Newsgathering

21st century newsgathering has been revolutionised by wireless technology. Vislink specialises in products designed to get you on air quickly, reliably and with minimal set-up. Our unmatched product portfolio means we can offer complete solutions for your content back to the studio:

Wireless Cameras

Link Research were first on the market with the first practical digital wireless camera system in 2002. Since then these systems have revolutionised newsgathering and made ‘going live’ quicker and safer than ever before

    • How can a wireless camera system help me?
      The ability to cover live events without the worry and hassle of cabling to the camera will benefit you in a number of ways:
      • Creatively: during an event, you have almost total freedom to get live shots from
        pretty much anywhere. The camera and presenter can move between rooms,
        across roads and even travel on moving vehicles. If the story moves quickly to
        another location you can follow it easily – just pick up the camera and go.
      • Logistically: planning event coverage should be much easier and cheaper. The
        ability to move around quickly without re-rigging cables may mean one camera
        operator can cover an event which previously required two. With no time-consuming
        cables to rig, the amount of time it takes to rig/de-rig an event is
        greatly reduced. If the receiver is permanently mounted on an SNG truck, then
        the camera can be operational as soon at the vehicle arrives. Although you are
        relying on an RF system, reliability should improve as the system is permanently
        rigged and there is less scope for mis-plugging of cables, faulty connections etc.
      • Health and Safety: you can visit busy locations without the worry of members of
        the public tripping over cables and injuring themselves. There are often situations
        where an SNG vehicle needs to park across a busy road from where an event is
        taking place, either to see the satellite or simply because of parking space.
        Cabling across roads is dangerous and usually illegal, but with a digital wireless
        camera you are free to park and operate where you like.
    • Why choose Vislink?
      • Class-leading low delay ensures live 2-ways are seamless
      • Unique LMS-T modulation, designed by Link and specifically optimised for wireless cameras gives 65% improvement in ruggedness/picture quality over rival systems
      • LMS-T also gives vastly superior performance at higher frequencies than rival DVB-T systems, allowing usable wireless camera operation in the 7GHz band for the first time. Most wireless cameras currently operate in the 2GHz band, competing for space with other users from rival organisations, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DECT telephones etc. As governments sell off more and more of this spectrum to mobile phone and internet providers, broadcasters are squeezed closer together causing issues with interference which usually manifest themselves just as you are about to go on air! Moving to the relatively clear 7GHz band eliminates these problems, leaving you free to plan your event coverage knowing there will be no unforeseen interference problems and freeing-up staff to concentrate on the story.
      • Wide range of solutions to suit your budget. Ultra-compact systems designed to mount on small ‘prosumer’ cameras to fully featured HD units with camera/paint control. All HD-capable units can be initially purchased as SD and upgraded at a later date by simply entering a licence code on the front panel. Our high-end transmitters have field-swappable RF sections enabling users to switch frequency bands without replacing the entire unit.
      • 24/7 worldwide customer support

ENG

Point-to-point microwave links remain a popular choice for newsgatherers as they are cost-effective to purchase and have minimal operating costs. Digital technology has increased range and reduced set-up times - MRC’s latest generation of systems build on this to offer IP connectivity, file transfer and ultra-high capacity.

    • Why choose Vislink?
      • Unique SCM modulation option gives ultra high capacity up to 155MB/s
      • Widest range of frequency bands available
      • Twist-lock mounts and use of standard co-ax cables enable quick deployment and minimise weight and cost

SNG

Advent Communications pioneered SNG with the introduction of the Mantis flyaway system in the late 1980’s. Since then Advent have continued to be leaders in innovation in this field, producing flyaway, vehicle and fly-drive systems designed for rapid deployment and ease of use

