Posts Tagged ‘Studio’
Gearhouse Broadcast to Deliver Malaysia’s First HD Studio Facility for Astro
Friday, June 24th, 2011After competing in a fully competitive tendering process, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Systems Integration division was awarded the contract to upgrade Astro’s studio facilities in Kuala Lumpur to accommodate HD productions. The studios are used by both Astro and Arena to produce a wide range of shows including singing and dancing competitions, live music performances, game shows, talk shows and sport highlights.
The state-of the-art HD digital broadcast facilities will be the first of their type in Malaysia for market leader Astro.
The project will include upgrading 4 Studios Floors, 3 Production Control Rooms and a Central Equipment Area. The project will be carried out in two phases. Phase one will be the technical upgrade and refurbishment of studios 1 & 2, incorporating their associated Production Control Room and Audio Control Room areas. Phase two will involve the technical upgrade and refurbishment to studios 3, 4, 5/6, 7 and their associated Control Rooms.
In addition to the core contact, Gearhouse Broadcast are providing Consultancy and Project Management Services to Astro including time line management, location and design requirements, awarding supplier contracts, design of the Production Control Rooms and lighting systems for Studio 1 and Studio 2, managing upgrade and renovation works to the studio floor spaces, broadcast systems design and looking at Astro’s current and future production requirements so that their new systems meet all their future needs.
Central to Astro’s broadcast requirements was that their new broadcast system was designed around the ability for part of the system to be taken off site and used in a flyaway mode, the Production Control Room to be able to control any studio floor space and interface with Astro’s pool of OB trucks, flexibility in sharing of central resources e.g. camera channels, replay service and VizRT graphic engines, additional production needs designed around tapeless workflow, allowing rushes recorded in the studio to be transferred directly to Astro’s Post Production Facility and an interface with Astro’s Playout Centre for live productions.
In order to provide a full integrated bespoke solution, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Project Managers and Systems Engineers needed to gain a full understanding of Astro’s production requirements, including how every department operated. A significant period of time was spent time on site observing how productions were made and meeting with individual areas and Heads of Departments e.g. Sound Team, Directors, to ascertain their exact production requirements.
In terms of the equipment chosen for the project, Gearhouse Broadcast selected Snell Routers and Glue products, Harris Quads and Yamaha PM5D 64 Channel Analogue Consoles. The Snell range of routers are renowned the world over for quality and reliability. Coupled with extremely flexible control operations, they cater for all sizes and operations from simple edit suites to outside broadcast trucks. Snell were also able to provide Astro and Gearhouse Broadcast with 24/7 customer support within the Asia region ensuring rapid diagnosis and resolution of any issues that might have arisen.
Eamonn Dowdall Business Development Director at Gearhouse Broadcast said, “We were awarded the contract by Astro based on our proven track record for delivering broadcast solutions for major international studio facilities. We are highly skilled in the provision of broadcast infrastructure installations, and in particular, the area of studios systems integration having carried out numerous installations for studios and venues such as the Qatar State Mosque and Al Jazeera studios in Qatar”.
Why you should let us handle your HD Upgrade
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010The broadcast industry is in the midst of a revolution sparked by the steady introduction of ever more sophisticated and affordable High Definition, technology.
Although Standard Definition (SD) broadcasting is still alive and kicking, the onus is increasingly on broadcast professionals to produce high quality HD tapeless workflows for studios and Outside Broadcast facilities. In short if you are not already part of the HD revolution, you probably should be.
Broadcast Systems Integration Services
The good news is that with help from Gearhouse Broadcast’s Broadcast Systems Integration Services it does not have to be a case of ripping it all up and starting again. Our specialist Broadcast Systems Integration team can help and advise anyone who wants or needs to upgrade and convert their existing SD Outside Broadcast facilities, OB trucks or studios to HD.
As authorised dealers for many of the major players in the HD broadcasting market, Gearhouse can supply its customers with all their HD needs, whether for sale, rental or as part of an overall HD upgrade project.
As a multi-tiered broadcast company, Gearhouse Broadcast has a wealth of experience in the sales, rental installation and integration of HD products and equipment across all its divisions.
“Manufacturers are rapidly scaling back production of SD equipment and there is a significant rise in demand for our integration services around the world,” says Gearhouse Broadcast’s Senior Systems Engineer Dave Gill.
We can maximise the potential of existing HD capable equipment, install new HD equipment and then help in managing the transition between the two formats.”
