RTV Group Builds Radio and Television Broadcast Facility with Blackmagic Design

Privately owned, RTV Group encompasses the national radio brands 538, SLAM!FM and Radio10 Gold, along with a number of online digital radio stations and two television brands, 538 and SLAM!TV. To support all of these stations, RTV decided to build a single, flexible facility that will combine six on air radio studios, a live television studio and a single OB van.

Currently under construction in Hilversum with the help of Dutch reseller Maarten Sound & Vision, the facility will allow RTV to combine broadcasting production and post production for both over the air and online radio and television content in SD and HD. At the heart of the system are two Blackmagic Design Universal Videohub 288s. The first will be responsible for handling video distribution over SDI and fiber over longer distances, while the second will provide complete redundancy and back up, ensuring uninterrupted transmission, critical in a 24/7 live environment.

RTV’s television studio will be fitted out with an ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher and matching ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel for live vision mixing and graphics insertion, a setup that will be mirrored in the Live538 studio, where artists and bands perform live for radio and televised broadcasts. The RTV Outside Broadcast (OB) van will be built around Blackmagic’s ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher with ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel, while several HyperDeck Studio SSD recorders will be used for capture and playout in live environments. In addition, each of the six radio studios’ has their own multi camera setup and an entirely automated live software switcher system made by Vidigo. The facility also includes an editing and grading suite featuring multiple DeckLink SDI capture cards and DaVinci Resolve color correction software.

“Over the past few years we’ve seen radio and television content become more integrated as radio stations offer more online content and live production is used across our entire portfolio. To manage the growing volume of content production, we needed a reliable broadcast quality solution.” said Alexander Josiassen, technical and operations manager for RTV Group.

“Blackmagic Design’s infrastructure combined with Vidigo will allow us to replace all of our stand alone systems and build a combined higher performing network,” according to Josiassen. A collaborative approach between RTV and our reseller has resulted in a well designed SDI and fiber solution that met all of our requirements in terms of reliability and redundancy. A great all round partnership delivering value for money.”