Telecast Fiber Systems' CopperHead 3200 camera-mounted fiber-optic transceivers are playing a role in the first HD broadcast of the UK-based television series, "The X Factor."
Working in tandem with Telecast Fiber's Python II bidirectional transmit/receive systems, the CopperHead 3200 units have enabled "The X Factor" producers to leverage the portability and low cost of fiber for on-location shooting at a variety of outside broadcast locations.
"The X Factor" is an entertainment talent show originated by FremantleMedia and carried by the British network ITV on its ITV1 and ITV1 HD channels. In early October, the show entered its live studio phase after several weeks of on-location, remote production at various audition, "boot camp," and "judge's house" sites around the UK and the rest of the world.
To facilitate the remote HD productions, show producers talkbackTHAMES and Simon Cowell's SyCo Tv enlisted the services of HotCam, a broadcast equipment rental company based in the UK and United States.
HotCam supplied the production with fiber optic-based flypack production packages that included 15 Sony XDCam PDW F800 camcorders, each equipped with a CopperHead 3200 HD transceiver.
