Cobalt Digital Selected For TNDV Truck Install

TNDV: Television has selected Cobalt Digital systems as part of an installation project for Exclamation – TNDV's first fully native 1080p and 4K-ready Class A broadcast and production truck.

The system includes four Cobalt openGear 9903-UDX-ADDA 3G/HD/SD-SDI universal format converter cards with CVBS/YPbPr video I/O, up/down/cross conversion, frame sync, and AES and analog audio embedding/de-embedding. The cards offer multi-input support, flexibility, and ease of use, with integration of SDI and analog video and discrete audio. Frame sync provides glitch-free audio upon frame sync events, with user-configurable video/audio offsets.

TNDV also installed two Cobalt 9933-EMDE-ADDA 3G/HD/SD-SDI AES and analog audio embedder/de-embedder cards. Each card provides full 16-channel embedding/de-embedding between AES, eight channels of analog audio, and all four groups of embedded audio.

Exclamation is a 53-foot double-expando production truck that covers multicamera live events. While any given show is designated at a specific resolution, such as 1080p, 1080i, or 720p, incoming and outgoing signals must be converted to accommodate multiple feeds for multiple destinations. The Cobalt system provides versatility so that TNDV is equipped for any possible scenario.

In addition, the Cobalt gear makes audio processing more convenient. Separate cables for video and audio feeds do not need to be run as TNDV can handle both on the same cable without loss of quality. The ability to send and receive audio on a single cable and embed/de-embed inside the truck means TNDV can process audio more efficiently and deliver it to its destination more quickly.

Nic Duggar, owner and president, TNDV, said: "We needed to pack as much capability and versatility as possible into the space so we could accommodate the large shows for which this truck is intended. Every show has surprise technical requirements – not just a couple of 'oh, by the way' requests, but 20 or 30 surprise critical needs that pop up almost hourly on a show site. It's clear that Cobalt engineers put careful consideration into fitting a great deal of capability into a small space. By having this selection of tools, we can be much more flexible and respond to requests that clients might not have anticipated."

"We treat these hardware tools as a Swiss Army Knife. We never know exactly what we're going to need them for, but invariably, we always find a way to use them. Frequently, we use them all," he continued. "That's what happened on Exclamation's very first show. We used every piece of conversion hardware we had on the truck and actually had to bring in some extras. With Cobalt, we know we'll have the flexibility to handle unusual client requests on the fly."

"Mobile production companies are challenged to make the most of every bit of space, even in the largest of trucks. That's just the sort of application that motivated Cobalt to build the industry's densest DA platform," added Bob McAlpine, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Cobalt Digital. "I'm so pleased that TNDV once again chose to work with Cobalt, this time including our gear in its newest and largest production truck. As a part of TNDV's new offering, our high-density, card-based solution will play a critical role in helping TNDV cover bigger live events with more efficiency."

Image: TNDV's Exclamation Mobile Production Truck.

www.cobaltdigital.com

(JP)