Category: News

Accompanying image shows the multiscreen display and operational desks for master control.

London, UK, February 3th, 2021 – Danmon Group UK (www.atgdanmon.co.uk) announces the completion of new broadcast television production facilities for one of the largest and longest established global news agencies. The project included the design and integration of two new studios plus associated galleries and a master control room.

"This assignment coincided with a relocation to new premises in London's Canary Wharf financial hub," says Danmon Group UK Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "The new studios form the UK core of a global service the agency offers to television and radio broadcasters in addition to its role as an international news provider. We partnered closely with the studio management team from the initial design phase through to system completion, testing and staff training. Cable prefabrication was performed at our Letchworth headquarters prior to the onsite build. New equipment installed included power-efficient LED lighting, Ross routing and RTS talkback. We also integrated cameras from the agency's former location."

"We have installed a 12G SDI routing core which is configured for HD but can also handle UHD if required at any time in the future," adds Danmon Group UK Head of Systems Integration Jonathan Hughes. "At its core are a latest-generation Ross Ultrix router and Ross Carbonite Ultra vision mixer which we recommended to replace ageing third-party equipment. Representatives from the agency came with us to Ross Video's UK facility in Reading and were greatly impressed by the demonstration. Carbonite is an HDR-capable 3 M/E UHD mixer with a versatile control panel and a very compact processor. We have also upgraded the graphics and character generation to a Ross XPression which supports perspective-based image manipulation and real-time animation. This includes a MOS software gateway with an offline render engine."

Audio infrastructure includes Dante audio-over-IP networking which Danmon Group UK recommended and integrated. This is bridged to the Ultrix router which performs the embedding and distribution switching. ATG Danmon upgraded the intercom system to an RTS Odin which can handle up to 128 ports in a single 1 U chassis with support for up to eight such units.

Being very news focused, the agency has many incoming audio contribution feeds so Danmon Group UK integrated a SIP-based server from Broadcast Bionics with Dante emerging from the other side. This is currently configured for eight lines which are used for IFB talkback and contribution to live on-air shows.

For the Studio A gallery, Danmon Group UK integrated a main production desk with an embedded Ross Carbonite Ultra. Behind this is a journalist desk with Avid iNews terminals and Autocue teleprompt control. Both desks face a wall-mounted array of NEC UHD video monitors in multiscreen configuration. A desk with an integrated Allen & Heath audio mixer was also populated and connected into the system. This faces a NEC multi-screen monitor.

Studio B is the smaller of the two studios. For its production gallery, Danmon Group UK integrated a desk equipped for graphics, vision mixing, newsroom-computer and Panasonic robotic camera control. An audio mixer is located on the right. The monitor wall display has essentially the same configuration as that in the Studio A production gallery.

The project was completed on schedule and within budget.

Contacts for further information

Danmon Group UK: Russell Peirson-Hagger

Email: russell.peirson-hagger@atgdanmon.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Danmon Group United Kingdom, Unit 5, Oakfield Business Corner, Works Road, Letchworth SG6 1FB, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Fax: +44 (0)1462 485 777

Web: www.atgdanmon.co.uk/ | Twitter: @ATGDanmon

Accompanying images show Studio 1 at Fidelity International in London with its dynamic rear screen plus the production control gallery. 

Danmon Group UK announces the completion of a UHD video production facility for the London headquarters of Fidelity International. The project was prompted by Fidelity's recent relocation to a new office building at 4 Cannon Street in the centre of the city's financial district.

"As a flagship location, the Cannon Street office needed to be a future-focused space," says Adam Sheldrake, Head of Studios at Fidelity International. "Good communication is essential to our business so we make full use of video media for internal communication, podcasting and participation in finance-related broadcasts. Danmon Group UK has worked very successfully with us in projects at our previous London headquarters as well as designing and equipping studios at our Hong Kong offices. I have always been happy with what they have provided and how they have supported us. They responded to a proposal based on our initial specification but, because of their experience in past projects for us, were able to suggest a more cost-effective approach which also provided more functionality and included kit of superior specification. The result meets our highest expectations."

"We have designed, integrated and configured a full TV studio and production control gallery plus a podcast studio with its dedicated control room, edit suites and a green room," adds Danmon Group UK Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "The project also included cabling through from the control areas to a technical apparatus room."

"The TV studio, Studio 1, is equipped with three broadcast-quality Blackmagic Ursa UHD cameras including Fuji lenses. These were chosen on the basis of their excellent value in terms of price and performance. Three of the cameras are mounted on Vinten robotic pedestals. Additional studio facilities include Kino-Flo and Dedolight luminaires, Autoscript on-camera prompting and Sennheiser wireless lavalier microphones. The studio backdrops are from Cirro Lite, mounted on Doughty supports. Audio monitoring is via Genelec powered loudspeakers."

