US design and installation company Thunder City Production Solutions chooses Evertz a key technology for its new state-of-the-art Mobile Production Units (MPUs) in a small to medium-format vehicle.For Florida Atlantic University (FAU), the St. Petersburg-based company incorporated technology from industry-leading companies such as Evertz, Sony and Calrec into its new BOLT Series MPU to create a transportable control room that is now being used to capture live content for broadcast on ESPN+.
Established in 2016, Thunder City Pro offers turn-key production services to both broadcast and entertainment customers who require design, procurement, and integration for various applications. Its customers include the University of South Florida (USF) and two Major League Baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles. In addition, Thunder City Pro also provides creative services for any of their integrations, provides crews to operate facilities, and provides ongoing service and support.
The company launched its BOLT Series Mobile Production Units in 2023, making them available in 16-, 24- and 32-foot models. Customers choose from either a pre-designed floor plan, a pre-integrated unit, or they can have a unit designed specifically for them.
BOLT came about because many of our clients were looking for smaller production vehicles that were more cost effective to build and run, and easier to transport around the country, production designer and Thunder City Pro CEO Justin Stancil says. As very few companies were addressing this market, we decided to launch BOLT with a view to improving on what was already out there.
FAU chose a 32-foot trailer and Thunder City Pro, in conjunction with its contracted production company, Digital Wave Productions, specified, ordered and installed the equipment. By having a MPU, FAU could capture student away games and generate revenue through hire. The MPU is also a teaching resource for students on FAU's Multimedia and Production programs.
We worked closely with FAU's to ensure that the MPU met FAU requirements and ESPN+'s technical specifications, Stancil says. FAU wanted five cameras, seating and workstations for up to 10 people and high-quality, industry-standard equipment so that students could train on technology they will find in the real world. We also had to make sure that the unit was 3G 1080p, and 4K/HDR-ready for the future.
FAU's MPU incorporates a range of Evertz components including a DreamCatcher DC-ONE system with two DC-RCP10 controllers, a NEXX 64 x 64 embedding and de-embedding 12G-SDI router controlled by MAGNUM-OS and an 5700MSC-IP Grand Master clock and video synch generator.
The DreamCatcher DC-ONE is industry-standard for live shows at this level, Stancil says. I am very accustomed to working with DreamCatcher and the Evertz MAGNUM orchestration platform to the point where I refuse to use anything else.
Evertz' DC-ONE is an 8-channel replay system with 7.68 TB of continuous loop recording that supports 720p, 1080i, and 1080p video formats. Features include slow motion replay, live steaming between networked systems, clip creation, clip naming, metadata tagging, playlist creation and editing, audio editing, internal audio routing, content import and export, content transcoding and searching, and one touch zooming.
FAU's MPU has Network Attached Storage on board and because this can be mounted on the DC-ONE as a drive, operators can import and export clips and graphics very quickly.
Being able to access pre-pro elements such as clips and graphics via the NAS without having to mark in and out or clip everything saves so much time, Stancil says. It is a very precise, self-sustaining system, and its ability to access the NAS and all other devices that are connected to it was super important to us.
For the MPU's router, Evertz recommended its NEXX router, which operates with MAGNUM-OS Orchestration software. This could embed and de-embed on every input, handle MADI in and out, generate multiviewers and support processing functions such as frame synching and format conversion.
The density was more than twice that of other routers we were considering, Stancil says. We can have four multiviewers per card and we don't lose critical I/O resources by having to reinsert multiviewers. We can route any multiview in the router to any output we want.
The power and versatility of NEXX has allowed Thunder City Pro to install a much smaller form-factor router onboard FAU's MPU, without compromising functionality. In addition, students have access to the type of router they will use in the real world.
FAU's MPU is also equipped with an Evertz 5700MSC-IP Grand Master clock and video synch generator, which has the GPS component needed to synchronize the unit's SMPTE ST 2110 audio console. This allows students to learn the difference between traditional baseband and ST 2110 systems.
FAU's MPU is now in use capturing content across a range of sports including baseball, soccer and basketball.
FAU are delighted with their new MPU, which is doing everything they wanted it to do and more, Stancil says. The help and support I received from Evertz, along with the company's exceptional technology, contributed greatly to the project's success.
