Looking to keep up with demand for HD sports content, MIRA Mobile Television, based in Wilsonville, OR, is now building its third HD mobile unit — a new 53ft HD expando unit.
Designated M7HD, the new rig is scheduled for completion in August 2008. It’s designed to serve MIRA’s core clientele, regional/national network sports and corporate productions and will have the most extensive technical facilities of any HD truck in the fleet.
At the heart of M7HD is a Pesa Cheetah 288 x 576 HD video router with a 128 x 128 AES and 128 x 128 analog audio router. A Calrec Sigma audio desk with 104 mono channels and 104 stereo channels with both Dolby and SRS processing will handle audio. Video monitoring throughout the truck will be accomplished through Evertz VIP multi-image flat-screen displays.
As with the two previous HD trucks, M7HD will carry Sony HDC-1500 1080p HD cameras. The truck is wired for 16 cameras and will travel with 10 cameras onboard (seven hard, thee handheld).
Fujinon will supply the HD lenses, which will be one 101x8.9 and six 88x8.8 stabilized lenses. Lenses for the handhelds will all be 22x7.8 along with two 13x4.5 wide-angle lenses.
EVS servers primarily will provide media storage. A six-channel and a four-channel EVS HD LSM XT[2] will be onboard as well as two EVS RO's and a Spotbox. All EVS systems will be networked and can be accessed by the EVS XFile archive station.
At the centerpiece of the production area will be a Thomson Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher with 90 inputs, 48 outputs and six transform engines as well as a 122-source monitor wall spread across 37 LCD displays.
M7HD is the latest in the company’s fleet since 2005, when M5HD was launched to serve FOX Sports Net Northwest's HD needs. In the interim, M4, Mira’s premier digital expando unit, was converted to HD in late 2005 to provide the Sacramento Kings and Comcast SportsNet West with HD capabilities.
For more information, visit www.miramobile.com.
