SWR On The SNG Road With ND SatCom The German public broadcaster Südwestrundfunk (SWR) recently ordered an SNG vehicle (Satellite News Gathering) with satellite uplink and TV production technology from ND SatCom, an SES ASTRA company. The satellite uplink consists of a SkyRAY Compact 1500plus antenna subsystem and is HD/SD-ready, being one of the first within the Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations (ARD) in Germany. The satellite communications technology is operated by a complete ND SatCom Monitoring & Control System for SNG vehicles. This productionSNG is the first built by ND SatCom for the German market, which offers a greatly increased emphasis on TV production equipment. Besides two complete HD-camera production units, an HD/SD Video DME switcher and a digital audio mixer with cross bar, the production equipment includes a 40x48 video cross bar, a class 1 video monitoring system and a digital 24-port intercom system. The vehicle basis is a Mercedes Benz Vario. The vehicle modification includes air conditioning, stabilizing jacks and a 16kVA underfloor generator.