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
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
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 
