Category
New studio technology — HD
Submitted by
TV Magic Design Team
TBN:
Chris Elia, station mgr.;
Ben Miller, VP eng.;
P.J. Crouch Jr., chief of staff
TV Magic:
Ted Shikuma, design eng.;
Rich Craig proj. eng.;
Mary Craig, crew chief;
Grant Barkdull, proj. mgr.
Technology at work
360 Systems Instant Replay
APW equipment racks
Bittree A/V patch bays
Clear-Com intercom
Digidesign Pro Tools
Evertz test equipment
Harris Leitch terminal and infrastructure gear
Laguna Design furniture
Marshall video monitoring
Miranda Kaleido-X
Panasonic AJ-HD1700
Pinnacle Deko CG
Pioneer PRV-LX1DW
RTS intercom
Sachtler tripod/pedestal
Sennheiser mic system
Sony MPEG IPX
SSL C100 console
Tektronix test equipment
Telemetrics trolley
Thomson Grass Valley
Kalypso switcher
Jupiter control TVLogic LCD screen
TBN makes historic NYC theater home of HD production
In 2008, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) opened a new HD-capable TV production and broadcast facility in Manhattan and achieved its goal of broadcasting from the heart of New York City. Located off Broadway in the historic Century Center for the Performing Arts, the state-of-the-art installation provides TBN with a cutting-edge presence in the Big Apple. The Manhattan facility, on the corner of 15th and Park Avenue, replaces the network’s SDTV production studio and analog TV station, which supported Channel 54 production for 20 years from its location up the Hudson River. TBN is using the facility to support production of its digital TV channel in New York as well as theatrical and motion picture debuts.
The broadcaster made significant cosmetic enhancements to bring the theater back to its former glory. To address the challenge of integrating advanced HD production capabilities into an 1850s building, TBN contracted systems integrator TV Magic. Together the companies found a way to incorporate modern broadcast systems into the theater — including the 298-seat auditorium and stage, a full audio production facility and a second studio that doubles as a ballroom — while remaining mindful of the building’s distinctive architectural and design elements. Because of its strategic location at Union Square, with limited space available for broadcast equipment, the installation also required economical use of work areas.
After six months, TBN and TV Magic completed an eight-camera HD production system built on a fiber-optic network linking studio A/V sources and technical control rooms. The main stage (Studio A) and auditorium are located on the theater’s first floor, the second stage (Studio B) and ballroom on the second and all of the production control rooms on the third. The building’s lack of elevators presented an additional physical and logistical challenge, because much of the production, control and infrastructure equipment had to be hauled up five flights of stairs.
Within its new HD production workflow, TBN uses a Thomson Grass Valley Kalypso HD video production switcher with a Miranda Kaleido-X multi-image display processor and TVLogic 46in HD LCD video screen. In addition to a Thomson Grass Valley Jupiter control system, Panasonic DVCPRO and Sony VTRs are installed along with a two-channel Pinnacle Systems Deko HD CG and a 360 Systems Instant Replay system.
The network’s audio production suite is outfitted with an SSL production audio mixer and Pro Tools. To streamline the network’s overall broadcast workflow, TBN’s production facilities in Manhattan are networked via VLAN to network headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA.
