Remote pickup unit
Encyclopedia
A remote pickup unit or RPU is a radio
system using special radio frequencies set aside for electronic news gathering
(ENG) and remote broadcast
ing. It can also be used for other types of point-to-point radio links.
An RPU is used to send program material from a remote location to the broadcast station or network
. Usually these systems use specialized, high audio fidelity radio equipment. One manufacturer, Marti
, was best known for manufacturing remote pickup equipment, so much so that the name is usually used to refer to a remote pickup unit regardless of who the actual equipment manufacturer actually is.
Today much of the remote broadcast use digital audio system fed over ISDN telephone lines. This method is favored because of reliability of telephone
lines versus a radio link back to the station. The radio RPU remains much more favored for ENG however, because of its flexibility
.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
system using special radio frequencies set aside for electronic news gathering
Electronic news gathering
ENG is a broadcasting industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering. It can mean anything from a lone broadcast journalist reporter taking a single professional video camera out to shoot a story, to an entire television crew taking a production truck or satellite truck on location...
(ENG) and remote broadcast
Remote broadcast
In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
ing. It can also be used for other types of point-to-point radio links.
An RPU is used to send program material from a remote location to the broadcast station or network
Broadcast network
A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other voluntary association, that provides live television or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, Public affairs programming, and other television programs for broadcast over a group of radio stations or television...
. Usually these systems use specialized, high audio fidelity radio equipment. One manufacturer, Marti
MARTI Electronics
Marti Electronics, a division of BE, manufactures RF Remote Pick-Up equipment for the broadcast industry. Marti has been supplying such hardware since 1960 with few competitors in its very vertical market...
, was best known for manufacturing remote pickup equipment, so much so that the name is usually used to refer to a remote pickup unit regardless of who the actual equipment manufacturer actually is.
Today much of the remote broadcast use digital audio system fed over ISDN telephone lines. This method is favored because of reliability of telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
lines versus a radio link back to the station. The radio RPU remains much more favored for ENG however, because of its flexibility
Flexibility
Flexibility may refer to:* Flexibility , the distance of motion of a joint, which may be increased by stretching* Flexibility , in the field of engineering systems design, designs that can adapt when external changes occur...
.