A TransVu mobile digital recorder from Dedicated Micros was exposed to some of the more testing conditions a CCTV system is likely to encounter, at the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
The TransVu unit was fitted to a MG Lola EX264 racecar sponsored by DM which won the LMP2 class. The TransVu was able to keep recording images, during qualification and from start to finish of the endurance race, despite the harsh environment, including a spin at the Ford chicane.
Said John Goy, the TransVu Product Manager at Dedicated Micros: “This type of race is an ideal place to put the TransVu system to the ultimate test, with the harder suspension of the race cars transmitting every bump and groove of the track through the CCTV equipment’s sophisticated electronics, coupled to high G forces and temperatures which can soar to 50 degrees Centigrade.
“We are delighted with how the TransVu performed, to the extent that when pretty much every other electrical system associated with the car experienced a failure in the course of the race it just kept on going. Even when the image quality fell towards the end it wasn’t due to the TransVu but because the bullet cameras – front and rear – had literally been pebble-dashed by debris thrown-up from the track!”
Also in evidence at Le Mans was the TransVu unit’s soft CODEC capability which allowed it to switch between MJPEG recording during qualifying and MPEG-4 for the race proper. The event also gave DM the chance to try compact flash memory cards as what the manufacturers call a convenient and economical method of image storage. With MPEG-4 recording, footage of the entire 24 hour race could be stored on a single 4 Gb card. The flash memory proved to be reliable in conditions where a hard disk drive would not have coped, the makers add.
