ATOMIZER
For TV networks, covering war used to require a D-day all their own - a massive deployment of crews, correspondents, and millions of dollars in cumbrous equipment. Not this time. Faced with Afghanistan's difficult terrain and dicey border crossings, NBC and others are taking a portable approach, toting $3,000 Best Buy-grade digital videocams and laptops.
Though many still pack bulky traditional boom-mike and betacam setups, today's tools of choice are video and satellite phones, which let one person carry all that's needed for a live broadcast. Here, from their base near Hindu Kush, NBC's foot soldiers show us what it takes to be equipped when reporting from the field.
Phone The 7E Communications Talking Head video phone can send data to the studio at 64 Kbps - a 1-minute report takes 40 minutes, with satellite fees of $5 to $8 per minute. It's waterproof and guaranteed to work in extreme temperatures, from below freezing to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. British company Inmarsat first made its satellite phones in the '70s to connect ships at sea. Today, the company operates a fleet of nine satellites in geostationary orbit that serve 212,000 phones worldwide.
Man With A Gun NBC has two base camps inside Afghanistan, both well within the Northern Alliance-controlled turf. The network reportedly enlists bodyguards for protection and calls the local police when needed.
Hardware Along with the videophone, the 7E Communications Talking Head works as a stripped-down TV studio. Shown here is the 10-pound console with sockets for either ISDN or satellite lines, a miniature sound-mixing board, a color screen, and processors that compress video in near real time to produce an image slightly larger than a quarter of a television screen.
Dish Every camp includes a satellite uplink. Crews simply plug the camera into the 7E Communications Talking Head, dial up a satellite through a portable three-panel dish that attaches to the phone receiver, and they're on the air.
Laptop NBC News issues Apple Powerbook G4s to its correspondents, who like the laptop's simplicity and compatibility with DV cameras. A favorite tool for editing segments is iMovie, the free app Apple originally marketed to DV hobbyists.
Crew NBC's home base isn't exactly the Hilton: A sandstorm trashed engineers Paul Stimpson and Hans Juergens' camp shortly before this photo was taken, and correspondent Kerry Sanders had to be evacuated after an unknown desert varmint bit him.
Gas Masks Every network person totes a military-grade gas mask, air-shipped from the New York City warehouses of Aramsco, one of the world's largest suppliers of biological and chemical safety gear. Aramsco's masks are being used by crews at the World Trade Center.
Generator Each of NBC's base camps relies on an array of portable generators - the largest of which can kick out 5,000 watts - to recharge camera batteries and to power satellite uplinks as well as equipment (like vacuums for dust-storm cleanup).
Cameras NBC is finding success with digital video, but it isn't scrapping the old cameras yet. The Ikegami HLV-55 is the network's standard-issue field camera, shooting in the industrial-strength BetaSP format and ruggedly withstanding all sorts of action. The Sony VX2000 is a different breed - just longer than a foot and handheld, it's easier to use and fits into cramped spaces. But it records to the inferior DV format, and its consumer origins have given some NBC execs pause. Can it really survive 100-mph dust storms? At least with the Beta, they know.
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