BBC Outside Broadcasts has developed the X-Trailer, an HD-capable mobile postproduction and transmission rig. It is based on Apple’s Final Cut Studio and Xsan technologies, combined with EVS’s XT[2] disc-based production server system.
Building on experience from working with Final Cut Pro in-house, the X-Trailer features a 47TB Xraid network, with enough capacity to support 11 weeks of continuous SD recording. It has been designed to service clients that require greater storage, bandwidth and mobile post-production facilities.
The X-Trailer supports nine edit stations, and it has two dedicated “Live Stream” ingest stations, which provide SD/HD recording onto the RAID with AES/analog or embedded audio.
The X-Trailer was first used to support TWI’s coverage of the Snooker Grand Prix at Aberdeen’s International Conference Centre in October 2007. Running in SD with six edit clients and two ingest streams, the system contributed to some 40 hours of BBC transmission time.
The new X-Trailer system provides tape-free, high-quality and cost-effective edit solutions for its clients, according to David Packham, a video editor with BBC Outside Broadcasts. It also offers long-term logistical benefits, because there’s no tape costs, and the equipment itself is more compact than previous solutions and can be set up on-site and configured fast.
BBC Outside Broadcasts’ fleet of new generation OB vehicles are all equipped with Final Cut Pro and EVS server-based systems, which are fully integrated with the X-Trailer. If customers need to deliver in multiple formats, there are also HD displays and full audio monitoring available, plus stations for high-end graphics and 3-D effects on Adobe CS3.
