Rogers TV, the group of local TV stations owned and operated by Canadian cable company Rogers Cable Communications, has signed an agreement with Lawo North America for a new 32-fader mc²66 digital production console for the group’s first HD mobile TV production vehicle. Delivery of the new console is slated for fall 2008, with completion and deployment of the new mobile vehicle scheduled for early 2009.
As director of planning and engineering, Pierre Fortin oversees capital planning and leads the engineering group for Rogers TV. The creation of the new HD mobile TV truck represents one of many calculated steps toward realizing this strategy. The new truck, tentatively assigned the name HD1, will be used for coverage of sports programming, conferences, parades and concerts.
Because the audio console serves a prominent role in the production of TV content, the ability to accommodate a large number of inputs, mix stems, audio cues and other audio signals is of paramount importance. The mc²66 console’s audio router will handle all audio routing responsibilities for the entire truck. By integrating with the truck’s video router, Rogers TV reaps substantial cost savings while saving valuable space.
In discussing those aspects of the Lawo mc²66 that most appealed to the Rogers TV staff, Fortin cited its flexibility and extensive feature set. “Given the space constraints we were facing in the mobile’s audio booth, the mc²66 packs a lot of functionality into a relatively small frame without hiding critical controls,” he said. “The expandability of the system and its ability to tie together multiple systems were also key considerations.”
For more information, visit www.rogerstv.com and www.lawo.ca.
