Dejero ENG systems for Lake of the Ozarks power boat race
Cellular bonding ENG systems from Dejero brought live action to local TV viewers for the inaugural Lake of the Ozarks Invitational Power Boat Race (Lake Race 2013), held June 6-9 at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The event’s producer and director, Ned Soseman of LAKETV, employed three Dejero LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitters and a Dejero LIVE+ Mobile App for iPhone to transmit the HD broadcast to local Fox affiliate KRBK-TV in Springfield – all over a private Wi-Fi network supplied by Dejero.
“With the Dejero equipment, the quality of the HD signals from each camera and the backhaul to KRBK were nearly pristine,” says Soseman. “This production proves that a bonded cellular platform is not only much less expensive than a temporary satellite uplink for long-form live field productions, but is also just as reliable. Dejero enabled us to create the appearance of a million-dollar production on a budget that was much smaller.”
LAKETV deployed the LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitters to three fixed camera positions on the decks of private condos overlooking the 2.5-mile, NASCAR-style course. In addition, the production crew used an iPhone equipped with the LIVE+ Mobile App to gather live beauty shots with natural sound in the event’s vendor village area. All feeds were backhauled via Wi-Fi to the production’s on-location control room. After switching and editing in the on-site studio, another LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitter sent the feed to the KRBK studio 90 miles away, where it was received by a Dejero LIVE+ Server for playout. KRBK broadcast more than six hours of live HD footage over the two-day event.
In order to maximise bandwidth for the HD signals, the production took advantage of Dejero’s adaptive bitrate encoding technology to bond available cellular networks to the Wi-Fi link.
“Lake Race 2013 is a perfect example of how Dejero’s bonded cellular technology is providing a powerful, cost-effective, and high-quality alternative to microwave and satellite links, not only for live newsgathering, but for on-site event production, ” said Brian Cram, CEO, Dejero. “In particular, events such as the Lake Race set high production quality standards in order to make the action as real and exciting as possible for home viewers. We’re pleased that Dejero solutions were able to meet those standards and provide the reliability LAKETV needed to deliver the best in live television.”