HD upgrade case studies
M-Net
When South African broadcaster M-NET needed an HD integrated outside broadcast truck they turned to Gearhouse Broadcast as proven integration specialists.
In the past, Gearhouse Broadcast supplied M-NET with multi-camera flyaway solutions and, based on the service they received on that occasion, they looked to Gearhouse Broadcast again to provide this large, custom-built multi-format trailer.
Doordarshan, India
India’s state broadcaster Doordarshan chose Gearhouse Broadcast’s proven HD integration expertise when it came to commissioning their first HD outside broadcast truck, which was also the first in the country.
The newly built vehicle is part of a major investment programme in HD technology by Doordarshan, and the system building and integration work was carried out at Gearhouse Broadcast’s Watford headquarters.
A TATA chassis was shipped to the UK for coachbuilding before Gearhouse Broadcast’s team of specialist technicians and engineers got to work fitting the outside broadcast van with specialist HD broadcasting equipment.
Let Gearhouse Broadcast Handle Your HD Upgrade
Monday, September 6th, 2010
The broadcast industry is in the midst of a revolution sparked by the steady introduction of ever more sophisticated and affordable High Definition, or HD, technology.
Although Standard Definition (SD) broadcasting is still alive and kicking, the onus is increasingly on broadcast professionals to produce high quality HD tapeless workflows for studios and Outside Broadcast facilities. In short if you are not already part of the HD revolution, you probably should be.
Broadcast Systems Integration Services
The good news is that with help from Gearhouse Broadcast’s Broadcast Systems Integration Services it does not have to be a case of ripping it all up and starting again. Our specialist Broadcast Systems Integration team can help and advise anyone who wants or needs to upgrade and convert their existing SD Outside Broadcast facilities, OB trucks or studios to HD.
As authorised dealers for many of the major players in the HD broadcasting market, Gearhouse can supply its customers with all their HD needs, whether for sale, rental or as part of an overall HD upgrade project.
As a multi-tiered broadcast company, Gearhouse Broadcast has a wealth of experience in the sales, rental installation and integration of HD products and equipment across all its divisions.
“Manufacturers are simply not producing SD equipment now and there is a significant rise in demand for our integration services around the world,” says Gearhouse Broadcast’s senior Systems Engineer Dave Gill.
We can maximise the potential of existing HD capable equipment, install new HD equipment and then help in managing the transition between the two formats.”
HD upgrade case studies
M-Net
When South African broadcaster M-NET needed an HD integrated outside broadcast truck they turned to Gearhouse Broadcast as proven integration specialists.
In the past, Gearhouse Broadcast supplied M-NET with multi-camera flyaway solutions and, based on the service they received on that occasion, they looked to Gearhouse Broadcast again to provide this large, custom-built multi-format trailer.
Doordeshan India
India’s state broadcaster Doordarshan chose Gearhouse Broadcast’s proven HD integration expertise when it came to commissioning their first custom-built HD outside broadcast truck.
The newly built vehicle is part of a major investment programme in HD technology by Doordarshan, and much of the actual system building and integration work was carried out at Gearhouse Broadcast’s Watford headquarters.
A TATA chassis was shipped to the UK to be adapted before Gearhouse Broadcast’s team of specialist technicians and engineers got to work fitting the outside broadcast van with specialist HD broadcasting equipment.
Gearhouse Provides Broadcast Solutions for World Cup
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
THE football World Cup is often described as the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, and once again Gearhouse Broadcast is right at the heart of it as the finest players around the globe descend on South Africa this summer.
With a worldwide TV audience of billions, Gearhouse Broadcast is being used by seven major multinational broadcasters to supply both project solutions and equipment.
As well as the Technical Operation Centres (TOC’s), Gearhouse Broadcast is also providing location services such as the systems integration and building of studios and facilities at the international broadcast center for individual rights-holding broadcasters can produce their own style and flavour of transmission back to their home countries.
HBS – Host Broadcast Services
As a service provider to HBS, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Project Solutions team built and installed the Technical Operation Centres at each of the ten stadiums. Gearhouse also supplied engineering staff for each of the Technical Operation Centres.
