F&F is building a new GTX-21 IP 4K remote production truck with Grass Valley 2110 IP systems that connect the vehicle’s switching, orchestration, routing and mutiviewing operations.
F&F Productions designs and supplies high definition and 4K remote production facilities for sporting and entertainment events across North America. Its recognised GTX series fleet of remote production trucks has delivered live network coverage for major events such as the Super Bowl, US Open Tennis, the World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, NCAA Men’s Final Four, The Masters, The Kentucky Derby and NASCAR.
For some years, Grass Valley systems and hardware have formed a core part of F&F’s existing mobile units. The two companies’ relationship was expanded for the build of the GTX-20, F&F’s first 2110 IP truck, laying groundwork for a new collaboration taking place on the GTX-21 (A, B and C Units), which will become one of the most complete 2110 IP production vehicles on the market.
“Grass Valley has been an integral partner in helping us build our mobile units,” said Marc Orgera, President of F&F Productions. “To realise the current ambitions we have to build the best-equipped vehicle possible, we required a solution based entirely on 2110 IP connectivity. Grass Valley’s suite of IP systems, combined with their deep industry knowledge, support and our existing collaborations made them our first choice to fit out the GTX-21.”
In particular, Marc believes that Grass Valley’s IP router developments will have significant benefits for F&F’s operations as it grows. “The IP router systems can comfortably accommodate the increased bandwidth and engineering needs of our growing infrastructure. Our relationship with Grass Valley will be very important as we continue to collaborate on ways to make the router more efficient and straightforward for users.”
IP Spine and Leaf Core
The GTX-21’s design focusses on large-scale sports and entertainment shows across North America. After finalising the deal in December 2024, the GTX-21 A, B and C Units are now in the build phase. Grass Valley’s engineers are working with F&F’s team toward an expected completion later this year.
“As they are rolling production facilities, designing and building world-class OB vans involves a distinct set of challenges. The GTX-21 brings the added complexity of a complete 2110 IP infrastructure,” said Alex Keighley, Grass Valley’s Senior VP of Sales for North America. Grass Valley has also worked with Cisco on supplying a large Cisco IP Spine and Leaf Core.
K-Frame Switching
This core will connect the vehicle’s switching, orchestration, routing and mutiviewing operations. The Kayenne switcher, which runs on Grass Valley’s proprietary K-Frame video processing engine, has the versatility F&F need for live productions. Supporting 1080p and 4K formats, its tools and familiar design work well for freelance and active production environments.
The system is also expandable and can have up to 192 inputs, 96 outputs and 9 M/Es with six keyers each. Each module of its control panel is removable and hot-swappable, useful in a mobile environment where the size and functionality of the physical unit needs to be controlled and specified per event. This design supports panel configurations with depths of 2 to 4 M/E stripes and widths of 25 or 35 source select buttons per row.
The Kayenne’s ability to replace output cards with high-density MV-841 or MV-851 multiviewer cards, the system can support 576 SDI outputs plus 144 multiviewer outputs. In this case, F&F will be using Grass Valley's KIP-X240 Multiviewers.
Versatile Routing
Regarding the routing, the GV Sirius 800 series routers are flexible and maintain high performance. They support SDI, AES, MADI and 12G-SDI connections, making them versatile for varied broadcast applications. By incorporating hybrid processing features like audio embedding, frame sync and delay directly into the router, they help reduce the need for extra equipment.
Intelligent embedding detects input formats and synchronizes audio from unsynchronized sources without loss. Supporting a wide range of audio formats, it also handles asynchronous audio routing, maintaining discrete sample rates.
Unified Orchestration
By adopting GV Orbit, F&F can configure, control and monitor networks across SDI, IP and hybrid workflows. Built on open standards, the system unifies production elements under a single control interface, allowing real-time adjustments and direct integrations on the truck, and because Orbit’s orchestration is dynamic, the team can rapidly optimise resources and adapt systems to meet the demands of most productions.
“Our team of engineers have a good working relationship with F&F’s Director of Engineering Don Adydan and his team. We have been collaborating especially on the GV product design and build of materials, including the large Cisco IP Spine and Leaf Core,” Alex Keighley said.
Grass Valley notes that the new F&F deal demonstrates their role a specialist partner in live production innovation, in particular the delivery of fully integrated, scalable 2110 IP solutions. Grass Valley is demonstrating the GV Media Universe at NAB Show 2025, 6-9 April, in a new location in the North Hall. www.grassvalley.com
