The Grass Valley LDX 86^N Series cameras give the broadcaster an easy upgrade route to IP and 4K UHD – as and when it is needed – through a flexible daily, weekly or monthly e-license. Grass Valley’s unique DirectIP functionality enables the XCU UXF base station to be located a considerable distance (up to 20,000 kilometers) away from the camera, allowing the team to manage the bulk of production from a remote or home studio.

Enzo Paradisi, engineering director at Sky Italia, commented, “The ability to use our existing studio set-up and move the cameras as needed among various studios is central to keeping our live news and studio production content flowing. We are also laying important groundwork for migration to SMPTE ST2110-based IP infrastructure and can operate in hybrid environments in the meantime.”

The LDX 86^N cameras will go live in 2021 and give the Sky Italia team a choice between native 3G/HD and 4K UHD image capture. The DirectIP functionality means that base stations and cameras can be linked through an IP network, allowing any camera to connect to any base station. When combined with SMPTE ST2110 IP infrastructure, this set up gives customers the freedom to optimize equipment usage and allocate camera resources flexibly as needed.