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European Soccer Championships
2005-11-24
Following the launch at the end of June of Belgacom TV, a digital TV package offering a range of channels including film and sports, Belgacom, the leading telecommunications company in Belgium, has recently installed a full digital I/O Sy80 mixing console from INNOVASON in a brand new control room dedicated to the European Soccer Championships at its Net Center in Brussels. The move comes as a result of Belgacom Skynet's acquisition of the TV broadcasting rights to the Belgian Jupiler League and the Italian A Series, enabling Belgacom TV to offer viewers the nine Jupiler League matches every weekend, as well as the three best Calcio matches from the Italian A Series. Belgacom also broadcasts to other cable TV and pay-per-view channels.
The installation was handled by Unitecnic, a Spanish audio visual systems integrator specialising in broadcast applications who won the bid issued by Belgacom. The console was supplied to Unitecnic by INNOVASON's Spanish distributor, EarPro. Project engineer, Israel Esteban, from Unitecnic explained their decision to specify an INNOVASON Sy80: "The main criteria for this application was the capacity to handle a large number of incoming signals simultaneously and broadcast up to twenty stereo channels. The INNOVASON Sy80 offered us everything we required in terms of number of inputs, outputs and faders for signal control, excellent routing facilities, and of course, high quality digital audio. Furthermore, the Sy80 offers excellent value for money for a console of this size and specification."
Audio engineer, Eric Asselberghs, agrees. He explained that Belgacom Net Center control room essentially acts as a huge matrix into which all the live feeds are sent, mixed and then broadcast out to a number of different TV stations including Belgacom TV, VRT (the Flemish public broadcasting network) and RTBf (the French public broadcasting network). "It's a big job," admitted Asselberghs. "There is a huge amount to keep track of at any one time, so it is vitally important that the console offers good routing facilities. I must say, I'm particularly pleased with the ease and flexibility of the routing on the Sy80 - I can route anything to anywhere, and also modify the configuration very easily, which is great when we have so many feeds to handle, and of course, it changes every week. I may have up to ten feeds, which means fifty-six digital inputs, coming in simultaneously from OB vans at stadia all over Belgium and Italy plus a minimum of four inputs for local sources such as Airbox or VTR returns, and two live studio voiceovers in both Flemish and French, and depending on how many matches are being played, I can have as many as seventeen masters going out. It's a complex operation, because each match is broadcast in two different languages (French and Flemish), which effectively doubles the number of inputs and outputs required. However, the Sy80 handles it all with ease. I had not used an INNOVASON console before this, but I found it all very straightforward and intuitive. It's an excellent console." | |
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