MODIFIED FRAMES FOR NINE NETWORK'S NEWS HELICOPTERS (June 2006)

Crystal Vision provided a unique solution to the Nine Network's requirement for specially modified frames for installation in three new AS350B3 news gathering helicopters.

The Nine Network transmits an entire range of programmes across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in Australia. With news being of particular importance to Channel Nine broadcasts, the news helicopters are already being used everyday to gather live and recorded news material, which is then fed back to the TV station.

Installed in each helicopter was a Crystal Vision SW808 routing switch to enable selection from the different video sources and an ARC102 aspect ratio converter.

The Crystal Vision boards are housed in separate Indigo DT frames, with the one containing the SW808 specially modified so that the quad height rear connector providing the essential eight outputs over-hangs the top of the frame.

Normally a quad height rear connector needs at least a 2U frame whereas the smaller Indigo DT frames into which the Crystal Vision boards have been installed are only 1U high. This special modication enables the two frames to be stacked together so that they fit mounted vertically in the helicopter's limited storage compartment.

However, not only is lack of space an issue in the helicopter, the equipment installed also needs to operate using 28V power, requiring a further but more straightforward modification to the Crystal Vision frames.

The Nine Network purchased the Crystal Vision equipment through our Australian distributor Mastatek, who have coordinated previous projects for Nine including the installation of a significant number of Crystal Vision boards into eight news gathering trucks in early 2005.

John Gilpin, Broadcast and Communications Engineer at Channel Nine, stated that they chose Crystal Vision because "the equipment provided the closest match to the functions we required and we were confident, based on previous experience, that Crystal Vision could produce the custom 28V power requirement within our time scale".

The fact that Crystal Vision was flexible enough to provide a solution to meet the network's specific needs, the availability of the products and provision of a high level of customer support were amongst the other reasons given for choosing Crystal Vision as their supplier.