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By: Jason Dachman, Managing Editor Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 10:48 am |
NEP’s Supershooters Division regularly utilizes Anton/Bauer products to power its multitude of events, including the Super Bowl, The Masters, NASCAR, and the Academy Awards.
With more than 600 Anton/Bauer batteries and power supplies in its stock, NEP’s Supershooters Division has been using the company’s products since its inception. Today, the Supershooter’s fleet of 19 HD units and two 3D units employs the company’s products as it provides mobile broadcast facilities to support a range of broadcasts, including Monday Night Football for ESPN, Sunday Night Football for NBC, The PGA Tour on NBC, CBS and the Golf Channel, professional boxing on HBO Sports, and the US Open.
“We started using Anton/Bauer products 20 years ago, and we never stopped,” says Jody Males, maintenance engineering manager at NEP Supershooters, LP. “We chose them for their industry wide acceptance by end users, first-rate reliability, cutting-edge technology and the company’s top-notch customer support.”
With more than 500 employees worldwide, NEP Broadcasting serves networks, producers, and organizations through services provided by its 12 specialized brands: Supershooters, Denali, Visions, Screenworks, Studios, Live Power, Premiere Entertainment, Sweetwater, American Hi Definition and Roll to Record, along with mobile facility services provided by New Century Productions.
“We design, build and maintain our own facilities, creating customized mobile production units to match specific client needs and to provide complete customer satisfaction. We want to be the best in the business, not just the biggest,” says Males.
The company’s Supershooters Division utilizes a variety of Anton/Bauer products—including a variety of HyTRON, ProPac, and DIONIC Batteries and InterActive Chargers, as well as the Ultralight.
“All of our mobile units carry Anton/Bauer battery kits consisting of a QUAD charger because of its testing and diagnostic capabilities, and at least four to six batteries,” Males says. “Support trucks and events that require multiple mobile units typically carry several kits. It varies on the level of ENG footage being shot as to how many kits NEP provides. Often times, clients will request additional battery kits, which we keep in our active field shop inventory. As a whole, the batteries we use last as long as they should. However, many factors come into play that can affect the lifespan of each charge, such as the amount of use or temperature extremes. So it can be difficult to gauge actual lengths of time. Of course, Anton/Bauer provides a solution for this.”
Males refers to the company’s RealTime Display feature that it incorporated into its newer DIONIC batteries. An enhanced LCD RealTime fuel gauge displays up to nine hours of run-time (under low power load conditions) using a seven-segment display enclosed by four circular arcs that indicate 15-minute time intervals. “The RealTime Display technology provides very accurate information on the newer models, which helps in determining how much of a charge is available,” Males explains. “The DIONIC batteries provide a lightweight solution without compromising on the usage time.”
NEP also relies on Anton/Bauer’s customer service and support. According to Males, “The A/B support team travels to our headquarters in Pittsburgh twice a year to service anything we have available at the shop or on trucks at that time. The team brings information with it regarding what’s new in the battery industry and offers up solutions to questions we may have regarding its products. This face-to-face relationship has given us a sense of security in knowing that Anton/Bauer’s top-notch products also come with a firm handshake and a friendly smile. That’s not something that can be easily replaced.”
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