NEP today announced it has begun the first phase of a large-scale, fleetwide technology enhancement project.

NEP today announced it has begun the first phase of a large-scale, fleetwide technology enhancement project. The company is launching this massive effort, which will roll out over the next three years, as it begins to upgrade 30 of its mobile broadcasting vehicles in the U.S. with state-of-the-art Grass Valley® K-Frame™ modular video processing engines with Kayenne® Video Production Center switcher platforms. In addition, NEP will install five Grass Valley Kayenne Classic frames with Karrera® panels in a large flypack system being built at its U.K. facility, NEP Visions. 

“We are launching this large-scale effort with a focus on one of the key technologies behind every live production — the switcher,” said George Hoover, chief technology officer, NEP. “With features such as integrated clip players and the universally accepted Grass Valley interface, the new K-Frame platform will give our productions a huge boost. With 30 K-Frames deployed across our U.S. fleet and seven Kayennes in the U.K., the impact of this major upgrade will be felt by all of our clients.” 

In addition to the switcher retrofit, NEP will begin several other major fleetwide upgrades in 2014. These include installing embedded audio in all units, replacing copper cable with fiber-optic cable to interconnect multiple vehicles on larger productions, and new monitor walls in several mobile units. To ensure that the entire fleet meets the highest standards, NEP will also be launching several new mobile units, as well as retiring several older units from its lineup. The fleet upgrade will take place in cycles over the next three years in order not to disrupt scheduled productions.

“This project comes on the heels of extensive collaborative work with clients and the proud release of our next generation mobile unit design, and is another clear step forward in technology advancement at NEP,” Hoover added. “Driving innovation and delivering superior service are two of our core values, and are the guiding forces behind this project. The scale of this effort reflects our strong commitment to offering our clients the best fleet backed by the finest engineers in the industry.”