Rental Powerhouse VER Chooses Cobalt Digital High-Density Cards for New Flypack
URBANA, Ill. — April 7, 2015 — Cobalt Digital today announced that global audio and video equipment rental company Video Equipment Rentals (VER) has incorporated Cobalt converters and distribution amplifiers into a new flypack it is building for sports- and entertainment-related projects. The flypack is first destined for use in June by a U.S. broadcaster during the world’s largest women’s soccer event in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“In a flypack, it’s all about packing maximal function into the smallest possible space. Typically, we would have to use several different products to accomplish what we can do with one multifunctional Cobalt card. That density gives us a lot of flexibility and versatility in our design and lets us keep the racks as small as possible,” said Howard Rosenthal, director of VER’s broadcast division. “Plus, after having worked with Cobalt on another flypack last year and on many other projects, our engineers feel most comfortable with the Cobalt team. They listen to what we need and build it in a cost-efficient manner, which is rare for manufacturers in this space. But Cobalt is a specialty company, and that’s the backbone of what they do, so we trust them.”
Within the new flypack, VER has installed the 9902-UDX 3G/HD/SD up/down/crossconverter with frame sync, audio embedder/de-embedder, multi-input auto-changeover, and color correction software; the 9501-DCDA-3G downconverting distribution amplifier; and the 9910DA-AV-EQ distribution amplifier. The use of Cobalt’s high-density cards means there are fewer cards to control overall, which saves operators time during setup and wiring, and when making on-the-fly changes that are common in live broadcasts. The cards’ small footprint also saves weight and helps cut down on shipping costs.
VER is in the midst of integrating the racks and installing them into the flypack. Once it is completed, VER will concentrate on the control system, then test the entire system before shipping it to the client. After the women’s soccer tournament, the flypack is scheduled to be rented for other sports and entertainment events, including the Pan American Games.
“We’ve enjoyed a long and collaborative relationship with VER and always welcome the chance to offer technical development support from our product manager and engineers, plus include involvement at the management level,” said Bob McAlpine, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Cobalt Digital. “In addition to functional density, VER needs quick service and delivery. This is VER’s second large-scale deployment of Cobalt equipment for a major on-air sporting event, and we treasure the credibility and trust that we’ve built with them.”