It's all about 3D at the moment and Presteigne Charter, one of the world's leading broadcast dry hire and systems rental specialists, has staked its claim in the market with the largest ever investment in Sony 3D production systems.

Always an early adopter of cutting edge technology, Presteigne Charter turned to Fineline to scale up its 3D production portfolio. The deal, which totals around the £1.4million mark, includes 13 Sony MPE-200s 3D Processor boxes, 10 HDC-1500R camera systems, as well as a mix of Sony HDC-P1 POV cameras, LMD-4251TD 3D LCDs and monitors and a Sony MVS-8000X vision mixer.

As well as its long standing relationship with Fineline, Mike Ransome, CEO of Presteigne Charter, cites Duncan Payne's extensive technical knowledge as a major reason for choosing them as its finance partner. He adds: "When making such a major investment we need the best partners. Sony provides this with its pioneering quality standards in 3D and Fineline provides a financial and industry knowledge that is second to none."

Mike explains the reason that it chose to make the major investment at this time: "Following Sky and Sony's high profile 3D format trials this summer, we believe the media and broadcast sector is at tipping point and it is now critical that we build momentum for 3D content production across the industry. Our investment in cutting-edge Sony 3D technology will position Presteigne Charter at the forefront of 3D hire in the industry."

As a true driver of 3D content production for all sizes of business, Presteigne Charter was mindful that it wanted to provide a scalable range of solutions which would make affordable 3D production accessible to all. With this in mind, it chose to combine high precision rigs with Sony's HD compact multi-purpose HDC-P1 POV cameras, which allow for smaller footprint camera positions, thanks to Sony's multi-cameras control network. In addition to Sony HDC-P1 cameras, Presteigne Charter invested in 13 of Sony's MPE-200 3D processor boxes. This flexible, open-architecture 3D image processor box works with a growing number of rig and lens manufacturers to correct stereo source misalignment in real time, ensuring high quality 3D in live environments.

Duncan Payne's relationship with Presteigne Charter is long established as a supplier, employee and customer. "Presteigne Charter has always been a progressive, forward-thinking business. I still have a lot of friends there, and putting this deal together has been an easy and straightforward process. Our association with Sony has also helped Presteigne, with a seamless link between equipment supplier and finance supplier."

www.presteignecharter.com

"If you can't find it, build it" might be an appropriate motto for Steve Ryder, MD of Stryder TV. Stryder provides broadcast camera crews and satellite trucks for news, sport, current affairs and corporate productions and its camera crews have operated in 45 countries: from the Arctic to the tropics, the back seat of a fighter jet to the front seat of a Le Mans car, the company works for broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic.

With over 30 years of industry experience, Ryder got into designing satellite trucks when he couldn't find one that let him work creatively enough. "There was a spaghetti of cables at every outside broadcast which made the coverage feel too static to me," he explains. "I didn't have the freedom to move around and get different kinds of shots." Frustrated, Stryder put together his first sat truck vehicle in the late nineties, financed by Fineline.

After this vehicle retired with honour, Stryder built another with a fully-redundant set-up, and its success was such that by 2005, the financing was completely paid off. His current HD multi-camera truck is fully-redundant, capable of multiple paths, and features multiple satellite and off-air receivers, on-board VTRs, a super silent generator and nine metre mast - not to mention his latest acquisition, a Sony PMW-350K XDCAM EX camera financed under Sony's 0% promotion, which is run by Fineline.

To Ryder, the camera is much more than just a way of delivering attractive pictures – it enables him to work much more cleanly and efficiently, not to mention supporting NTSC as well as PAL, a must for his transatlantic clients."What this allows me to do is to send back to the vehicle, not just video, but up to four embedded audio feeds, over which I have full manual control. Other cameras might allow full control of two of the audios, with the other two in auto mode. That's probably fine for others, but I might have three cameras working at once, and the ability to send all the audios down one cable at the correct level is so helpful." It also makes redundant the reams of cable Stryder so detested in the past. He also praises the camera's battery-friendly low power consumption.

