Primevision, one of Europe’s providers of Outside Broadcast (OB) trucks and services, has installed a Studer Vista 8 digital live production console in its high-spec HD30.com vehicle.
HD30.com is a state-of-the-art HDTV OB unit based in Europe—210 square feet equipped with a total of 30 HD cameras, 154 HD monitors, Sony’s MVS 8000 video mixer (80 inputs) and the Studer Vista 8 audio mixer. From the Danish Speedway Grand Prix, broadcast to 165 countries, HD30.com went to the Werchter rock festival in Belgium for a HD broadcast of Metallica and David Bowie, among other acts. Then the unit was off to Paris for a live opera broadcast before traveling to Athens for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Following the Olympics, the truck will be on display at the IBC Exhibition in Amsterdam.
The multipurpose Studer Vista 8 system was specified for HD30.com on the basis of flexibility, functionality and quality. Primevision commercial director Flemming Rosenkrantz explains that “because the truck will be used by many different sound engineers all over Europe, it was imperative that the desk be flexible enough to be used by someone who hadn’t seen it before. The Vistonics operating interface is so user-friendly and familiar that our chief engineer can bring a new operator up to speed in a very short time.
“We did not have to be convinced of the quality of the desk; Studer has always had a name for quality. There are several good systems around, but the Vista 8 is the best match for the flexibility of the HD30.com truck. HD30.com has a B and a C unit, so with the functionality of the Vista 8’s Stagebox and its Remote Bay, we are well-equipped for remote productions. The stagebox concept also enables us to run just one fiber from the truck into the stadium, where previously we might have had to run up to 50 cables.”
HD30.com’s Vista 8 has been configured with more than 250 inputs and 150 outputs, 30 channel strips (three bays) added up with a Remote Bay featuring Vistonics, and another 10 motorized faders communicating via optical fiber. The new Control bay also has Vistonics and 12 motorized faders controlling up to 52 outputs/inputs, or any combination, making the console powerful and flexible in the smallest possible footprint. The Vista 8 is also working as the main audio router for the van controlled from the master control system.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Primevision owns eight OB trucks and is in the business of providing professional services to the broadcast industry, including the production of sports, music and live event broadcasts. Primevision handles more than 1,000 OB productions annually, including the forthcoming 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The company also produces some 300 soccer matches every year in Denmark and Sweden.
Go to www.HD30.com for further info, or visit www.studer.ch for details on the Vista 8.
