Product category: Plugs and Sockets
News Release from: Lemo UK | Subject: 3K.93C series cable assemblies
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 31 October 2006
HDTV camera cables cover the Royal Opera
House
Lemo developed the 3K.93C series connectors to meet the critical demands of the emerging HDTV camera market and forming the basis of the SEMPTE, ARIB and EBU standards.
Deep beneath the auditoria of the historic Royal Opera House in Covent Garden lies, one of the first permanent, large-scale High Definition (HD) broadcast installations in the UK This 150 year old, Grade 1 listed building houses a state-of-the-art control room - the nerve centre of a sophisticated production system (supplied by Sony Professional Solutions Europe) that is spread over six floors and covers the main auditorium and associated performance spaces such as rehearsal rooms, with 32 camera sites and 12 camera control units
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Mar 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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One the most interesting aspects of the new HD installation is the use of remote camera control systems - where the cameramen stand in a row behind their tripods down in the control room.
The tripods have LCD screens mounted on them, which act as individual viewfinder displays for each cameraman.
A 50in plasma screen positioned in front of cameramen group means that they can all see what's happening on stage just as if they were in the auditorium itself.
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The remote control systems control the four of the five permanent Sony HDC-950 multiformat studio cameras (the fifth camera is fitted with an 80:1 lens and has to be mounted on a tripod in the auditorium).
These cameras, plus any extras hired as necessary by the Royal Opera House or BBC, are connected through 12 fibre points, and the control room is built around the MVS-8000A HD/SD production switcher and also features HDWM2000P/1 series HDCAM VTRs.
By using remote control systems and a permanently wired system the Royal Opera House has been able to gain approximately 70 seats that otherwise would have previously been lost to the BBC camera positions set up within the auditorium seating spaces during performances.
Installing the permanently wired system into the fabric of the building presented some major challenges but a significant key to its successful implementation was the Lemo connection.
Recognised as a world leader in push-pull, self-latching, fibre optic connector technology, Lemo developed the 3K.93C series connectors to meet the critical demands of the emerging HDTV camera market and forming the basis of the SEMPTE, ARIB and EBU standards.
With over 30,000 connectors in use in broadcasting throughout the world and offering durability of 20,000 mating cycles with no loss of signal performance (compared with some others offering as few as 500 mating cycles).
The Lemo 3K.93C series is now regarded as the "industry standard" and is designed into the Sony HDC-950 broadcast camera system.
So it was a natural choice that Lemo UK was contracted to supply and install the fibre-optic cable assemblies for the permanently wired system.
Working closely with Sony Broadcast and the Royal Opera House engineering team Lemo's innovative solution to installing the new cable assemblies was to factory terminate one end of a cable assembly and terminate the other end on-site using a termination station brought in from the Lemo factory.
This meant that Lemo could offer the same quality to on-site termination as terminations produced at the factory cable assembly facility.
Terminating the cable assemblies at one end allowed for easier pull-through of the cable lengths through new and existing ducting channels that meanders their way around the Royal Opera House.
By pulling-through to a central location Lemo was able to complete the installation of more than 32 cable assemblies measuring from 100 to 200m in length in just 4 days.
Lemo also supplied cable assemblies for the 12 camera control units, 32 camera stations and a numerous patch cable lengths.
All Lemo connectors are based on the rugged, reliable Lemo push-pull latching system.
This system enables the connectors to be mated by simply pushing together, after which it provides a safe connection that cannot be disrupted by pulling on the cable.
Disconnection is achieved by pushing back the outer latch sleeve.
Housing options include in-line plugs and in-line receptacles suitable for all cables; panel sockets, including the camera connector, panel-mounted plugs for camera control units, walls or outside broadcast van tailboards as well as bulkhead sockets and adapters, for both inside and outside broadcast applications around the world.
A full range of accessories is available, including cable strain reliefs, blanking caps and waterproof strain reliefs with caps.
Lemo also offers a cable termination service and for fibre optic connectors this includes full optical test facilities to ensure a first class connection.
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