Studio Berlin makes the final of ‘DSDS’ (‘idol’) in Germany in HDR

Studio Berlin empleó su unidad móvil OB9 diseñada e integrada por Broadcast Solutions con tecnología de Grass Valley, Sony y Riedel. Es la primera vez en Europa que se produce en directo un talent show en prime-time en Ultra Alta Definición con alto rango dinámico (HDR).

La nueva unidad móvil OB9 de Studio Berlin por encargo de UFA ha producido la final de DSDS – Deutschland sucht den Superstar, un talent show franquicia de Idol, in Ultra high definition con alto rango dinámico (HDR). La emisión fue difundida simultáneamente en HD/SDR y UHD/HDR en dos canales de RTL Alemania.

Esta unidad móvil, fue diseñada e integrada por Broadcast Solutions por encargo de Studio Berlin a principios de 2017 para trabajar en producciones tan elaboradas en UHD y HDR de forma flexible y sencilla. Para la producción de la final del DSDS, OB9 se situó en los estudios MMC de Colonia y produjo la señal UHD/HDR in situ.

Ernst Feiler, director of Technology at UFA, stressed that “for the first time in the history of television a great program on Saturday night was lived live at UHD/HDR. In case of great shows with great deployment of light and theater, the enormous visual and emotional potential of the new UHD/HDR standard is demonstrated without the long experience of Studio Berlin in the production of live television programs The ultra high definition, this premiere would not have been possible. ”

Nick Zimmermann, General Director of Studio Berlin, adds that “we face a great challenge with the live production of the DSDS final in UHD/HDR. However, by investing in our new OB9 unit, we were technically well prepared for work, and the unit put us in a position to successfully implement such an innovative workflow. The competition of Studio Berlin Entertainment was another factor that contributed to this successful European premiere.

Matthias Alexandru, technical director of Studio Berlin, on the technical aspect of production, says that “the task was to produce the HD signal in its existing workflow without changes during live broadcast. Therefore, the UHD/HDR signal should be generated independently. To achieve it, we decided to completely separate the productions of the HD and UHD/HDR signals”.

Simultaneous signal HD/UHD

Final production DSDS It was performed in parallel from the permanent control of the MMC (HD/SDR) and the mobile control room OB9 (UHD/HDR). As usual, 13 cameras were used in the final of DSDS. However, cameras were now used Grass Valley LDX 86N. For the production of the HD signal and the equipment in the fixed control room, this was the only change with respect to the previous productions.

These cameras simultaneously transmitted an HD signal for the study control room and a UHD/HDR signal for the control of the Studio Berlin mobile unit. The XCUS of the cameras were installed in the fixed control room, to ensure the connection of commands and Tally as usual. The XCUS simultaneously delivered a UHD/HDR signal and another HD/SDR. This allowed both control rooms to have access to the same cameras.

El control del LDX 86N tuvo lugar tanto en la sala de control fija para la señal HD como en la sala de control de la unidad móvil para la señal UHD/HDR. El conjunto de características de la cámara permite un cambio independiente de los parámetros del formato respectivo. Un equipo de expertos de Grass Valley estuvo en el lugar durante la instalación y producción, contribuyendo al éxito de la producción.

La señal UHD/HDR se transmitió en directo gracias al uso de equipamiento de Nevion Equipment hasta el CBC Cologne Broadcasting Center en Colonia.

A Karrera Mixer of Grass Valley used in the mobile unit was controlled remotely through the fixed control room of the study. Manual use was only produced in certain show scenes, such as the use of digital video effects. The audio signal edition was also carried out in the study control room.

During production, Studio Berlin relied on monitors Sony BVM-X 300. Using the live satellite return signal, the mobile unit equipment checked the quality of the UHD with LG and Samsung UHD screens. Therefore, during production it was already possible to determine how televisions of different manufacturers would behave at the spectators' house.

The OB9 mobile unit was developed by Broadcast Solutions starting from the streamline concept and is designed as a S16 unit combining the use of the latest 4K/UHD, HDR and IP-Workflow technologies. OB9 can work in both HD/SDR and UHD/HDR formats. This unit is one of the first streamline models in which Broadcast Solutions has incorporated the solution Mediornet of Riedel For video processing, operating as a trunk communications network and signals distributed with routers MetroN and Multiviewer systems MicroN Standard +.

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