AMV BUILDS NEXT GENERATION FLIGHT CASE SYSTEM

SITUATION All Mobile Video (AMV) is an internationally known provider of audio and video solutions for entertainment, sports and news programming. Based in New York City, AMV offers a full array of services ranging from sound stages and post-production facilities in Manhattan to 20 state-of- the-art mobile production and editing trucks. Increased demand for remote programming, especially for out-of-country operations, prompt- ed AMV management to re-enter a familiar line of business—flight cases. Flight cases, of course, were nothing new. In fact, AMV was in that busi- ness some years ago but chose to focus instead on mobile trucks, a strategy which has proven successful as AMV mobile units are deployed on many of the most high profile remote productions worldwide. To successfully differentiate the flight cases and earn new business, AMV decided it was going to have to raise the bar for flight case capability. AMV BUILDS NEXT GENERATION FLIGHT CASE SYSTEM CASE STUDY The All Mobile Matrix is a mobile production flight case system that can support large-scale productions in both HD and SD. Shown are four VTR racks with HD decks as well as router panels and dual flat screen monitors. The new flight case system—dubbed the All Mobile Matrix—was designed with advanced capabilities and on a scale not available in the marketplace. The All Mobile Matrix would approximate the functions of a full 53-foot mobile unit including support for up to 16 cameras, a full 80 input by 48 output switch, and both high definition and standard definition capable. Beyond advanced production and editing capabilities, AMV established other criteria for the All Mobile Matrix. Given that the new flight cases would be subjected to repeated, rough handling and widely varying environmental conditions, components must be both rugged and highly reliable. In addition, the flight cases would have to be highly flexible for not only maintenance and troubleshooting, but also for accommodating the varied wiring configurations and production requirements of different venues and engineers. SELECTION THROUGH DISSECTION—CHOOSING AUDIO AND VIDEO PATCH BAYS An important part of the All Mobile Matrix design was flexibility through use of audio and video patch bays. Granted, hardwired components may withstand the bumps and grinds of being carried by airlines across the world or by donkeys up a mountain better than patch bays. Yet AMV valued the ability to quickly and easily reconfigure and troubleshoot using patch bays. Still, the challenge was to find highly reliable and rugged patch bays. Not choosing to believe every promise in marketing brochures, the AMV team purchased audio and video jacks and shelf assemblies from several manufacturers and dissected each to the subcomponent level. The engineers were surprised when one vendor’s patch bay was actually wired incorrectly. The engineers were not surprised, however, to find that the ADC audio and video products were designed for long-term use and exceptional signal response. Keeping most cases under 70 pounds was important, making the weight of each component a critical factor. While all tested products featured fairly comparable weight, the ADC patch products clearly stood out on features and performance. CASE STUDY Lee Blanco, director of operations for AMV, works in the engi- neering section of the All Mobile Matrix, patching video through ADC’s MVJ-3 video patch bays. ”Weight is always a concern with flypacks,“ said Lee Blanco, Director of Operations for AMV and the chief architect of the All Mobile Matrix. ”But weight takes second place to performance and that is why we chose ADC,“ he said. During the evaluation process, Blanco and his team found that lighter sometimes also meant flimsy. “These cases need to take punishment. I had the impression (with other bays) that if I had to mount several Edacs on the back and allow the case to bounce down the road, I would question the unit’s ability to stay together. ADC has the most rugged patching products available,” said Blanco. AUDIO PATCHING FOR THE LONG HAUL The evaluation pointed to ADC’s Pro Patch® Programmable Bantam for audio patching in the All Mobile Matrix. From a construction standpoint, use of WECO platinum/gold crossbar contacts, instead of non-crossbar type springs, offered a superior design. Combined with mechanical wiping action and high contact force, the Pro Patch would deliver steady performance even as dust and other residues cling to contacts. Both modular jacks and chassis pass MIL-202 environmental testing for moisture, heat, corrosion and vibration, making them a good fit for flight cases. “Our experience with ADC says these (Pro Patch) jacks will have zero problems for the first five years. By year seven, we might expect one or two bad jacks and by year 10, just a few more—well within spec,” said Paul Brinkman, Senior Field Engineer with AMV. “We have occasionally been lured into buying other jacks but always end up switching back to ADC. For the long run, it pays to get the right products,” he said. Content that the Pro Patch would provide