Token Creek Mobile Television has commissioned a new 53-foot HD truck based around Grass Valley LDK 8000 HD cameras and a Kalypso HD Video Production Center switcher.
The truck, dubbed “Varsity,” will be all-HD capable when it is first put in use in August. On board will be 8 of the grass Valley cameras, but the truck has the capacity to handle up to 12.
“Our client base is asking for more and more HD production and specifically for Grass Valley equipment to help televise these events,” said John Salzwedel, president of Token Creek Mobile Television. “We like the fact that the LDK 8000 cameras are 1080p60 native, enabling us to extract a true 1080i or 720p signal out of the same camera. Plus, the LDK 8000 provides us with future protection when and if we decide to produce shows in full 1080p HDTV...with these cameras, we’ll be ready.”
“With Varsity, Token Creek is ready for the best HD coverage available today with the ability to produce even better pictures tomorrow,” said Jeff Rosica, senior vice president, Broadcast & Professional Video Solutions for the Grass Valley business within Thomson. “The ability to give their clients the pictures that they and their viewers expect from HD is what makes Token Creek the choice for superb on-the-road productions.”
“As the owner of the company, when my clients tell me they want a certain switcher in the truck, I listen to them,” added Salzwedel. “We get requests for the Grass Valley Kalypso switcher all the time. It’s well known to the freelance community of operators and is very reliable. I haven’t had a single problem with the one we now have.”
Token Creek currently has two other trucks with Grass Valley switchers, the Hiawatha, which has a Kalypso SD, and the Millennium, which features a Zodiak SD.
