OB Trucks & Mobile Production

Every new OB truck build begins with production scope — the types and sizes of events it will cover define everything else: channel count, processing headroom, physical footprint, weight distribution, power consumption, and cooling. Beyond those fundamentals, today’s builds must also address UHD/HDR capability, immersive audio readiness, IP connectivity, and remote production enablement from day one — requirements that have compounded significantly without eliminating any of the traditional constraints.

IP-native infrastructure replaces fixed, point-to-point SDI signal chains with software-based routing over standard Ethernet — enabling many-to-many signal distribution, real-time workflow reconfiguration, and significantly reduced cabling weight and complexity. This directly impacts truck design: less physical infrastructure means more usable space, lower weight, and greater flexibility to adapt the truck between different production types.

Space and weight are among the most demanding constraints in any OB truck build. Software-based processing on compact hardware delivers significantly more DSP capability per rack unit than legacy dedicated hardware — allowing truck builders to maximize production power without exceeding physical or regulatory weight limits. The result is more capability in a smaller, lighter footprint.

IP-native OB truck architecture decouples processing from control — DSP engines remain at the venue while console surfaces, routing panels, and monitoring tools can be operated from a remote production center over standard network links. This enables a new class of hybrid truck design: a compact, intelligent remote control unit with a redundant IP link to a central hub where the production processing happens.

Building on open-standards IP infrastructure — ST 2110, AES67, NMOS — ensures the truck remains interoperable with new equipment and production formats as they emerge. Software-based architecture means new capabilities, from immersive audio formats to cloud-connected workflows, can be added through licence activations rather than hardware replacements — protecting the capital investment of the build for years to come.

Redundancy in an IP-native truck must be engineered at every layer: dual redundant network paths, failover processing engines, and automatic switching that operates without operator intervention. Optional ST 2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching enables simultaneous dual-redundant network links when activated, ensuring that no single point of failure can interrupt a live broadcast — regardless of the complexity of the production.

Immersive audio — Dolby Atmos, object-based mixing — is now a standard design consideration for new OB trucks, particularly for sports and entertainment productions. The audio infrastructure needs to support the full immersive signal chain natively, from console to encoder, without requiring separate hardware or parallel signal paths. Increasingly, this also means the ability to deliver simultaneous stereo, 5.1, and Atmos mixes from the same truck.

For the largest events, two or more trucks need to operate as a single, unified production facility — sharing sources, routing signals, and managing workflows across independent IP infrastructures. Broadcast control systems that support network bridging between IP installations allow truck-to-truck and truck-to-facility connections to be managed from a single, unified control layer, without complex custom integration between systems.