BSkyB Selects Grass Valley Cameras and Switchers for New Broadcast Facility – Harlequin 1
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Sky’s Harlequin 1 development is a sustainable broadcast facility which will provide studios, technical support, and operational space for Broadcast Operations, Sky Sports, and Broadcast Services. Constructed on the campus of Sky’s headquarters in Osterley, the building provides Sky with the opportunity to upgrade its entire technical infrastructure while reducing its environmental footprint.
“One of our main goals for Harlequin 1 was to reduce our environmental footprint with efficient technologies that significantly reduce the overall power consumption of the technical facilities, while still delivering the best picture and sound quality possible to our viewers,” said Troy Smith, Director of Broadcast Services for BSkyB.
When fully completed, Harlequin 1 will contain multiple HD production studios for a range of programming including sports, light entertainment, music, and game shows. Supporting these studios will be four audio mastering suites fully equipped to provide flexible, 5.1-capable, multi-platform content production services, and 45 craft edit suites.
For content delivery, Harlequin 1 will serve as a centralized platform for the control and monitoring of program output—including encryption, compression, and playout—all from an environmentally-friendly facility.
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“The competition to supply key live production tools was extremely rigorous and we're pleased to have been selected for not only what our products can do today, but in Sky's faith in our ability to continue development with a practical product roadmap that meets their needs for the future,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Grass Valley.
The LDK 8000 Elite cameras and the Kayenne Video Production Centers selected by Sky are part of Grass Valley's completely new range of HD live production tools, including cameras, vision mixers, servers, and routing switchers. Both products are highly flexible and ready for future demanding technical requirements, including stereoscopic 3D productions and 3Gb/s 1080p.
About Grass Valley
With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world's most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world's leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you’re watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you’re watching Grass Valley at work.
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