With production demands and deadlines, and tight budgets high on their agenda, Rec[4]Box OB Factory specialises in custom OB construction – and has recently built the first OB truck in its catchment to house a Studer Vista 1 mixing console. The company reckons that the truck sets new standards in versatility, deployment speed and broadcasting capabilities.

Currently, Rec[4]Box operates on a contract basis, renting or selling fully operational OB trucks to networks in Canada and the US. Each system undergoes rigorous testing to ensure that networks are able to start production within an hour of receiving the trailer, with only two onboard technicians. The Vista 1 console is a good fit, as its broadcasting tools eliminate the need for additional racks of gear.

‘We tend to be early adopters of technology, opting for the best solution for our trucks considering the tight budget and schedule,’ says Rec[4]Box engineer, Jonathan Fortin. ‘For sound and television applications, we instantly think of Soundcraft and Studer. In this truck, we needed analogue inputs right behind the board, so we went with Studer.

The Vista 1 offers 32 mic/line inputs and 32 analogue line outputs, as well as broadcast monitoring, talkback, red light control and eight GPIOs. For this particular project, the Rec4Box team added a stagebox with 64 inputs, and integrated the console with a complete 5.1 surround sound kit. The truck itself requires 12 analogue inputs to operate, while 48 to 64 inputs are activated during a TV show.

‘The Vista 1 is perfect for our needs, so we ordered another one for the next truck that we’re building,’ Fortin says. ‘It does everything we need and much more, and it has great integration with products from other brands. We love its user-friendly design, making workflow on the Vista 1 a lot easier than on the Yamaha consoles that we have tried. Overall, we are very happy and so are our customers.’