Isolation Day 37: I want a broadcast Truck – Part 1
My Fake Credit Card is Getting Hit… Again!
For the last year or so, I’ve been watching Doug Johnson build his broadcast truck from scratch. Not only is it a really cool project, but it is something I would like to do myself in the not-so-distant future. A lot of the ideas I have for this build come from Doug’s trailer, so most of the credit goes to him; I’ve just tweaked things here and there so they work for me.
Today, I thought I’d actually plan out how I would go about it and get some of the pricing together. I know it’s not going to be cheap, but it’s a good exercise to keep me occupied and will save me a bit of planning in the future.
The Truck
My ideas for the vehicle have changed a few times. I originally thought about a long-wheelbase, high-top Transit van, but that would limit the vehicle to just broadcast work with no extra storage for transport. My next idea was to get a caravan and rip the guts out, but that adds a ton of extra work to rewire and plumb.
I finally found an option I think could work: the Ifor Williams "Business Inabox" trailers. They offer a blank canvas with all the space I need and are highly customizable.
- Models: They offer M and L models (both 2.18m wide internally).
- Dimensions: The M has an internal length of 4.45m; the L is 5.22m. That extra 0.77m is almost two-thirds the depth of a server rack, which makes all the difference in a limited space.
- Cost: While Ifor Williams doesn't quote prices, their similar "Eventa" range starts at £20,120 for the largest model, so I’m using that as a guide.
The Layout
I want seven distinct work areas plus a server rack at the back with storage for cables, cameras, and tripods.
- Power Distribution: At the front, a walled-off area will house a couple of Tesla Power Walls (or similar). The trailer will have three 230V hookups: one for HVAC, one 32A connection to charge batteries, and one 32A connection for hard power.
- UPS: I’ll be adding a UPS or two to the server rack so, if power fails during an event, the main switching gear remains powered while computers and networking reboot.
The AV Setup
The front area is for the director and assistant director.
- Video Wall: Five monitors (two 43″ UHD TVs on top, three 28″ UHD monitors on the bottom).
- Connectivity: Each station will have a rack-mount dock featuring 3x SDI, 2x CAT6, 2x Male XLR, 2x Female XLR, and 1x Optical (LC) connection.
- Fibre/Networking: I’m using fibre for video; since monitors don’t support fibre natively, each will have a 4K fibre-to-HDMI adaptor.
The Sound Booth
I’ve decided to run all audio over fibre using the Dante protocol.
- Heart of the system: A Yamaha LS9-32 with an MY16-AUD2 Dante card, allowing 32 inputs and 16 outputs via a single network cable to the stage box.
- Monitoring: A 28″ monitor allows the sound engineer to see the switcher output, enabling them to switch cameras if running a minimal crew.
PTZ Cameras
I’m including four Lumens VC-A61PB 4K PTZ cameras and a VS-KB30 controller. This setup allows one operator to control all angles, which is ideal for conferences where you don’t need four dedicated camera operators.
The Server Rack
This is the heart of the build.
- Switcher: Blackmagic ATEM 4 M/E Switcher (provides more creative freedom via extra DVEs and Chroma Keys).
- Conversion: Three BMD Teranex AV Converters.
- Talkback: Two BMD Talkback Converter 4Ks (giving 16 fibre send/receives).
- Patching: BMD Smart Videohub 40X40.
- Graphics: Three BMD UltraStudio 4K Minis connected to Mac minis running MimoLive.
- Recording: BMD HyperDeck Studio 12G paired with four BMD MultiDock 10G units and 18x 1TB SSDs.
- Networking: UniFi Dream Machine Pro, Switch 16 XG, and USW-24-POE Gen2.
- Computing: Sonnet RackMac Mini 1U kits to house the Mac minis.
Venue Racks
I’ll build two venue racks:
- Rack 1: Connected to the trailer via two 500M MTP Trunk cables (each carries 24 single-mode fibres).
- Rack 2: Holds the Dante stage box and six Millenium MS8 Microphone Splitters to separate the house mix from the broadcast mix.
Cameras
I’m going with the BMD URSA Broadcast & Fuji LA16 Lens kit, supplemented with shoulder mount kits, viewfinders, and V-mount batteries.
The Cost (Estimated Starting Point)
|
Product |
Price |
Qty |
Cost |
|
Ifor Williams Business Inabox Trailer |
£20,120.00 |
1 |
£20,120.00 |
|
Tesla Power Wall |
£7,750.00 |
2 |
£15,500.00 |
|
43” UHD TV |
£240.26 |
2 |
£480.52 |
|
28” UHD TV |
£249.00 |
7 |
£1,743.00 |
|
VESA Mount / Arms |
Various |
– |
£394.75 |
|
4K KVM |
£129.99 |
7 |
£909.93 |
|
Mac mini |
£1,399.00 |
7 |
£9,793.00 |
|
Networking & Fibre Gear |
Various |
– |
£31,000+ |
|
BMD ATEM 4 M/E Switcher |
£5,852.52 |
1 |
£5,852.52 |
|
Audio (LS9-32 / Dante) |
Various |
– |
£14,632.80 |
|
Cameras (URSA Broadcast Kit) |
£7,153.92 |
6 |
£42,923.52 |
|
PTZ Cameras & Controller |
Various |
– |
£10,914.00 |
|
Viewfinders & Accessories |
Various |
– |
£48,375.00 |
|
Total (Approximate) |
£222,222.64 |
(Note: This list is an incomplete starting point; I've missed smaller items like cabling, sockets, and HVAC. I'll cover those in Part 2.)
What do you think of my trailer? Is it the right layout? Do I have the right gear? Let me know in the comments below!