Stryder acquired the camera from authorised Sony dealer Top-Teks, a company he has dealt with for decades. "It's so important to know your investment is in safe hands, and Top-Teks have been invaluable at giving me advice about the market. Fineline is another company I've worked with for decades, so I was delighted to discover they are contracted to run Sony's 0% promotion. It's so much better to deal with people who properly understand the business. Back when I was financing my first truck, I was conscious that the figures I was discussing seemed really massive. If I'd gone to the bank, for example, they would have made me jump through every hoop they could, and still probably would have turned me down in the end. But Fineline wasn't fazed – they understood that it was simply the amount it took to create a really good OB vehicle."

www.stryder.tv

Broadcasting's very own 'annus horribilis' has left a scattering of casualties across the landscape, with valuable kit needing to find lucrative new homes – fast. This was the case in 2009 when the closure of Gearbox left Fineline with 10 EVS XT[2] HD server systems in need of a new home. Into the breach stepped hire specialist Hyperactive Broadcast, with experience on shows including Lewis and Midsomer Murders, as well as feature films including Inglourious Basterds and a host of work on the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Hyperactive has been supplying gear to the broadcast TV and feature film market for almost a quarter of a century from its UK headquarters near Farnham, Surrey. The company offers a range of kit, from full multi-camera HD systems to bespoke editing suites, but specialises particularly in Avid/EVS server integration. Because of this, the homeless EVS systems caught the eye of Hyperactive Directors Mike Jopp and Bob Griffiths.

"We already know EVS systems very well and believe we really have Avid/EVS integration cracked," he explains. "We knew buying these systems would allow us to increase our stock, but it was a case of 'the right gear at the wrong time'. It was an odd-numbered year with no World Cup or Olympics to create demand. Also, there were fewer feature films being made, we don't usually invest to this level, and it was a time when everyone else was cutting back."

Despite this, Jopp and Griffiths believed the gear would fit the demands of their client base and decided to put together a deal, at which point Fineline was able "to make it all come together and make sense," he says. With the EVS systems being high-end and high-tech, Jopp was aware that he needed the finance company to appreciate the high value of the kit, as well as understand the business model of Hyperactive.

Jopp explains that he has worked with Fineline since the company started, with a resulting relationship built up over the years. "Having such a relationship is so important, because understanding our business was crucial to Fineline being able to put together a good deal for all parties." says Jopp. The proof of the deal's success can be seen in the demand for Hyperactive's new EVS systems, he concludes. "Since buying them they are always in demand, covering every kind of sport you can imagine, and they will be covering the upcoming World Cup in South Africa too. In fact, he adds, "they're hardly ever in."

www.hyperactivebroadcast.com

With its kit covering such high-profile events as Live Earth and Premiership Football this summer, the Blitz Charter Group has needed to expand to keep up with the demand for HD.

The chances are that if you've been anywhere near a television set recently you've seen pictures that have involved kit from the Blitz Charter Group. The parent organisation's two companies – Charter Broadcast and Blitz Communications – have the sort of market share that most other companies can only dream wistfully about. Not only does it have a genuinely global client base, but a namecheck of broadcasting events it's involved in includes the Olympics, football World Cups, all the Grand Slam tennis events, Formula One motor racing, Premiership football, Live Earth and the Concert for Diana, as well as more localised fare such as Big Brother; I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here; Deal or No Deal and SpringWatch.

As such, when it buys kit, it doesn't do it in half-measures and Fineline recently completed a seven-figure deal which saw the group acquire Sony HDC-1500 portable HD cameras for Charter, alongside Toshiba TR2006R 6mm LED Panels and Panasonic PT-DW10000E Colour DLP Projectors for the Blitz side of the business.

"There's a huge demand for HD at the moment primarily driven by the sports market," comments Ashok Makanji, group finance director. "Sony has been the market leader in TV Broadcast equipment for years, and the client expects Sony equipment.

"The HDC-1500s operate over fibre so video signals can pass over very long distances with virtually no deterioration in picture quality," he continues. "Large events such as stadia jobs - sports and concerts mainly - demand such long cable runs that fibre is the best solution. It is also much lighter than traditional cable so rigging and freight costs should be reduced."

According to Makanji, the deal was put together by Fineline on "very competitive terms. They were also very patient during the whole process of working out the security for the finance, especially given the number of hoops and hurdles a company our size has to pass through to get it all solved."

And that size is going to increase as well, Makanji saying that the group is looking at both organic and inorganic growth opportunities in the future. Then, of course, there's the odd sporting event on the horizon...

"Next year will be a good year for Blitz Charter because of the Olympics, and our Singapore and Australian divisions are already doing well at the moment," he concludes.

www.blitzcharter.com

Producing and selling CDs or DVDs to the audience of the concert they left moments earlier is just one of the many impressive things that Soundesign can achieve from their new Mobile One Studio.

At the start of 2005, Conrad Fletcher decided to develop his sound engineering business and offer top quality on-site audio recording, post-production and live broadcast from a mobile facility.

