Live From NBA All-Star: NEP Rolls Out Baker's Dozen of Trucks, Finds New Synergy With Bexel NDI takes on a different role; it's Bexel's first All-Star as part of NEP By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, February 16, 2018 - 9:07 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Following massive shows at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis and at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, NEP is at it once again this week with a colossal footprint for Turner Sports' NBA All-Star Weekend productions from Los Angeles.
From Left: Bexel's Lee Estroff with NEP's Stephanie DeMoss and Jason Honkus at the NBA All-Star compound in Los Angeles
This is definitely one of the biggest, if not the biggest, [annual] shows that NEP does for a single client, says Stephanie DeMoss, senior director, sales and account management, NEP. Turner grows every year, so, our challenge is always to see how we can keep it as efficient as possible for them with the trucks that we have and still have enough space for all our people. We've grown every year since we started at All-Star, which is really impressive considering it was always a very big show.
Turner's truck compound this year near the steps of the L.A. Convention Center features a baker's dozen of NEP mobile units: NEP's ND1 (A, B, C, and D) serving as the signal-distribution unit, SS24 (A, B, and C) serving Friday night's Rising Stars Game and Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, NCP10 (A and B) for All-Star Saturday Night festivities, NCP11 for the Inside the NBA onsite studio show, SS16 and ATU for the entertainment and halftime-show elements, and Cobalt for the Turner-Intel virtual-reality production.
It's a new challenge every year at All-Star, because it's a different arena with a different layout and different compound to park the trucks, says Jason Honkus, director of engineering, U.S. Mobile Units, NEP. We are all involved in the early stages of the event [planning], and that helps a lot.
ND1 Once Again at the Center of It All for All-Star
For the third consecutive year, ND1 is serving as the brain of the compound, with all audio and video signals running through the four-truck unit, along with performing a host of other duties. After serving as NBC's main game truck for Super Bowl LII, NEP double-timed it to Los Angeles, where it is serving a much different role.
ND1 A, B, C, and D are handling what we call the shared-resource part of the compound, says Honkus. All the cameras from all the trucks feed into ND1, and all the audio distribution - whether analog, AES, MADI, or embedded audio - flows through it so the other trucks don't have to feed each other. They all just feed into ND1, which handles the distribution for the whole compound. It's been great for us because it gives us a lot of tools to work with, and the four-truck footprint gives us a lot of flexibility.
In addition to signal distribution, the four ND1 units are being used for a variety of other tasks, including submixing (in B's audio room) and Edit (in C's EVS replay area).
We used to have NEP ESU [signal-distribution truck] here, but, three years ago, we sent ND1 because ESU wasn't available due to the Super Bowl. And it seemed like it might be overkill at the time, but, in the years since, Turner has filled every seat and grown into it. Now it's a must, and it will be part of the package moving forward.
NEP-Bexel Synergy Enhances Service
NEP mobile units and Bexel fiber and rental services have been among the most significant vendor presences at NBA All-Star Games for more than two decades. However, this year marks the first since NEP acquired Bexel. As a result, the NEP and Bexel teams are working to find new synergies to better serve clients onsite.
[Being part of NEP] certainly has enhanced our onsite service level this year, says Lee Estroff, VP, business development, Bexel. We can reach out to [the mobile units'] team to help support our efforts. Of course, we have our own engineers out there doing fiber and IPTV, edit, and audio, but we can always lean on the resources of Jason's team, and the same goes for them leaning on us. It's a very strong presence, and I think it enhances the overall service for Turner.
In Los Angeles, Bexel is providing 15 edit systems between Turner, NBA TV, and NBA Entertainment. In addition, the company has rolled out a compound-wide IPTV system that it will manage throughout the events. In addition, Bexel's fiber-solutions team is on hand in full force, and its rental-services team is supplying a multitude of equipment, including super-slo-mo systems, lenses, RF player and coaches mics, and monitors.
It's been great for us, says DeMoss. In addition to what Lee sends in, we always send in quite a bit of equipment to supplement the trucks. This year, I don't think we had to outsource anything outside of NEP and Bexel. Anything that we couldn't source from our own field shop was taken care of by Bexel.
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...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
Live From NBA All-Star: NEP Rolls Out Baker's Dozen of Trucks, Finds New Synergy With Bexel NDI takes on a different role; it's Bexel's first All-Star as part of NEP By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
