broadcastnews GERMANY BTS: Over 80 years of OB technology By Erica Basnicki
AT THE beginning of November, BTS – the former Grass Valley systems integration division – shipped four specially-constructed OB vans to Qatar TV in a deal worth several million euros. The OB vans are identical to the ‘555’ van the company exhibited at IBC2012; the 555th vehicle made at its factory in Weiterstadt, Germany. Although BTS won’t disclose actual figures, the van represents “more than €1 million investment each due to the multitude of sophisticated equipment and the special technology used”, said company spokesperson Peter Weber. On the audio side, the trucks
are equipped with Lawo mc256 consoles and a Riedel Artist 128 intercom system. The ‘special technology’ referred to includes three independent air-conditioning systems, and cold-air-locked doors that enable the vehicle to withstand an external temperature of 50°C and heavy dust. It is a long way from the
world’s first OB van built by BTS (formerly Fernseh AG), commissioned by Reichspost (the German mail) in preparation for the 1936 Olympic Games. The van had its premiere at the Funkausstellung (Radio Show) in Berlin in 1934. At the time, the ‘image
capturers’ (as cameras were called then) needed a lot of light – more than even full daylight. ‘Video’ was shot with high- sensitivity film equipment, from which the electronic television signal was created and developed in the van. This process created a delay of about 70 seconds, which
the best overall systems for our customers – in the areas of live, news and play-out, broadcasting in- and outside the studio,” said Ewald Fehlauer, MD of BTS broadcast technology. “In order to constantly
Four 555 vans have gone to Qatar TV
had to be compensated for with audio commentary. Other ‘firsts’ for the company
that followed include the introduction of colour television around the world in the 1970s and 1980s, and the first fully digital HDTV transmission van in 2003. From 1986 to 1996 BTS
operated as a joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH and Philips Broadcast under the name BTS, until it was sold in 2001 to the Thomson Multimedia division of Thomson SA. That company acquired the Grass Valley Group shortly thereafter, renaming the division Grass Valley Inc. In August of this year, BTS
was acquired by the PARTER Capital Group based in Frankfurt. As a result of this deal, BTS now operates as an independent provider on a broader scale. The ‘new’ BTS continues to co-operate with product manufacturers – including Grass Valley. “We provide high-quality solutions for the broadcast industry worldwide. By selecting the respective best-in-class products and technologies from various manufacturers, we deliver
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increase productivity and flexibility of the systems for our customers, we are investing in innovative workflow solutions and in the latest broadcast and IT technology,” he added. n www.bts-broadcast.com
Made in the USA by a Bunch of Fanatics. Reportedly the world’s first OB van, built by BTS in 1934