Since almost 30 years Notele, the Picard Wallonia television chain, sets up and runs outside broadcast vehicles to record cultural and sports events on tape (or other digital supports).

A flashback with the designer of these vans, Stanislas Tevesz.

How did this adventure start?

St. T.: I started working at Notele in the beginning of the 80ies. I was finishing up my studies as an electronics technician. Also, I had done an internship with the RTBF, notably with the people who ran the trucks.

When I arrived at Notele, the director and I recognized the need to film outside during theatre shows or sports events. So I created and set up a first small and quickly operational van which served both as a control and an editing room.

Then Notele grew and moved three times, each time choosing premises adapted to the activities. But our first OB vehicle remained operational for over 20 years.

Has it been replaced by others?

St.T.: Yes. The vehicle weighed 3.5 tonnes and was entirely equipped with analogue technology. About eight years ago, we bought another truck, weighing 7 tonnes, we recovered it from the RTL group. It was “reconditioned” and equipped with new material: a mixer and cameras. It is important to note that this car was financed with equity capital. We did not receive any subsidies for this operation.

Notele's policy has always been to try to pay off half by selling the service to other operators, which is a way to make the most of the investment in material and the crew's know-how. With the 7 tonnes truck, we had the opportunity to work for bigger companies.

In 2007 we bought the 19 tonnes which we equipped for filming with eight cameras. Together with the RTBF truck, it is the only HD vehicle in the French Community.

What led to this investment?

St.T.: Four years ago, Belgacom issued a bid request for the captation of football matches. With the equipment we had, we were unable to submit a bid. For the crew, this was a frustrating situation. We had the know-how and the skills, but not the material. Notele then invested, still with equity capital, to fit a 19 tonnes outside broadcasting unit. This operation allowed us to offer our services to Belgacom, as well as to BeTV who work with us for basketball matches, national championships and European competitions.

By the way, two years ago, the vehicle was upgraded to broadcast in High Definition. Which made it possible for us to, for example, work for BeTV on all European basketball matches, for the cup as well as for the championship.

In addition to these basketball or football broadcasts, the Notele HD truck is also regularly used for other sports and all sorts of events (religious events, concerts, theatre, etc.).

Who are your competitors for this type of events?

St.T.: Essentially service providers from the North of the country: Alfacam, Videohouse and Outside.

What is the next step?

St.T.: Thanks to the live 3D broadcasting of the surgical operation, we had a taste of stereoscopy. This project put us in touch with partners such as ARC-Cinevideo, WNM, intoPIX, EVS and XDC. We hope to evolve in this field, notably thanks to TWIST and its network of skills.

So you wish to invest in the broadcasting of 3D relief?

St.T.:The Notele management has always been voluntarist and progressive. Personally, I have nearly 32 years of experience. My background pushes me to evolve every day.

But, it is a substantial investment. We hope to either find financing, or partners to further equip us for stereoscopic 3D.

The 19 tonnes truck can be adapted, like we did for the broadcasting of the surgical operation on 18 March. But ideally the 3D aspect would be planned during the conception of the truck while still remaining 2D-compatible.

You mention partnerships. Which organisations would you like to collaborate with?

St.T.: With other local televisions. We already work together with RTC Liège (which also participated in the operation on 18 March), but also with TéléSambre in Charleroi, TeleMB in Mons (for whom we do the captation of the Doudou), as well as with Antenne Centre TV in La Louvière, and of course with the RTBT, our collaboration started nearly ten years ago and is always evolving.

It is obvious that our future lies in collaborations where we will have to put joint resources to work and take advantage of the skills each of the partners possesses, while respecting each partner's know-how.

The collaboration with the partners in the TWIST cluster is also essential. The cluster has both an economic and a technological approach. By associating with other members, we could offer leading edge products and become the key reference in the field of multi-camera captations.