Broadcast Rental taps AXON gear for NOS’s Olympic backbone

International systems integration and full-service rental company Broadcast Rental has selected AXON’s modular signal processing, control & multiviewer monitoring technologies to form the backbone of Dutch broadcaster NOS’ broadcast production facility at the Summer Games in London this July.

Amongst the AXON technologies being integrated within the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in London will be numerous Synapse audio and video signal processing and control modules and the company’s SynView 52-channel multiviewer. Also, Broadcast Rental will incorporate AXON’s Cortex software application, which makes the implementation of multiple video and audio signal paths easier, more efficient and cost-effective. Cortex provides comprehensive tools to configure, monitor, and maintain a diversity of devices including Axon’s Synapse range of control modules and other third-party products.

Synapse is a modular system comprising multiple 19-inch frames, active hot swappable cards and (mostly) passive connector panels. Broadcast Rental has configured a production workflow for the Games that uses Synapse modules to perform a number of critical functions, especially the conversion of composite analogue video signals into HD.

In addition, Broadcast Rental has tapped the HRB-550 Synapse module for audio processing needs. The HRB-550 is an SD and HD audio de-embedder, re-embedder, and embedded domain shuffler with S2020 metadata insertion.

AXON’s SynView will provide highly compact and high resolution monitoring capabilities across the network and Cortex will provide control capabilities throughout the workflow which can be centered on a single user workstation.

“We selected AXON as our technology partner because of their rock solid flexible solutions using well known and proven technology,” says Broadcast Rental founder Geert Paul Slee. “Also, they have a local support presence, both here in the Netherlands and also in London. Specifying Axon removes so much uncertainty – their technology is a market leader, it’s battle hardened and their support capabilities are excellent.”

With this purchase Broadcast Rental becomes the first rental company to stock AXON’s products.

“Next month the world’s attention will be focused on London so we are delighted to help support Broadcast Rental throughout this exciting project,” says Harry Kanters, Director of Marketing & Sales at AXON. “We hope that this will become the start of a long relationship with Broadcast Rental.”