Bayerischer Rundfunk has converted its Ü5 radio OB vehicle to a Lawo-centered, software-based production environment. The truck is used for sports broadcasts, concert work, and cultural productions including open-air classical events such as Klassik am Odeonsplatz; rather than replacing the 2007 vehicle, BR kept the chassis and body and rebuilt the technical infrastructure inside it.
The core system combines a 48-fader Lawo mc²56 MkIII production console with a HOME mc² DSP app running on a standard CPU server. The DSP setup is licensed for up to 384 processing channels and as many as 1,280 inputs and outputs, with Power Core gateways handling onboard and stagebox I/O and another Power Core assigned to communications. HOME Multiviewer, HOME Stream Transcoder instances, and a .edge interface for SDI video connectivity and audio embedding and de-embedding sit on the same SMPTE ST 2110 and AES67 IP transport architecture.
The audio area is organized around three main workstations: the primary mixer position at the mc²56 MkIII, a balance engineer position, and a technical and recording position with a crystal controller for assignable control from the main console. Each IP stagebox offers up to 48 microphone inputs and 16 line outputs, plus MADI and Dante with integrated sample-rate conversion, linking local devices to the central DSP system over fiber alongside network, control, and NDI-based camera feeds. For recording, Ü5 can provide up to 192 channels across multiple workstations, with independent recordings and console-inserted markers; its first use was a January BR Klassik chamber music recording, followed by a February live opera transmission from the Bavarian State Opera and later jazz production.