ABonAir’s AB-MultiZone Offers Unlimited Wireless Broadcast Coverage

ABonAir (Booth C1405) launched its AB-MultiZone technology for coverage of massive areas and multiple venues. AB-MultiZone enables continuous, unlimited coverage with a single receiver connecting up to 250 MIMO antennas and roaming from one coverage zone to another seamlessly and automatically without dropping a single pixel. It addresses the coverage challenges of dispersed locations, such as golf courses, race tracks, or separate venues (for example, multi-venue productions in colleges, covering both football arena and basketball field).

ABonAir’s robust wireless broadcast systems enable broadcast professionals to transmit content directly from the field to the control center, providing the benefits of unique shooting angles, original content, and flexible setups.

Standard wireless transmission coverage is limited to six or eight antenna beams with restricted range. Problems may occur in covering an area with a broad spread, such as a golf course, or with the need to move with the camera outside the stadium. Traditionally, in large-area coverage, the transition from one zone to the next was not smooth, requiring a complex antenna and cable installation or even a second receiver.

“Broadcast productions had to carefully plan the camera path in advance, as they rarely moved from one zone to another during broadcast,” says ABonAir CEO Eran Igler. “One of the primary issues was the risk of link drop and broadcast discontinuity as the camera transitioned between zones. With ABonAir’s AB-MultiZone for large, seamless roaming coverage, production teams can connect as many as 250 antennas in any desired topology. The transmitter connects automatically to the nearest antenna without dropping the link, ensuring smooth continuous coverage.”

Connecting the different system elements (receiver and antennas) are fiber-optic cables, which are already in place in most locations. The system can be deployed in multiple topologies for ease of installation: daisy chain, star, or any combination of the two, enabling flexible topologies based on venue requirements. The system automatically identifies the topology in place, making setup simple and easy.