LOS ANGELES—NEP Group’s NEP Broadcast Services, which serves as a production partner for live sports and entertainment producers, is heading to Los Angeles and a larger facility to support its West Coast operations.

The 108,000-square-foot facility will serve as the base for remote production technology provider NEP U.S. Mobile Units, including the NEP Denail team, and broadcast solutions and equipment rentals company Bexel. The site will support sales efforts, rental operations, client demos, engineering and technical management and mobile units. It will also have access to NEP’s worldwide pool of resources.

“The co-location of NEP U.S. Mobile Units and Bexel will cultivate our full potential as a combined team under NEP Broadcast Services,” said Howard Rosenthal, president, U.S. Broadcast Services for NEP. “This new facility optimizes NEP’s unified ‘One Team’ approach to supporting clients with unmatched, dedicated talent, innovative technology and access to our global resources.”

The new facility is located at 7850 Ruffner Ave. in Van Nuys, Calif.

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—NEP Group divisions NEP Broadcast Services and NEP Live Events are relocating to a larger facility in New York to accommodate its growing business, the sports and entertainment technical production services and facilities company said this week.

The divisions’ new location is 11-01 43rd Ave., Long Island City. The new headquarters will be home to Sweetwater, Bexel and NEP Studios and support, sales, rentals, client demos and engineering.

“The relocation of the NEP New York operations, and the addition of Bexel, is a strategic plan to foster long-term growth plans for NEP Broadcast Services and NEP Live Events” said Howard Rosenthal, president, U.S. Broadcast Services.

“This facility is the perfect complement to NEP’s One Team approach to supporting our clients with access to exceptional services, technical expertise and geographical reach,” he added.

Sweetwater offers full service professional video display and event solutions, including LED screens, mobile LED screens, projection and projection mapping, content management, virtual set extension and augmented reality.

Bexel provides production services and engineering for some of the world’s largest sporting events. In addition to the Long Island City office, Bexel locations include Burbank, Calif., and Dallas.

NEP Studios offers a full suite of broadcast services and the latest technology and production facilities with the backing of technical experts.

More information is available on the NEP Group website.

BURBANK, CA.–Bexel, an NEP Broadcast Services Company, provided a host of equipment and engineering support for the five games of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, at Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium.

Bexel was again called upon for the eighth consecutive year to support the Post Season for MLB Network, starting with the Wild-Card and Division Series with 10 Panasonic AJ-PX270 handheld AVC-ULTRA HD camcorders to cover its press kit needs. Eight AJA KUMO 32x32 HD-SDI routers were chosen for signal distribution to ensure the highest signal quality and powerful signal control.

For the Championship Series, Bexel supplied MLB Network with an IPTV system with monitors, which were used throughout the production compound to deliver program feeds, with additional monitors positioned in operational trailers.

As the 2018 World Series were planned at both Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium, Bexel equipment and engineering support were ready to be on-site at both locations for MLB Network for the duration of the game series. With equipment coming from both Bexel offices in Burbank and Dallas, the company supplied the entire signal distribution hardware to deliver the vast number of signals between outside broadcast trucks used for MLB Network, MLB International, and Japan’s national public broadcasting organization NHK. Of the OB trucks, NEP Mobile Units were on-site with EN2, SuperB, and NCP14.

As part of the signal distribution hardware system, Bexel implemented a large router and DA infrastructure for both Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium. Two Bexel engineers were dedicated on-site, and traveled between Boston and Los Angeles to manage the signal distribution hardware for the World Series.

Due to a small compound at Fenway Park, Bexel outfitted MLB Network productions with ‘glass cows’ to help move fiber across the city’s street. Each glass cow is a 72-breakout fiber patch panel, moving TAC-12 single-mode fiber cables extended out to audio, video and camera feeds.

To round out the bases, Bexel also supplied ancillary gear to MLB International with a number of Litepanels Astra 1x1 LED panels, Sound Devices 688 12-input field production audio mixers, and MultiDyne VF-9000 video fiber optic transport frames.

