HILVERSUM, The Netherlands—NEP The Netherlands has completed an acquisition for 100% of Stoneroos, a technology firm based in the Netherlands. Stoneroos is immediately joining NEP The Netherlands.

Stoneroos was founded in 2001 by Annelies Kaptein and offers customers interactive TV apps and content discovery services designed to improve TV experiences through comprehensive metadata and enriched content.

Kaptein says, in addition to adding its expertise to NEP, Stoneroos wants to extend its IT services and offer new digital TV and video services to customers.

Stoneroos will continue to operate under its own name for the time being, with its staff of 18 staying in place. At an as yet undetermined time, it will change its name to NEP Media Solutions; the Stoneroos name and branding will disappear entirely.

“With this acquisition, we can strengthen our OTT proposition even more, and we can also extend our team of developers. We therefore can continue to grow our business, build on a strong(er) team and also pursue our international ambitions,” said Ralf van Vegten, managing director, NEP The Netherlands.

HILVERSUM, the Netherlands—Construction has been completed on a brand new data center for NEP, located at Media Park in the Netherlands. This new space, which is 700-m2 large, is fitted with standard IT and storage equipment and is capable of fitting broadcast systems holding more than 300 19-inch racks.

NEP uses its data centers as centralized locations for their services, which include production, post-production, augmented reality, OTT content distribution and playout. With this new data center, NEP kept construction under its own management, making sure that it is geared to its own specific requirements and bringing broadcast and IP technology into one space.

Construction on the new data center began a year ago, per NEP, following the securing of a few projects in the Netherlands and Europe.

One of the unique designs of the new data center is its goal to prevent blackouts. This was solved by having connections with the 10-kV high-voltage network in the Netherlands as well as NEP’s own redundant emergency power supply and cooling systems. “Nowhere in the chain do we rely on single-design equipment,” said Johan Bakker, NEP the Netherlands infrastructure manager. “We’re building a data center that can’t be broken, really.”

BINGEN, Germany—As the demand for UHD productions increases across Europe, NEP is adding a new UHD capable production truck to its fleet. Specifically, NEP the Netherlands has partnered with Broadcast Solutions GmbH for the deployment of UHD 2, which is based off NEP Sweden’s UHD 1, a large, 24-camera UHD OB truck.

The UHD 2 operates with 24 UHD cameras and provides 27 workspaces. The trailer is a double-expando and offers more than 45 m2 of working space plus VIP accommodation with extra-large UHD screens. It also features a large variety of monitors in the production area and has 8x slomo desks with access to 6x EVS XT4 servers. Grass Valley LDX 86N cameras and Karrera video switchers are installed in both production areas. The Riedel MicroN platform, meanwhile, provides video switching, multiviewing and digital glue options. For audio, the truck features a Lawo mc2 56 Mark III audio console with 64 faders, as well as a Nova73 audio matrix.

The UHD 2 truck can be deployed all across Europe, whether operating solo or serving as the backup to the UHD 1 truck (and vice versa).

NEP the Netherlands tested out the UHD 2 in April to produce an Eros Ramazotti concert in Amsterdam. It also worked with the UHD 1 truck for the production of the Ice Hockey World Championships in Slovakia.