NEP Australia adopts Lawo audio and control across four new OB trucks
With the commissioning of four identical live production units (HD11, HD12, HD13 and HD 14), NEP Australia is consolidating its position as a leading broadcasting provider on the Australian continent. System integration for the new OBs was managed by NEP Australia’s own SI team with supply of various equipment from Lawo’s partner, Professional Audio & Television (PAT).
All four OB trucks share the same size and technical specifications and rely on Lawo’s VSM broadcast control and monitoring system for their overall control. On the audio side, each truck is equipped with a 64-fader Lawo mc256 audio mixing console plus a Lawo audio core.
NEP Australia has adopted Sony solutions across its OB fleet, implementing Sony HDC-4300 cameras and Sony MVS/XVS-8000X vision mixers. Each unit can operate with up to 28 cameras and provides enough space to accommodate 34 staff.
With the VSM system, NEP benefits from an overall control and monitoring approach: this takes care of routing from the Imagine IP3 hybrid video/audio router and Imagine SX Pro Multiviewer, as well as 10 EVS XT3 units. VSM also serves as the main Tally system and delivers the dynamic UMDs.
A sophisticated KVM system is key to successful operation in such large trucks. Again VSM integrates with the IHSE KVM Draco Tera system. With the VSM in use, operators are able to pre-configure workflows and settings in advance of a production, and have the ability to save and restore them for recurring productions and share them between all four trucks.
Each OB’s audio section is centred on a Lawo mc256 console and a core with eight DSP cards and five stageboxes connected via fibre using MADI. The Lawo mc²56 console and VSM work closely together, enabling VSM to have direct parameter control over the audio system.
The large OB vans will be handling production for major live sports and concert events. HD11 and HD12 are already on air, with HD13 and HD14 coming into service early next year in time for the 2017 AFL (Australian Football League) and NRL (National Rugby League) seasons.