good air con, body and coach work, talkback systems, and a decent layout can be upgraded to HD (and 5.1 audio if they were previously stereo).

A number of BBC trucks have had this treatment - including their first HD truck (which started life as a 4:3 composite analogue unit, was upgraded to digital component 16:9 SD and then again to 16:9 HD)

Quite a few SD trucks built in recent years have also been built with upgrading in mind - though this is a slightly different case I guess.

Those that are reaching the end of their days will presumably be sold on (quite a few BBC trucks got sold to African broadcasters) or scrapped.

I want to update you on your production truck list. Token Creek Mobile Television, Inc. has been in the OB/Mobile truck business since 1992. Currently, we are running 3 trucks: A 40ft straight SDI/16x9 truck, a 53ft digital truck, and a 53ft expando HD truck. Check out our website.
Thanks,
John Salzwedel
president
Token Creek Mobile

Also - FYI - BBC Outside Broadcasts is likely to be sold by the BBC to SIS (Satellite Information Services) who run a major fleet of SNG (Satellite Newsgathering) trucks used by the main commercial news companies (ITN for ITV/C4, Sky News) in the UK.

The BBC have 4 HD trucks currently (one medium sized - Unit 2, 3 near-identical larger - Units 10,11 and 12 - with a 5th very big truck under construction I believe - an HD CMCCR, possibly with two production areas)

I'd like to ask a naive question:
Will increasing internet bandwidth or transmission capabilities eventually render trucks obsolete? Basically, what's the benefit of having an on-site production facility? Could we (eventually) just have fat pipes going out of arenas/studios and leading to a central production suite?

I'd like to ask a naive question:
Will increasing internet bandwidth or transmission capabilities eventually render trucks obsolete? Basically, what's the benefit of having an on-site production facility? Could we (eventually) just have fat pipes going out of arenas/studios and leading to a central production suite?

That would be alot of bandwidth to get all of the video and audio back to a central site. Also producers would most likely not be too pleased with not being at the park.

STO and WKYC already does this on a smaller scale for Indians home games. They only have a small truck at the park with most of the production taking place at the WKYC studios.

I went through the list to try to update it with what is out there now. Here is what I came up with organized by company. There are a few on the list that are due out later this year.

Corplex

Platinum
Iridium


NEP

Supershooter

SS11
SS14
SS18
SS19
SS20
SS21
SS24
SS25
SS26
SS27
SS28
ND3
ND4

Denali

Silver

New Century (NCP)

NCP IV
NCP V
NCP VII
NCP VIII
NCP X



Mobile Television Group (MTVG)

5HDX
6HDX
7HDX
8HDX
9HDX
10HDX
11HDX
12HDX
16HDX
17HDXS
18HDXS
19HDXS
20HDX
21HDX
22HDX
23HDX


Lyon Video

MU6
MU7
MU8


National Mobile Television (NMT)

HD1
HD3
HD6
HD10
HD11
HD12
Side-by-Side Units
SBS1
SBS2
SBS3



Trio Video

Tango
Rhythm
Phoenix


YES Productions

YES HD


Token Creek Mobile Television

Varsity HD


MIRA Mobile Television

M4-HD
M5-HD
M7-HD


HDNet

HD-1
HD-2


F&F productions

GTX-11
GTX-12
GTX-14
GTX-15


Turner Studios

TS-1
TS-2


COX

Unnamed (San Diego Padres (SD4) primary client)


Dome Productions

Trillium
Horizon
Majestic
Spirit
Tribute


Crosscreek Productions

Voyager 8HD


All Mobile Video

Titan
Resolution
Matrix
Celebrity
Cinetour


Comcast

Unnamed (CSN Philly & CSN Mid-Atlantic primary clients)


Game Creek Video

FX
Freedom
Patriot
Yankee Clipper
Northstar
Eagle
Intrepid


Bell ExpressVu

Unnamed


HD Ready

HD Roadie


Greene

HDV-3


MTV Networks Nashville

Pegasus


CBC

Premiere
Encore


NHK

K1
K2


Sweetwater

Unnamed



Here are the ones from the original list that i could not find any information about.
05. Q2'00/ Small/ Linman- Xtreme Digital II/
08. Q3'01/ Small/ Video One- Unnamed/ Hollywood projects
13. Q3'02/ Small/ Shulman- MU1/ Hollywood projects
21. Q4'03/ Full/ NMT- HD5/ InDemand
56. Q2'05/ Small/ Clear Channel- Unnamed/
57. Q2'05/ Small/ LMG- HD-1/ Trade shows, entertainment
60. Q3'05/ Full/ Coredigital- SundanceKidHD/
63. Q4'05/ Full/ TV Azteca- Unnamed/
70. Q4'05/ Small/ LMG- HD-2
77. Q1'06/ Small/ Liman - Newstream /
83. Q3'06/ Full/ NEP - SS-17/
86. Q3'06/ Full/ Corplex- Cobalt/


If there are any changes or additions please let me know.

