VandA Solution: ENG flightcase

ENG-LIVE Flight case

This flight case contains all the elements necessary for an ENG team to be able to interview people and to provide Video and Audio signals back to the OB van or studio for live on-air transmission. The flight case stands out because of the compact size (500x400x200) and the easy operation.

Application:

A typical application is a large sports event such as the Olympics or World Championships. For Radio & Television reporters special areas, called mixed zones, are provided, where athletes can be interviewed after the event upon leaving the sports field.
Interviews can be recorded on tape and can be edited and transmitted when needed, or they can be LIVE. For live reporting and in order to interview one or more people, additional equipment is needed. This is where the ENG-LIVE flight case can be put to use.

Functionality:

The ENG-LIVE flight case combines the Program Audio Mixer, Talkback and Interconnectivity via ISDN or 4-wire functions with the ENG camera signal and outputs a SDI video signal with embedded program audio for transmission.
It connects microphones, headphones,
4-wire or an ISDN intercom to an ENG camera and thus provides a fully integrated solution.

Operation:

The reporter is equipped with a microphone and an ear plug. These run into a belt-pack with a talk-button. The cameraman works with a headphone.
Before and after an interview, the reporter needs to be in contact with the studio or the OB van. Communication is very important, not only for the reporter and the cameraman, but also for the director who coordinates the live event. From the ENG-LIVE flight case talk-back communication is set up either via an ISDN line or via a 4-wire intercom connection.
The voice of the reporter as well as the return channel from the studio can be heard on all connected headphones. Volume and balance can be adjusted on the Tieline i-Mix. When pressing the button on the belt-pack, the journalist can talk to his crew and the studio, without being transmitted on the program channel. Because of the flexibility of the Tieline i-mix, which has two separate internal matrixes, one for program and one for cue, individual set-ups of this function can be pre-configured.
Depending on the situation, one additional belt-pack, 2 additional microphones and one additional head-phone can be connected if necessary.

Basically the ENG-LIVE flight case consists of two building blocks:

  • The Audio Mixer and Intercom Interface
  • The Video Converter and Signal Embedder

The Audio Mixer and Intercom Interface:

The integrated Tieline i-Mix is a complete 5 input mixer with built in audio codec. Besides standard mixer functions, it offers flexibility such as intercom buttons on each input channel allowing off-air communication between headset and the studio. The internal signal and cue matrix offers the configuration flexibility needed for this application.

The Video Converter and Signal Embedder:

An integrated Leitch NEO-Frame houses the video signal conversion and video/audio embedding modules. The DES-3901-S is a Composite Decoder/Synchronizer with PAL/NTSC and SDI Input. A video processing amplifier is included to correct input levels. The signal can be synchronized to a reference, if needed. The MXA-3901-An audio multiplexer is designed to embed audio signals into a Horizontal Ancillary (HANC) space of a SDI signal for easier transport to a broadcast facility.
4 channels of analog audio can be embedded into the video signal. The NEO Frame also provides power for the Tieline i-Mix and for the ENG Camera.

Connections to the ENG-LIVE flight case:

Audio
  • 2 Microphones/Headsets
    IN/OUT 2x XLR 7-pin Belt-Pack connection
  • 2 Headsets
    OUT 2x XLR 3-pin
  • 2 Microphones
    IN 2x XLR-3-pin
  • 3 Audio
    IN 3x XLR 3-pin
  • 4-Wire Audio
    IN/OUT 1x XLR 5-pin
  • 4-Wire
    IN 1x XLR 3-pin
  • 4-Wire
    OUT 1x XLR 3-pin
Video
  • PAL/NTSC
    IN 1x BNC
  • SDI
    IN 1x BNC
  • SDI (embedded)
    OUT 2x BNC
  • SDI
    OUT 2x BNC
  • PAL/NTSC Monitoring
    OUT 2x BNC
  • Genlock
    IN 1x BNC
    OUT 1x BNC (loop-through)
ISDN

1x RJ45

Power
  • 90 to 250 V AC, 45 to 65 Hz
    IN 1x IEC 60320; EN 60320; VDE 0625
  • 12V DC / 4A OUT
    OUT 1x XLR 4-pin