NEP Europe Strengthens Its Market Position In 4K UHD And IP Live Production With 75 Grass Valley Cameras

NEP Europe has selected Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, to enhance its capability with 75 IP-enabled 4K UHD HDR cameras and accompanying base stations. Strengthening its position as one of the world’s leading outsourced production partners, NEP has taken delivery of the new live production equipment for deployment across its fleet of OB trucks and studios.

The new LDX 86^N 4K cameras, along with XCU Universe UXF camera base stations, enable the delivery of unmatched picture quality with the flexibility to switch from native 4K UHD to HD, with 15 F-stop HDR operation. The added IP connectivity also allows NEP to seamlessly meet a range of live production needs, including remote production. Forty-five of the cameras will be upgrades of NEP’s existing Grass Valley cameras in Germany and the remaining 30 will replace NEP’s cameras from another manufacturer at the company’s Italian operation.

“We have a strong reputation for delivering first class, premium content services to our clients and for bringing together the right technology to support the most complex production requirements,” said Paul Henriksen, president, NEP Europe. “We have a longstanding relationship with Grass Valley — they understand our needs as an organization, and we know they are unmatched when it comes to delivering the high-quality solutions we demand. The advanced IP connectivity in these cameras will help us support increasingly diverse live productions, and also provide flawless native 4K images that our clients expect. Having Grass Valley as our primary camera supplier will greatly benefit us and our clients.”

Each new camera is equipped with a DirectIP license to support uncompressed signal distribution. Using the DirectIP configuration, signals can be transmitted from the camera to the XCU base station via a standard IP network connection.

“In today’s increasingly competitive mediascape, Grass Valley’s standards-based end-to-end IP solutions give our customers the scalability and flexibility required to quickly adapt to different production models — with no limits on their ability to tell powerful stories with stunning pictures,” said Tim Banks, vice president, EMEA at Grass Valley. “We have been partnering with NEP Worldwide for many years and we are proud that the company has chosen to work with us again as it takes these important next steps of IP adoption in Europe.”―BCS Bureau