A mighty impressive list. A few notes:

Add Red/Black (a super truck setup for WWE) to the NEP list.

I've heard that K1 is being replaced.

TPS does not actually OWN a truck (not that I've ever seen....)

Form the "where are they now list"
The MNF/Jonas Jensen truck is now Coreplex (I think Platinum).
Nova is now SS14.
Sweetwater is alive and well, just horrible web presence.
Bonnie (Clyde was just the 'B' unit) is gone as is Sundance.
ND-1 has been decommissioned.
Shook was a 'spec' truck chassis, never an HD truck.
SS17 is on its way.

-Jeff

Trios Rhythm nice truck, horrible name!

I'd like to ask a naive question:
Will increasing internet bandwidth or transmission capabilities eventually render trucks obsolete? Basically, what's the benefit of having an on-site production facility? Could we (eventually) just have fat pipes going out of arenas/studios and leading to a central production suite?

Sort of.

You aren't going to be piping back individual camera feeds back to a central base anytime soon - the latency issues are still issues - and there are benefits to having "production" on-site when it comes to actually making things happen on-site!

On the other hand it IS becoming possible to do off-site recording, logging, even remote editing, for large events overseas. Rather than sending lots of picture editors and producers overseas, you keep them back at home remotely editing... Saves on a lot of air-fares, hotel rooms etc. Stops the team spirit though.

Similarly - it is entirely possible to have a mix. The BBC ran their Torino/Turin Winter Olympics operation with a studio in Torino (with a lower staffing and equipment level than would be used if it were totally running the show) working back to London, and all the event feeds also fed back to London, with the London BBC Sport operation producing the final show - but still with significant production on-site. This made sense as lots of 270Mbs fibre connectivity was available between the event venues and London - and because the events were in the same time zone. I think the BBC requirement for 16:9 SD - which wasn't a standard Olympic provision - meant that they had to provide a lot more of their own Unilaterals this time - as the host broadcast Multilaterals were either 4:3 SD or 16:9 HD. ISTR that the BBC and the Aussies created a 16:9 SD downconversion of the HD event feeds - which they called Munilaterals! (Previous Winter Olympics in non-European time zones had had London presentation rather than location based presentation ISTR)

However for Beijing I believe the BBC plan to have most of the production on-site in China - however collobarative web based tools mean it is now possible to log remotely in London (so tape loggers don't have to go overseas anymore)

A mighty impressive list. A few notes:

Add Red/Black (a super truck setup for WWE) to the NEP list.

I've heard that K1 is being replaced.

TPS does not actually OWN a truck (not that I've ever seen....)

Form the "where are they now list"
The MNF/Jonas Jensen truck is now Coreplex (I think Platinum).
Nova is now SS14.
Sweetwater is alive and well, just horrible web presence.
Bonnie (Clyde was just the 'B' unit) is gone as is Sundance.
ND-1 has been decommissioned.
Shook was a 'spec' truck chassis, never an HD truck.
SS17 is on its way.

-Jeff

Thanks for the update, I updated the list.

For the NEP WWE truck is that a Supershooter truck or Denali truck?

Sort of.

You aren't going to be piping back individual camera feeds back to a central base anytime soon - the latency issues are still issues - and there are benefits to having "production" on-site when it comes to actually making things happen on-site!



Au contrair, mon ami. Just watch the Final Four Pre-Game or any of the News convention coverage this summer.

Au contrair, mon ami. Just watch the Final Four Pre-Game or any of the News convention coverage this summer.

Didn't ABC switch their conventions last time around out of NYC? I thought Roger Goodman called everything from home base (as it were).

Actually, found this...
http://broadcastengineering.com/news/broadcasting_new_technologies_alter/
CNN did it for sure.

Yep - though covering a political convention is very different to covering a football game or a music concert - the cut rate is much lower.

Must be very strange being a director where you can't actually set-up shots on the floor, talk to your camera, sound and floor management team face-to-face, and then walk to the truck to direct them... Was the coverage mainly "talking heads on stage" platform coverage intercut with single radio cameras roving on the floor, with no on-site studio presentation?

I take the point though, that fibre technology is allowing new ways of working. (Linking local and remote EVS servers via 270Mbs fibres is a neat way of getting content between sites for replays etc.)

Was CNN's coverage in SD or HD? And were the fibre circuits uncompressed or intra-frame compressed only to reduce latency? I presume there was some data to allow red/green cue-light return from Atlanta so cameras know when they are on-air or ISOed.

Thanks for the update, I updated the list.

For the NEP WWE truck is that a Supershooter truck or Denali truck?

The WWE truck is part of SuperShooters....

