MultiChoice Group and SuperSport plan to use the OB truck within the next week to broadcast live sports events in 4K ultra high definition, including local rugby and football. SuperSport, which produces more than 750 live productions every year, will no longer be limited by 1080p – they will also use the truck to provide 4K feeds from South African games to international broadcasters.

Dheshnie Naidoo, Head of Production Operations at SuperSport who led the team that designed the truck, said the decision to embrace IP in the OB truck’s design gives SuperSport greater “scalability and flexibility” in its broadcasts.

The entire state-of-the-art truck, which took 18 months to design and build in conjunction with Broadcast Solutions Group, is built for modern broadcasts over internet protocol (IP SMPTE 2110 NMOS compliant) networks, including satellite and fibre. Naidoo continues: “We can broadcast from anywhere provided there is internet connectivity…It gives us the opportunity to broadcast even from remote areas, in places that have never hosted a concert or sports event, in a cost-effective and efficient way, with less people-intensive rigging and setup.”

Calrec’s approach has always been to create solutions that allow broadcasters to migrate to IP at their own pace,” says Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec.