Two match days before the end of the German football season, FC Bayern München and FC Schalke 04 were tied at the top of the Bundesliga – until the last game. Watched by a large TV audience, the game was broadcast from Livecast TV Produktion’s two new OB vans. For the audio, they used Lawo mixing consoles.
‘The term basic feed means that we produce video and audio signals, which are then made available to all legitimate buyers,’ explains Harald Hübner, manager at Livecast TV. ‘The video signal is produced with a minimum of seven cameras, while the audio is mixed using Lawo mc²56 consoles. Buyers of our output include, for example, Sky, ARD’s Sportschau, and several other international broadcasters – our goal is to give them the highest possible quality.’
The mc²56 consoles in both OB vans feature 48 faders (16/16/16) and 144 DSP channels, with the HD-Core having a routing capacity of 8,000 x 8,000 crosspoints. In addition, each vehicle is equipped with three stageboxes and three Dallis frames, as well as Dallis intercom cards. ‘Lawo’s router cards in the HD-Core enable the operation of Riedel talkback units via fibre-optic connection, with the maximum range. Seamless interaction between the Lawo console, the Riedel talkback system and the remote control facilities is particularly noteworthy,’ explains Hübner.
‘The integration of the router in the console’s HD-Core is another important factor, eliminating previously required transitions between the console and a routing matrix,’ he adds. ‘We frequently run two independent productions with a two-man crew, where one sound engineer can mix the basic feed while the other produces the live feed, all thanks to separate AFL and PFL buses.’
The decision to commission an OB van was taken because of the lack of production facilities in the segment of small to mid-size HDTV OB van. The compact HD OB vans feature up to ten cameras and are perfectly tailored to Livecast TV’s productions: none of the vans have extendable elements and therefore only require a minimal setup area. This is especially important at the 2nd division venues, where space for large OB vans is usually scarce. Moreover, the vehicles require one 63A connection, where large OB vans need a 125A hook-up.
With Grass Valley from Weiterstadt, Germany, acting as the main contractor, Lawo was directly involved in the project: ‘When we worked with Lawo directly, we were able to handle any adjustments and mechanical configuration easily and quickly. During the project, their customer support was excellent, and their geographic proximity was an additional advantage,’ says Hübner.