Mansion Mobile to Launch New HD Truck

George Winslow -- Multichannel News, 2/25/2009

Mansion Mobile is building its first HD truck, which will bow at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in April and be displayed at the Calutech Mobile Solutions booth.

The new 53 foot vehicle has a Calutech body and will be equipped with over $2 million worth of equipment from Grass Valley, including 11 of Grass Valley's new LDK 8000 Elite HD cameras and a fully loaded Kalypso HD Video Production Center.

"This is our first HD venture," said Brad Palmer, Mansion Mobile vice president of operations. "We decided to build the truck because the owner wanted to keep up with the sports market and the entertainment market which are being driven by HD."

The vehicle is expected to be completed by April 16 and then driven to the NAB convention.

Diversified Systems designed and installed the truck's equipment.

No deals have yet been signed, but Palmer expects the truck to be used over the next year for Major League Baseball, National Football League and collegiate games, as well as other sporting events and concerts.

Mansion Mobile already has a SD truck that produces about 65 live sporting events a year and does extensive concert and entertainment work. It is part of Mansion Entertainment, which owns two theaters and a recording studio in Branson, Mo.

"One of the things we like about the LDK 8000 cameras is that it has the 1080p 24 [frames per second] option, which allows us to do a film-style look," Palmer said.

Palmer also cited a number of reasons for choosing Grass Valley, including their longstanding relationship with the vendor, which supplied a Kalypso Duo switcher for their SD truck, customer services, the high resolution of the cameras that allow them to shoot in native 720p, 1080i or 1080p, and the ability of the Grass Valley system to handle long triax runs. "That is very important for some of the racing events we do," he said.

The Kalypso HD switcher includes a 4 M/E panel, four auxiliary bus panels and is loaded with various options. Seven of LDK 8000 cameras will be used in fixed positions in a SuperXpander configuration with box style lenses and four will be set up in a handheld configuration so they can move throughout the various venues. All use a variety of Canon lenses.

Going into the NAB, Bruce Lane, director of system sales at Grass Valley, still sees strong demand for HD upgrades from mobile truck providers.

"Mobile units were the first to go HD, driven by sports and entertainment," Lane said. "That demand will slow down at some point, but we are still seeing it continuing, especially for the good operators. The Kalypso switcher has become standard in most of the production trucks I see and a high percentage are using the LDK cameras."

Wow what a slow year it has been..
only one new HD truck ?

Wow what a slow year it has been..
only one new HD truck ?
The economy's in the crapper, and it doesn't seem like the current number of HD trucks is really holding anything back at this point.

SISLive in the UK has recently added OB 3 to their line-up. (SISLive is the merged company that contains the now-sold-off BBC Outside Broadcasts and SISLink)

This is a mid-size HD truck - it uses Apple Cinema Screens as multi-way preview monitors (though not for quality monitoring). Surprisingly nice solution.

http://www.sislive.tv/pdfs/datasheets/SIS%20LIVE%20OB3.pdf

It has a production area three desk rows deep, 3 VT areas (can be used for recording or editing, using EVS or FCP)

Sony cameras and a Sony 8000G vision mixer, Calrec sound desk (with 5.1), and capabilities for up to 20 cameras, 8 VTRs and 8 EVSs. It has a 3Gbps capable router (to allow upgrade to 1080/50p production - which may be a requirement for some clients, like Sky, soon)

In the UK, pretty much every new HD truck is HD-capable, and even quite small trucks are appearing in HD. I've seen a couple only a bit bigger than Sprinters that are running HD.

There are a couple of key OB trucks in the UK that are still SD only - mainly the two huge SISLive (formerly BBC Outside Broadcasts) co-ordinating trucks (they don't have many cameras - just enough for presentation - and are designed for running large, complicated multi-truck productions - such as Royal Weddings, Wimbledon domestic coverage - where they switch two networks at the same time, the Golf etc.) I believe there is an HD replacement programme for these - but don't know when it will be complete. These trucks actually have larger production stacks and better comms than most studios - and it isn't unusual to see them parked at a studio centre to co-ordinate large and complex broadcasts instead of a studio production space. Once these are in HD there will be no major barriers to full HD production of some events in the UK.

Are the total numbers HD production truck numbers available anywhere for 2006,07,08? :)

Wow what a slow year it has been..
only one new HD truck ?

No, many have been added since the last updates to the OP. This OP just hasn't been updated.

Oops, never mind, I see now that homcom did a very nice job of updating the list in post #276.

The other thing is we're now starting to reach a fulcrum point where we are quickly approaching the number of HD trucks the market can really handle at the moment. The demand of them has kinda levelled off as most people who want to do HD and have the money can usually arrange to get it done with relative ease at this point so it would not surprise me to only see a handful of new trucks come online every year now as opposed to four or five years ago. Many vendors actually have more HD units than they do SD units these days.

