Ross and Aret deliver new 4K-UHD mobile unit for Qatar Cultural and Heritage Events Center

This mobile unit has a layout that maximizes internal space, allowing interoperability between different production areas.

Aret Video and Audio Engineering, main partner of Ross Video in Italy based in Milan, is currently delivering a nine-meter 4K-UHD mobile production unit for the Qatar Cultural and Heritage Events Center with an innovative workflow that will offer new creative potential to operators and improve the quality of productions.

This mobile unit has a layout that maximizes internal space, allowing interoperability between the different production areas: the main production (comprising a video wall, playback server and character generation), the audio room with its personalized acoustic insulation, and the area of camera engineering and control allowing control of up to eight fibers plus two wireless cameras.

Each area, including the racks, has a fully redundant air conditioning system to help the unit withstand harsh weather conditions and operate under any circumstances. Furthermore, according to Aret standards, the mobile unit has a automatic leveling and stabilization system which can be operated by remote control, and a logical system to control mechanical movements and transportation conditions.

The signals workflow has been designed to maximize the potential of the unit, with operator ease of use as a priority. To achieve this, Aret engineers relied on Ross Video solutions for UHD in 12G-SDI. The production mixer Acuity installed on board is designed to handle the world's most challenging live events, easily adapting to the evolution of technology in the video production industry. Next to it, the character generator XPression Studio is an industry standard real-time motion graphics generation system, fully compatible with the new 12G format. Additionally, the playback server Abekas Three+ It fits seamlessly into your workflow, with real-time monitoring and support for a wide range of resolutions and formats (including 4K-UHD, HD and SD).

At the core of the system is the routing/AV processing platform Ultrix 12G. Ultrix has an unprecedented number of features packed into a modestly sized chassis, and provides significant savings in terms of space, power, time and cost. Its MultiViewer functionality allows the operator to check the quality of all audio and video signals, while chassis synchronization and UHD gearbox make this device perfect for handling any external signals you need to introduce into production. Additionally, because redundancy is at the core of Aret's design philosophy, all video sources are accessible from both the video switcher and video router. This choice, along with Ultrix's silent switching functionality, ensures a backup production solution in the extreme case of a video switch failure.

The system is enriched with a wide variety of audio and video products, the natural choice in this case being the Ross openGear platform.

Finally, the control interface of the DashBoard allows the entire system to be configured and controlled very easily, all through a mix of pre-built and user-designed touchscreen control panels. It is worth highlighting here the monitoring and control solution Ultritouch, una solución de control con pantalla táctil totalmente personalizable capaz de funcionar como un panel de enrutamiento normal y también como una interfaz autónoma del DashBoard, que permite al operador controlar y configurar lo que sea en el flujo de trabajo del Dashboard de una forma nueva y única.

Umberto Asti, vice president of Aret, has been very proud of the result of this project: "this project is one of the first (if not the first) 12G UHD mobile unit in the Gulf area, and is proof that a cost-effective 4K-UHD installation can be built using 12G-SDI, without compromises in terms of quality or workflow. This was thanks to our technological partner Ross, who today represents the state of the art in transmission technology."