Fiber Optic Video News and Perspective

ENG/SNG at The Winter Classic

  

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While the event by all accounts was a great success there were considerable changes made to the typical setup that the local news media is accustomed to over at Fenway.

The biggest change was to the normal SNG/ENG truck parking location which was hi-jacked by the NHL for trailer mounted generators and the mobile plumbing unit for keeping the ice frozen. The usual parking area for the locals at Fenway is on Van Ness Street with an access point into the stadium cross connects right inside the ambulance bay.  While during the baseball season this would be the typical setup for this eventa whole new approach was taken.

The NHL secured parking for the local media in a parking lot beyond the right field area of Fenway Park and put the local trucks about 500’ further away then usual and on the opposite side of the street from Fenway.

So you ask, how does Telecast figure into this equation?  Would you venture a guess as to which type of cable you were not allowed to flyover the street to cable into Fenway? Now would you venture a guess as to which cable was allowed to be hoisted over the street to connect into Fenway? Yes the answer is fiber optic tactical cable.  A temporary modification made to a street light pole and some rope paved the way for some Tactical Fiber to flyover the street. On a side note, a very similar scenario takes place during MLB Playoff and World Series games at Fenway. This tradition started at Fenway in1999 when Fenway hosted the MLB All-Star game.

Through the NHL and some other local vendors Thistle Communications (Telecast’s New England rental house) from nearby Pelham, NH was contracted by the NHL to supply fiber to connect the media lot to the cross connect point inside the ball park. Any media outlet wishing to provide live shots from inside the park was tied into a series of TelecastFiber Systems Diamondback II and Adder II systems for audio and video transport back to the local truck compound.  The Diamondbacks provided the path forstandard def video and the Adders were used for “dry” analog audio . With some prior arrangements Thistle Communications could also supply HD/SDI video and Ethernet connections using the Telecast Viper system that was also on scene.  In all a few of the stations from Boston, Philadelphia, Comcast Sports and ESPN tied into the fiber system on New Years Eve which was the setup day and kept the lines in place through the end of New Years Day.

Thistle Communications racked up the Telecast Fiber equipment and secured it in a trailer that served as the field office and the demarc in the truck parking lot, while the otherend of the gear was located inside the ambulance bay at Fenway where the localmedia normally ties in.  According to Thistle Communications President, Jim Thistle and his engineer Jay Arthur the setup and performance of the Telecast equipment was flawless and made life very easy for all involved. Noting that there are really not many options available seeing as conventional copper cables were not going to be allowed to be hung over the street.

The weight of the Telecast Fiber Tactical Fiber that was used is about 15lbs per 1000’ feet, far less then conventional ENGstyle copper cables. The weight of the cable crossing the street from the pole to the park was probably between two and three pounds. The total reel of 1000’of fiber plus the reel is close to 30 pounds total.  As mentioned earlier for the MLB playoff games at Fenway a similar setup is used and again due to thelight weight the fiber is the only cable allowed to fly over the streets astemporary install.  Again the increased signal capacity on the fiber vs.conventional copper lines makes the fiber a logical choice.

Without a doubt another example of how fiber can solve the problems of multiple connections, different standards, distance and weight all in one light weight manageable cable.