The other thing is we're now starting to reach a fulcrum point where we are quickly approaching the number of HD trucks the market can really handle at the moment. The demand of them has kinda levelled off as most people who want to do HD and have the money can usually arrange to get it done with relative ease at this point so it would not surprise me to only see a handful of new trucks come online every year now as opposed to four or five years ago. Many vendors actually have more HD units than they do SD units these days.

Another factor that has slowed down HD truck builds at this time besides the fact that supply has come close to matching demand is the credit market.

The other thing is we're now starting to reach a fulcrum point where we are quickly approaching the number of HD trucks the market can really handle at the moment. The demand of them has kinda levelled off as most people who want to do HD and have the money can usually arrange to get it done with relative ease at this point so it would not surprise me to only see a handful of new trucks come online every year now as opposed to four or five years ago. Many vendors actually have more HD units than they do SD units these days.

Yep - I suspect that the new paradigm will be retiring obsolete SD trucks and replacing them with HD-capable trucks, even if they mainly work in SD. If you are re-equipping or building from scratch, putting in HD-capable infrastructure (HD-SDI capable routers etc.) is sensible future-proofing, and buying SD-only kit is increasingly less sensible. You don't have to put HD-everything into them - but if you allow for loading of HD-gear as required, that makes a lot of sense. You're doing an SD job, so you have DigiBeta decks in your VT bays, you're doing an HD job, you replace them with HDCam SR units etc. (You don't have to own the HD units - you can rent as required if you don't have a huge amount of HD work etc.)

At the high-end, most new builds appear to be fitting 3Gb/s infrastructure to allow for future upgrade to 1080/50p or 1080/60p production - particularly in the sports arena. (Sky in the UK are building their new studio centre to be 1080/50p capable - due to open in 2011)

A few niche-market North American trucks:

1. The Weather Channel, Atlanta-based HD truck:

http://www.multichannel.com/article/174010-Weather_Channel_Preps_for_Hurricane_Season.php

2. Sure Shot Transmissions, Inc. "Natalie Michele”:

http://www.grassvalley.com/news/2008/20080412-Sure_Shot_OBvan.html

3. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

http://www.broadcastbuyer.tv/publish/New_Contracts_24/LDS_Equips_New_HD_Truck_With_Fujinon_HD_Lenses_19076.shtml


But mostly International HD trucks/OB vans, spurred largely by the Olympics:

4. Welsh company, Omni Television:

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/02/case_study_hd_truck_for_omni_tv.html

5. German broadcast service provider, Nobeo:

http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=89140

6. The Russian TV network TVC:

http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=89536

7. On Site Broadcast Australia (also known as OSB), newest HD OB vehicle:

http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=89503

8. Iraqi broadcaster Al Baghdadia TV:

http://digitalproductionme.com/article-1001-al_baghdadia_boosts_ob_fleet_with_hd_antennae/

9. LIVE, Abu Dhabi Media Company’s outside broadcast (OB) subsidiary:

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/240808
http://www.ameinfo.com/187318.html

10. Spain's Uveauve group new OB van, UM9:

http://webcast.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=651391

11. Brazil's TV Cultura’s second OB van:

http://www.broadcastbuyer.tv/publish/New_Contracts_24/Brazil_s_TV_Cultura_Migrates_To_High-Definition_Production_18936.shtml

12. Duna Televízió (Duna TV) in Hungary:

http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=89199


See this article regarding HD truck development internationally for 2009:

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/printPage.html?pageid=1940574


And here, regarding the balance between the need for new equipment vs. additional skilled broadcast staff in some parts of the world:

http://digitalproductionme.com/article-1026-skills_shortage_shackling_industry_potential_ctos/

“Broadcasters won’t be looking to upgrade to HD or get a big flashy OB van and show it to the media in 2009, because this won’t sustain their business.”

You can also add Sony's recent 10 camera HD truck for Al Jazeera Kids in Doha.

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowContent.action?site=biz_en_GB&contentId=1219910890438&sectiontype=S2S+News

(Whilst Al Jazeera's news network is controversial in the US, they run domestic kids and sports networks, and their kids channel co-produces quite a lot of content with other non-Middle Eastern broadcasters, including S4C in Wales, who do a lot of UK pre-school stuff)

Sony also have this page on their UK site - detailing HD (or more accurately Sony HD) operators in Europe (not just OBs)

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowSiteSection.action?section=SB+SS+S2S+HDFacilities&site=biz_en_GB

I went through the list to try to update it with what is out there now. Here is what I came up with organized by company. There are a few on the list that are due out later this year.