As Conrad explains "Delivering content is now more diverse than ever and ranges from Internet Broadcasting, Streaming IP, iTunes downloads, mobile phones as well as conventional TV and radio. Producers and broadcasters need to take advantage of all forms of media delivery in order to reach as wide an audience as possible. Mobile One provides that breadth of technology cover by having the best on-board recording, editing and transmission facilities available."

Mobile One was kitted out by Studer and is a multi-use audio vehicle that covers every type of requirement including providing additional microphones, on-board simultaneous recording, editing, transmission facilities and full 5.1 surround monitoring.

Chris Biggs, Fineline Account Manager, explains, "Conrad approached us with an ambitious business plan that would accelerate him into the top rank of mobile media operators. We liked the plan and understood the level of finance required to make it happen. To make it viable, and give Conrad some breathing space, we arranged for low initial payments so that he could get Mobile One operational and delivering income. In overall terms we were able to put together a four year deal that matched their budget and cashflow requirements."

Andrew Hills of Studer comments "Studer is delighted to be chosen for this project and are convinced the state of the art Vista 8 will be ideal for the wide variety of work to be undertaken with this new truck. Vista offers an unmatched "analogue style" control surface with a highly flexible digital "engine" combined with widely acclaimed sonic quality. The Soundesign Vista 8 joins a growing band of Studer digital desks in the BBC and other UK users and we are sure will prove a significant player in the highend audio recording and broadcast market.

Conrad adds "At a time when broadcast budgets are being squeezed and the consumers' appreciation of audio and video is becoming ever more sophisticated via CD, DVD and HiDef, there is a real need for a facility such as Mobile One that can produce work to the highest standard, in the most efficient and cost-effective way."

He concludes "Mobile One extends the reach of what we can record and when we record without compromising quality. Fineline has played an important part in helping us develop and grow our business. They took the time and trouble to understand our business and help us manage the finances in such a way that we could successfully achieve our ambitions."

www.soundesign.co.uk

A picture paints a thousand words. And when that picture is a Concert, a Golf Major or World Cup Horse Racing, we want to see every vital moment in its finest detail. We want to savour every second from every angle and enjoy that touch of genius that beat the offside trap, or made the forty foot putt or scored the winner with the last kick of the match. Or just admire the breathtaking sound and artistry of a live concert.

For Steve Cotterill and his Leicestershire based Editec team, the challenge of producing those special moments is part of their every day routine.

As Steve says, "Our job is to produce the images that make the broadcast something special whether it is the latest Oasis concert tour, Strictly Come Dancing, the US Open, the Dubai Rugby 7's or BSkyB's weekly Snooker and Darts Leagues. To achieve the results our clients are looking for, we use the latest technology and then apply our experience and expertise to get the most from it. The kit we use is the most technically advanced and includes the now industry standard EVS XT servers, and the latest Mac based SD/HD editing solutions.

EVS XT servers are a director's dream product, making the task of instant replays, highlights and slow motion, simplicity itself. When combined with Mac based editing systems we supply our clients with a premium quality on-site slow motion / analysis / post-production solution."

Editec and Fineline have worked together since 1995 when Steve bought the UK's first EVS system. Since then, and thanks mainly to Steve's pioneering and his close relationship with the manufacturers, the EVS XT LSM system has become a must-have for the majority of studio and outside broadcast projects. EVS allows multi-channel recording live instant slow-motion replay, highlights analysis and closing montages while recording of the live action continues.

Steve goes on, "When we started Editec and needed to finance our first EVS system the banks and traditional finance houses did not understand our business or the technology. Quite simply their proposals would have made our business unviable. Fineline immediately understood our requirements and put together a package that we could work with."

Fineline Director Gareth Wilding comments, "We have worked with Steve's business for the last 10 years and during that time we have been involved with over £1m of capital projects for them. The current project involves their move into high- definition with the acquisition of HD EVS facilities and post production solutions. I am delighted that we have played a part in the continuing success of Editec."

David Tippett of Sky Golf adds, "We have worked with Editec on all our major US golf programmes for a number of years, including the last US Open. Steve has revolutionised the broadcasting of our golf programmes using his EVS LSM technology. This allows us to focus on the European players and at the same time bypass the American adverts."

The final word from Steve, "Fineline remove the worry of organising the finance to drive my business forward allowing me to concentrate on the creative side and delivering the best possible facilities for my clients."

www.editec.co.uk