NEP Equips New Supershooter Mobile Unit With Extensive Cobalt Digital Technology

NEP Supershooter 6
(Image credit: NEP)

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has outfitted Supershooter 6, one of its newest production vehicles, with 12 frames of Cobalt Digital signal processing, conversion and distribution gear.

The unit, which supports IP, 3G, 1080p, HDR and is 4K-ready, is equipped with 12 Cobalt HPF-9000 20-slot, high-power-frames packed with openGear form factor cards and the company’s OGCP9000 Ethernet remote control panel optimized for color correction use, Cobalt Digital said.

The configuration consists of 4K- and HDR-capable cards and supports up, down and cross conversion, audio processing and color correction. To maximize space, the system enables multiple capabilities, including multi-rate distribution, 3G/HD-to-SDI and analog down conversion, high-density-coax-to-fiber conversion and multipath up, down and cross conversion, in a small footprint.

The deployment also includes more than 100 Cobalt openGear distribution amplifiers, including the Cobalt 9910, 9501 and 9410, which enables Supershooter 6 to support 3G, HD, SD and ASI production requirements. The technology provides dual and multirate reclocking, analog video looping distribution with EQ and extensive downconverting and output crosspoint features, it said.

The 53-foot mobile studio has numerous Cobalt 9905-MPx software defined audio/video processing cards installed, which provide quad path 3G/SD/HD UHD up, down and cross conversion, frame sync, flexible AES and MADI embed/de-embed, 3D-LUT-PRO, advanced color correction and branding capabilities, it said.

Supershooter 6 also has the 9902-UDX 3G/HD/SD-SDI up, down and cross converter, frame sync, audio embedder/de-embedder with four analog audio and composite analog CVBS video input/output, it said.

Among the options deployed with the solution are presets to convert SDR to HDR and back, 3D LUTs, 4K color corrector software, RGB color correction with gain, lift and gamma chroma and luma clipping, it said.

The production vehicle, which hit the road in May, is being used to support live production of the NHL playoffs and the women’s and men’s College World Series.

“NEP was Cobalt’s first customer when the company launched 25 years ago, and we’re proud that they still come to us for the most advanced and reliable solutions for their fleet,” said Suzana Brady, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for Cobalt. 

“NEP is globally renowned for bringing content to life, and those events must be flawlessly delivered for an exceptional viewer experience. There is no room for failure or compromised quality, and they’ve trusted Cobalt to deliver market-leading and technologically advanced solutions they can count on for over a quarter of a century,” she said.

More information is available on the company’s website

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.