YES Productions Rolls Out Newly Refurbished HD-2

By Carolyn Braff
The demand for HD trucks has never been higher, but YES Productions is now in position to fill some of that demand. On Nov. 1, the New Orleans-based mobile-production company rolled out HD-2, its newly refurbished broadcast truck built principally to handle the varied demands of Cox Sports.
“We built it basically for Cox Sports, but it’s very versatile,” explains YES Productions VP/GM Jim Moriarty. “It’s got all the bells and whistles that you would need, with a beautiful layout.”
Those bells and whistles in the 53-foot truck start with a Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher, a six-channel and two four-channel EVS servers, two Plura 24-inch monitors, and 16 Plura 22-inch flat-panel quads. A Chyron Duet HyperX with EFX clip server provides graphics support, and a 56-fader Calrec Omega console with Bluefin processing anchors the truck’s audio facilities.
“Calrec has earned its outstanding reputation by listening to audio engineers around the country and responding to their needs,” says Moriarty. “Setup times are fast, and the freelance operators are already familiar with it. The Omega is sophisticated in terms of both features and power.”
The eight Ikegami HDK-79 cameras on board are complemented with a Fujinon lens package of one 101×8.9ESM super telephoto field lens with image stabilization, four 88×8.83ESM telephoto lenses, and three 23×7.6ERM high-performance ENG lenses.
The truck’s outfitting was handled by Beck Associates in Austin, TX, and took four months to complete.
HD-2 debuted at the New Orleans Hornets home opener on Nov. 1 and has been busy with NBA coverage ever since. This weekend, the truck shifts gears to cover the Louisiana high school football championships from the Super Dome, shot in high-definition for Cox Sports. HD-2 also has its plate full supporting two or three college football, basketball, and baseball shows each week for Cox Sports.
One of the founding members of Alliance Productions, YES Productions is a wholly owned subsidiary of WYES New Orleans.