    • How can an SNG system help me?
      • Go anywhere: SNG systems allow you total freedom to cover news events anywhere in the world.
      • Minimal staffing: fully automated systems can be operated by unskilled personnel, reducing staff numbers on-site. Not only does this reduce costs, but minimises risks to staff on dangerous assignments or where infrastructure is poor.
      • Connectivity: SNG systems can provide bi-directional data in addition to video/audio transmission bringing IT and office facilities to the remote location
    • Why choose Vislink?
      • Portable systems: Advent portable/flyaway systems are the smallest and lightest in the world, with a choice of antenna sizes to suit your requirements and budget. For fast response newsgathering, the Mantis 1m and 1.2m antennas are IATA weight compliant and can be transported as checked-in baggage on commercial airlines, significantly reducing deployment times.
      • Vehicle systems: Compact, lightweight and robust, the Advent Newswift and Newswift HD remain the ideal choice for any SNG vehicle. On large events and breaking stories, reliability is key – Newswift’s unique design encloses all motors, amplifiers, upconverters and waveguide switches within a weatherproof pod even when deployed. All equipment rotates with the antenna, meaning no rotary waveguide joints are required, minimising loss within the system. The Newswift is designed to keep you on air - should a failure occur, the antenna can easily be stowed or manually adjusted giving fail-safe operation. Two 750W HPAs can be accommodated within the pod enabling multiple path transmissions, even in HD.
      • Fly-drive systems: The convenience of a vehicle mounted system but with the ability to quickly pack away and transport as checked-in luggage on a commercial airline. Advent fly-drive systems can be used as either a semi-permanent vehicle mount system, ideally suited to estate cars or MPV’s or as a flyaway. If required, simply drive your SNG to the airport and take it with you! At your destination it can be attached to a hire car in minutes and you are ready cover the story – with all the flexibility and quick deployment of a permanent SNG truck.
      • 24/7 worldwide customer support

City Centre Systems

Link Research pioneered the use of Newsgathering City Centre systems with over 40 installed world-wide. The ability to go live instantly, direct from the camera without any support vehicle or technicians has revolutionised how news is gathered in these areas. Click here to see a short film outlining one of these systems

    • What does it do?
      • In order to keep the size, weight and battery consumption to a minimum, a standard wireless camera transmitter operates at fairly low transmit powers. This gives a typical range of roughly 300m. A City Centre system uses a small booster amplifier which clips to the side of the camera to boost this power to 1W. This is received directly by a fixed receive point consisting of 4 sector antennas and a receiver, mounted on a tall building in the area of interest.
        ? Using this system, it is possible to instantly go live, direct from the camera within approximately 3Km radius of the receive point. The digital transmission system means that the signals can bounce off buildings enabling it to work in narrow streets hidden from the receive point.
      • Because the fixed receive point uses larger, more powerful antennas, it can receive very weak signals that a standard system would not pick-up.
      • If additional range is required, it is possible to link receive sites together to form a cellular receive network – the system will automatically track the camera as it moves from one receive zone to the next.
      • No cables, no parking issues, no bookings – you can go live instantly.
      • It is also possible to build an even higher power transmitter built into a car or motorbike to form a repeater system. The repeater receives a standard digital wireless camera and re-transmits it at high power, extending its range to several kilometres.
      • The repeater can be easily rigged in a small car and driven to an event. The crew can then ‘go wireless’ within 300m of the car, including inside buildings, and the repeater will transmit the signals back to the receive point up to 8Km away, even if there is not direct line of sight.
    • How can a City Centre System help me?
      • For large news organisations, these systems tend to compliment rather than replace SNG trucks, as they can reduce producer’s dependence on these facilities for simple live 2-ways or tape feeds, freeing them up to cover larger stories or out-of-town events. However, they are ideally suited to smaller regional TV stations who perhaps don’t have the budget or manpower for SNG, but still need to go live.
      • The logistics of deploying an SNG vehicle are often quite complex as suitable parking needs to be arranged, satellite time booked etc. The repeater system is completely automatic and can be operated by journalists, camera crews and non-technical staff – just switch on and go. Events can be covered cheaply and with less hassle, as fewer people need to be involved.
      • Equipment is portable and can be rigged in any small vehicle. A typical application would be in an existing Radio Car or camera crew car.
      • A system costs a fraction of the price of an SNG vehicle, and once installed is free to operate.
      • If the equipment is permanently rigged to a car or motorbike, there is no set-up time. As soon as you arrive on site you are ready to transmit.
      • The system can get live pictures from places that SNG vehicles cannot go. In particular, built-up areas where buildings prevent the SNG from seeing the satellite and areas of restricted parking. The system will work from a multi-storey car park or can be de-rigged from the vehicle and taken to the event by hand.
      • The fixed receive point will also receive signals from a newsgathering helicopter up to 100Km away. Again, this is fully automatic.
    • Why choose Vislink?
      • With over 40 systems installed world-wide, we have the engineering expertise and experience to ensure your system will perform to your exact requirements
      • We have pioneered the introduction of cellular diversity recently