
Mobile TV Group Officially Enters the 1080p HDR Era With 51FLEX Mobile Unit for Bally Sports New truck is MTVGs first to launch specifically for nightly 1080p HDR productions By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 - 2:45 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
in December 2017, Mobile TV Group dove into the HDR waters with DirecTV's first live 4K UHD HDR broadcast in the U.S. - which earned a Sports Emmy nomination. Since then, MTVG has rolled out a caravan of 4K and 1080p HDR-capable mobile units. Its newest truck, 51FLEX, however, marks a new era for the company: it is the first to launch with the express intent of producing 1080p HDR shows on a nightly basis.
51FLEX is serving Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal.
When we did that first 4K HDR broadcast, we knew it was the beginning of something special, says MTVG COO Nick Garvin. And our years of experience have culminated with this mobile unit. We're extremely proud of not only our history as a leader in the HDR space but also where we are headed in terms of building high-quality 1080p HDR mobile units.
51FLEX, which debuted at the end of 2022, is currently serving Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal coverage of the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Angels.
Bally Sports is very excited to launch another new mobile unit with our partners at Mobile TV Group, says Kendall Burgess, VP, technical operations, Bally Sports. We are currently producing the majority of our broadcasts out of 51FLEX in 1080p SDR. Shortly after the truck launch, we had a successful 1080p HDR test game, where we learned a lot about the new technology. We look forward to getting our L.A.-based technical crews and production teams more experience with the new workflow as we produce more 1080p HDR events in the future.
As is the case with all of MTVG's FLEX series trucks, 51FLEX is accompanied by a visitor's mobile unit (51VMU), which can be deployed by the visiting team's RSN production crew in person or remotely via MTVG's Cloud Control platform. As a result, Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal's production teams can broadcast home games in 1080P HDR while providing the visiting broadcaster their format of choice.
51FLEX is accompanied by 51VMU (visitor's mobile unit).
Inside 51FLEX: An IP-Powered 1080p HDR Beast Built onsite at MTVG's headquarters in Colorado, the 1080p HDR IP-based mobile unit is built around a Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame X IP switcher (7M/E, 96 inputs/48 outputs) and 128-port Evertz NATX IP router. The production team can use up to 32 sources during each broadcast, including 12 1080p HDR cameras with four running in super-slo-mo.
In the replay room, 51FLEX has four 12-channel EVS XT-VIA IP full-editing replay servers with 16 channels of embedded audio. The truck is capable of 16 HD inputs/12 HD outputs when the truck is running in super-slo-mo mode or 32 HD inputs/16 HD outputs when it is running in HD mode. Two XT-VIAs can also be split into two operator positions (each with 4 inputs/2 outputs), and two positions use LSM Connect (no VGA). The truck is also equipped with a four-channel EVS XS-VIA server for Spotbox (two channels per show during dual feeds).
51FLEX is equipped with four 12-channel EVS XT-VIA replay servers.
The truck rolls with an arsenal of 12 Grass Valley cameras, including six LDX82 Premier 720p/1080i triax cameras with twin XCUs (two more if the VMU) and four Grass Valley LDX86N Universe super-slo-mo HD/3G fiber cameras - all with Canon lenses. An LDK 8000 Elite triax camera is also in the booth with a Fujinon lens. The truck also leverages a Grass Valley Creative Grading system for HDR and SDR camera shading.
The audio operation revolves around a Calrec Artemis Beam audio-mixing console (56 fader) with 256 routable inputs via IP. A 10,240 10,240 Evertz audio router is connected via IP to the Calrec audio board, which can output multiple channels of surround sound. A bevy of Sennheiser shotgun and stick mics are on hand, along with Sony lavaliers and Crown cardioid mics.
Other key gear includes an RTS ADAM-M Matrix System (with 64 ports of OMNEO, 64 channels of MADI, 48 analog ports, and 16 ports of RVON), nine AJA frame sync/crossconverters with fiber inputs/outputs (two AJA FS1-X's and seven AJA FS-HDR's for a total of 30 paths), Telestream Prism video test and monitoring equipment, Vizrt graphics, and a FOR-A HD touchscreen telestrator.
The 51FLEX production control room features a Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame X IP switcher
Flipping the 1080p HDR Switch Although MTVG has been putting 1080p HDR-capable mobile units on the road for several years, 51FLEX is the first to actually be 1080p HDR-ready each and every night.
There is a big difference between 1080p HDR-capable versus actually being 1080p HDR live, says Dale Canino, VP, technology, Mobile TV Group. There is a lot of equipment that is billed as 3G, but it doesn't actually come out of the box that way. You have to license it, prepare for it, and, in many cases, you have to wire things in completely different order to accommodate it. From the camera heads to the CCUs to the router to the switcher to the EVSs and all the way into the encoding - everything has to be able to be licensed for 1080p HDR and to handle 3G signals.
The video-shading area here utilizes a Grass Valley Creative Grading system for HDR and SDR camera shading.
With this in mind, MTVG has created custom HDR guides for its EICs to use. in troubleshooting issues with the truck.
It is definitely a lot more complicated when you're doing HDR and you have to make sure everything is correct every step along the way, says Canino. We rely heavily on Telestream's Prism scope technology, and then we have a lot of tips and tricks that we
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
The Very Small Creatures
Jaime's Treetop Tales
Emerald
BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup
Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party
The Very Sm...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...