Thailand’s national broadcaster, Royal Thai Army Television (Channel 5) has taken delivery of a multi-functional outside broadcast vehicle from Hitachi Kokusai Turkey.
Based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, it combines lightweight construction with advanced OB production capabilities, and supports five Hitachi SK-HD1200 multi format HD cameras (fitted with Canon lenses).
Designed and built at Hitachi’s Istanbul facility, it will cover sporting, cultural and entertainment events throughout Thailand, supporting productions where a larger OB truck would be impractical or cost prohibitive.
Hitachi implemented extensive modifications to the standard Sprinter, installing stabilising jacks, thermal and acoustic insulation, air conditioning and an ergonomic working environment for the six-person team. All cabling is stored on motorised drums within the vehicle for swift set-up and breakdown.
The vehicle includes: Ross vision switchers and 3G/HD-SDI routers; EVS slow motion servers; Inscriber character generators; recorders from Panasonic, Sony and AJA; Blackmagic Design HDMI-SDI converters; a Yamaha digital audio mixer and audio gear from Sennheiser, Trilogy, Genelec and Tascam.
Koji Yuzawa, general manager, Hitachi Kokusai Turkey, said, “We have packed an enormous amount of production technology into a very compact vehicle. We see this approach becoming increasingly popular in many geographic regions and for broadcasters both large and small.”
“The cost savings generated by this innovative approach are a big bonus for us,” added Sumneang Noipasri, Channel 5’s chief engineer.
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