BURBANK, CA–CBS Sports says it is now using an upgraded version of Bexel’s Sideline Audio/Video Cart to cover the NFL during the 2018-2019 season. The new version includes a pop-up talent tent to protect on-air talent from unfavorable weather and limit distracting venue noise during gameplay. The Sideline Audio/Video Cart is designed as a plug-and-play unit to streamline the acquisition of field audio and video feeds in all types of stadium sports productions.

Currently used on the sidelines of this season’s CBS’s NFL “A” and “B” games, the new addition of the talent tent can now be adapted and installed for all clients of the original Bexel Sideline Audio/Video Cart introduced last year. The unit is easily deployable with its pneumatic tires and lightweight aluminum shell, and can be positioned on the sideline or end zone of a sports field, or anywhere requiring quick and easy connections for video and audio feeds.

“Our original Sideline Audio/Video Cart was a big success with broadcasters, giving them all the technology they needed in a compact package that is quick to set up,” said Lee Estroff, vice president, account development, Bexel. “But through the use of the cart last season, we knew that it needed one additional element—the human element. So we began developing a pop-up tent to protect on-air talent during the game. And just like its predecessor—the original Sideline Audio/Video Cart—there is nothing else like it in the industry.”

Each Sideline Audio/Video Cart is designed for each specific customer and use, with the ability for all included equipment to be pre-wired within the cart, reducing setup and strike times. Connectivity to the Mobile Unit is via single-mode fiber.

As with the original design, the cart’s built-in patchbay makes it easy to monitor, troubleshoot, and manage signal routing. It comes with integrated antenna poles, customized drawers for stowing gear, and a flat tabletop surface that can serve as an on-site workspace. The standard cart measures 72 inches by 47 inches by 36 inches, providing ample rack space for shows of any size, and its rugged, weather-resistant housing protects gear in all types of conditions. The cart is powered via single 110-volt outlet and provides an extended period of built-in UPS backup power.

Bexel is an NEP Broadcast Services company. 

BURBANK, CA–Bexel an NEP Broadcast Services Company, says it has completed a “major purchase” of audio and RF intercom inventory and plans to invest over $1.5m on new audio technology this year.

“We are excited about this investment, which not only increases our rental inventory, but also supports the latest wide-band technology, offering our customers more flexibility to meet the demands of the limited spectrum,” said Tom Dickinson, vice president of technology for, Bexel.

[Read: NEP, Bexel Support NCAA Tournament Production]

Bexel has invested heavily in RF microphone systems, primarily from Sennheiser, Lectrosonics and Shure. The new systems comply with new FCC spectrum requirements and provide increased flexibility with wide-band capable systems. The investment includes Sennheiser EM 3732-II high-end RF receivers, SKM 5200/5212-II world class RF transmitters, Lectrosonics DRM encrypted receiver modules for digitally encrypted secure audio plus SMWB transmitter and Venue frames and DUET MTR IFB transmitters. Shure includes ADX1 and ACX2FD dual transmitters plus AD4QUS 4 channel receivers.

The company has also purchased advanced RF intercom systems comprising of Clear-Com’s FreeSpeak II, Radio Active Designs RAD UV-1G and Pliant Technologies Crewcom wireless intercom systems. These technologies provide unique and different approaches to the RF spectrum that enable a variety of solutions to meet the demands of this new, complex frequency space, as well as complying with the new FCC guidelines.

In addition, Bexel is increasing its investment in their custom Sideline Audio/Video Cart, a plug-and-play solution for streamlining the acquisition of audio and video feeds on the field. The self-contained, mobile cart is designed to be set-up within minutes on the sideline or the end-zone of a sports field. It is equipped with single-mode fiber, SMPTE hybrid and copper cables, and hydra cable assemblies, and it enables MADI audio and wireless audio and video transmissions. 

With the company’s latest investment, the carts have been upgraded to include Shure Axient or Sennheiser RF microphones, Radio Active Designs (RAD) or Clear-Com RF intercom systems, Sennheiser shotgun microphones and Klover Mik-26 Parabolic microphones. This solution is is fully customizable to each client’s specifications.