ESPN America
We have designed and installed a very large 1200 m2 facility for ESPN. This facility is made up of three production galleries each with its own audio mixer, a central logging and ingest area, an on-air EVS area, Avid edit suites, a transmission area and a remote large studio overlooking Soccer City. There is also a large central production office with various audio, video and communications facilities installed on desks as required. The whole facility is virtually tapeless with a central EVS server for Ingest and logging which is connected to an Avid Unity server to allow transfer of files between Avids, Ingest and on-air EVS machines. We also have three Lawo MC56 audio desks connected together via four cores that allow total flexibility between all the control rooms for transfer of audio signals for the various 5.1 mixes being done. The communications with Bristol and all the remote sites in South Africa is being handled by a large Telex Adam system with 270 ports which include 64 RVON ports.
Univision
Gearhouse Broadcast has supplied broadcast equipment, communication facilities, two control rooms, studio and crew at the IBC in Johannesburg. This facility also has a large EVS and FCP server system making it an almost tapeless facility as well. We have also supplied a remote three camera studio facility that is connected to the IBC via a 3rd party supplied fibre and data connections.
ITV
Gearhouse have supplied one HD outside broadcast (OB) facility for all of ITV’s pitch-side presentations. The units will supply 2 way interview and presentation facilities pre and post match, together with pitch-side reporter facilities during the match. The OB facility is a small four camera unit that has been built out of our fly away rigs and installed into a small vehicle that travels around the country. Gearhouse have also supplied crew including Engineer, Sound and Cameramen for the facility.
ESPN BRAZIL
Gearhouse Broadcast have designed and installed an IBC facility that includes a production control room, studio facility, 12 x ENG kits, EVS servers and integrated Avid editing and storage servers. This facility is on air around 14 hours per day showing matches and background stories that are edited in the four edit suits on site.
TYC Sports AND TE LE FE Argentina
Designed and installed the IBC facilities for these Argentinean broadcasters in the IBC in Johannesburg, South Africa. This includes monitoring, distribution, production galleries and studio facilities. Torneos y Competencias S.A. was responsible for hiring the equipment and Torneos y Competencias ARG is in charge of the production of DirecTV Latin America, Fox Sports, TELEFE, Canal 7 and TyC Sports.
The tournament has kicked off a surge of activity in the broadcast services sector with huge demands placed on manufacturers and broadcast solutions companies, like Gearhouse Broadcast, to provide the most-up-to date equipment and technology.
Gearhouse have made significant investments in Canon HD lenses, Sennheiser Microphones, Sony HD Monitors and Sony HD Cameras and Camcorders. In addition to these they have invested in Pro-Bel HD/SD Routers, Tektronix Test Equipment, Evertz VIP Multi Viewers, Harris distribution and glue products and from EVS they have purchased 14 XT2 Servers to add to an inventory of 32 EVS’s to service the demands for this product at the World Cup.
It’s not just Gearhouse Broadcast’s equipment that is in demand – the sheer logistics of the operation around the whole tournament means that the technical infrastructure behind the scenes has to be spot on, and Gearhouse Broadcast’s Project Solution and Systems Integration expertise had a major part to play.
Gearhouse had over 70 people on the ground putting in 2650 man hours in the weeks leading up to the event. Once all the equipment was shipped to South Africa, they had just 16 days to build and run system checks before kick-off.
“This has been one of the largest and most challenging projects we have undertaken due to its scale and the complexity of the logistics involved. Because of the amount of kit and the distance involved, we started preparing for the World Cup 12 months ago and it has been a very complex process” says Kevin Moorhouse, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Chief Operating Officer.
“The size of the country means that our planning and logistics needed to be extremely well organised so that everything was there and in place with plenty of time prior to the start of the tournament. We’ve got a six-person team just handling logistics from a large warehouse in Johannesburg from which all equipment and materials will be prepared and distributed and a small satellite workshop for our service engineers”.
“Whereas in other countries we would normally be able to source new equipment if we needed it overnight, in South Africa, we had to be more prepared. We’ve had to bring extra equipment with us because there is no source of broadcast equipment available in the country. If we needed another VTR, I would have to fly one in, so our planning had to be so much better”
“Our goal was to supply cost effective broadcast solutions for all our individual rights-holding broadcasters. The choice of our equipment suppliers for these high profile live sports events is always a carefully considered decision, we choose the most reliable technology on the market every single time”, said Kevin.
Gearhouse Has Talent when it comes to live audio broadcast
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010With audiences regularly topping 10 million, the annual Britain’s Got Talent show has become something of a national institution.
