In Broadcast - September 2017 - 58

58

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 7 - Issue 9 | September 2017

InStudio

MediaWall at London
Studios of Al Sharqiya
A

ltered Images, a leading UK
supplier of visual communications
technology solutions, has completed
a large Custom Consoles MediaWall
for the London production centre
of the Al Sharqiya satellite channel.
The MediaWall is being deployed as
a dynamic video background to the
network's news programmes.
"We operate six broadcast studios
with a variety of video wall types," says
Al Sharqiya Group CTO Ahmed Bin-Afif.
"This time it was a special requirement
to create a curved video-wall with
large screens. The Custom Consoles
wall design is even more effective than
we expected and is being used for a
variety of shows, fed by a versatile
server-based graphics system."
"The challenge was to create a
very wide curving display which
the studio cameras would see as a
convincingly real element of the studio
presentation," adds Altered Images'
Broadcast & Media Solutions Director

Custom Consoles MediaWall at Al Sharqiya, fitted with 18 55-inch monitor screens

Russell Butcher. "MediaWall offers
a modular approach to multiscreen
displays that we know from experience
are configurable to practically any
scale as well as being highly robust.
The requirement in this instance was
for a 6.7 metre wide backdrop in a
concave configuration giving wide-

angle production options. We designed
the display based on three MediaWall
support frames, each two metres wide.
These support a total of 18 55-inch
NEC X series monitors which are ideal
for this application, including features
such as an ultra-narrow edge bezel
and high-contrast imaging. The display

is augmented in this application by LED
light-boxes with adjustable brightness
and colour temperature."
Custom Consoles' MediaWall allows
monitor displays of practically any
width to be constructed from standard
horizontal and vertical support
elements. MediaWall can be used as
a fully self-supporting structure or
coupled directly to the studio wall.
Individual screens can be positioned
so that their edges meet exactly to
form a continuous horizontal display
limited only by the boundary of the
monitor panel itself. All wiring is fully
concealed and can enter or leave
the structure at any desired point.
MediaWall is available in a silveranodised or black-powder coated
finish and in any specified element
widths.
Al Sharqiya (The Eastern One),
commenced regular transmission on
May 4, 2004, as Iraq's first privately
owned satellite television channel.
Its mixture of popular current affairs,
satire and Iraq's first reality TV
programmes soon gained popularity.
The channel has also gained a high
reputation for its humanitarian
assistance and charity work for cities
all over Iraq.

IMT-Vislink's Newsnet Platform
I

MT-Vislink's newsnet platform (see
Fig. 1) is the first solution that has
the power to bring the studio directly to
the field, fundamentally transforming
the effectiveness of ENG operations.
It has the potential to be a key tool in
broadcasters' arsenals for maximising
their coverage of news - as well as fully
leveraging their studio assets.
Newsnet harnesses the most
appealing features of both bonded
cellular (ease of use, fast deployment,
bi-directional support and multiple
access) and DVB-T microwave (high
bandwidth and quality, low latency,
leveraging the broadcaster's licensed
spectrum, and unparalleled control)
- delivering a true all-encompassing
solution.
Newsnet delivers impressive benefits
for the broadcast professional,
including intuitive multi-skilled user
interfaces for superior ease of use,
high-speed multifunctional capacity
that delivers dependable, private
managed IP wireless network that
is predictable and secure and studio
workflows can be performed in the
field which leverages broadcast talent

Fig.1: Vislink newsnet

in the field for remote non-linear
editing. Vislink leveraged its history
in the wireless capture, delivery and
management of high-quality live
video to develop newsnet as a way of
completely transforming traditional
ENG workflows. It incorporates a
high-speed and reliable bi-directional
IP network that utilises the exclusive
and highly coveted 2GHz BAS-licensed
spectrum, thereby increasing the
number of live ENG transmissions
and workflows that can be performed
from the field. The newsnet wireless
ecosystem consists of one or more
mobile high-speed IP network nodes
that easily connect with a base

Fig. 2: Newsnet Architecture

station, typically located at existing
ENG receive sites. Each mobile node
not only offers high-quality video
transmission capability, but also a
reliable ingress point for other IPcentric edge devices - allowing users
to control their own private highspeed IP licensed wireless network
and ensuring that their content and
intellectual property are never at risk.
With an intuitive user interface
that is accessible to many skill levels,
newsnet allows for multiple access
points to operate simultaneously
on the same BAS channel, all
while enabling a high bandwidth
IP connection with the NewsRoom

Computer System (See Fig. 2).
This IP connection can further
enhance news production values
through high-speed file sharing, as well
as enabling all other IP-centric tools
in remote locations, phone systems,
Closed Captioning, automation and
remote asset management. Newsnet
is compatible with MOS protocol-based
news automation systems.
The newsnet solution won the 2017
Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE)
Technology Award, and John Payne,
President of IMT USA was recognised
by the SBE for spearheading the
launch of this groundbreaking ENG
system.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.customconsoles.co.uk/media_wall.php https://www.vislink.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - September 2017
