OCC Provides High-Quality Fiber-Optic Cable for Sports Broadcasters

The Sports Video Group is pleased to welcome Optical Cable Corp. as a corporate sponsor. Founded 35 years ago, OCC sought to build a reputation as pioneers in fiber-optic cable and made a commitment to quality, performance, and service. The company was one of the first fiber-optic–cable manufacturers to provide military-grade tactical cable for field broadcast applications, such as PGA events and the Olympics.

The wide use of HD video, emergence of 4K and 8K ultra-high broadcast standards, and increasing popularity in the audio-video sector are placing greater demands on data-transmission systems. Fiber-optic technology — with its ability to deliver digital, high-bandwidth, and low–signal-loss streams — provides an ideal solution for coping with those demands.

In addition, when it comes to remote broadcasting from harsh conditions, the advanced needs of permanent broadcasting-studio infrastructures, and the increasingly widespread use of audio-video technology among businesses and government agencies, a new set of demands is being placed on the fiber-optic–cable industry. In a fast-paced industry like broadcasting, OCC’s hallmark rugged cables, connectivity, and enclosures (providing end-to-end SMPTE and fiber solutions) are known to withstand and deliver in even the most intense broadcast environments.

“OCC and its engineers were at the forefront of the development of cable technology to perform in battlefields for the U.S. military. The result of that legacy is cable and connectivity solutions that are easy to deploy and can perform under the harshest of conditions,” says Charlie Nehls, Business Development-Broadcast & AV, OCC. “This makes for an ideal product set to use in broadcasting applications, and we look forward to deepening our relationships in the industry and working with SVG members and other sponsors to promote new broadcast technology and services.”

OCC’s broadcast products are used in an array of exciting sports events throughout the world. Its cable and connectivity solutions can be found at venues and remote locations, including for PGA events, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics.

IMS Productions, the remote-broadcasting specialist for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, uses OCC’s deployable broadcast cable for the Verizon Indy Car Series in St. Petersburg, FL. The cable is rugged and similar to OCC’s MilTac cable used in military applications and can withstand the rigors of this particularly extreme broadcast production. The 1.8-mile, 14-turn race circuit throughout sections of city streets and a portion of airport runway required 100,000 ft. of OCC’s broadcast cable to be laid behind temporary walls and fences, flown across sections of track, and sometimes pulled through swamps and waterways. In addition to withstanding the rigors of the actual event broadcasts, the cable must be able to withstand the rapid deployment and teardown for the next event. This race is just one of hundreds of events across the country in which IMS Productions provides live-production services.