DTC Broadcast Nano HD Transmitters Used On 'Skyrunning' Event

DTC Broadcast Nano HD transmitters were used to spectacular effect for coverage of the 13th L'Olla de Núria, a two-day "skyrunning" event on the Spanish Pyrenees mountains.

Skyrunning is an extreme sport of mountain running above 2,000 metres where the incline exceeds 30 percent and the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade.

With a total course length of 21.5 kilometres, 'The Olla' takes place only on mountain paths. For the more than 700 runners, 70 percent of the race takes place at or above 2700 metres above sea level - qualifying it as a skyrunning event - climbing to as high as 2913 metres in some portions. The cumulative elevation gain is 3880 metres.

To enable DTC's Spanish partner and regional broadcast RF specialist, Sobatech Group, to cover the race for its client, Sobatech strategically deployed and supported four DTC Broadcast Nano-based RF systems, including DTC PRORXD RF receivers and amplifiers, at key positions throughout the course to provide HD images of the participants from remote parts of the picturesque mountain range.

Sobatech Chief Engineer Jordi Nonell Canals said: "The Olla is a distinctly Catalan event, but increasingly draws people from all over the world. However, for local, online, and some international enthusiast coverage of the race, we needed a robust, yet lightweight and reliable solution."

The camera-back system deployed by Sobatech weighed less than 1kg, including camera, stabilised gimbal, transmitter, PA, microphone, and one-hour+ battery.

"We carried all of the equipment, including batteries, on our backs through rugged mountain terrain for two hours to install the two PRORXDs with dual decoder, plus four antennas with our splitter system," said Nonell. "I hasten to add, there were no helicopters involved in getting us there. Once positioned, Sobatech took all of the RF signals from the camera-back Nano transmitters and delivered them to a relay point, from which it provided a downlink using an HEVC encoder/decoder. An additional pair of PRORXD receivers plus a number of SOLO H.264-equipped cameras were installed at the start/finish lines."

For the more remote of the two Nano transmitters, Sobatech also deployed DTC’s SOLO7, an ultra-miniature COFDM digital video transmitter power amplifier with a second Nano HD transmitter located to use as the downlink to a dual-antenna DTC PRORX receiver in an OB van.

The Broadcast Nano enables production teams to transmit stunning high definition images. The transmitter includes robust, broadcast-standard connectors; and forced cooling that provides significantly improved thermal performance. These enhancements enable extended operation to deliver high definition images with ultra-low latency from areas not possible from other types of transmitter due to equipment size, cooling requirements, and battery run-time constraints.