How many HD mobile trucks now available? - Page 6

I think Sundance went to NMT. They opened an office in Arizona and a couple of Core Digital employees now work for them. The units booked out of that office will be mainly for local events in Phoenix.

No, Sundance is gutted and locked up in Pittsburgh. Bonnie is gutted and sitting locked up at VSG in NJ.

Hmm - in the US maybe. In many other regions (like the UK) it makes sense to build an SD truck that is easily upgradeable to HD.

In other words, you fit an HD upgradeable vision mixer (aka switcher), and an HD-SDI compatible router. If you have an existing bank of SD cameras then you design a truck that will cope with their CCUs etc., though if you are buying a new camera and lens load you'd be mad not to consider HD cameras (as they will run SD in an SD truck). Given that your VTR load and your EVS load is likely to be a bookable item, as - in some cases - are your camera channels - then this makes a lot of sense. Don't spend more than you need just yet - but don't lock yourselves out of an upgrade path.

You WOULD be mad to build an SD-only truck for anything other than a contract that is SD only for a time to come, or if you are working in a region, or marketplace within a region, that is likely to stay SD for a while to come.

Over here - you'd have been mad not to have been equipping for 16:9 SD since the late 90s though. The only major network area still 4:3 is the ITN News operation for ITV/Channel Four.

Is Sundance at NEP?

Mobile Television Group has a new truck - 11HDX - listed.

http://www.mobiletvgroup.com/mtg_fra...1hdx_gear.html

No primary region listed for it yet.

Come on, Mobile, base it in Minneapolis!! We are starving for a truck.

No.

Not sure who owns each one - but this month a UK broadcast publication (can't remember which) lists over 25 HD Mobiles based in the UK, with well over 30 expected to be on the market by the end of 2006. (By which time the BBC and Sky should both have HD services on the air)

Mira Mobile has a new HD truck - M-4 - I believe it is a retrofit.

http://www.miramobile.com/page_detai...&category_id=3

Bonnie & Clyde were stripped and re-wired during the month of July, 2004 to allow the use of light-weight fiber bundles rather than the hundreds of twisted pair and coax cables used to interconnect them previously. A new made-for-golf "C" unit carried a number of portable long distance fiber connected short racks. Each short rack was powered by a small Honda generator and placed on or near camera positions around the golf course to relay HD camera, microphone and intercom signals back to the TV compound. The fiber idea was a good one but apparently just a little ahead of it's time as Bonnie & Clyde's first and last golf tournament in Kohler, WI in Aug, 2004 was to be a history making disaster.

M(TV)HD is building a new truck.

From HD Update(B&C Multichannel News)

MHD Rocks (As A Truck Rolls) in HD

MTV's MHD service doesn't kick off until Monday, Jan. 16, but the network this week is hard at work recording music concerts in Colorado that promise to get the service off to a rocking start. Cox Cable is the only operator that has agreed to carry the service but the network is in discussions with all the major cable and satellite operators to strike deals.

MTV, always one to buck the system, is doing it again by building its own massive 54-foot production truck, one of the largest in the nation. The vast majority of networks rent their trucks from truck vendors as maintenance and other issues make it cost-prohibitive to own a truck unless it's in use every day. But MTV faced a challenge when it began looking around for a mobile unit suitable for its production needs.

"One of the issues we have is that most remote TV production is for sports but we're only doing entertainment," says Steve Kaufman, SVP, MTV Networks Production Operations and Technology. "We had problems finding trucks suitable for entertainment, as there were only a couple in the country."

Not surprisingly, MTV's audio needs are the big difference between MTV's truck and the typical sports truck. Live programs, for example, will be mixed for both stereo and Dolby Surround Sound. Pre-recorded programs will be recorded in stereo and then the Surround mix will be derived from a 48-track audio recording. Other gear in the truck includes a full complement of Ikegami HD cameras with Fujinon lenses and a Sony MVS-8000 production switcher.

