The Studio And Its Equipment

So, you're building your own studio? That's great! But where do you start? Establishing what the requirements are and what content you're trying to produce should be the first port of call to inform you of what type of equipment you need, writes Liam Laminman, Managing Director, Trickbox TV.

Everyone gets hung up on the glamorous parts of studios, like the cameras and the vision mixer, but behind every great studio facility is a strong and solid infrastructure that's both resilient and flexible. Once you strip back all the operational tools that everyone sees in a studio facility such as the cameras, the lighting, microphones and so on, there's some key components that everything is based on. These include video and audio routers, intercom systems and all the signal processing glue connecting everything together.

The cost of video and audio routers has reduced dramatically over the last few years, making it more affordable to design and build really flexible facilities. Ross Video's NK Series routers are cost effective yet still quite powerful and the range starts from 16x4 up to 144x144. Their mid-size and large routers are modular card based systems. So if you know (or think) you might upgrade your facility in the future and increase its capacity, you can just add more IO. Ross Video's new Ultrix router range builds on this and offers even greater flexibility with its capability of various and simultaneous different formats (including Ultra HD 12Gb/s) plus lots of great features like software multi-viewers and advanced audio processing. In simple terms, a large and flexible router is a good starting point for any studio facility.

Something that a lot of people forget about is all the signal processing and glue that holds a facility together. Of course I don't mean glue in the 'adhesive substance' sense, I'm using it fondly to denote the equipment that connects and links everything together – like DAs, embedders, de-embedders, synchronisers, up-converters and down-converters. These types of equipment are the forgotten heroes of any facility – you don't always know they're there, but when you need them, you're thankful! This sort of signal processing equipment can start at relatively low costs, with manufacturers like Blackmagic Design. Obviously the more money you spend, the more features you gain. Frame based systems, which accept various cards are a good option. Through IP control, all signal processing for your entire facility can be managed from a central console, and indeed remotely if required. This can be essential in a fast moving 24-hour facility.

A lot of care and attention should be placed on the equipment specification so that the facility can expand and evolve. Day 1 of a project doesn't hang around for very long. New requirements will inevitably come and you don't want to have to start from scratch or have to 'undo' any work that you've already done. So, thinking ahead and specifying equipment that can do more than the initial requirements and that are built around an adaptable workflow will be really useful. More IO where possible is never a bad thing, so where possible, always assume that you might need more inputs and outputs at some point!

That low cost 16x16 video router might have enough IO initially, but if it’s fully populated on day 1, any cost saving will be undone (both in time and money) if you have to replace it for a larger one in the future. Due to the 24/7/365 nature of some facilities and crew shift patterns, the operation needs to be uncomplicated, plus all the equipment needs to be resilient with specific redundancy measures put in place. Good solid control room furniture from the likes of MW Video is a must. It may seem like a luxury to pay for a custom built control room desk but you'll be thankful for it in several years time. They're built to last and to take all the rigours of a television facility environment. Remember that that Ikea desk you had your eye on might have cost less, but it would never compare with something built for purpose.

Once you've got some of these key areas sorted, you'll have a solid backbone to work from. Then it's just a case of specifying all those lovely cameras!

www.trickboxtv.com/system.php

(JP/LM)