CHANNEL 4 EXTEND MAJOR SPORTS OB CONTRACT

CHANNEL 4 have extended their contract with production company, Sunset + Vine, for a further three years, having swept the board for outside broadcast (OB) production awards in their first season of Test Match Cricket TV coverage.
An important part of the production team is Visions, providers of OB facilities for the UK Test Match Cricket and the Nat West Trophy, also televised on Channel 4.
Determined to build the success of their first season, Visions have instigated a multi million pound infrastructure upgrade programme that will see the construction of two new digital OB vehicles, which cater specifically for the needs of the Channel 4 cricket contract. The larger of the two vehicles is equipped and fitted by Sony Broadcast & Professional UK, and both vehicles feature advanced Sony monitor solutions.
Widescreen One is the first Visions OB vehicle designed to cater for the specific needs of widescreen production. One feature, intended to assist the director and production team during live broadcasts is the integration of Sony 14-inch grade one monitors. Widescreen One incorporates 64 Sony BVM monitors, primarily used for previewing the 23 camera channel inputs that Visions rig at a test match.
Martin Anderson, Managing Director at Visions, said: “Normally, the cramped environment in an OB truck encourages production companies to fit 9-inch monitors, but when the picture is cut down to 16:9 format the image is not large enough for the director to make the necessary creative decisions. The larger 14-inch monitors provide a good solution in this application.”
Another major feature of Widescreen One is its incorporation of a Sony DVS-7350 digital vision switcher with an integrated 64x32 expansion matrix. This facility expands the number of inputs that the Sony digital vision switcher can accommodate.
Between May and September, Widescreen One is used on cricket coverage for Channel 4 and BskyB, but during the winter Visions target the light entertainment market.