Markertek Supports Philadelphia Eagles With SMPTE Fiber, Customer Service

As part of the $125 million renovation of Lincoln Financial Field, the Philadelphia Eagles added 10 Sony F55 4K cameras to capture in-game content. To connect those camera locations to the video-control room, the team tapped Markertek to supply SMPTE fiber, tactical fiber, and telecast gear.

“Markertek is my go-to for any thing at all for our production, and that’s probably because of their customer service and the fact that they do handle a lot of their own stuff,” explains David Sullivan, building AV engineer, Philadelphia Eagles. “I’ve never had a problem, but I know that, if I’m buying their brand [and] I had a problem, they’re going to back it up.”

The Eagles selected Markertek’s SMPTE fiber cable after testing several brands side-by-side for durability, cable size, and more. “We actually had some other SMPTE cable in the building that fell apart already, but the Markertek cable has stood the test of the first six weeks of football,” Sullivan continues. “So far, so good.”

Manufactured in the company’s LEMO-, Neutrik opticalCON-, and Canare Fiber-Certified Fiber Lab in Saugerties, NY, Markertek’s SMPTE fiber is hybrid fiber-optic and copper cable that connects the camera-control unit (CCU) of each F55 with the video-control room. Located on The Linc’s press level, the control room feeds content to videoboards throughout the venue, including two 10-mm end-zone displays manufactured by Panasonic.

“From start to finish, we’re manufacturing some of the highest-quality fiber optics in the industry,” says Dan Coscarella, proprietary sales manager, Markertek. “Our defined specs exceed what the industry spec is, so we’re really building a quality brand for our customers.

“This is something that we’re getting a lot of traction on from big broadcasters and sports teams,” he continues. “Live productions are starting to come to us as the go-to manufacturer.”

Markertek also supplied the team with tactical fiber cables, which are not installed in a fixed location. Rather, the cables are kept spooled and can be deployed for any live-production need: capturing fan reactions in the stands, halftime events on the field, postgame reaction in the studio.

The SMPTE and tactical fiber were added to the Eagles’ existing triax infrastructure as part of the renovation, which was completed prior to this season. Diversified Systems installed and integrated the venue’s fiber infrastructure in addition to serving as the video-control-room integrator.

Markertek prides itself on training its sales staff to operate as an extension of its customers, to understand the high-level technology as well as customer needs and expectations. Sales Engineer Chris Buckley worked with the Eagles to analyze the team’s needs, determine the appropriate products, deliver the quote, and see the project through from start to finish.

“There’s 500 varieties of each product, but we don’t want to sell the one we want to sell. We want to sell the one that makes the most sense for the particular customer, and, to get there, we spend a lot of time training the staff and making sure the staff knows what their customers really are looking for,” says Coscarella. “That relationship that Chris has with the Eagles allows him to really hone [in on] the products that they need.”

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