Corplex

Platinum
Iridium


NEP

Supershooter

SS11
SS14
SS18
SS19
SS20
SS21
SS24
SS25
SS26
SS27
SS28
ND3
ND4

Denali

Silver

New Century (NCP)

NCP IV
NCP V
NCP VII
NCP VIII
NCP X



Mobile Television Group (MTVG)

5HDX
6HDX
7HDX
8HDX
9HDX
10HDX
11HDX
12HDX
16HDX
17HDXS
18HDXS
19HDXS
20HDX
21HDX
22HDX
23HDX


Lyon Video

MU6
MU7
MU8


National Mobile Television (NMT)

HD1
HD3
HD6
HD10
HD11
HD12
Side-by-Side Units
SBS1
SBS2
SBS3



Trio Video

Tango
Rhythm
Phoenix


YES Productions

YES HD


Token Creek Mobile Television

Varsity HD


MIRA Mobile Television

M4-HD
M5-HD
M7-HD


HDNet

HD-1
HD-2


F&F productions

GTX-11
GTX-12
GTX-14
GTX-15


Turner Studios

TS-1
TS-2


COX

Unnamed (San Diego Padres (SD4) primary client)


Dome Productions

Trillium
Horizon
Majestic
Spirit
Tribute


Crosscreek Productions

Voyager 8HD


All Mobile Video

Titan
Resolution
Matrix
Celebrity
Cinetour


Comcast

Unnamed (CSN Philly & CSN Mid-Atlantic primary clients)


Game Creek Video

FX
Freedom
Patriot
Yankee Clipper
Northstar
Eagle
Intrepid


Bell ExpressVu

Unnamed


HD Ready

HD Roadie


Greene

HDV-3


MTV Networks Nashville

Pegasus


CBC

Premiere
Encore


NHK

K1
K2


Sweetwater

Unnamed



Here are the ones from the original list that i could not find any information about.
05. Q2'00/ Small/ Linman- Xtreme Digital II/
08. Q3'01/ Small/ Video One- Unnamed/ Hollywood projects
13. Q3'02/ Small/ Shulman- MU1/ Hollywood projects
21. Q4'03/ Full/ NMT- HD5/ InDemand
56. Q2'05/ Small/ Clear Channel- Unnamed/
57. Q2'05/ Small/ LMG- HD-1/ Trade shows, entertainment
60. Q3'05/ Full/ Coredigital- SundanceKidHD/
63. Q4'05/ Full/ TV Azteca- Unnamed/
70. Q4'05/ Small/ LMG- HD-2
77. Q1'06/ Small/ Liman - Newstream /
83. Q3'06/ Full/ NEP - SS-17/
86. Q3'06/ Full/ Corplex- Cobalt/


If there are any changes or additions please let me know.
============
A pioneer in tv sports HDTV is switching trucking companies. The New England-based trucking company is building a whole new truck for them, which is expected to come on-line this fall.
This as another nearby trucking company is selling off assets come late spring.
FYI NMT has sold HD1 and HD12 to NEP.

============
A pioneer in tv sports HDTV is switching trucking companies. The New England-based trucking company is building a whole new truck for them, which is expected to come on-line this fall.
This as another nearby trucking company is selling off assets come late spring.
FYI NMT has sold HD1 and HD12 to NEP.

Who is the pioneer switching to GCV?

I have updated the list from the updates that have been posted. Thanks to all of you who have posted updates. If anything is missing please let me know. Some of the trucks listed below are not yet on the road yet but have been announced.
Corplex

Platinum
Iridium


NEP

Supershooter

SS9 (formerly NMT HD-1)
SS10 (formerly NMT HD-12)
SS11
SS14
SS17
SS18
SS19
SS20
SS21
SS24
SS25
SS26
SS27
SS28
SS29 (formerly NMT HD-11)
ND2
ND3
ND4

Denali

Silver
Summit

New Century (NCP)

NCP IV
NCP V
NCP VII
NCP VIII
NCP X
NCP XI
NCP XII (formerly NMT HD-6)



Mobile Television Group (MTVG)

5HDX
6HDX
7HDX
8HDX
9HDX
10HDX
11HDX
12HDX
16HDX
17HDXS
18HDXS
19HDXS
20HDX
21HDX
22HDX
23HDX
24HDX


Lyon Video

MU1
MU2
MU5
MU6
MU7
MU8
MU9
MU10


National Mobile Television (NMT)

HD3
HD10
Side-by-Side Units
SBS1
SBS2
SBS3



Trio Video

Tango
Rhythm
Phoenix


YES Productions

YES HD1
YES HD2


Token Creek Mobile Television

Varsity HD
Hiawatha HD


MIRA Mobile Television

M4-HD
M5-HD
M7-HD
M8-HD
M9-HD


HDNet

HD-1
HD-2


F&F productions

GTX-11
GTX-12
GTX-14
GTX-15


Turner Studios

TS-1
TS-2


COX

Unnamed (San Diego Padres (SD4) primary client)