Vail, Colo. will serve as a home to MTV's HD service until mid-April. Then it's off to another beautiful location that will serve as the home base for MHD during the summer. "We'll be using Sony HDV camcorders to record the VJ links and other interstitials," says Kaufman. "The material looks great and it's easy to handle the HDV gear."

Hi all,
I setup a web page a year ago or so that attempts to keep track of all the HD Mobile Units in the US.
http://www.colindeford.com/hd/HD.html

The site links to each OB operator's main web page as well as the individual trucks that they operate.
Please let me know if you see any errors.. I don't have the HD Ready, Roadie truck listed since I cannot seem to find their web page.

I also have a forum built with hopes that we who use the mobile units and those who operate them can share info on each unit. On this forum, users can post pictures of the mobile units as well.

As a tech manager in the industry, I have collected a significant amount of data on trucks that I have used in the past, in an attempt to help me remember the good things, the traps, pitfalls and joys of each OB.
I am going to work on writing these notes into the forum so we can all share in that info.

So, if you have info that you would like to share on your experiences on each unit, or if you are an EIC or sales, please dump your data here..

http://www.colindeford.com/forumHD/

Thanks for the help,
( () |_ | |\\|

F & F Productions has a new HD truck - GTX 14 - and a new web site....


http://www.fandfproductions.com/

I think you mean GTX-14.

No, GTX-12 has been doing Fox NFL the last 2 seasons.

You're the one we should be thanking - that list is very informative.

I'll have one more to add once the news is released. It involves NFL for fall 2006. I don't think the company involved has issued a formal statement, but a few people on this particular crew are involved in the design process.

So I'm new to everything HD and I have to ask: how much do one of these trucks cost to build and how much is a SD truck for comparison purposes? Thanks.

It can range anywhere between 6 amd 12 million for an SD or HD truck.
I honestly can't think of anyone building an SD truck right now.

Thanks for the data on HD moble trucks -- I have been trying to find something on this for a while. Does anyone know if there is any official data out there or some trade publication where you can get published data, or does it all tend to be informal?

Thank you!

Michael

Woo hoo!! My dream has come true!!

Mobile Television Group will be launching 12HDX in mid 2006. Its primary region is Minnesota and Wisconsin.

I have to believe this truck will be used extensively by FSN-North which does regional sports in ------ Minnesota and Wisconsin.

http://www.mountainmobiletv.com/

Also, 11HDX now has a primary region listed - "Midwest U.S.".

NEP's "Vision" division has two HD trucks - HD1 and HD2.

http://www.visions-ob.com/Truck%20Details/truckmain.htm

Harris Corporation's Latest HD Conversion Platforms Chosen by All Mobile Video for New HD Truck

February 16 , 2006 - Cincinnati
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) today announced that its comprehensive Leitch high-definition (HD) conversion portfolio has been selected for a new HD truck by All Mobile Video (AMV), a key player in the mobile production industry. This sale which includes several of the company's newest high-definition products is the latest in a series of Leitch infrastructure installations on HD trucks that provide on-site production capabilities for live sports, news, entertainment and other events.
"The Leitch HD platform was selected because its control system gave us the advanced features and flexibility we needed in our new HD truck," said Richard Duke, vice president, AMV. "The control system can be customized for individual events and easily reconfigured from event to event at the push of a button, simplifying our operations immensely."

AMV's new HD truck incorporates the Leitch NEO XHD series of modular HD up/down/cross converters; the Leitch 6800+ series of HD downconverters; and NUCLEUS, a user-configurable real-time control panel to centralize the operational control of processing, branding and routing equipment.

We evaluated the top HD conversion equipment in the market and found the Leitch technology and portfolio offered by Harris to be the most advanced and flexible for our needs, added Lee Blanco, director of mobile operation, AMV. The Leitch team was also able to respond to a number of our specific needs.

