STV moves to IP technology with mc²56 and A

The news production system and sound rooms of Scottish television STV of Glasgow have been renewed with a selection of products from Theirs, mc²56 console included.

Although initially the team STV He just wanted to update his studio equipment. Glasgow, finally decided to make the leap to IP technology. One of its main options was the console mc²56 MKIII of Theirs with the A_UHD Core, products that they were able to test at the fair IBC of 2019. In the midst of lockdown, Lawo's rental team sent a console to the chain's headquarters for engineers to evaluate in detail. With the support of the pre-sales engineer Frank Mosch, Lawo provided remote assessment and training for the STV team to familiarize themselves with the surface layout and plan for deeper IP integration.

Today, the commitment to Lawo has already materialized. The installation represents the first broadcast facility in the UK of Lawo's A_UHD Core (Phase 2) and its mc²56 MKIII console with 48 faders.

Installation details

One of the keys to the update is the DSP processing platform A__UHD Core (Phase 2), a system that has allowed STV to benefit from the signal and distribution via IP. Lawo also supplied a configuration Mix Kitchen to increase system flexibility and allow remote control of console hardware.

To complete the setup, STV decided to install stage boxes A__mic8 of Lawo his studies. Several of these solutions were installed distributed throughout the studio instead of one unit A__stage64 larger to help reduce microphone cabling. It was also installed R3LAY Virtual Patchbay (VPB) for playback software SpotOn, leaving aside an independent sound card based on AES.

Scottish Parliament elections

As the renovation of the facilities progressed STV, a technical problem meant that television engineers had to use the Lawo audio console earlier than planned. Sam Dorman, director of channel operations at STV, elaborates on this circumstance: "Technical problems caused us to bring the console online ahead of schedule and we received instant support from Lawo. Most of the commissioning and training with the mc²56 had already been completed, but congratulations are due to the team at Lawo and our team of engineers at STV, who worked together to get everything changed quickly in a short space of time. It was a tense few days, but the Lawo is very flexible and intuitive.”

On the other hand, Devin Workman, Audio sales director for Lawo in the United Kingdom and Ireland, points out that “this project serves to demonstrate the flexibility of IP technology in the establishment of infrastructures.”