Dome Productions

Trillium
Horizon
Majestic
Spirit
Tribute


Crosscreek Productions

Voyager 8HD


All Mobile Video

Titan
Resolution
Matrix
Celebrity
Cinetour


Comcast

Unnamed (CSN Philly & CSN Mid-Atlantic primary clients)


Game Creek Video

FX
Freedom
Patriot
Yankee Clipper
Northstar
Eagle
Intrepid
Liberty


Bell ExpressVu

Unnamed


HD Ready

HD Roadie


Greene

HDV-3


MTV Networks Nashville

Pegasus


CBC

Premiere
Encore


NHK

K1
K2


Sweetwater

Unnamed

http://www.sportsvideo.org/portal/artman/publish/article_14901.shtml

For the fourth consecutive year, the New England Sports Network (NESN) will broadcast all Boston Red Sox games in high definition, but the big news in Beantown this season is a new mobile provider supporting all of those HD productions. A longstanding relationship with mobile truck provider NMT ends this season as NESN’s mobile facilities contract was sold to NCP, effective March 2009.//
“Our home truck, NMT HD 6, is going to be renamed NCP 12 as part of the deal, so for our home broadcasts there will be no change of facilities,”

And an addendum - the rest of NMT's Eastern portfolio has been sold to NCP.
That includes the venerable HD-3, which is MSG's main truck for home Knicks and Rangers telecasts ....

http://www.sportsvideo.org/portal/artman/publish/article_14901.shtml

For the fourth consecutive year, the New England Sports Network (NESN) will broadcast all Boston Red Sox games in high definition, but the big news in Beantown this season is a new mobile provider supporting all of those HD productions. A longstanding relationship with mobile truck provider NMT ends this season as NESN’s mobile facilities contract was sold to NCP, effective March 2009.//
“Our home truck, NMT HD 6, is going to be renamed NCP 12 as part of the deal, so for our home broadcasts there will be no change of facilities,”

And an addendum - the rest of NMT's Eastern portfolio has been sold to NCP.
That includes the venerable HD-3, which is MSG's main truck for home Knicks and Rangers telecasts ....

NMT HD-3 was not Part of the deal. Only HD-6 (now NCP-12) and HD-11 (now NEP SS-29). HD-3 is still NMT, but MSG has contracted with Game Creek for next year and beyond.

NMT HD-3 was not Part of the deal. Only HD-6 (now NCP-12) and HD-11 (now NEP SS-29). HD-3 is still NMT, but MSG has contracted with Game Creek for next year and beyond.

Does NMT still have all of their SBS units or did those get sold to someone as well?

Does NMT still have all of their SBS units or did those get sold to someone as well?

SBS-2 and SBS-3 are now owned by Lyon Video

What was left of NMT went out of business today.

What was left of NMT went out of business today.

Any word on what is happening to the rest of their trucks?

I wish the best to their employees.

Any word on what is happening to the rest of their trucks?

I wish the best to their employees.
Not sure yet.
A lot of good people are out of work right now.

A lot of good people are out of work right now.
Just like everywhere else, unfortunately.

Dome Productions has a new truck, 'Thunder". I'm on it right now for its 9th show ever, Blue Jays @ Orioles in Baltimore. It even smells new. I'm wondering if they are Mad max fans? Dome Thunder or is it, (Beyond) Thunder Dome. Hum

From Broadcast Engineering

MSG set to unveil new HD truck

Jul 22, 2009 By Michael Grotticelli

http://broadcastengineering.com/images/MSGTruck1-200.jpg
The new MSG HD production truck is the first Game Creek has ever built without CRT monitors.


Veteran sports production company Game Creek Video, based in Hudson, NH, is building a new HD-compatible truck for Madison Square Garden (MSG) Network. The new rig will hit the road in September, in time for the NBA’s New York Knicks basketball and New York Rangers hockey seasons.

In 1998, MSG parked one of the first HD-capable mobile production trucks (HD1, and later HD3) in the United States, built by National Mobile Television (NMT), outside the famous sports arena and began doing multicamera productions. The camera angles were limited and the framing for 4:3/16:9 audiences was rudimentary, but the precedent for HD sports was solidified and other organizations followed suit.

For Game Creek, building the new multimillion-dollar truck, the 20th in its fleet, was made possible by a multiyear leasing agreement with MSG. The truck will be used first and foremost by MSG for Knicks and Rangers home games. It will also fill in for some New York for Islanders (Nassau Coliseum) and New Jersey Devils (Prudential Center) hockey games as well as some major entertainment events, when it’s available. The truck will include MSG signage on the outside.

Typically, MSG games are produced on-site in New York City, then the live signal is sent out to a master control facility in Bethpage, Long island, where additional ID graphics and commercials are inserted before going to air.

