18
TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com May 2017
Production and Post
Bringing news to life One of Russia’s news channels has recently upgraded its equipment. Philip Stevens investigates
L
The revamped studio at the LifeNews broadcast centre
“For switching and redundancy, we installed a
The Octopus API allows Life News to integrate the
Platinum Harris matrix switch with a dimension
NRCS more closely with their own developments
switching field of 64 by 64,” continues Ushakova.
and applications, including web platforms,
“Almost all infrastructure was based on Harris
publishing, planning and reporting.
Broadcast (now Imagine Communications)
“The management and engineering teams
equipment. Newsroom as well as studio and on-air
at Studio-Service have proved highly efficient
ife (stylised as L!FE) is a 24/7 breaking news
playout were based on the solution provided by
on previous projects for Russian broadcasters, so
channel station based in Moscow. Launched
the project’s general contractor.”
we are very pleased to be partnering with them
in the Russian capital in September 2013, the
again,” says Octopus Newsroom sales director
company now also operates a sister channel, Life
Upgrade exercise
Gabriel Janko. “They have designed and installed
78, from studio facilities in St Petersburg.
Last year, both channels decided to upgrade their
a completely upgraded newsroom solution for
media complex, including newsroom operations
each location, closely integrated with editing,
new TV studio – including lighting system and
– a project overseen, once again, by Studio-
graphics and playout infrastructure.”
control rooms – ready for the launch,” states
Service. “We started to work on the upgrade
Anastasiia Ushakova, project manager at
in March 2016,” explains Ushakova. “Our main
operates entirely independently, there is the
Moscow systems integrator Studio-Service.
task was to change the existing media complex
option of connecting its respective Octopus 8
“That Moscow studio was equipped with
– which included on-air and studio playout,
systems to allow ready sharing of content between
seven Sony HXC-D70H cameras with Fujinon
MAM system and the VIDI News newsroom
the two sites.
lenses. Six cameras are mounted on Sachtler
system – to more suitable ones. The newsroom
Pedestal C III tripods, while one used an
system we selected was Octopus 8. In fact, our
of newsroom computer software that allows
Egripment TDT 6 crane. Two cameras are
company has had positive experience of Octopus
easy ingest of all incoming source materials such
equipped with Teleview prompters. Vision
NRCS implementation since 2011. The system is
as news agency wires, RSS feeds, emails, SMS
switching in the gallery at that time was
successfully operated on RBC and Tsargrad TV
messages or even faxes. “Such feeds may also
carried out using a Snell Kahuna 2 ME mixer.”
channels in Moscow.”
contain images, video files or audio files.
The new presentation studio at LifeNews Moscow
The playout control suite was also part of the upgrade at LifeNews, Moscow
“In 2012, we were commissioned to build a
Janko reports that although each newsroom
He explains that Octopus 8 is a complete suite
Octopus 8 was the newsroom system selected by LifeNews
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