Imagine This: Columbus Discovers America

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A new mobile unit has discovered North American audiences, thanks to a tech company located within steps of Hampton Court Park and a 25-minute drive from London’s Heathrow Airport.


Imagine Communications is providing the routing equipment at the heart of Gearhouse Broadcast’s new 4K/UHD-ready production truck, known as Columbus.

The Platinum IP3 is a key element of the mobile unit’s core infrastructure, providing multi-format signal distribution capabilities, including support for HD, 3G and 4K/UHD.

The IP-ready router is also designed to provide Gearhouse with the ability to seamlessly transition to IP-based operations in the future.

The new mobile unit — along with Gearhouse engineers — is available for all types of live productions events across North America.

“Columbus demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to expanding in the U.S.,” Imagine says.

Gearhouse Broadcast USA’s service offerings include a complete range of mobile units, project solutions, fly pack systems, specialist equipment rental, equipment sales and event communications.

Columbus is equipped with 16 Sony HDC-4300 4K/HD cameras and six additional inputs for RF cameras. A critical function of the Imagine IP3 28RU router is to drive the mobile unit’s unique monitor wall, which consists of 24 4K monitors, configured as Quad splits or single-input 4K monitors, giving the truck total flexibility in HD or 4K/UHD.

“Columbus has been designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a variety of events and to meet all customer requirements,” said Gearhouse COO Kevin Moorhouse. “Versatility is the name of the game in live production and the quick configurability of the IP3 helps to enable us to seamlessly move from job to job without the downtime normally required to prepare a mobile production unit for a specific event. We chose the IP3 router to empower our operators with the ability to switch configurations at will and handle native 4K, along with 3G or HD signals simultaneously.”