NEP Releases A New Mobile Production Truck

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NEP Supershooters announced today the release of SS22, an all new high-definition mobile production truck.  This new mobile unit demonstrates NEP’s expertise building powerful, flexible solutions, and incorporates new technology and innovative design to allow for quick set up increased efficiencies.  SS22 can scale to meet the needs of any production, with the ability to operate as a single-truck unit, or connect via fiber with a flexible B-unit for added space and capabilities.

“NEP is a valued partner of ESPN on several projects and we are extremely excited about the new SS22 build.  This truck will complement the NEP fleet putting a state of the art facility into our remote schedule.  NEP collaborated with ESPN in the design and build to make this truck flexible, and efficient.   We look forward to our first event on SS22 and congratulate the NEP team,” says Wendell Grigley, the coordinating director of event operations at ESPN.

Michael Davies, the vice president of field operations for FOX Sports, adds, "In our business, its always exciting to get a new truck, but with SS22 we are especially excited because NEP kept us involved with the process and solicited our ideas all along the way.  For a high profile package like [The NFL on FOX], we feel that SS22 will be the tool that we can use to put our best foot forward, and allow our production team to do even more things with a higher degree of efficiency and ease that should translate onto the screen.”

SS22 is one in a series of next generation HD trucks NEP is adding to its Supershooters fleet in the coming year, and was built from the ground up in NEP’s full-equipped design and integration facility. Part of its new design includes a workstation for an in-truck A2 outside of the mixing room.  This added position will help to reduce noise in the mixing room and improve efficiency for audio teams, which are facing increasingly complex audio needs.  In addition, NEP’s design team reworked the operator positions in the tape room, flipping monitors to portrait view for a better field of vision and more efficient use of space.  

“We know that productions are faced with increased complexity.  Our goal was to design a truck that packed a powerful punch with elegant and efficient packaging.  We relied on fiber technology to help increase efficiencies, and used some new thinking to improve audio and tape room workflows which should add more ease for operators in the truck,” says NEP Chief Technology Officer, George Hoover.

SS22 is 3D capable, 3G ready, and comes equipped with some serious technology, including: a Calrec Apollo audio console with Bluefin, ability to handle 16 channels of embedded audio, Sony HDC-1500 cameras, EVS XT2 servers, and a GVG Kalypso switcher – with an upgrade to a Kayenne in early 2012.  Its horizontal, two-tier production room allows for a large monitor wall, which is designed with only an inch and a half space from screen to screen for viewing ease.

As with all of NEP’s new mobile units, SS22 comes equipped with nsite, NEP’s fully integrated and automatic system for monitoring and support.  nsite is based on a unified platform to connect all equipment and systems on the truck, including power and temperature control.  Through nsite’s unique remote portal, authorized NEP’s engineers and OEM experts can connect to SS22 from anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat, monitor all systems, provide comprehensive support to the on-site engineers, help trouble shoot, train operators on equipment, or alert to a potential problem.  

This fall, SS22 and NEP engineers Pat Zollinger, Ryan Jones, and Rick Swaim will provide support for the NFL on FOX and the NBA on ESPN, but they kick things off this weekend supporting CBS at the PGA Championships.

About NEP:  NEP is a leading provider of services and equipment for remote television production, studio production, video display and live-to-web event production. With more than 500 employees worldwide and three decades experience, NEP leads the industry in engineering expertise and technology innovation.  The company is majority-owned by American Securities, a private equity firm headquartered in New York, and NEP management. For more information, please visit our website at www.nepinc.com.

SOURCE NEP