Wellen + Nöthen Builds Training OB Van

Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf has added an outside-broadcast vehicle with mobile vision and sound control for as many as five camera chains. Cologne systems house Wellen + Nöthen designed the vehicle and installed the equipment in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. It supports practical, project-based work in the sound and image engineering programme run with Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences since 2004. Germany’s federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia financed the vehicle.

The OB van provides the principal workstations used in professional film and television production: direction, assistant direction, vision mixing, video engineering, recording and sound. Students can use it for concert and show recordings and productions with the opera school or university orchestra.

Three Sony DXC-D50WSPL digital camera chains capture 4:3 or 16:9 images. Recording is available in DVCAM through four Sony DSR-1500P decks or Betacam SP through a Sony BVW-75P. An RDR-HX710 DVD recorder supports multimedia production. Sony’s MFS-2000 multiformat switcher accepts common HD and SD formats. Six 17-inch Flatman 4:3/16:9 LCDs, one 15-inch Flatman LCD and three quad splitters provide monitoring in the restricted vehicle space. A Yamaha 01V96 console handles audio mixing.