BSkyB has awarded Grass Valley the contract for the key live production tools for its new sustainable broadcast facility in West London. The contract includes 20 LDK 8000 Elite WorldCam multiformat HD cameras and five Kayenne Video Production Centers. The Grass Valley equipment supports Sky’s drive for operational flexibility as well as the highest possible HD quality.
Sky’s Harlequin 1 development is a sustainable broadcast facility which will provide studios, technical support, and operational space for Broadcast Operations, Sky Sports, and Broadcast Services. Constructed on the campus of Sky’s headquarters in Osterley, the building provides Sky with the opportunity to upgrade its entire technical infrastructure while reducing its environmental footprint.
“One of our main goals for Harlequin 1 was to reduce our environmental footprint with efficient technologies that significantly reduce the overall power consumption of the technical facilities, while still delivering the best picture and sound quality possible to our viewers,” said Troy Smith, Director of Broadcast Services for BSkyB.
When fully completed, Harlequin 1 will contain multiple HD production studios for a range of programming including sports, light entertainment, music, and game shows. Supporting these studios will be four audio mastering suites fully equipped to provide flexible, 5.1-capable, multi-platform content production services, and 45 craft edit suites.
For content delivery, Harlequin 1 will serve as a centralized platform for the control and monitoring of program output—including encryption, compression, and playout—all from an environmentally-friendly facility.
“The competition to supply key live production tools was extremely rigorous and we’re pleased to have been selected for not only what our products can do today, but in Sky’s faith in our ability to continue development with a practical product roadmap that meets their needs for the future,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley.
