Bluebell Opticom Offers Caddie-LB 4K for Connecting 4K Cameras to CCUs
Bluebell Opticom (Booth N4422) has announced the Caddie-LB 4K, a pair of throwdown boxes to connect 4K cameras to camera-control units (CCUs) over long distances via fiber. The Caddie-LB 4K saves rigging time and reduces complexity for camera crews working from an OB truck or at a venue, such as a concert hall.
Specifically designed for OB and deployable applications, the Caddie-LB 4K provides a single-cable link between cameras and ENG/OB units. Features include four 3G/HD/SD-SDI video paths from the camera’s on-air audio, intercom, and control data. Based on field-proven technology, the units offer the operator a range of signals for camera control and synchronization, including program video, audio, communications, data, and genlock. All signals are multiplexed onto two fibers to ensure easy and quick system rigging. The position of the camera is limited only by the availability of power and the length of the fiber cable within a given infrastructure.
The typical setup features a pair of portable Caddie-LB 4K enclosures: one used near the camera, the other near the CCU as a “base” unit offering corresponding signals to the CCU. Customers who want to install the base unit permanently inside an OB truck can deploy its equivalent using Bluebell BC Series cards mounted in a 19-in. frame.
“Bluebell makes a point to track the implementation of 4K technology so that our product features reflect and complement the latest cameras,” says Managing Director Paul McCann. “With Caddie-LB 4K, we’re building on the success of our 4K solutions for point-to-point video applications. Now we can offer a complete transport system for all video and ancillary signals — including communications, control, Ethernet, and genlock — that are associated with and essential for successful deployment of the latest high-end cameras.”
Caddie-LB 4K units have already been deployed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and at concert venues for high-profile UHD tests.
The Caddie-LB 4K is available now and comes preconfigured with a customer’s chosen interfaces.