NEP Group, the world’s leading technical production partner for premier producers of live productions and events, has introduced two new mobile production units with the latest IP innovations for the fall’s return of live sports and entertainment. NEP Supershooter 9 and NEP Supershooter 4 launched with advanced, fully IP-based technology and the latest creature comforts amid health and safety measures required to operate safely in today’s production environment. The mobile units are the fourth and fifth IP production units in NEP’s U.S. lineup, building upon the company’s rollouts of SMPTE ST 2110 EN3, M15 and Supershooter 8 since 2018.
NEP SUPERSHOOTER 9: POWER IN A SINGLE UNIT WITH ADDED SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT
Launched in February of this year, Supershooter 9 is a standalone 1080p HDR/4K-capable double-expando truck built around a Lawo/Arista IP router and the first of NEP’s fleet to feature Lawo’s new vm_dmv infinitely expandable IP multiviewer. It features Lawo’s V_matrix IP routing and processing platform integrated with an Arista IP routing switch. In addition, Lawo’s VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) serves as the overall IP broadcast-control and orchestration system.
“With the Lawo VSM control system, the engineers and operators now have everything at their fingertips,” says Ryan Jones, Mobile Unit Engineering Manager for NEP. “We can just give them a Microsoft Surface Pro, and they make their own routes and set up their wall just like that. It’s very cool to see how quickly and easily it all comes together.”
Other key IP-based gear includes a Grass Valley Kayenne X-Frame switcher (128 inputs/96 outputs, 9M/E), EVS XT-VIA replay systems (two 12-channel LSM 10 GB, three 8-channel LSM 10 GB, and one 6-channel SpotBox 10 GB), and Sony cameras (11 HDC3500’s, two HDC4300’s, and two HDC-1500R’s) with Canon lenses.
“From the switcher to the EVS replay to the cameras, it’s totally IP,” says Jones. “[IP technology] definitely provides its own challenges, like troubleshooting signal flow, but the whole IP world has taken off, and it’s very interesting to be a part of.”
A Calrec Apollo console with Bluefin 2 high-density signal processing (1,020 channels with full signal processing) drives the audio side, and an RTS Adam intercom system (368 ports) handles comms.
“The audio side is also heavy on IP,” Jones notes. “We have a mix of Dante, AoIP, and OMNEO networking.”
In layout, Supershooter 9 is very similar to Supershooter 8, which NEP launched in October 2019, except that the latter’s audio room spans the entire expand with an open, flexible sandbox room directly behind the audio room to serve as part of audio or part of production. Though it runs as a single unit, NEP has built a new support truck to run with Supershooter 9 when requested.
To read more please visit: https://www.nepgroup.com/post/nep-expands-its-fully-ip-based-lineup-with-new-mobile-units-in-the-u-s
For more detailed specifications for both new mobile units, please visit https://www.nepgroup.com/trucklocations/ss9 for Supershooter 9 and https://www.nepgroup.com/trucklocations/supershooter-4 for Supershooter 4
