In Broadcast - October/November 2011 - 20

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

InSIGHT
RTL Chooses Quantel Again For HD News Production
Luxembourg’s national broadcaster, RTL Télé Luxembourg, has upgraded its Quantel Enterprise sQ news production system to produce content in HD, broadcast simultaneously in HD and SD and seamlessly integrate its file-based workflow.
Back in the mid-nineties, RTL was the first European broadcaster to choose a Quantel server-based news production system. In 2006, when the broadcaster went fully digital, it installed a new generation Quantel Enterprise sQ serverbased production system. The system was built in conjunction with partners SGT, who supplied the automation system, and BCE, the main integrator. The same team has chosen Quantel once again to enter the age of full-HD production and broadcasting, upgrading its existing Enterprise sQ system to the latest V5 software and adding a number of extra sQ Cut and sQ Edit applications to expand its operations onto the journalists’ desktops. “Our existing Enterprise sQ system has served us well since 2006,” says Jean Lampach, BCE Chief Technology & Development Officer. “The upgrade retains all the system’s speed and agility and allows us to work in HD and SD simultaneously. We have also gained workflow integration with Final Cut Pro editors and the latest file-based media. The whole upgrade process went very smoothly, handled with Quantel’s usual professionalism and efficiency.” “As we always do, we had a thorough look at everything available in the market,” adds Jacques van Luijk, RTL Production Manager, “and we chose Quantel for the third time on the basis of quality and trust. We have absolute confidence in the reliability and robustness of the technology, but above all, we have built up a trusting relationship over the years with Quantel and we know they’ll be there to back us whenever needed.”
RTL Production Manager Jacques van Luijk

20

Step Change In Editing
When asked about the main technical criteria in RTL’s choice, Jacques van Luijk says, “The advances in workflow and in particular editing software really

tipped the scales for us. First, Quantel now offers multilayer timeline editing, which is really a step change. V5 also allows us to seamlessly integrate our Final Cut Pro machines into the workflow, enabling direct access to the server for both editing and publishing. For ingest, V5 allows us to feed HD images from Sony XDCAM optical disks directly into the server at twice real-time speed.” Minister for Communications and Media François Biltgen and RTL Luxembourg CEO Alain Berwick To fully harness on sQ Edit and producing readySeamless Integration And the editing power of the Enterprise to-air material. Quantel has been Future-Proofing sQ, RTL has now acquired 15 sQ incredibly helpful in providing us For automation, RTL once again Cut and seven sQ Edit licences for with top notch trainers.” made the choice of its incumbent use by its 30 journalists. “With this The RTL system also includes supplier, SGT, which provided array of journalist editing systems, sQ View licences which provide its new VEDA database system we are introducing a step change in journalists with a simple and that allows ingest and playout in how journalists work. Our goal is to efficient tool to browse and select all formats and efficient media get all the journalists up to speed images from all sources. V5 on management. “SGT, which like so that their pre-edited material on Enterprise sQ allows all desktop Quantel, knows the inner workings sQ Cut requires at most 30 minutes computers to migrate to Microsoft of our channel,” says Jacques van of craft editing before it’s ready to Windows 7, thus facilitating Luijk, “allows us to seamlessly go on air. And we now have more integration. manage content on our Quantel and more journalists, especially and Omneon servers, which put the younger ones, working directly out our advertising content and our station ID material.” Beyond HD, the new setup enables RTL to pursue its development into new media, including adaptive streaming output for mobile and telephony receivers. “We’ve had incredible uptake from iPhone and iPad, with over 120,000 iPhone and Android RTL apps installed in Luxembourg, which is huge for such a small country. With the Quantel system at the core of our operations, we can easily migrate our output beyond traditional television and move into online and mobile broadcasting, making the system future-proof for us,” van Luijk concludes.
RTL playout gallery with sQ Play
http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_tab_home_top http://www.twitter.com/inbroadcast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpzEatLsHdE&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.facebook.com/pages/InBroadcast-e-zine/226166444076212 http://WWW.INBROADCAST.COM
In Broadcast - October/November 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - October/November 2011
