Fischer is king for new WIGE truck

WIGE TELEVISION, one of Europe’s leading providers of OB vans, has equipped its new HD OB truck with the Fischer 1053 HDTV connector. Gregor Mucha, Technical Director of WIGE TELEVISION, says as more and more organizers of major entertainment and sporting events, such as the 2006 Football World Cup, wanted to broadcast in HD, the company started planning for a new HD truck, named HD1, in early 2004. It was built in cooperation with the Thomson/Grass Valley Systems Group and was commissioned in January of 2006.
“The fully digital HD1 is the high-end flagship of our fleet, offering great versatility and high quality HD transmissions,” says Mucha. “Equipped with future-oriented technologies and accommodating up to 24 cameras, the HD1 is one of the biggest and most modern HDTV OB van in the world. The ability to switch every piece of equipment from HD to SD offers media companies lots of flexibility. Overall 25 workstations are available in a 54 square meters space. ”

To connect all the pieces, WIGE needed a connector that combined HD fiber optic capability along with the robustness of copper technology. “Since the HD1 truck travels from venue to venue, we needed a connector solution that provided the highest quality and could stand up to hard knocks,” he explains. “And, should something break, we needed to be able to repair the connection on-site with a minimum of hassle and downtime.”

Based on the company’s long relationship with Fischer Connectors and their triax products, WIGE invited them (and others) to submit HD connector samples for testing. “We connected cameras to CCUs and while the camera was working, the connectors were stressed in ways simulating potential OB conditions,” says Mucha. “One of them was placed in an environmental chamber delivering a temperature of -20C. Another connector was placed in a container of water. Yet another connection had a forklift driven over it. One final test involved the placing of a connector under a pallet of loaded cable drums (approximately 600kg). Even though the cable was then pulled strongly the camera continued to operate. None of the fiber-optic connections failed.”

The Fischer 1053 Series was the only one that passed all tests successfully, according to Mucha. “This summer we used the HD1 truck to acquire all the matches that took place in Cologne and Hamburg for the World Cup,” he says. “Everything went well and we are fully satisfied with the performance of the Fischer 1053TM HDTV connector.”