NEP Germany moves into air freight pods for Servus TV's Formula 1 season production By Heather McLean, Editor
Friday, April 16, 2021 - 10:10
Print This Story
NEP Germany has created a mobile production studio exclusively for its client Servus TV, installed in an extendable air freight container that NEP developed together with Broadcast Solutions
NEP Germany is using a new air freight-friendly container solution to enable its production of the current Formula 1 season for Austrian broadcaster Servus TV.
To have an optimal and quickly operational production solution at the track, NEP Germany has created a new pod that will enable it to transmit signals from trackside to Servus TV, which acquired Formula 1 rights from this season onwards.
Production service provider to the Austrian network, NEP Germany has created the mobile production studio exclusively for its client, installed in an extendable air freight container that NEP developed together with Broadcast Solutions.
Interacting with additional air freight containers that function as set-up vehicles, they are now travelling around the world during the Formula 1 season.
The pod is primarily used to produce interviews and expert talks, which are captured by two wireless camera teams and one EB team around the track or in the pit lane. The configuration is customised specifically for Formula 1 purposes.
NEP Germany's pod accommodates all the essential technical components used for a TV production in an OB van, but in the smallest possible space
New build concept
Matthias Hahn, project manager at Broadcast Solutions, told SVG Europe that the pod was an entirely new idea for the company: We have built flightcase studios, OB vans, hybrid OB vans and mobile studios in containers before, but to integrate a studio in an expandable air fright container is a new concept.
Mark Overkamp, technical director at NEP Germany, explained the background behind the pods: Because of the excessive travelling involved in the production of Formula 1, we needed a highly mobile, transportable solution that could provide all the technology for our productions in the smallest possible space and still make it comfortable to work in.
Together with Broadcast Solutions, with the pod we have developed a solution that, in combination with a sophisticated stagebox concept, optimally supports us in the current productions but also leaves options open for the future.
Hahn commented on the challenges faced by Broadcast Solutions during the build: The main challenges besides the short time for building them (due to the contract from Servus TV to NEP Germany) were of course to integrate all the equipment in the pod. To offer four work places in a space of 14sqm (expanded) was another challenge. You have to keep in mind basic rules for workspace ergonomics plus air conditioning. Having a lot of experience in building mobile production units and being an air conditioning specialist helps a lot to solve those issues.
A further solution to the customers' needs was the interplay between the pod as such and a sophisticated stagebox concept to make set up and working with the complete system as easy and reliable as possible. A further challenge was the interconnection to Servus TVs headquarter in Austria, near Salzburg. The pod is pre-equipped to be managed remotely from Salzburg, said Hahn.
Smallest possible space
The pod accommodates all the essential technical components used for a TV production in an OB van, but in the smallest possible space. With two extensions, the pod can be enlarged from 7.5sqm to 14sqm and offers space for four workstations (1 audio engineer, 1 video engineer, 2 editorial staff), including a central technical rack with 2x 38 RU.
The pod is used to monitor the video and audio signals of the camera teams working on the production, as well as to control the intercom signals and the Motorola radio links. During the productions, the audio and video signals are transmitted directly from the race track via dark fibre to the Servus TV broadcasting centre in Salzburg, where the PGM signal is being created. The in-ear monitoring of the presenters, reporters and camera teams is managed in the pod to avoid audio delays.
The audio signals generated in this workflow are characterised by high heterogeneity. The pod and the WISYCOM transmitters, which realise the wireless network across the track, work with digital audio in the Dante format. The intercom signals are processed in AES67, and further analogue audio signals are coming from the office containers.
To ensure smooth conversion, several Prodigy multi-format converters from DirectOut, housed in stageboxes, convert analogue audio and AES67 to Dante and vice versa. A Yamaha QL1 digital audio console with Dante integration is used to mix the signals in the pod itself, where Riedel's MicroN system works as the main router. For control of the audio and video signals, the Broadcast Solutions control system hi human interface runs in the pod.
Technically and in terms of workflows, the pod is designed to be ready for full remote control from the broadcasting centre in Salzburg.
The system already passed its first baptism of fire on 28 March at the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix. The next event it will be used at will be the Italian Grand Prix in Imola on 18 April.
North America Stories
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
12/11/2026
Ben Winston, Glenn Weiss, and FIFA's Jenni-Lee Van Gelder headlined a day fo...
12/11/2026
Free interactive platform visualizes team tendencies, formations, and schemes, updated weekly...
12/11/2026
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Charlie Jablonski's broadcasting career is...
12/11/2026
Gracenote's 2026 State of Play report signals a rising retention risk: More ...
NEP Germany moves into air freight pods for Servus TV's Formula 1 season production By Heather McLean, Editor 
