Cameroon’s State broadcaster, CRTV, that was built and equipped by Siemens in Germany has acquired two state-of-the-art Outside Broadcast Vans (OB Vans) in view of an optimal coverage of the upcoming Female Africa Nations Cup billed for Yaounde and Limbe from 19 November to 3 December 2016. Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary on September 1, 2016 received the ultra-modern equipment from officials of China’s giant provider in television broadcasting industry, StarTimes. This was at the outfit’s headquarters in Beijing in the presence of CRTV’s General Manager, Charles Ndongo and other football stakeholders in the country. Shipment procedure began immediately and the vans equipped with 20 cameras each should be in Cameroon in two months, all things being equal.

The OB Van is a high-tech and high definition broadcasting system which can input 20 image signals at the same time. The broadcasting system includes 12 standard video cameras, four high magnification cameras and four wireless cameras. The OB Van could satisfy various shooting demand and won’t be limited by the site conditions.

For efficiency on the broadcasting of sports TV programmes, the OB Van equips four slow motion processing systems, which will help obtain and edit the playback of sports matches. Along with the OB Vans, two affiliated vehicles will be used as electricity supporting system and equipment transportation.

Speaking during the ceremony, the Chairman of StarTimes Group, Pang Xinxing said the equipment have been fabricated in accordance with relevant Chinese and international standards relating to the design and manufacture of vehicles. They are also in line with an agreement reached between the government of Cameroon and the Chinese company for the latter to technically rehabilitate CRTV for an efficient switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting.

To Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, supplying the equipment barely six  months after they were requested and whose fabrication were entirely pre-financed by StarTimes were enough justifications that government had got a strategic partner not only for an efficient broadcast of AFCON matches but also for excellent technical rehabilitation of the national broadcaster.

Thursday’s ceremony was equally a culmination of a two-week training of some 19 technicians of CRTV by StarTimes on the use of the modern equipment. According to one of the trainees, Josephine Mankfu Talla, Chief Sports Director at CRTV, once the equipment arrive in Cameroon, CRTV will organise live test broadcasts like the Elite Championship for instance, so as to wholly fine-tune every detail before the kicker of the female AFCON in November.

Cameroon Tribune