“This is the first truck that Game Creek has built for MSG, but we have worked with the network for many years,” said Pat Sullivan, president of Game Creek. “We could not build a truck of this size and capability without the support of an anchor client like MSG.”
When complete, the truck’s production area will include a Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher, Evertz multiviewer monitor wall, EVS XT[2] replay devices and Chyron HD graphics.

When complete, the truck’s production area will include a Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher, Evertz multiviewer monitor wall, EVS XT[2] replay devices and Chyron HD graphics.

The agreement is a good one for MSG because, like many sports producers these days, it does not want to get involved in the maintenance of the trucks and the need to continually upgrade it with new technology.

“We made the decision in 1997 that we were not going to be using control rooms for our productions,” said Jerry Passaro, senior VP of network operations and distribution. “We feel that having a truck parked outside [Madison Square Garden] is the most cost-effective way to do it.”

Since then, MSG has used NMT and Game Creek trucks almost exclusively. “The HD3 truck was coming near the end of its life, and so it was time to upgrade to the latest technology we could get our hands on,” Passaro said. “MSG has always used the newest technology, because our fans expect it from us.”

In early 2008, Passaro — and a team led by Michael Mitchell, chief engineer; Jeff Ostrom, director of technical operations for MSG Media; and Bob Brown, director of network operations — began the multilayered process of designing the most technically advanced production truck they’ve ever used. After years of producing HD shows, they had a clear understanding of what needed to be included and how best to layout the different productions areas inside the truck.

“We sought proposals from all of the major truck vendors and picked Game Creek because we were using their Northstar, Eagle and Yankee Clipper HD trucks for Islanders and Devils games, and we were quite pleased with how the trucks performed and the maintenance service that Game Creek provides,” Passaro said. “We think it’s very important to develop a good working relationship with a truck vendor, and we feel we have that with Game Creek.”

The equipment for the new 53ft expando truck will include at least 10 Sony HDC-1500R HD cameras, a new Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher (which will be outfitted with a newer Kayenne later in 2010), a PESA Cheetah 3Gb/s-capable router (288 x 576 I/O for video and 1024 x 1024 for audio) and Evertz signal conversion equipment. Audio (5.1 surround in some cases and stereo most of the time) will be handled with a Calrec Alpha audio console with Bluefin audio networking. Also onboard are the latest Chyron HyperX HD graphics systems and six EVS XT[2] replay devices.

This will also be the first production truck Game Creek has ever built without CRT monitors. All of the screens onboard will be flat-panel LCD displays — two main screens from Sony and a host of others from NEC.

“You can't get CRT monitors anymore,” Sullivan said. “Weight was also an issue with this truck, so the lighter-weight LCD panels helped a lot. The high-end LCD panels for critical monitoring really make great pictures, so we don't feel we're compromising in any way by having a flat monitor wall.”

With the new gear, the truck will be capable of handing 1080p/60 productions, should MSG decide to produce games in that format in the future. The new truck will also be immediately familiar to MSG production crews used to working on the other Game Creek trucks. That’s important when MSG is producing more than 300 HD sports events per year. Games are currently produced in the 1080i HD format. An engineer from Game Creek, or MSG’s Ostrom, is usually present for each production.

“We like [1080i] because it gives us a better image on screen,” said MSG’s Mitchell. “In sports, it’s all about what the action looks like on a HDTV set — period.”

While Game Creek engineers primarily designed the new truck, MSG’s engineering team had significant input into its inner workings. The building of the new truck coincides with a major renovation now underway across the entire venue, including the famous arena and its numerous production facilities located inside.

“The new Game Creek truck is the first part of our redoing the whole MSG infrastructure and positions us well to handle any type of HD production, be it sports or live entertainment,” Passaro said.
MSG will also continue to use Game Creek’s existing trucks when multiple games are occurring simultaneously.

Topic moved to HDTV Technical. A permanent re-direct will remain in HDTV Programming.

SISLive - who bought the former BBC Outside Broadcast operation - have a new HD truck.

Unit 7 debuted at Wimbledon, where it provided Court Number 1's coverage in HD.

Details here : http://www.sislive.tv/pdfs/press-releases/090629_OB7.pdf

It uses a similar approach to SIS's Unit 3 (both are 3G capable), and has a monitor stack made up, believe it or not, of 23" Apple Cinema Displays with quad split. (Apparently they have much better off-axis viewing angles than many other displays - they use IPS?)

Talking to people who have used Unit 3 and 7 - they are proving popular with production staff.

They join Unit 2 (which was originally composite analogue, was upgraded to SDI 16:9 and then again upgraded to HD 16:9 - and was the first BBC 1080/50i HD unit the BBC had. (*)), and Units 10 and 12, as HD capable trucks.

Unit 2 is an unusual design (a BBC Type 8) that followed on from a previous design (the Type 5) which was designed to be used in London streets (so isn't a double-expander) It does the Proms classical music concerts pretty much every year...


