HANOVER, Md.—Broadcast Sports International, a Broadcast Services Company of NEP Group, has launched the Mini Tx UHD, which it claims is the smallest UHD wireless video transmitter available on the market.

Measuring in at 85x56x28 millimeters, the Mini Tx UHD is designed to transmit two different frequency bands via its software-defined radio for on-site spectrum flexibility without the need for changeable radio modules. Despite its size, BSI says that the Mini Tx UHD has the traditional wireless video transmitter features, including pre-distortion, GPS, Wi-Fi and a three-axis accelerometer as standard, as well as a dual UHF receiver for robustness and flexible camera control.

Part of BSI’s RealFreedom family of wireless camera systems, the Mini Tx UHD offers camera control features via manufacturers’ RCPs, as well as remote control of all transmitter RF, audio and video parameters from the RealFreedom receive system.

The Mini Tx UHD also includes changeable connector panels for different applications, like a single UHD/HD video input, quad HD inputs or in-car CAN-Bus.

Additional features available with the Mini Tx UHD include video formats up to 2160p59; HEVC and AVC video encoding at 8/10-bit 4:2:2; up to 32 Mbps video bitrate; four channels of embedded SDI audio; two channels of analog audio; MPEG1L2 audio encoding; support for HDR; and Tx frequency options from 1.4 to 12 GHz.

For more information, visit www.bsintl.com.  

PITTSBURGH & BALTIMORE—NEP Group has acquired Broadcast Sports International (BSI), a Baltimore-based designer and manufacturer of wireless networks and high-end wireless A/V systems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BSI provides broadcast-quality wireless audio-visual solutions as well as a field service for major television networks, sports leagues and other marquee customers around the world. It offers wireless camera systems, wireless audio systems, wireless communications systems and digital technology to receive, decode and distribute images and sounds.

“We’ve worked alongside BSI’s team for years and share a great deal of respect for their high-quality work and technology,” said Mike Werteen, Global President, NEP Broadcast Services. “BSI and NEP share similar service-oriented cultures centered on delivering exceptional results for our clients, so this is a great fit all around.”

According to NEP the acquisition is consistent with its strategy to become the worldwide leader in broadcast services.

BSI adds wireless capabilities to NEP’s line of specialty capture services, which include Bexel’s specialized engineering systems and production solutions, as well as Fletcher’s specialty camera solutions.

More information is available online.

WATFORD, UK—Live broadcast specialist BSI deployed its UHD RF cameras to cover the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in particular the overhead camera which captured the aerial views of the Windsor Long Walk and cameras by the Victoria Barracks and roadside.

The Royal Wedding was shot in full 4K UHD, with a huge media presence of around 8,000 members of the media and 100 cameras were in Windsor on the day of the event. The overhead feeds were picked up by a variety of worldwide broadcasters, including Sky News.

BSI provided three BSI UHD Real Freedom RF Camera systems with integrated UHF camera control. The setup included data transmitters at every receive point to enable camera control and remote control of the link path, so that the RF transmission could be adjusted as the conditions changed.

One of BSI’s Real Freedom systems was mounted overhead on a 44 meter crane, and was used to get the iconic wide views of the Windsor Long Walk as the procession made its way to Windsor Castle, while the other two Real Freedom camera systems were used on a tripod and on a Jimmy Jib.

“The sheer amount of ENG and RF equipment in the area, with crowds of onlookers and security created some challenges,” said Tony Valentino, managing director for BSI UK. “Once the cameras were in position, we had limited access to adjust them, so our ability to control the link path remotely was invaluable. Thanks to our R&D teams, the BSI Real Freedom proved itself once again and performed faultlessly.”

“We were completely happy with BSI’s Real Freedom systems,” said Tony Cahalane, who worked closely to Steve Williams, the Sky Engineering Manager. “There was no interruption or break up from them—everything went perfectly to plan, and the ability to manipulate settings on the transmitter remotely was imperative to the success of what was an iconic shot from this prestigious event!”

Broadcast Sports International, BSI, is a leading provider of wireless cameras, and other special cameras such as roof-mounted cameras, goal cameras, ref-cams, and wireless microphones originally designed for sports broadcast.