consistent, long-term performance, AMV engineers were then won-over by the all front, individual jack access of the Pro Patch series. Each bantam jack card slides out of the panel for access to a seven-position DIP switch for configuring circuit normals and grounds on individual circuits. Changes can be made on individual circuits without removing a panel from the rack or affecting other circuits and without using pins and jumpers. CASE STUDY ADC Pro Patch series audio patching products are used in the communications section of the All Mobile Matrix. “We have occasionally been lured into buying other jacks but always end up switching back to ADC. For the long run, it pays to get the right products.” – Paul Brinkman, Senior Field Engineer with AMV “It was obvious which audio bay to use. The design of the (ADC) audio patch bay gives us complete control to instantly swap jack points. You can’t do this with other systems,” said Brinkman. “Anything can happen in the field. The case could be in a rain forest today and in a desert next month. Knowing you can swap jacks in and out in seconds versus an hour adds tremendous value to the All Mobile Matrix,” he said. SEALED VIDEO JACKS FOR PEACE OF MIND As video jacks and panels were subjected to the scrutiny of the AMV staff, ADC’s MVJ-3 Midsize Super Video Jack surfaced as the top pick for video patching. First of all, the jack performed well on the bench, showing its capability to handle high bandwidth with acceptable return loss and minimal insertion loss, making it suitable for high definition productions. To AMV engineers, the design of the MVJ-3 revealed nothing but durability. Dust-sealed, gold-plated/beryllium copper cantilever switching springs, with only a fraction of the moving parts as contained in jacks with micro-switch designs, was a design that the AMV staff thought could offer increased reliability and performance consistency over the life of the jack. Yet there were other design details—often minor—that helped make the MVJ-3 the obvious choice. RFI suppression through use of a two-piece center conductor impedes unwanted signal flow, improving frequency response and return loss characteristics. Other elements such as solder free construction and a grounding clip that makes contact with the coax plug in seven points contributed to the conclusion by AMV that for video patching in the rough and variable world of flight cases the ADC video jack was the correct choice. “All components of the flight case need to take punishment and still perform. ADC has engineered-in the right set of features to make this (MVJ-3) jack the most durable on the market today,” said Blanco. THE KEY INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESS—FLEXIBILITY As a next generation flight case system, the All Mobile Matrix was designed to be highly flexible. It is a hybrid unit, supporting high definition, standard definition or any mix for the same show. For customers who need just a few additional cameras, there is the flexibility of adding just several cases from the All Mobile Matrix to provide adjunct capability in support of a mobile unit. Also, with wiring and set-up different for every venue and producer, use of ADC audio and video patching adds critical flexibility that allows extensive reconfiguration to support the specific needs of each show. For AMV customers, all of this flexibility translates into savings of time and money—without short cutting production. “We have built-in the capabilities to meet the full production requirements for any event worldwide in a compact, easy to use system,” said Blanco. “With any flypack, you have to be concerned about cases being abused and broken. I don’t believe there was a better choice of patching gear for what we are doing. ADC has helped make this flypack project a success,” said Blanco. ADC Telecommunications, Inc., P.O. Box 1101, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA 55440-1101 Specifications published here are current as of the date of publication of this document. Because we are continuously improving our products, ADC reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice. At any time, you may verify product specifications by contacting our headquarters office in Minneapolis. ADC Telecommunications, Inc. views its patent portfolio as an important corporate asset and vigorously enforces its patents. Products or features contained herein may be covered by one or more U.S. or foreign patents. An Equal Opportunity Employer 1297803 12/04 Original © 2004 ADC Telecommunications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Web Site: www.adc.com From North America, Call Toll Free: 1-800-366-3891 • Outside of North America: +1-952-938-8080 Fax: +1-952-917-3237 • For a listing of ADC’s global sales office locations, please refer to our web site. CASE STUDY . new business, AMV decided it was going to have to raise the bar for flight case capability. AMV BUILDS NEXT GENERATION FLIGHT CASE SYSTEM CASE STUDY The. operations, prompt- ed AMV management to re-enter a familiar line of business flight cases. Flight cases, of course, were nothing new. In fact, AMV was in that