Megahertz To Demo At IBC 2015

Systems integrator and mobile broadcast production specialist Megahertz Ltd is to demonstrate its engineering and problem-solving skills at IBC2015.

Visitors will be able to see how specific challenges in system design, space availability and resilience have driven effective technical solutions.

Featured on the stand will be a newsgathering vehicle, one of a series built for a major broadcaster, which posed an unusual challenge for Megahertz. For business reasons, the broadcaster wanted to use leased vans for the fleet – which means no holes could be cut or drilled into the base vehicle. Then, after five years the van is returned in good condition to the lease company, and the equipment will be transferred to a new vehicle.

"It forced us to do a lot of engineering head scratching and intelligent application to come up with a solution," recalled Jon Flay, managing director of Megahertz. "The racks and technical furniture are secured in the van using seat mounting points, and the satellite dish is mounted using roof rack fixing points."

The broadcaster also wanted the unit to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so specified the capability of running the technical systems on batteries for six hours. By means of smart load shedding so only the equipment needed is powered up in each stage of the newsgathering process – acquisition, editing and transmission – Megahertz designers achieved as much as eight hours. The idea is that the batteries are charged overnight and can then support a complete day's work, using the engine to top up the battery only in extreme circumstances.

On the roof, is a VSAT satellite link which can be quickly switched between Ku-band and Ka-band. It is also fitted with a bonded cellular link and a terrestrial microwave antenna, so the signal can get back from almost anywhere. In addition, there is a small mast to lift the antennas above the traffic if needed for improved transmission.

"This is a very ingenious, very capable and very cost-effective solution for one-man newsgathering," added Flay. "It is also a great illustration of the smart thinking of the design and installation teams at Megahertz, and we are looking forward to discussing how we can bring those attributes to whatever system design challenges our IBC visitors bring with them."

www.megahertz.co.uk

(JP)