Summary

Action Sports and Entertainment Mobile Television (ASEM), part of Paul Allen's Portland-based sports and entertainment group, announced a new 53-foot 1080i HDTV mobile production truck featuring twelve HD cameras, a Sony MVS-8000 switcher, and 5.1 surround sound. The truck was set to serve clients including the Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks, and Action Sports Cable Network beginning July 15, 2001.

Source document circa 2001 preserved as-is

Monday, April 23, 2001

CTION SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MOBILE TELEVISION ANNOUNCES NEW HDTV PRODUCTION FACILITIES





Portland, OR. -- The broadcast and television production industry will soon have a new HDTV mobile service provider. Action Sports and Entertainment Mobile Television, (ASEM), joins Paul Allen’s  Portland, Oregon based sports and entertainment companies. ASEM will provide comprehensive HDTV production facilities and services. 



The first offering in ASEM’s fleet will be a 53-foot state-of-the-art 1080i HDTV truck. The truck, the most comprehensive HDTV production facility on the road, will feature a fully expandable side, twelve HDTV cameras, eleven HD tape machines and a SONY Oxford 144-input digital audio mixing console with 5.1 surround sound. The centerpiece of the truck will be SONY’s brand new MVS-8000 video switcher, providing 80 HD digital inputs, four Mix/Effects buses with four keyers per M/E, four Digital Mix Effects, frame stores and 48 programmable outputs.



The monitor wall will feature 55 HD monitors and three 42-inch plasma displays, providing producers and directors with unprecedented quality. An additional 40 HD monitors will provide high-quality images to audio, tape and graphic personnel. Two 128-by-128 routing matrices will allow the truck to be instantly configured to virtually any layout, suiting production needs for any event in any venue. Graphics will be created by a Pinnacle Systems HD Deko500, chosen for its automation capabilities, data integration and ease of use.



ASEM’s first customers will include Action Sports Cable Network, Post Up Productions, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks and Portland Fire.



The HD truck has been developed with the end user in mind, involving customers early in the design process. “ASEM involved us early in the development of the HD truck,” said George Wasch, Executive Producer/Director of Blazer Broadcasting. “Because the designers involved end users right from the beginning, we’ve been able to make sure that the truck is flexible and user-friendly.”



Dan Myers, General Manager of Oregon and Southwest Washington’s new regional sports network, Action Sports Cable Network, will also utilize ASEM’s mobile production facilities. “We’re building a full-capability 1080i studio in our network headquarters,” added Myers. “This truck extends our HD production capabilities to arenas and stadiums, where the action is.”



The truck chassis is being built by Mobilized Systems Inc. of Cincinnati, and will be delivered to Sony Systems Integration in San Jose, California for equipment installation later this month. The fully outfitted truck will hit the road July 15th, 2001.



Paul Allen’s sports teams pioneered in the production of HDTV programming. In March 1999, the Trail Blazers became the first NBA team to produce games in HDTV, broadcasting home games against Houston and Minnesota. The following summer, the Seattle Seahawks were the first NFL team to produce a pre-season game in HDTV.



ASEM is a member of the Paul G. Allen family of sports companies, which includes the Action Sports Cable Network, Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, The Sporting News – the country’s most respected sports information and news organization for the past 114 years – and Action Sports Media, which develops and markets sponsorship opportunities in collegiate athletic venues across the country.

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