AMP Visual’s latest OB truck debuts at Le Mans 24 Hours

The new AMP Visual TV Millenium Signature 12 truck made its on-site debut earlier this month.

The new flagship OB truck from French broadcast services provider AMP Visual TV, known as Millenium Signature 12, made its debut during the 2016 edition of Le Mans 24 Hours, which took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, from 15 to 19 June.

“The project began more than a year ago and became a reality in time for the [Le Mans] 24 Hours. As soon as the race is over the Millenium Signature 12 truck will make its way to the Bordeaux stadium for the 4K production of the Euro 2016 quarter-finals and semi-final,” said Gilles Sallé, CEO of AMP Visual TV.

The CEO is understandably proud of this achievement as the OB truck’s design and utilisation of the latest onboard technology is undeniably impressive.

Design process

The Millenium Signature 12 was designed in-house at AMP Visual TV, whilst a specialist company Toutankamion, which works with the company on a regular basis, built the bodywork. It can be considered as one of the most spacious OB trucks in Europe, if not worldwide. “Its two huge side extensions that can open up on both sides of the vehicle and cover its full length have no interior walls or panels and provide a workspace equivalent to the 76sqm floor surface,” said Rodolphe Pacaud, who conceived the technical design of this 32-tonne giant.

The integrator, VIDELIO – Media, fitted out the interiors according to the service provider’s specifications and the expert guidance of its designer. Every detail was carefully attended to, ranging from lighting to the modularity of the workspaces.

The Millenium Signature 12 consists of two production studios, of which one is a flight control room (fly case) that can be dismantled to avoid additional costs if not in use. There are also two fully equipped sound studios available. The unit’s ‘2-in-1’ facilities mean that it can replace two OB vans, leading to significant savings in terms of logistics and transport.

Technical infrastructure

Riedel’s hybrid Mediornet frame was chosen for its versatile decentralised approach that can be used either as a stand-alone solution or a core video router for signal transport and processing. The input/output interfaces can distribute signals to the production truck CCU, switchers, servers and so on. The Millenium Signature 12 has an integrated Artist intercom solution consisting of a combination of OLED consoles and smart panels. The Artist solution allows for part of the intercom system to be separated and used independently in the ‘side van’ if required.

The capabilities of the AMP Visual TV truck were certainly highlighted effectively during Le Mans 24 Hours. The two control rooms produced the international signal for around 35 million television and internet viewers around the world. The secondary production room focused on the activity in the stands, whilst the main production room handled a total of about 45 cameras deployed around the racing circuit and 52 camera systems embedded in the cars. In addition to the Millenium Signature 12 there were six other units in use to cover the event, including the Extender 5 RF for wireless production and Extender 2 and 3 trucks for graphics and slow motion effects.

No fewer than 350 AMP Visual TV staff worked for almost a week on location at the Le Mans racing circuit with the Millenium Signature 12 at the heart of the coverage.