SAN ANTONIO—NEP Group and its Bexel business unit have played an important role supporting broadcasters and media outlets during the NCAA tournament leading up to the Final Four Championship Games, the broadcast services and live production company announced today.

Both will continue providing technical expertise, equipment and OB technology through the completion of the tournament.

NEP’s U.S. Mobile Units division has deployed 10 units for tournament coverage. CSB and CBS Sports Network each are using five trucks. For coverage of the Final Four in San Antonio, Turner Sports will use five NEP trucks, two of which will be shared with CBS. Two trucks will be devoted to Turner Sports’ off-site studio at Tony Roma’s restaurant; two will provide production resources, and two more will be used for TNT TeamCast coverage.

Bexel has provided CBS with a range of equipment for its tournament coverage, including Sony HDC-4300 super slow-motion cameras, 8- and 12-channel EVS slow-motion systems and 18 Vizrt graphics systems.

CBS and Turner Sports are providing coverage of the Men’s Final Four Championship. Bexel is providing a massive fiber deployment, as well as support, to both broadcasters.

BURBANK, CALIF.—Bexel is stocking up on fiber optic cables, announcing an investment in its fiber optic rental inventory via a press release. As part of the expansion, Bexel has added a quarter of a million feet of fiber optic cable from TAC-4 to TAC-72 strand cable, plus SMPTE camera cable; MultiDyne and Studio Technologies fiber transport solutions have also been added.

Specifically, the investment features MultiDyne SilverBullet fiber transport solutions for transmission of SD, HD and 3G & 12G SDI signals on single mode fiber. The VF9000 fiber transport system with 12 3G HD-SDI and one Ethernet path over two strands of fiber is also part of the expansion. There is also the MultiDyne Hut SMPTE to tactical fiber cable converter for conversion and re-conversion back to SMPTE that is now part of Bexel’s HDX Shed fiber inventory.

The Studio Technologies gear recently added includes the Model 400 SDI-Over-Fiber transport system, with 12 3G HD-SDI paths over four optic cables. Bexel also now has a Live-Link Jr. remote camera interface to support two paths of 3G HD-SDI, Line/IFB and two wire or four wire intercom on one or two strands of cable.

“Our latest investment ensures that our customers can utilize a wider variety of cable lengths and strand counts with the combination of signal paths they require, coupled with the high quality and flexibility they expect from Bexel,” said Tom Dickinson, vice president of Technology at Bexel.

BURBANK, CALIF. –Bexel has purchased five Sony PXW-Z450 camcorders, the latest additions to its growing compliment of video production equipment with 4K and HDR capabilities, the NEP Broadcast Services-owned production services, engineering and rental house announced today in a press release.

The Sony PXW-Z450 is the first 4K shoulder-style camera to be added to Bexel’s rental inventory. Over the next year, Bexel plans to add 15 more of the camcorders, which first will be used to cover the Winter Olympics from Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February 2018.

The new camcorders will gradually replace the rental house’s inventory of Sony XDCAM camcorders, the release said.

Demand is growing from services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Facebook Live and YouTube Live for 4K and UHD content. That in turn is driving demand for 4K and UHD production, said Tom Dickinson, Bexel VP of technology.

"Many of these shows, particularly the unscripted ones, involve a fair amount of field acquisition work to which a broadcast-style ENG camcorder is better suited than is a cinema-style camera,” he said. Demand for high dynamic range content is growing as well, and the new Sony cameras will be HDR-capable later this year, he added.

More information is available on the Bexel website.

BURBANK, CALIF.—NEP Broadcast Services company Bexel is increasing its inventory with AJA products, specifically the Ki Pro Ultra Plus multichannel recorders and the Pak Media PAK1000 1 TB solid-state drives storage card. According to the official press release, Bexel has added 20 Ki Pro Ultra Plus units and 80 Pak Media PAK1000s.

Ki Pro Ultra Plus

The Ki Pro Ultra Plus is a multichannel recorder and player with a built-in HD LCD monitor, allowing for simultaneous recording of up to four HD channels or single-channel recording of 4K or UHD content. It supports all Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD MXF formats and large raster, high-frame-rate workflows, with connectivity options including 3G-SDI, fiber and HDMI 2.0. The Ki Pro Ultra Plus is also portable and can be rack-mounted in 2RU.

