GTC Patron Sony, announces the delivery and provisioning of BBC Northern Ireland’s first IP based Outside Broadcast (OB) truck, together with integrator Megahertz. For the BBC, the aim was to secure a sustainable path to the future of broadcasting, by gaining greater flexibility in production, optimising equipment usage and supporting existing and creating new workflows.
The project is a keystone in the broadcaster’s regional regeneration effort. The renewal came about as the current facilities are coming to the end of their life. Based on learnings around distributed production from COVID amongst others, the new truck project needed to consider that, in time, the central BBC facilities in Belfast would be moving from SDI to IP. This meant that interoperability both with SDI and IP were required, ultimately allowing processing capabilities for both the truck and the facilities to be used and controlled by staff located either in the truck or the facilities.
The other drivers of this project were flexibility and optimisation, both achieved through the technological and design choices made: the truck will be able to serve as a main gallery for productions in the Belfast headquarters or be sent to locations as needed. It is designed to be extremely versatile, able to deliver quick turnaround times between programmes.
