Audio Confidence Monitors for Gearhouse Broadcast

Gearhouse Broadcast is in the process of building the third of four super OB trucks for its Australian fleet. Like HD5 and HD6, which are already in operation, the vehicles feature audio confidence monitors that were originally built as custom units but which are now commercially available from BEL Digital Audio.

HD7 is currently under construction and like HDs 5 and 6 it will be larger than European OB vehicles to enable it to cope with the terrain and long distances it faces in Australia. The first two trucks in this fleet are able to accommodate up to 30 cameras and house 64-fader Lawo mc² 56 audio consoles, Genelec loudspeakers for surround sound monitoring and Riedel Artist intercoms.

To meet a specific requirement for audio confidence monitors to work with four-way monitor bridges, which incorporate four screens, Gearhouse Broadcast approached BEL to build customised units for both HD5 and HD6. BEL's UK sales manager Barry Revels says that before the first order was delivered he and his colleagues saw other potential uses for the device and decided to add it to the manufacturer's standard range.

The BCR4 is a four-channel monitor in a 1U rack that can fit comfortably under 2U video monitors. It has four pairs of analogue audio inputs and four individual loudspeaker controls. Since being installed in HD 5 and 6 the BCR4 has been bought by three UK OB companies for new vehicles, although Revels is not permitted to reveal which.

BEL units, including the BCR4, BCR-A1 two-channel stereo analogue monitor, BM-A1-2SHD two-channel audio monitor for 3G/HD and SD SDI and BM-A2-E16SHD 16-channel audio monitor/de-embedder/Dolby decoder, are also being installed in HD7 and HD8.