If the location, infrastructure, and complexity of a live event’s video broadcasting do not allow for the deployment of a control room or the creation of a control room, then a broadcast vehicle is definitely the right choice. Due to the size, structure, and flexible design of our vehicle, it is a cost-effective solution for a variety of use cases.
László Péli, the Owner and Production Manager of Pélicom Média
What is an outside broadcast service?
An outside broadcast (OB) service means the entire live production control room travels to the event venue inside a purpose-built vehicle. Instead of assembling a temporary control room on-site, the production crew operates from within a self-contained broadcast truck — fully equipped, climate-controlled, and professionally staffed — parked at the venue perimeter.
When do you need an OB van instead of a portable setup?
Outdoor events, noisy arenas, and productions requiring five or more simultaneous camera positions all exceed the practical limits of portable control rooms. When visibility, crew coordination, and signal integrity cannot be compromised, an outside broadcast vehicle is the right answer. If your event is being distributed to a broadcaster or requires sign-off from an international sports federation, an OB van is typically the minimum accepted production standard.
Our broadcast vehicle
Pélicom’s VW Crafter outside broadcast vehicle was purpose-built for sports and live event production. It accommodates a five-person production crew, handles up to ten simultaneous camera positions, and is fully soundproofed, insulated and air-conditioned for all-weather operation.
The vehicle has served productions sanctioned by FIBA, World Aquatics (FINA), LEN, and CEV — international federations that mandate verified broadcast quality and hold contractors to zero-failure delivery standards. Our OB van productions have been distributed by M4 Sport, Sport TV, DAZN, Sportradar, and Laola TV.
If your event requires television-quality output or distribution to a media rights holder, this is the production level that delivers it.
What does an OB van production include?
A full outside broadcast production with our vehicle typically includes: live vision mixing across 8–10 camera inputs, 16-channel audio mixing, on-screen graphics and scoreboards, intercom and tally system for crew coordination, multi-destination streaming via RTMP, RTMPS, SRT and HLS, a 1–4 channel replay system, video playout, and clean, dirty and ISO programme recording. Wireless camera inputs and SNG or LTE bonded uplink are available where the venue infrastructure requires it.
Technical specification
- 2ME 1080p broadcast switcher + 1ME secondary broadcast switcher
- 8 camera inputs + 2 wireless camera inputs
- 10 additional inputs (remote cameras, graphics overlays, key, fill, replay)
- 16-channel audio mix
- 12 AUX video
- Intercom, tally, return video system
- Glensound commentary station
- 1–4 channel replay system
- Video playout system
- Sony 5K cameras
- PGM dirty, clean and ISO recording
- SNG uplink + LTE / bonded uplink
- Streaming to multiple destinations: RTMP, RTMPS, SRT, HLS
Why sports federation-level experience changes the cost equation
Producing broadcast content alongside the major broadcast houses — and commissioning productions from them — gives us a precise understanding of where production complexity adds audience value, and where it simply adds cost.
Not every television production requires an the highest-end replay system, a full CCU chain, or a LiveU uplink. For the majority of indoor sports productions — including those distributed on television channels — these elements are either unnecessary or substitutable without any visible impact on the output. Knowing exactly which corners can be cut, and which cannot, is what makes a 3–10 camera television production operationally viable at a fraction of the cost of a full outside broadcast house deployment.
This is the foundation of what we call smart broadcast production: broadcast-quality output, engineered to the actual requirements of the event — not to the maximum specification of the equipment catalogue.