FFV selects Wexler Video package

Fast Forward Video (FFV) has announced that Wexler Video has packaged the ultra-compact Recon DVR Board into a very small, highly portable, and extremely durable recording device that has proved a critical tool for the reality television market.
The miniature digital video recorder (DVR) board from Fast Forward has enabled Wexler engineers to provide their clients with the ability to record 20 to 30 minutes of action at a very high resolution while reducing the size, weight, and bulk of the equipment carried by each participant.
"We're working with a television genre in which presenting the participant's point of view is absolutely essential, and it's costly for our broadcast clients if they don't get that shot," said Mike Graybill, senior engineer at Wexler Video. "The Recon board features an exceptionally compact form factor, which is critical because the recording device - specially rigged with cable harnesses, all the microphone and camera interconnect cables, and a battery pack - must fit into a fanny pack worn during stunts. It provides a good record capacity and image quality that's about 2.5 times better than what we were getting previously with bulkier and less-stable DV technology."
Three engineers from Wexler's Special Projects Department rotate out to jobs like Fear Factor to help the stunt coordinator rig up contestants prior to their stunts.
The stunt coordinator gets each contestant into protective gear and then, to make the shot possible, adds equipment including a helmet fitted with a specially made camera, microphone, and a rugged recording device capable of capturing clean audio and video over the length of the stunt.
Within that recording device, the Recon typically records at somewhere on the border of beta SP and digibeta to provide a high-quality 24-minute clip.
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