NEP Germany uses air containers for Formula 1 production

Developed by NEP together with integrator Broadcast Solutions, the new mobile production studio is installed in an air cargo container that interacts with other containers that will travel around the world during the Formula 1 season.

Produce the Formula 1 For television, in addition to the production challenges themselves, it is a great logistical effort that becomes even more complicated in the time of COVID-19.

Production teams have to travel around the world preceding the racing circus and must always be on site and ready to be used at the right time.

To have an optimal and quickly operational solution in the circuits, NEP Germany has opted for a new solution based on air cargo containers (POD) to transmit signals from the pit lane and for interviews.

Since this season, the station Hello TV acquired the broadcast rights to Formula 1, and NEP Germany acts as a production service provider for the Austrian broadcaster.

The new container solution, developed by NEP together with the integrator Broadcast Solutions, is a mobile production studio, installed in an air cargo container that interacts with other containers that function as “assembly vehicles”, so to speak, traveling around the world during the Formula 1 season.

This POD, which is housed in an air cargo container fitted with extensions, is primarily used to produce interviews and expert talks, which are captured by two wireless camera rigs and an EB rig around the track or in the pit lane. In the smallest possible space, it houses all the essential technical components used for a television production in a mobile unit.

Mark Overkamp, technical director of NEP Germany, explains the background to the development: "Due to the excessive travel involved in Formula 1 production, we needed a highly mobile and transportable solution that could provide all the technology for our productions in the smallest possible space and still be comfortable to work in. Together with Broadcast Solutions, with the POD, we have developed a solution that, in combination with a sophisticated stage box concept, optimally supports us in current productions, but also leaves options open for the future."

All in one

With two extensions, the POD can be expanded from 7.5 to 14 m² and offers space for four workstations (one audio engineer, one video engineer, and two editors), including a central technical rack with 2x 38 RUs.

The POD is used to monitor video and audio signals of the camera crews working on the production, as well as for control intercom signals and radio links Motorola. During productions, audio and video signals are transmitted directly from the race track via dark fiber to the Servus TV broadcast center in Salzburg, where the PGM signal is created. In-ear monitoring of presenters, reporters and camera crews is managed in the POD to avoid audio delays.

The audio signals generated in this workflow are characterized by their great heterogeneity: the POD and the transmitters Wisycom, which carry out the wireless network throughout the track, work with digital audio in Dante format.

Intercom signals are processed in AES67, and other analog audio signals come from office containers. To ensure smooth conversion, various multi-format converters Prodigy of DirectOut, housed in stageboxes, convert analog and AES67 audio into Dante and vice versa.

A digital audio console Yamaha QL1 with DANTE integration is used to mix the signals in the POD itself. In the POD, the system MicroN of Riedel It works as a main router. The control of audio and video signals is carried out by the Broadcast Solutions control system. Hi Human Interface.

The POD is designed to be able to be controlled remotely from the Salzburg broadcast center. The system already underwent its first baptism of fire at the start of the season on March 28 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The next event will be the Italian Grand Prix at Imola on April 18.