Presented by the nation’s favourite hosts Ant and Dec, the show has made household names of the likes of judge Simon Cowell and contestants such as Diversity, Susan Boyle and this years winner Spellbound.
Audio broadcast solutions
With the acts and judges performing live in front of an audience it is essential that the audio broadcast technology and solutions within the studio are of the highest possible quality.
For the fourth year running Gearhouse Broadcast were awarded the contract to supply radio microphone equipment for the judges, hosts and contestants for the ITV live studio show of Britain’s Got Talent.
Gearhouse also provide Radio Frequency (RF) solutions for ITV’s other huge talent show hit, ‘X Factor’ as well as the Britain’s Got Talent spin off, ‘Britain’s Got More Talent’.
Jakki Hewitt, Gearhouse Broadcast’s Rental Manager, said: “With our history of successfully undertaking RF projects such as Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, we have consistently proven that we can provide our clients flexible and reliable solutions to the very highest standards.”
Planning of the show began with a detailed frequency blueprint produced by Gearhouse Broadcast’s audio specialists, and in the end no fewer than 50 channels of radio microphones were in operation.
Broadcast integration and support
Dawn Gray, Britain’s Got Talent, Line Producer for talkbackTHAMES said, “We have worked with Gearhouse Broadcast on many projects before. Highly recommended, Gearhouse proved that their audio department could tailor their service to suit any needs and any schedule that we could throw at them.”
Gearhouse Broadcast audio also managed all stages from planning, kit preparation and delivery to onsite installation. Continual on-site and off-site support is also vital to provide seamless integration of wireless radio microphones given the size of the studio and the unpredictable and spontaneous nature of the programme.
Among the very latest state-of-the-art equipment supplied to meet the very specific needs of the programme were:
- 40 Sennheiser SK5012s
- a new SK5212 bodypack transmitter
- Six SKM 5200 handheld transmitters
- Two SKP 30 plug on transmitters, which when plugged into the microphone connector instantly converts to wireless operation
- Sennheiser’s MKE Platinum clip-on lavalier microphones were used for all presenters and contestants
- A purpose built Titan ProSplit antenna combiner/splitter which fed multiple zones of RF coverage to seven racks of Sennheiser EM1046 receiver cards
What did you think of Britain’s Got Talent 2010? Did the quality of the sound increase your enjoyment of the show? Let us know.
Gearhouse Broadcast Help Pinewood Studios Put The Zing In Kid’s Favourite ZingZillas
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010PINEWOOD Studios, home to some of Britain’s most iconic films and television series continues to be an integral part of the nation’s broadcast industry.
As one of Europe’s leading providers of broadcast equipment sales, rentals, project solutions and systems integration, Gearhouse Broadcast is proud of the excellent working relationship it has built up with Pinewood in recent years, and to have supplied the cutting edge technology used to realise some of the most popular shows currently appearing on British television screens.
And Gearhouse recently helped Pinewood break new ground by providing tapeless HD format and broadcasting solutions for the production of CBeebies’ latest hit for early years children, ZingZillas, the first time this technology has been employed at the studios.
HD Format Broadcast
The HD format is an important part of the show’s appeal, which is both strongly visual and musical as it follows primate friends Zak, Tang, Panzee and Drum through their colourful jungle home in their quest put together a daily performance, The Big Zing, inspired by a range of visiting musicians and singers.
Over the past few years Gearhouse has delivered an exhaustive range of audio and video equipment, including cameras and camcorders, both standard and high definition upgrade (SD and HD), MCR hubs, VTRs and infrastructure solutions to Pinewood.
The kit supplied is all specifically tailored to the needs of Pinewood-produced hit series such as the BBC’s ‘Would I Lie to You’, Channel 4’s ‘The IT Crowd’ and Sky 1’s flagship HD sports panel quiz ‘A League of Their Own’, presented by multi-award winning comic actor and writer James Corden of Gavin and Stacey fame.
HD Kit technical support
Gearhouse’s engineers and technicians have established a close working relationship with their colleagues at the studios over the years, ensuring their technical support is available on demand and any additional equipment requirements can be quickly and seamlessly met.
Simon Honey, Head of TV Studio Operations at The Pinewood Studios Group says: “Gearhouse Broadcast always provide a professional all round package with exceptional customer service, through a dedicated knowledgeable rental team, dependable hands on technical support, and reliable state of the art equipment – at a competitive price.
