HELPING "EASTENDERS" TO GO HD (September 2010)

Crystal Vision has been selected as the exclusive interface supplier for the HD upgrade of the BBC soap opera “EastEnders”, with the purchase of 206 boards by systems integrator Dega Broadcast Systems.

First broadcast in 1985, “EastEnders” is shown on BBC One and BBC Three in the UK and is also broadcast in various countries around the world. The programme is shot in four studios and a Lot area which are controlled from three dedicated production galleries, and the 206 interface boards are all located in three vision apparatus rooms on the BBC Elstree site in Hertfordshire, England.

Danny Popkin, BBC Studios and Post Production's Technical Development Manager, explained his selection: “Having a common interface supplier reduces the need for spares holding and additional training for our engineering staff. Quick delivery was also important to meet the timescales and therefore avoid delaying the show’s production.”

50 Q-Down123 down converters will be used to feed SD monitors, while six Up-and-down up/down/cross converters will allow SD devices to be used in HD.

48 VDA110M HD analogue video distribution amplifiers will be used to distribute signal pulses, with 43 digital video DAs used for floor distribution. Nine SYN HD synchronisers will be used both to synchronise the main record feed and also to stop specific monitors from flashing when cutting between non-synchronous sources.

Feeds to in-shot monitors will have their colour scene adjusted using three CoCo HD colour correctors, while two MultiLogo V131 logo keyers will be used to add captions to monitors. Eight FTX 3G fibre optic transmitters will provide HD outputs to floor monitors on long cable runs.

Finally, 18 ALLDAC encoders and 19 ADDEC-210 decoders will convert feeds to and from VHS and DVD machines. “EastEnders” will also continue to use its existing Crystal Vision PAL to SDI converters for the VHS machines.