Live From Beijing: Bexel Hercules Shows Strengths

Ken’s Olympic adventure is coming to a
close, but typhoon-like conditions could not keep him from sharing some secrets
he unearthed in the swimming and diving compound on his penultimate day in
Beijing. Craig Schiller,
VP/general manager of Bexel Broadcast Services, filled Ken in on some cool
new discoveries in the compound, pointing out some features of the Bexel
Hercules that could apply to flypacks from other manufacturers.
First, and not pictured, is removing the
need for a bunch of small LCD panels usually used in EVS operation. Bexel
figured out how to pump EVS clip information to the 40-inch NEC monitors via an
Evertz multiviewer. It allows EVS operators to watch video clips on the same
monitor as the EVS rundown. Yes, the move saves money by cutting back on
monitors, but it also has gotten positive feedback from the operators, who like
not having to look away from game action.
Schiller also showed off a new
military-grade wirerope isolator that is placed between an equipment rack and
the rack. “These isolators are really good for us because we need flypacks
that are more stable,” he says. “In some of our older flight cases,
the foam has bent, and that causes the racks to shift. So this makes everything
more stable to the router.”