Gearhouse Broadcast deploys Grass Valley and Cisco tech for Flyaway solutions

Gearhouse Broadcast is upgrading its fleet of Flyaways to be IP-ready. This means that Gearhouse’s customers will be able to use its portable production solutions with either an SDI, IP or hybrid backbone, whichever set-up they prefer for a particular job, the release stated.

To facilitate this upgrade, Gearhouse has invested in IQUCP25 and IQUCP50 edge cards and MV-820-IP multiviewers from Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, as well as Cisco’s Nexus 9000 switch fabric. The Cisco investment was made through workflow specialists, Magenta Broadcast.

Commenting on the innovation, Pete Newton, Technical Director at Gravity Media said: “With UHD and HDR productions becoming increasingly common, those tasked with delivering these projects will benefit from the additional flexibility and scalability that IP brings. Embracing new technologies is central to the ongoing success and growth of our business. So, by transitioning our Flyaway systems to operate in IP as well as SDI, or blend of the two, we’re enabling our customers to deliver technically complex productions in the most efficient way possible.”

This investment in IP technology follows on from a series of major 4K equipment purchases made by Gearhouse in 2018 as it continues to prepare for its customers to transition to these new ways of working. The new 4K camera channels and studio/field and ENG lenses bought have been split between its offices in the UK, France, Australia, USA and Germany, among other countries.

At IBC 2018 Gearhouse Broadcast is showcasing its latest 1080P, HDR, UHD and 4K live production capabilities, as well as Spidercam’s SC-Light suspended camera system on stand 10.B39 at RAI Amsterdam between 14-18 September.