Article Overview

Arab Radio & Television places major order with ATG Broadcast

The new system will be essentially HD with some initial parts of the system in SD

Arab Radio & Television (ART), the satellite-based network based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has placed an order worth over 2.5 million US dollars with ATG Broadcast. The contract covers the supply, installation and commissioning of a five-camera production studio plus a file-based ingest system. The order was won against stiff competition from other system integration companies.

"ART has contribution studios in many countries of the Middle East which are controlled from its technical headquarters in Amman, Jordan," explains AMC CTO Alan Constant. "This facility will form the technical heart of an entirely new site in Jeddah. ART has constructed a new building which will replace an outside broadcast vehicle currently deployed as a regional contribution centre. The new system will be essentially HD with some initial parts of the system in SD."

"Pre-fabrication of the new facility for ART is now in progress in the 800 square metre system assembly and testing facility on the ground floor of our Letchworth premises," comments ATG Broadcast Managing Director Graham Day. "The project is being handled by a six-strong team drawn from our engineering and technical-support staff, headed by John Brewer and supervised by Dave Whitaker. The complete system is scheduled to be ready for factory acceptance tests by March with installation and completion on-site in May."

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"The studio will be equipped with five Ikegami HDK-79EX cameras, a Kayak SD/HD vision switcher and a Studer Vista 5 audio desk," adds Project Manager Dave Whitaker. "Routing will be via a 64 x 64 Snell Sirius HD matrix.

Studio output is a mix of live-from-studio and clip-list-managed disk server sources transmitted via satellite link to Amman. Other equipment in the order includes a Vizrt Trio real-time 2D/3D character generator, Axon glue, Tektronix test gear, and a Miranda KX multi-image processor feeding two Panasonic 42 inch plasma monitors on Custom Consoles Media Walls."

About ART

Arab Radio & Television (ART) Network is a leading producer of Arabic family programming and entertainment. The company was founded in October 1993 as a private network, with administrative headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, technical headquarters in Amman, Jordan, and production facilities spanning the entire Middle East. ART began broadcasting five channels to Europe and the Middle East via Arabsat in 1993 from transmission facilities in Jordan Media City, Amman. Since this time the growth of ART has been significant with the acquisition of world-class transmission facilities in Avezzano, Italy, and the introduction of further successful commercial and niche television channels. ART produces over 6,000 live and recorded shows every year including family-oriented dramas, series, plays, music videos, and documentaries. Part of Allied Media Corporation, ART has the largest Arabic movie library in the Middle East.

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ART

About ATG Broadcast

ATG Broadcast is a world-class supplier of broadcast systems planning, design, installation, commissioning and post-installation support services. ATG has the full resources needed to pre-build and test complete large-scale installations before delivery. The company is part of the Dan Technologies Group operating from offices in Britain, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Vietnam. The ATG Broadcast client list includes some of the world's largest broadcast networks and embraces the latest file-based high-definition digital networking technology. ATG systems are designed to allow easy upgrade and expansion, including migration to new transmission standards and delivery platforms.

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ATG Broadcast