Télésambre Develops New Production Studio

Belgian broadcaster Télésambre has built a new production studio and fitted it with a complete camera robotics system from Telemetrics.

The new studio is used in the morning for its live radio program Vivacité and at noon and late afternoon for its daily TV news shows.

The Telemetrics robotic camera control system gave the increasingly popular channel a reliable and consistent way to streamline its production operations, increase productivity and improve its on-air look.

Télésambre Technical Manager Bertrand Ruelle' said that the robotics enhance the production values of his station's varied program output and allows a small staff to run it. The live TV news show is managed and operated by a single operator, who can easily command the camera mounted in a PT-LP-S5 pan/tilt head installed on an EP7-600 Televator™ elevating pedestal riding on a TG4 TeleGlide™ camera track system – with precise control using a Telemetrics RCCP-1A Robotic Camera Control Panel.

"We are very pleased with the results," said Ruelle'. "We were looking for a way to minimize the number of people in the control room while making more programs under a tight budget. Telemetrics' systems allow us to do just that, in more ways than one. By adding robotic cameras to the studio, we have achieved our goal of streamlining our operations in the most cost-effective way. This has led to programs that are easier to produce and more popular with our viewers. I’d say our mission was accomplished."

Local system integration company AV Group supplied its engineering expertise and helped install the new robotic systems. Working under a tight deadline to get the new studio up and running within three months, Peter Natowicz and his team at AV Group also configured the Telemetrics systems to work closely together with an automated graphics and playout system (Live Assist and Hotkey Panel) from ChyronHego.

The RCCP-1A can be ordered with a Studio (STS) software package that includes a touchscreen display to enable one- or two-person operation. Thanks to unified control for camera robotics and camera shading, the system enables users to provide more camera coverage, more dynamic camera moves and more points of view—all at low cost. Users can also access the deep-menu controls of broadcast cameras without purchasing camera control units or paint boxes. A high-end processor supports complex keyframe based-motion paths. Also includes internal ability to snapshot thumbnails for shots and live video preview.

Features include direct interfaces to graphics, production switchers, microphone systems and other broadcast equipment, (including those from Grass Valley, Hitachi, Ikegami, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, and Telemetrics) and studio automation systems like Ignite, Mosart and Overdrive. Built in image clips with captions makes recalling presets fast and easy, keyframes to setup complex moves, drag and drop interface to setup the presets the way you want.

A unique counter-balancing system on the PT-LP-S5 Pan/Tilt enables quick, easy and accurate setup, even when a teleprompter, confidence monitor, and other components are mounted on the head. Multiple cameras can be quickly configured as pan, tilt and pedestal parameters are accessed via a simple push of a button on the camera base (eliminating the need for a dedicated control panel). In addition, LED indicators provide real-time warning if the load is out of balance. The ultra-precise mechanics provide smooth motion and an accuracy of 0.016º, making the PT-LP-S5 ideal for virtual set applications.

www.telemetrics.com