(*) The BBC actually had an early HD OB unit in the late 80s/early 90s for Eureka 1250 production - originally using KCH-1000 BTS Philips tubed cameras and then early CCD cameras. It used the 1152/50i active (1250/50i total) European HD standard proposed at the time, and had a modified analogue GVG 100CV mixer, recording originally to 4xD1 VTRs (the image was broken up into 2x2 pixel blocks and each pixel went to a different VTR - so you ended up with a 1440x1152 image made up of 4 x 720x576 recordings) This was an ancient truck - coachwork dating from the 1970s... Long since retired!

Any new trucks or trucks being upgraded now or in the future ?

Any new trucks or trucks being upgraded now or in the future ?

Thanks for the reminder, I will do any update later in the week.

A much over due update. I have updated the list from the updates that have been posted. Thanks to all of you who have posted updates. If anything is missing please let me know.

Corplex

Platinum
Iridium


NEP

Supershooter

SS9 (formerly NMT HD-1)
SS10 (formerly NMT HD-12)
SS11
SS14
SS17
SS18
SS19
SS20
SS21
SS23
SS24
SS25
SS26
SS27
SS28
ND2
ND3
ND4

Denali

Silver
Summit

New Century (NCP)

NCP III
NCP IV
NCP V
NCP VII
NCP VIII
NCP X
NCP XI
NCP XII (formerly NMT HD-6)



Mobile Television Group (MTVG)

5HDX
6HDX
7HDX
8HDX
9HDX
10HDX
11HDX
12HDX
16HDX
17HDXS
18HDXS
19HDXS
20HDX
21HDX
22HDX
23HDX
24HDX
25HDX
VMU-1 (Visitor Mobile Unit, for use with another truck for visitor feeds)
VMU-2 (Visitor Mobile Unit, for use with another truck for visitor feeds)


Lyon Video

MU1
MU2
MU5
MU6
MU7
MU8
MU9
MU10


Trio Video

Tango
Rhythm
Phoenix


YES Productions

YES HD1
YES HD2


Token Creek Mobile Television

Varsity HD
Hiawatha HD


MIRA Mobile Television

M4-HD
M5-HD
M7-HD
M8-HD
M9-HD


HDNet

HD-1
HD-2


F&F productions

GTX-11
GTX-12
GTX-14
GTX-15


Turner Studios

TS-1
TS-2


COX

Unnamed (San Diego Padres (SD4) primary client)


Dome Productions

Trillium
Horizon
Majestic
Spirit
Tribute
Thunder


Crosscreek Productions

Voyager 8HD
Voyager 9HD


All Mobile Video

Titan
Resolution
Matrix
Celebrity
Crossroads


Comcast

Unnamed (CSN Philly & CSN Mid-Atlantic primary clients)


Game Creek Video

FX
Freedom
Patriot
Yankee Clipper
Northstar
Eagle
Intrepid
Liberty
Legends


Bell ExpressVu

Unnamed


HD Ready

HD Roadie


Greene

HDV-3


MTV Networks Nashville

Pegasus


CBC

Premiere
Encore


NHK

K1
K2


Sweetwater

Unnamed


Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions

HD 1
HD 2

A much over due update. I have updated the list from the updates that have been posted. Thanks to all of you who have posted updates. If anything is missing please let me know.

We took delivery of ours January 2009. It's privately owned and, pretty much, for our own production, but is a GREAT truck for music shows when schedules allow. Currently 8-cameras (including 2-Robos) wired for 12. SSL C200 audio console with 128-I/O of ProTools HD.

Pix below:
SSL C200 console with 144-mic pre over fiber optics, 128-channels ProToolsHD, 128-channels for video/audio backup recorders, 48 channels analog I/O. 256-audio channels with SSL's infamous automation.

http://www.seaberg.com/audio/TP_TRUCK_HIRES/AudioFront.jpg

Rear expando wall audio diffusion, making room 'sound' like it's 18'x24'.

http://www.seaberg.com/audio/TP_TRUCK_HIRES/AudioRear.jpg

Video production with Sony switcher and AVID Nitris in 2nd production. Wired for Chyron and EVS.

http://www.seaberg.com/audio/TP_TRUCK_HIRES/VidProd.jpg

Rear view from shading/tape-ops back to audio in rear of truck.

http://www.seaberg.com/audio/TP_TRUCK_HIRES/VidRearView.jpg


Turning Point - San Diego

Hello everyone!


I am in need of a Sports Digital Truck for next week July 17th 2010, can anyone offer assistance? This would be for a soccer game at the home depot center in CA.


Thanks


AJ

Contact one of the truck companies and see what they have available for you

I have a buddy who owns an HD Entertainment Truck in Dallas

texastvtrucks.com/

For those who are still doing internet streaming/local production in and near texas and are on a budget my company also has a truck.

bouncemultimedia.com