IBC TAMIL`S TV AND RADIO STUDIO

IBC TAMIL’S TV AND RADIO STUDIO
IBC Tamil’s ‘Real TV’ studio
DESIGNING A TOP-TIER TV
“We were looking for a long-term
partner for our project and Altered
Images guided us from scratch and
provided the solution as per our
requirements and budget. They have
done an amazing job in a short time frame.”
Gajan Somasunderam,
IBC Tami
Introduction to Ross’s Virtual Studios
Ross’s Virtual Studios enable more imaginative
set design. Sets can be changed at the flick of
a switch, offering more flexibility in how studio
space is used. Physical sets can be extended
with virtual elements so even a modest studio
space can be made to look much larger, and it’s
possible to add and animate a range of virtual
elements (virtual monitors in front of the talent,
background scenery and graphics, social media
content, etc) in a way that’s highly realistic and
eye catching. Virtual solutions are also highly
cost effective and very easy to implement.
Global broadcaster IBC Tamil, which started out as
a radio station 18 years ago before expanding into
TV last year, has just opened a new London HQ,
complete with two HD TV studios and galleries,
and two radio stations. The building, in Ruislip,
Greater London, has been kitted out by reseller
and systems integrator Altered Images, which won
the £1m+ contract to design, install and provide
support for the facility last year.
IBC Tamil offers subscription-free radio, television,
magazine and online services for the Tamil
community across the globe. It has a core audience
of more than one million and employs more than 50
people in its London HQ. It also has similar sized
subsidiary offices in Sri Lanka and India.
TELEVISION FACILITIES
IBC Tamil Television reaches its audience via
satellite and online, broadcasting breaking
news, live events and a range of entertainment
programming, including gameshows, dance and
singing competitions.
Its new television studios consist of a ‘Real
TV’ studio, used for live news, talkshows and
documentaries, and a virtual studio that’s available to
hire. They were built in January following six months of
planning and design consultancy with Altered Images.
“The Real TV studio is a Sony HD two camera
facility with a Ross-based gallery providing Ross
XPression integration with graphics, autocue,
telco integration and Skype calls,” explains Russell
Butcher, Sales Manager, Altered Images.
“BroadStream OASYS is the on air playout tool
for the station. We also installed a PreSonus audio
desk with multiple aux sends, RTS comms and
multiview monitoring. All media can be moved to
Object Matrix near-line storage as a TX master
or finished media, or moved to Editshare for work
in progress. The Object Matrix storage is flexible
and scalable and allows for future growth, while a
XenData LTO solution enables the team to keep
online storage to a minimum for operational use,
maximising return-on-investment.”
THE VIRTUAL STUDIO
“The virtual studio has the same look and feel
across galleries, providing easy movement between
operational areas,” adds Butcher. “Except that it’s
a full green screen studio with three Ross robotic
cameras running in a full Ross augmented reality
IBC Tamil’s virtual studio (also available to hire)
AND RADIO STATION
virtual studio with XPression 3D graphics and
social feeds. Award winning virtual sets have been
provided by Californian based Full Mental Jacket.”
HIGH QUALITY RADIO
When it came to IBC Tamil’s radio facilities in
the new building, the initial challenge came from
moving its previous operations out of its former
building and doing an operational switchover. This
was achieved seamlessly, says Butcher, who is
impressed by the capabilities of the new radio
studios at IBC Tamil’s Ruislip HQ: “The quality
of the install and sound is amazing, employing
IP-based control and switching – one of the first
of its type in the UK. Skype, Viber and feeds to
Youtube, Facebook and Twitter are all in process,
with web streaming from the radio side too.”
CREATIVE EDIT SUITES
As well as television and radio broadcast facilities, IBC
Tamil’s offices include four edit suites built around
Adobe Creative Cloud, which are all 10G-connected,
enabling the fast movement of media around the
station. The suites enable further audio editing, video
editing and graphics creativity. Editshare shared
storage was chosen for this, due to its fast workflow
support with the facility’s Geevs recording servers,
which provide the output from the studio.
END-TO-END DESIGN
The ambitious project is one of the largest Altered
Images has been involved in, and, says Butcher,
“shows a wider client base we can deliver projects
outside of our core competencies – post and live
production – and engage in end-to-end designs with
clients to deliver efficient value for money solutions.”
“Working with the client has been a pleasure,”
he adds. “We’ve jointly managed the budget in
a very open manner and selected best of breed
technologies during the technical selection process
with their whole team.”
IBC Tamil’s Gajan Somasunderam, who worked
closely on the project with Altered Images, has
plenty of praise for the service his company
received: “We were looking for a long-term partner
for our project and Altered Images guided us
from scratch and provided the solution as per our
requirements and budget,” he says. “They have
done an amazing job on the project in a short time
frame. It’s an excellent service.”
Introduction to Altered Images
Altered Images are one of the UK’s major
resellers of technology to broadcast, television
and corporate production companies. We
understand the production business and
consult with you to deliver the best solutions.
We provide a turnkey solution from consultancy
to design and installation, with full maintenance
support from one of our nationwide offices.
Talk to us about:
• HD post production
• Tapeless workflows
• Shared storage solutions
• Media conversion
• Content delivery
• Editing solutions
• Digital workflows
• System design
• Technical support
alteredimagesltd.com
[email protected] 01932 255 666