WTS builds two OBs for SuperSport Africa, destined for Nigeria and Zambia

Systems integrator WTS is close to completing two new HD OB trucks for SuperSport Africa, together with two support vehicles. The OB trucks are equipped with Snell Sirius 830 multi-format routers, IQ Modular infrastructure and Snell control. One OB truck and support vehicle will be based in Nigeria (OB2), the second in Zambia (OB6). The vehicles are the sixth and seventh HD OB trucks built by WTS for SuperSport, all of which have incorporated Snell routing, infrastructure and control.

The OBs are built on 40ft rigid Mercedes chassis to cope with the rough terrain they will experience on location, with double expanding sides, and each boasting 14+4 cameras. “As with the previous HD OB trucks WTS supplied to SuperSport, we have made ease of control the core attribute of these two new vehicles,” said Ben Murphy, WTS Sales Director.

“This is a touchscreen-based system control and monitoring solution built on Snell control and customised by WTS. It allows the engineers to use a variety of devices – laptops, iPads and iPhones – to rapidly alter the setup of a truck, giving the production team the perfect environment for a wide range of programme output.

“The terrain in certain areas of Africa can be very challenging, so robustness is also a key consideration, and our experience over the last five OB projects demonstrates that Snell systems deliver on this front too,” Murphy concluded.

“We’re delighted that WTS and SuperSport have once again chosen Snell technology as the backbone for their latest OB vehicle builds,” said Robert Rowe, managing director of Live TV at Snell. “Control is a little-talked-about issue but it’s critical in getting the most out of technology, and WTS’ implementation on these vehicles will enable SuperSport to do just that.”