"We have also installed a Panasonic UHD camera equipped with remote pan/tilt/zoom control. This can be used to capture wide angle or closeup images from a high, medium or low viewpoint to supplement the main studio cameras. An additional Panasonic camera with remote pan/tilt/zoom control is located in an outdoor housing on the roof to capture views of the City of London, primarily for use as scenery wall displays behind the studio participants. This level of robotic control allows the production process to be controlled very creatively and efficiently."

"At the core of the Studio 1 production control gallery is a Blackmagic ATEM UHD switcher with advanced chroma key capabilities that can be used to deliver a wide range of graphic effects. We have also integrated powerful titling software which can accept still or moving content in various industry standard file formats. Recording is to a Blackmagic HyperDeck Studio 12G capable of operating at up to 2160p60 UHD resolution over a single cable. This is supplemented by Apple iMac Pro graphics, a Yamaha QL1 audio mixing console and a Custom Consoles main control desk. We also recommended and integrated Custom Consoles MediaWall multiscreen video display mounting grids."

"The podcast studio, Studio 2, is fully equipped with lighting and prompting plus a Panasonic remote pan/tilt/zoom camera. The podcast control room has similar facilities to the Studio 1 production gallery, including a Black magic ATEM UHD vision mixer, a HyperDeck Studio 12G recorder, Autoscript prompting and a Custom Consoles control desk.

"For the green room, used primarily by guests prior to their studio appearance, we have integrated a 55 inch UHD video display with Genelec loudspeakers and RTS room-to-room audio communications."

"Much of the detailed processing equipment is housed in the primary technical room which includes Axon glue, Ross distribution amplifiers, Unifi networking, SNS EVO storage servers, a Quantum tape library with LTO-8 drives, Ross routing and NTP DAD audio interfaces."

"In summary, we have been able to deliver a sensibly costed and versatile production facility of very high quality, complete with staff training and all supporting documentation. We are confident that this system will have a long working life."

April 14th, 2020

About Danmon Group UK

Danmon Group UK (www.atgdanmon.co.uk), part of the Danmon Group (www.danmon.com), has been at the forefront of the transition to the file-based technology now used throughout the broadcast media industry. It has also assisted many clients in the construction of IT-based automated file workflow systems, high-definition studios, master control rooms and playout facilities, as well as the upgrade of existing SD systems to HD and UHD.

Danmon Group UK also offers a comprehensive range of products and services including transcoding and automated workflow management, accelerated global file transfer, media workflow-design, project-planning, equipment installation, software-configuration, commissioning, documentation, on-site training plus ongoing support and maintenance.

With offices in Asia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Danmon Group thinks globally and acts locally to support customers with its highly experienced sales and engineering teams.

Contacts for further information

Danmon Group UK: Russell Peirson-Hagger

Email: russell.peirson-hagger@atgdanmon.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Danmon Group United Kingdom, Unit 5, Oakfield Business Corner, Works Road, Letchworth SG6 1FB, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Fax: +44 (0)1462 485 777

Web: www.danmon.com

Danmon Group UK announces the completion of a broadcast-quality production facility for the London headquarters of That Lot, one of Europe's leading providers of social media content production support. Core of this project is a multi-camera studio plus a fully equipped control room including lighting, vision and audio mixing, routing, recording, monitoring and archiving.

"Working with Danmon Group UK, we have been able to create the most flexible possible system for use across our wide range of creative services," comments Ben Forder, Head of Video at That Lot. "The new studio and its control suite enable us to offer our clients versatile resources for creating broadcast-quality content for a wide range of media applications."

"A full-colour back-lit LED cyclorama, which we believe is the first of its kind in Europe, provides sharp chroma-key superimposition onto on any background. Lighting is from a ceiling-mounted rig which can be adjusted to get the exact style of illumination we need for live-streaming or recording sketches, scripted videos, interviews, podcasts, vodcasts and social media photoshoots. That includes 360 degree surround video and audio capture if specified."

"Danmon Group UK has also integrated a control room suite which is being used for live production and editing. External material can be sourced from wherever required or we can perform high quality production on location. The system is intuitive to operate which is especially important when working live, and highly versatile."

"This was a very pleasing project to work on, partnering with That Lot's very astute and focused production team," adds Danmon Group UK Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger. "The studio is equipped with Blackmagic Design URSA UHD cameras which can be operated in a wide range of lighting levels and are ideal both for studio and outdoor operation. Production mixing and internal signal distribution are via an ATEM Studio HD switcher and Smart Videohub UHD-capable router, capturing to Softron recorders and SNS EVO networked storage."

"We have also integrated Apple iMac Pro computers for post-production. Additional facilities include Cirro Lite lighting, multiscreen as well as individual video monitors, a studio floor monitor, green room monitor, Allen & Heath digital audio mixer, a Custom Consoles control room desk and Sonifex talkbacks."

Contact for further information:

Danmon Group UK
Russell Peirson-Hagger
Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444
russell.peirson-hagger@atgdanmon.co.uk

Address:

Danmon Group UK
Unit 5, Oakfield Business Corner, Works Road, Letchworth SG6 1FB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444
Fax: +44 (0)1462 485 777
Web: www.danmon.com