“With a proven track record in delivering project solutions, we collaboratively provided a seamless HD tapeless workflow for the CBeebies production ‘Zingzillas’, and the results speak for themselves on screen.”
Gearhouse Broadcast delivers The X Factor Audio Solution for 2009
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
For the sixth year running broadcast solutions provider Gearhouse Broadcast return to provide the audio systems for ‘The X Factor’, ITV’s largest music talent show.
Gearhouse Broadcast has been awarded the contract of major radio microphone and audio supplier for ITV’s hit show, ‘The X Factor’ and will work with clients, Talkback Thames and Video Sound Services to deliver a huge, complex audio system in accordance with the shows production requirements. The job is so involved that the setup and project planning for the production begins at least two months before the first studio transmission goes live on the 10th October.
Gearhouse Broadcast’s Audio division will provide the majority of all presenter and contestant radio microphones for both the ITV1 and ITV2 shows. A major change to the format of the show will see Gearhouse Broadcast not only delivering for the Saturday live show, but also for the Sunday live results show, amounting to over fifty-four channels of various RF equipment throughout the Studio. Gearhouse Broadcast’s Managing Director Eamonn Dowdall comments “Drawing on our vast experience of live television production we understand the time constraints involved and the need to work within budget and to provide reliable, quality systems. We will create a multi-purpose radio microphone solution to meet the large scale requirements of this high profile show.”
All radio equipment will be configured to meet the specifications of BAFTA award winning Sound Director, Robert Edwards of VSS Limited, who sets out the requirements for both the shows and has worked with Gearhouse Broadcast on a number of projects before including Talent TV’s ‘Test the Nation’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
In total seven x8-way receiver racks will be rigged at the Studios for use on both the ITV1 & ITV2 shows. The seven racks will be used in conjunction with a Sennheiser custom built ‘Titan X’ aerial combiner which will allow full diversity coverage throughout the studios during the shows. This type of audio solution was determined by both the ITV1 and ITV2 shows requiring not only coverage of the studio but also the backstage areas, green rooms, dressing rooms and connecting corridors all on one system so that contestants can move around the different areas.
The Titan combiner is a bespoke solution built by Gearhouse Broadcast in conjunction with Sennheiser, specifically to meet the audio RF demands of The X Factor and provide a multi-zone radio microphone system. Further audio equipment will be supplied by Gearhouse Broadcast which includes 43 x Sennheiser SK 5012 microphones and 5212 transmitters, 5 Sennheiser SKM 5200-U transmitters, 2 Sennheiser SKP 30 plug on transmitters and a set of two Sennheiser wireless in ear monitors. Due to the 54 channels of Radio Frequencies throughout the building a custom calculated frequency plan was needed to avoid any interference between the equipment. This will be developed in conjunction with the audio manufacturer Sennheiser and radio spectrum managers JFMG.
For the duration of the show Gearhouse Broadcast’s Audio division will supply full technical support and back-up to assist with the smooth running of the production.
I’m A Celebrity Series 9 sees Gearhouse Broadcast return to the Jungle
Thursday, March 4th, 2010ITV Studios has awarded broadcast solutions company Gearhouse Broadcast the contract for I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here series 9!
Gearhouse Broadcast will provide ITV Studios with technical and broadcast facilities for series 9 of the production using flyaway facilities which will create a large Production gallery, an MCR area, a CCU area, a VTR/EVS Room, two big Audio Control rooms and a Comms area.
Helen Kruger Bratt ITV Production Executive said “We’re looking forward to working with Gearhouse Broadcast again on Series 9. It’s no mean feat having to produce over 40 hours of live programming over 3 weeks from the Australian bush. We have reality cameras filming 24/7 out in the jungle in all weathers and terrain: torrential rain, hail storms and lightning strikes can be frequent occurrences in the Australian Outback.”
Eamonn Dowdall, Gearhouse Broadcast Managing Director said “We are looking forward to returning to the jungle for Series 9 of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here. Once again we will be presented with many challenges working in the tough jungle climate but we are confident that we have the experience and expertise to deliver the technical facilities required to meet ITV’s needs.”
Working with the latest technology including Sony MVS vision mixers and a Calrec Omega with blue fin audio desk Gearhouse Broadcast will use over eighty cameras with many speciality models to ensure extensive coverage of all the jungle action which will be broadcast on both ITV 1 and ITV 2. A technical team will be supplied to provide onsite engineering support.