AJA’s Pak Media PAK1000 is a high-capacity SSD storage device in protective housing and with a USB 3.0 connection. Ki Pro Ultra Plus users can capture up to 1 TB of content directly to the PAK1000 for recording in up to 4K at 60p in Apple ProRes HQ.

This investment in AJA products enables Bexel to equip its customers for recording up to four PAK1000 SSDs with every Ki Pro Ultra Plus, according to Bexel.

BURBANK, CALIF.—Bexel is carving out a place on the sideline for some of sports biggest games with the introduction of its new Sideline Audio/Video cart. This plug-and-play system is designed for streamlining the acquisition of field audio and video feeds in stadium sports productions.

The Sideline Audio/Video cart features pneumatic tires and a lightweight aluminum shell, but is customizable to a user’s specifications. The cart provides connections for single-mode fiber, SMPTE hybrid and copper cables, and hydra cable assemblies; it also enables MADI audio as well as wireless audio and video transmissions. There is also a built-in patch bay to monitor, troubleshoot and manage signal routing.

The cart measures 72x47x36-inches, is weather resistant and is powered by a 110-volt outlet with the option for an extended period of UPS backup power. Additional features include integrated antenna poles, customized drawers and a flat tabletop surface.

PITTSBURGH—Bexel Global Broadcast Solutions now falls under the NEP Group banner as the broadcast and live event production services provider has officially acquired Bexel. NEP’s addition of Bexel, a subsidiary of Vitec Group, increases NEP’s inventory of broadcast equipment, specifically flypack systems.

Bexel, which features offices in Burbank, Calif., and Texas, is a provider of outsourced broadcast systems and rental equipment for sports, entertainment and live production markets. Its scalable flypack systems will bring NEP’s total number of systems to 34.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Bexel will continue to sell specific services under its own brand and operate out of existing facilities to provide flypacks, high frame rate specialty cameras, HD camera chains, lenses and EVS machines.

NEP Group is a global company headquartered in Pittsburgh but with offices in 21 countries.

LAS VEGAS—Bexel will launch the Clarity 800 miniature, high-frame-rate (HFR) point of view (POV) camera for live production at the 2017 NAB Show. This unique camera system, which expands the company’s specialty camera line, addresses growing demand for high-quality, real-time HFR video for live sports and events.

Clarity 800

The Clarity 800 offers HFR processing in HD up to 8x (480 fps) and 1080p for superior quality—in a compact form factor of only 4.7 inches high, 2.56 inches wide, and 1 inch thick—and handles all video formats, including 1080i and 720p.

It operates as a broadcast camera with real-time processing via fiber optics and integrates with video servers. It also features a full-function camera remote control panel for paint control of the camera and positive-lock lens mount with lens control of focus, iris and zoom motors.

Bexel also plans to show the QT-5100 PlayerMic, an RF audio solution developed with Quantum5X. This flexible, rubberized player microphone system is only a third of an inch thick, and weighs less than 2 ounces, making it an ideal player or coach mic for sports. This NBA-field tested PlayerMic can be wirelessly controlled to adjust frequency, mic gain, RF power level, mode, and grouping.

Bexel will also have its Fiber Mini Booth Kit, a solution for interfacing an announce booth with a mobile unit up to 3,000 feet away. It handles audio, video, intercom and IFB signals, without degradation, over six strands of single-mode "tactical" fiber-optic cabling. This allows productions to send and receive 12 bidirectional video paths (six each way), 16 audio paths (eight microphones, eight intercoms), four IFB channels and an optional robotic camera interface with Ethernet control.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. Bexelwill be in boothC6025. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

BURBANK, CALIF.—Bexel is a repeat offender, as the company will once again provide the audio and video equipment for the third season of the A&E docuseries “60 Days In.” Produced by Lucky 8 TV, Bexel previously supplied the equipment for the show’s first two seasons.

Bexel worked with Lucky 8 to develop a security camera system and control room to film inside the Clark County Jail in Indiana. For the third season, Bexel helped supply equipment for the production.

