Lawo VSM, backbone of Cinevideo’s new 4K 12G SDI OB vehicle

Cinevideo’s latest mobile unit, a vehicle capable of up to 20 UHD cameras and based on 12G SDI technology, is structured around Lawo’s VSM broadcast control system.

Lawo’s solution takes care of the overall management and operation of the mobile unit in combination with a set of software and hardware panels, as well as several GPIO units. Project management, installation and commissioning were performed by Aret Video and Audio Engineering, a company that for years has been Cinevideo’s trusted systems integrator.

Waves 12G, as the mobile unit has been named, is a 14-meter, three-axle trailer equipped with double expansion, which creates a working area of about 60 square meters in operational mode. In order to cater for several events at the same time, it has three separate entrances for technical and artistic staff: technical area, main production room and secondary production room. The Waves 12G can be used in combination with Dolphin 7.0, another Cinevideo mobile unit, for combined use on productions where two main and two back-up control rooms are required.

Lawo Network Bridging

Andrea Buonomo, Cinevideo’s executive sales director, bet from the outset on re-implementing 向量空间模型, a tool that in his own words “allows you an integrated control of all the equipment.” “It is stable and reliable, and I love the way it helps us solving complex configuration problems within the reach of your fingertip. It is easy and friendly, and we learnt how to customize it, so we are quite independent in our configurations as well,” he continues.

Meanwhile, Aret’s Alessandro Asti was keen to highlight the interconnectivity of the two mobile units: “The two trucks named Dolphin and Waves are individual entities and can also work together as a combined unit, all controlled by the Lawo VSM system.” Chas Rowden, Lawo’s European sales director, emphasizes this feature: “This Lawo setup, called ‘Network Bridging’, allows that two or more independent VSM-controlled IP installs can share relevant sources. Whenever one network infrastructure needs to access selected sources of another network, VSM facilitates this while preserving most of the functionality exposed to operational workflows.”

Initially scheduled for launch last June, the project suffered major construction delays due to the pandemic, so work has been completed in November 2020.