Belarus TV boosts European Games 2019 live production
At the recent European Games 2019 in Minsk, Belarus (21 to 30 June), host broadcaster ISB used four new mobile production setups from public broadcaster Belarus TV as it looked to raise its production capabilities for the event.
Broadcast Solutions delivered new OBs to Belarus TV, which have been used for the European Games 2019 in Minsk, Belarus
With 15 sports attracting more than 4,000 participating athletes, the European Games is one of world sports’ largest competitions. ISB was appointed as the main contractor, producing the world feed from the Belarusian capital Minsk.
ISB called on Belarus TV’s mobile production resources, including OB vans and support vans, to cover the opening and closing ceremonies and the event’s most important moments.
Belarus TV deployed flypack studios for the unilateral signals. All of the OB vans are newly commissioned and were developed and delivered by the German system integration company Broadcast Solutions at the beginning of this year.
Broadcast Solutions also delivered all the production tools to Belarus TV and during the games provided support with dedicated specialists that monitored the production and technology.
“We are very happy to support ISB producing the TV programme for one of the most prestigious sports events that took place in Belarus so far, especially as a Belarusian company,” said Alexey Washjurine, deputy chief technology officer at Belarus TV.
“ISB’s trust in our teams and the newly acquired production tools validates our decision to invest in mobile production tools from Broadcast Solutions. During the event the OB vans worked smoothly and Broadcast Solutions’ support on-site was just perfect.”
Inside Broadcast Solutions’ OB trucks
Each mobile production setup comprised of an 18 camera HD OB van and a four-camera HD flypack studio and a support vehicle.
All four OB vans had an identical design and worked as 20-ton semitrailers with two extensions with up to 18 cameras operating in HD; two wireless, two SuperSlomo and 14 standard HD cameras.
Onboard the OB vans were a selection of Grass Valley cameras, vision mixers, video routers, multiviewers and slow-motion servers. The audio relied on Calrec Audio broadcast consoles and audio routers. IHSE KVM systems secured access to computers and workstations, and the intercoms were based on Riedel Artist systems.
The flypack studios also employed Grass Valley cameras, with FOR-A vision mixers and Ross Video routers. Yamaha mixers manage the audio, with KVM systems from Guntermann & Drunck.
For orchestration within the OB vans and flypack studios, Belarus TV opted for Broadcast Solutions’ proprietary control system, hi – hi controls all production-relevant areas in the vehicles such as video routers, multiviewers, audio routers and tally. Intuitive touch controls and newly developed hi hardware controls simplified day-to-day production operations in the OB vans.
The European Games are an international multi-sport competition among athletes of the European continent held every four years under the direction of the European Olympic Committees.
The 2nd European Games comprised of 15 sports, eight of which provide qualifying status to the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo. Competitions in boxing and judo were held in the European Championships status. A total of more than 4,000 athletes participated.