“60 Days In” follows undercover law-abiding citizens who volunteer to enter corrections facilities to try and expose potential issues of the criminal justice system.

BURBANK, CALIF. —Bexel has rolled out a high-frame rate, 1080p camera that fits in the palm of a hand. Bexel calls its Clarity 800 camera is the “the world’s first miniature, high-frame-rate, point-of view camera for live production.”

The current Clarity 800 HD version is said offer HFR of up to 480 fps in 1080p, 1080i or 720p. A upcoming 4K version is set to delivery 120 fps, though Bexel did not say at what precise resolution.

The camera dimensions are 4.7 inches high, by 2.56 inches wide, by one inch thick. It weighs 12 ounces, according to the specs at the bottom of Bexel’s product page. The camera uses a 4K 7mp Micro 4/3-inch CMOS imager and a seven megapixel sensor; it has sensitivity of F11 at 2000 lux, four shutter speeds and 1080p HD signal processing.

“Our own experiences supporting customers’ demanding production requirements — from the court to the ice — revealed there was a strong market demand for a high-speed camera with real-time processing,” said Edd Bonner, vice president of engineering and operations at Bexel. “We also identified growing demand for HFR, and a complete gap in the market for a POV camera with real-time processing optimized for live sports. The Clarity 800 will be a real game-changer for our industry, allowing for HFR to be easily used in any application.”

The Clarity 800 is said to integrate well into a live event ecosystem, operating as a broadcast camera system with real-time processing via fiber optics, and to be compatible with industry-standard video servers. Key features include a full-function camera remote control panel for paint control of the camera and a positive-lock lens mount with lens control of focus, iris, and zoom motors.

The Clarity 800 is the first model in Bexel’s new family of cameras targeting the POV market. Future camera models for both HD and 4K, using the same system design, will be introduced later in 2017.

“A robust and affordable camera of this size and with these features is highly desirable in the environments in which we operate,” said Tom Dickinson, chief technology officer, Bexel. “HFR for HD video will continue to expand, and broadcasters need to be ahead of viewer demand for the latest formats. As a longtime and successful provider to the broadcast industry, Bexel understands what it takes to produce the highest-possible picture and sound quality. This ingenuity is the driver behind the Clarity 800.”

The Clarity 800 camera is available for rent exclusively through Bexel and Camera Corps, which has an expansive global footprint spanning the Americas and Europe. Bexel will bring it to NAB 2017.

BURBANK, CALIF.—Designed to be smaller and more lightweight, Bexel has launched a new Fiber Mini Booth Kit as part of its fiber optic technologies. The kit can interface the announce booth with audio, video, intercom and IFB equipment and making connections to the mobile unit.

The Mini Booth Kit measures 15x25x20-inches, is packaged in a custom lightweight rack with suitcase style handles and wheels, and includes 12 bi-directional video paths, 16 audio, four IFB channels, intercom, and an option for robotic camera support over six strands of single-mode “tactical” fiber-optic cabling and the ability to send it more than 3,000 feet without signal degradation. The robotic interface also allows for control of a camera mounted in an announce booth from a production truck.

The Fiber Mini Booth Kit was designed for use for regional sports broadcasts, events and concerts.

BURBANK, CALIF.—The ink is dry on a recent purchase by Bexel Global Broadcast Solutions of Canon equipment and lenses. The broadcast services provider announced the reported $2 million acquisition as it heads into summer expecting to take part in productions that include the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and other entertainment events.

Digisuper 95

Bexel’s new gear includes Canon’s Digisuper 60, Digisuper 80 and the Digisuper 95 lenses, with the latter combining a wide focal length (8.6mm) with a 95x zoom range. The company also acquired the HJ18x28 high-definition EFP lens from Canon, which have the capability to extend 500mm focal length and are designed to work with the latest HDTV cameras. In addition, Bexel acquired a number of HJ24ex7.5B portable telephoto lenses with 24x zoom and HJ14ex4.3B lenses that offers a 96.3-degree angle of view.

The RNC and DNC will take place in July. The 2016 Summer Olympics will take place from Aug. 5-21.