SCOTTISH TV CHOOSES CRYSTAL VISION FOR NEW INSTALLATION (April 2006)

Scottish TV has chosen Crystal Vision as the exclusive interface supplier to equip two studios and a Central Apparatus Room in their impressive new building overlooking the River Clyde in Glasgow.

Broadcasting an entire range of programmes throughout Scotland, Scottish TV had been at their previous location in the centre of Glasgow for nearly 50 years. A need to implement new broadcast technology meant that their original building was no longer suitable. Scottish TV’s new purpose-built headquarters includes two state-of-the-art studios, edit suites, transmission facilities and even dressing rooms as well as a large amount of office space.

The three orders received from Scottish TV focused on the equipment being installed in each individual room and included a total of 248 Crystal Vision boards from across the entire product range. The order for the largest number of boards was for The Central Apparatus Room, the main signal routing and transmission area, requiring a number of SYN102 synchronisers, EMDEC-200 embedding decoders, TANDEM-110 embedders/de-embedders, ViViD124 video delays and DDA108 distribution amplifiers. A very similar range of boards will be installed into Scottish TV’s new studios, with an additional SYNNER144 being installed exclusively in Studio One. The multi-functional SYNNER144 combines a synchroniser, tracking audio delay and embedder/de-embedder, saving valuable rack space as well as money. After completion, Studio One will be used for the production and broadcast of the popular news programme – “Scotland Today” as well as “Scotsport” and political programmes, while Studio Two is contracted to be used by a third party.

Scottish TV not only had a need to upgrade their equipment, but a requirement for several unique products offering novel features. Smart DA, Crystal Vision’s clever monitoring distribution amplifier was developed directly in response to Scottish TV’s need to monitor the main feeds leaving their building. The status of the outgoing video and embedded audio signal monitored by the Smart DA will be viewed using Statesman PC Control System, giving an immediate indication of any signal or transmission problems. Delighted with its functionality, Scottish TV ordered a total of 23 Smart DA boards to monitor the signals leaving each of their new studios and Central Apparatus Room. Also resulting from the partnership formed between Crystal Vision and Scottish TV is a specially designed version of the Statesman software that allows graphical monitoring of particular signal paths and enables the creation of composite modules to represent them. This in turn allows engineers to easily monitor and make adjustments to the outgoing signal paths.

When asked why they chose Crystal Vision, Gary Welsh, Technical Manager at Scottish TV said “We have been working with Crystal Vision products at Scottish TV for several years now and have always had a good relationship with the company. We recognised that Crystal Vision was willing to develop existing boards and software to meet our requirements, offering benefits to both companies now and in the future. Furthermore, the multi-functionality of some of Crystal Vision’s products, means a lower number of boards are required, making their system truly cost effective”.

The Crystal Vision equipment is currently being installed, with the first on-air broadcasts planned to commence after the World Cup in July 2006.

Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers and a full range of digital and analogue interface equipment including converters, decoders, encoders, aspect ratio converters and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.