Ross Mobile Productions Targets Esports, Preps for 4K With New RMP6

The all-fiber truck features 1080p and IP, serves sports and concerts

In 2018, Ross Mobile Productions (RMP) rolled out its most technologically advanced production truck to date. RMP6, a 30-ft. expando, is the company’s first 4K-capable unit and is designed to cover a variety of sports, including RMP’s growing esports business.

“4K is something that all of us at Ross want to help bring into the marketplace. As the need for it grows, we want to be in a position, like with everything else we do, to meet the demands of our customers,” says President/Executive Producer Mitch Rubenstein. “RMP6 is an all-fiber truck with 1080p, IP capabilities, and field audio, required for our growing esports customer base. The on-board eight to 12 super-slow-motion cameras and production layout make it ideal for boxing and larger sporting events. With the addition of our legacy [Ross Video] Furio, Cambot, Pivot [robos], and wireless cameras, it’s a great concert truck as well.”

Ross Mobile Productions’ new 30-ft. expando caters to a number of sports, including esports.

Designed around a tightly integrated 3M/E Ross Video Carbonite BLACK production switcher and XPression Graphics core, the all-fiber RMP6 features three eight-channel replay systems (one EVS XTnano and two Ross Abekas Mira servers), a Ross Carbonite eXtreme video router, Ross Ultrix audio router, and up to 22 multiview screens. The truck is also equipped with internet to and from the truck via Wi-Fi.

The unit is wired for 12 CCUs and rolls with eight Hitachi SK-UHD-4000 cameras — two of them high-speed systems operating at 180 fps — and Canon lenses.

The audio side features a DiGiCo SD9B console with fiber-optic SM ST connectivity, Sennheiser and Audio-Technica mics, and a Clear-Com Median intercom matrix frame for comms. In addition, the truck travels with two field kits, each providing a mixer stage box for analog audio I/O.

RMP6 features a variety of Ross gear, including a Carbonite BLACK switcher, XPression graphics, and Carbonite eXtreme video router.

RMP6 launched in January 2018 with some four- and five-camera basketball games. Its first major event, a PBC Primetime Boxing on Fox show on Feb. 17 in El Paso, TX, deployed eight cameras, Abekas Mira slow-motion replay, and full 5.1 stereo audio. The truck has also worked PBC on Bounce, the AAC Tournament for ESPN, the Inaugural 3×3 Basketball National Championship for Twitter and ESPN, the Diving World Cup on NBCSN, NBC World Rugby Sevens, Women’s Baseball World Cup, and ESL PUBG mobile tournament and is scheduled for the upcoming Myrtle Beach Invitational for ESPN in mid November.

“At Ross,” says Rubenstein, “we are all tasked with understanding our customer’s requirements and evolving our offerings on a yearly basis to better meet their needs. RMP6 gave us the ability to again scale to a higher level and more complex show while maintaining affordable pricing in a larger footprint. RMP6 is another platform we have introduced to show the commitment Ross and our mobile division have toward servicing and benefiting the broadcast industry. Our goal will always be to improve our level of services, showcase what Ross equipment can do, and continue to invest back into our offerings to ensure the success of the companies that hire us.”

This article will appear in the 2018 SVG Mobile Production Yearbook, which will be distributed in December.