Harris Corporation Upgrades Broadcast Post Production Infrastructure at New Windmill Lane Facility in Dublin

At the core of the new Windmill Lane facility, now located at Herbert Street, Dublin, is a 15RU Harris® Platinum™ router, which routes all the HD video signals to and from each of their new 25 multi-function rooms. All audio signals are embedded, and therefore handled, through the Platinum router. A separate Harris pulse router handles the reference routing throughout the facility. The project was implemented by local Irish dealer Broadcast Video Services (BVS).

“Traditional post-production infrastructure is made up of equipment hardwired in such a way that it is difficult to reconfigure or move,” said John Brady, technical director at Windmill Lane. “This facility rebuild, designed with the router at the core of the infrastructure, means all of our rooms can be used seamlessly for editing, visual effects or presentation at the flick of a switch. The centralized infrastructure also allowed us to gain space on the top floor of the building to design our two key presentation suites, which are crucial to our company image and to our business.”

A number of Harris CENTRIO™ multiviewers, integrated in the router, monitors all signals coming into the machine room from the suites. This allows the tape operators to respond faster and more effectively to requests from suite users, as well as to monitor the use of confidential material. CCS Navigator™ network monitoring and control software is used to give each multi-function room remote access to the router.

“Traditional machine rooms have a more archaic feel to them, but we are using multiviewer technology to recreate the broadcaster’s master control environment,” said Brady. “The integration of the multiviewer in the router is an added bonus as it saves on space and energy. This entire infrastructure redesign gives Windmill Lane great flexibility in the context of renting out the rooms, upgrading the hardware in the future and delivering the best experience to our customers.”

Harris Broadcast Communications offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions for broadcast, cable, satellite and out-of-home networks. The Harris ONE™ solution brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that enable advanced media workflows for emerging content delivery business models.

About Windmill Lane

Windmill Lane Pictures is the largest and longest established integrated film and television post production company in Ireland. Since first opening its doors in 1979, many associate Windmill Lane Pictures with its rich history of music production in the 1980s and its early association with U2, who recorded their first three albums, Boy (1980), October (1981) and War (1983) in Windmill Lane. The music studios were sold by Windmill Lane Pictures in 1990 and moved to Ringsend Rd. Since then, Windmill Lane Pictures has become Ireland’s leading film, television, digital communications and creative services company working with international broadcasters, advertising agencies, production companies, businesses and government bodies. Windmill Lane is Ireland’s premier facility house, providing editing, visual effects, audio, grading, digital online services, DVD authoring and camera crews.

About Harris Corporation

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 16,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at