Our HD conversion portfolio continues to be the solution of choice for new mobile units and those converting to high definition, and we're pleased that AMV chose to equip its new HD truck with Leitch-branded products from Harris, said Tim Thorsteinson, president for Harris Broadcast Communications Division's Leitch Business Unit. The key players in the mobile production market are fast becoming HD-ready, and they need versatile, scalable and reliable solutions to meet the rigorous demands of mobile environments exactly the type of solutions that Harris delivers.


Harris' comprehensive SD/HD conversion portfolio allows broadcasters to do more with less equipment, while meeting all current and evolving conversion and control requirements. For maximum system design flexibility, the Leitch NEO XHD family of HD converters includes broadcast-quality up-converter, down-converter and cross-converter modules in a compact design. The new Leitch 6800+ HD down-converter can be used in both monitoring and on-air applications. It features a minimum delay operation an industry first which allows it to transparently bridge a facility's HD and SD infrastructure. The modules also serve as a distribution amplifier (DA) for the HD-SDI or SD-SDI input signal.

At the center of operations is NUCLEUS, which offers user-configured, real-time control and monitoring of any Leitch CCS Protocol-enabled device, including products within the NEO and 6800+ platforms. NUCLEUS provides more knobs for parameter adjustments, more buttons to quickly invoke parameter value changes, an enhanced display and the ability to quickly store and recall device presets.


About All Mobile Video
All Mobile Video is the country's premier provider of end-to-end video and audio solutions for entertainment, sports, and news programming and events. All Mobile Video offers the full spectrum of services from spacious Manhattan-based sound stages with full post-production capabilities to mobile production and editing trucks and extensive uplink solutions that travel worldwide as well as an extensive equipment inventory that allows us to fully custom spec any facility or location. Additional information about All Mobile Video is available at www.allmobilevideo.com.



About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. With headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual sales of over $3 billion and more than 13,000 employees including 5,500 engineers and scientists dedicated to the development of best-in-class assured communications products, systems, and services. The company's operating divisions serve markets for government communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and microwave communications. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.

http://www.leitch.com/custserv/press...AllMobileVideo

Details on the Mobile TV Group Trucks...


22. Q4'03/ Full/ Mobile- 7HDX/ Coyotes, Diamondbacks, Mighty Ducks, Kings, Padres
23. Q4'03/ Full/ Mobile- 8HDX/ Rockets
45. Q4'04/ Full/ Mobile- 6HDX/ Cardinals, Rockies
53. Q2'05/ Full/ Mobile- 10HDX/ Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Dodgers, Angels
71. Q4'05/ Full/ Mobile- 11HDX/ Cardinals, Blues, Brewers, Twins
77. Q3'06/ Full/ Mobile- 12HDX/ Twins, Brewers, Lynx (WNBA)

-blitzen102

It looks like NEP will be adding some HD trucks this year according to their website.
They list SS14, SS17, SS25, and ND3 as under construction for mid-2006. Hope this helps you keep this list updated.

Thank you very much for your work on this.

Awsome news

More HD Coming

NEP's "Vision" division is apparently building 3 more HD trucks - HD3, HD4 and HD5. They have recently been added to their website. No details or specs on them yet.

http://www.visions-ob.com/Truck%20Details/truckmain.htm

Liman (note correct spelling - it's not "Linman") Video Rental now has two trucks. The second one is Newstream and, as the name suggests, is better suited for news than sports.

Company's website:

http://www.lvrusa.com/

Hi guys! I'm new to this forum and I've had a blast reading up on your posts.

Two questions. The Sweetwater truck is equipped with Ikegami HK388WS and HL series cameras. According to Ikegami's website, these are SD cameras. So my question is whether or not the Sweetwater truck is really an HD truck? If so, how else do you identify an HD truck based on the equipment list?

I was looking at Shook Mobile and it appears to me that they are a manufacturer of trucks.

Does Shook actually own the trucks that they make or do they have standard configurations, customize the vehicles to customer specs and then transfer ownership?

If they don't own them, shouldn't they be excluded from the list?