F&F Productions Readies 4K HDR GTX-18 for Launch This Weekend The two-unit truck handles native 4K UHD from acquisition through distribution By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 - 8:31 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
F&F Productions is getting into 4K HDR production. Its new GTX-18 truck, comprising a double-expandable A unit and a B unit, will make its debut this weekend in Anaheim, producing the Jon Jones/Daniel Cormier UFC PPFV fight offered to AT&T Entertainment/DirecTV viewers in UHD.
GTX-18's 4K monitor wall with 18 31-in. custom Boland 4K monitors provides the production team with high-quality images.
We've had a number of customers who asked us about building a 1080p/HDR unit, says F&F Productions President/CEO George Orgera. After rallying our team, we decided to build a 4K HDR mobile unit instead.
It was important, he explains, that the signal remain in native 4K UHD resolution throughout acquisition and distribution and that clients are pleased with the choices made, including Sony HDC-4300 cameras that are fully unlocked, 4K UHD lenses, and true 4K monitor walls throughout the unit.
There is a lot of uniqueness about GTX-18, notes Marc Orgera, VP/GM , F&F Productions, but the one thing we are hearing from our clients that matters the most is, it offers a complete 4K experience throughout. They are happy to have a one-stop mobile unit that can produce 4K HDR, 1080p HDR, 1080p, 1080i, 720p out of one unit.
The video area features a Sony 30-in. BVMX 300-2 4K monitor and Tektronic 4K vectorscopes.
The core of the new mobile is a Grass Valley K-Frame Kayenne Elite production switcher with 192 inputs/96 outputs and 9M/E with six downstream keyers per M/E programmable clean feed. A 4K monitor wall with 18 31-in. custom Boland 4K monitors are aboard to give the production team high-quality images. When our clients are working on a 4K show, notes Marc Orgera, we thought it best that they see the same picture quality inside the mobile unit that is going out for transmission. We didn't want to say no to offering them the true signal.
Routing is baseband, via an Evertz 560-input/1,134-output router and an Evertz EMR audio router (192 192 AES/48 96 stereo analog). It's baseband because of some heat issues that still exist, says George Orgera, adding that VP, Engineering, Bill McKechney still has some concerns, though our future mobile unit will be all IP-based.
The camera and lens complement comprises 14 Sony HDC-4300 and two Sony HDCP-43 cameras that are fully unlocked, four Sony super-slo-mo systems, and 17 Fujinon UHD lenses with eight of the new Fujinon 107 8.4 long lenses and nine handheld/wide-angle lenses. The video area houses a Sony 30-in. BVMX 300-2 4K monitor and Tektronic 4K vectorscopes.
The replay area boasts four 12-channel EVS HD XT4K systems with super-slo-mo, two EVS HD XFile3 archive stations, an EVS Sports Net3 hub, an IPDirector, eight KiPro UHD recorders with 1-TB drives, a Panasonic DVCPRO deck, and a Sony HDCAM deck. There are also four Blackmagic Design 4K video assist recorders with dual SD card and USB thumb drive.
Audio production centers on a Calrec Artemis Beam V8 digital console with Bluefin2.
The audio area features a Calrec Artemis Beam V8 digital console with Bluefin2 (64 faders), Genelec 5.1-surround-sound monitoring, Yamaha SPX2000 multi-effects processor, Rane audio delays, dbx 166 XL compressors, two dbx 1046 quad compressors, and more.
It's pretty exciting to have some of the most respected engineering teams from the networks walk through the mobile unit and compliment that it is the most capable 4K/HDR unit on the road, says McKechney. It makes me very proud of our engineering team.
Following the UFC event in Anaheim, GTX-18 will handle the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC, for CBS/DirecTV and then Telemundo's Premious Tu Mundo (Your World Awards) in Miami.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
F&F Productions Readies 4K HDR GTX-18 for Launch This Weekend The two-unit truck handles native 4K UHD from acquisition through distribution By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
