Yamaha QL1, the compact solution for the new RTV Drenthe mobile unit

RTV Drenthe, the regional broadcaster based in Assen, capital of the province of Drenthe (north of the Netherlands), launches a mobile unit equipped with the QL1 digital console.

The regional broadcasting industry is larger than ever in Europe, with internet broadcasting running alongside television and radio to provide content specifically targeted at local people.

High-end facilities in a very compact space make the QL digital console1 of Yamaha be a great solution for local broadcasters.

RTV Drenthe in the Netherlands has chosen this console to equip its new mobile unit. Headquartered in the provincial capital of Assen, RTV Drenthe has 82 full-time employees and a team of more than 60 freelancers. Its content primarily comprises local news, interviews, music and talk shows, broadcasting 24 hours of radio a day, 30 minutes of repeat television and Internet streaming.

El broadcaster es un usuario histórico de las consolas digitales Yamaha, con una serie de 01V96 utilizados para eventos en directo y un DM2000 en su gran unidad móvil DAF. Recientemente ha añadido una nueva furgoneta mediana Volkswagen que tiene la ventaja de que puede conducirse con un permiso de conducir normal, dotada con un mezclador digital QL1 de Yamaha. Diseñada y construida por los propios técnicos de la emisora, la furgoneta está especialmente adaptada a sus necesidades.

El director de proyecto de RTV Drenthe, Martijn Woering, highlights that “as we have a long history with Yamaha consoles and our experience with them has always been positive and reliable, it made sense to look to Yamaha again for the new mobile unit.”

“We spoke with Rob Kuenen, from the systems integrator Soundsolution from Winterswijk, who showed us the many features of the QL range. The facilities and small size of the QL1 were exactly what we needed, so it was an easy choice,” he adds.

The QL1 was supplied with a MY16-AE AES/EBU interface to route audio to the video embedder, the Comrex audio codec and a low GSM system for telephone connections. A Tio1608-D I/O rack was also supplied to route audio inputs to the console via Dante and outputs to in-ear monitors via beltpacks. Dante is also used to route the intercom network between RTV Drenthe production staff.

One of the regular television programs that uses the new mobile unit is the weekly business talk show Entrepreneurship and Drenthe (Economía en Drenthe). Broadcast from the picturesque hotel De Havixhorst Chateau near the town of Meppel, RTV Drenthe supplies all necessary technical facilities. Using the Tio1608-D makes it easy to feed the outputs of multiple wireless microphones to the mobile unit via a single Dante cable.

"The QL1 sounds great and Dan Dugan's automatic mixing is a great help for doing talk shows on location. It's also very easy to use, being very similar to the old Yamaha consoles that all our engineers know so well. Everyone can get the most out of the QL1 without any problems," concludes Woering.