Customer:
Česká televize
(Czech Television)
Country:
Prague, Czechia
Case Study
Česká televize (Czech Television) is a public television broadcast in Czechia, founded in 1953 under the name Czechoslovak Television. Czech Television, a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), broadcasts seven channels from its Kavčí Hory headquarters in Prague, including full-format channels ČT1 and ČT2, which attract the highest viewership in the country.
Czech Television also operates a Oddělení televizních novin (OTN) news center in Prague, which provides significant news programming for ČT1, ČT2 and its ČT24 news channel.
Additionally, Czech Television produces broadcast content from its studios in Brno and Ostrava in an effort to fulfill government regulations that mandate local programming must account for at least 20 per cent of national television broadcasting.
Overview at a Glance:
Install a robust audio mixing solution to meet the demands of Czech Television's production needs.
- Install new consoles at nine studio complexes and upgrade two flagship OB vans.
- Install a powerful audio processing core and multiple I/O frames to accommodate thousands of inputs and outputs.
- Develop a reliable and redundant infrastructure that is familiar across Czech Television's studios.
The Challenge
As a leading broadcaster in Czechia, Czech Television required audio broadcast consoles that could meet the demands of its high-end production and programming, including television, music and news content.
Czech Television also wanted a console that could integrate seamlessly with older Studer equipment and offer familiarity to operators at its main studios and OTN in Prague, seven bureaus across the country, production facilities in Brno and Ostrava and in its fleet of OB vans.
The Solution
Czech Television worked with Measurement and Studio Technology (MST), Studer's distributer in Czechia since 1991, to identify a reliable solution that would balance functionality, performance and redundancy. Czech Television chose Studer's Vista system consoles to integrate into its existing Studiový komplex (SK) studio complexes, which consist of up to two studios, a control room and a machine room.
Technology at a Glance:
Install Studer Vista mixing consoles that meet Czech Television's stringent reliability requirements.
- Integrate nine Vista X and two Vista V digital mixing consoles consisting of 52 and 62 fader configuration.
- Consoles include advanced features, Vistonics user interface and VistaMix automatic volume control.
- Install Infinity Core and D23 frames to create a scalable I/O and audio processing solution.
The Technology
More than 20 large and mid-size installations of Studer digital mixing consoles have been integrated at Czech Television's TV center in Prague.
Czech Television have installed four new Vista X consoles in the SK-1, 2, 3 and 4, all of which have been paired with Studer's powerful Infinity Core CPU-based engine for plenty of processing muscle and the ability to handle an unprecedented 1,000 audio channels. Some of the units include special features, like Chamber "A" tone tuning offset compensation, including the Vista X 62-fader console installed in the Music Studio. A fifth Vista X console paired with a COTs core is planned to be installed in SK-5 to replace an existing Studer 963 analog console.
Czech Television's fleet of OB vans relies on the proven performance of Vista 8 consoles. However, its HD2 OB van was upgraded with a Vista V at the end of 2020 and its flagship HD1 OB van is scheduled for similar re-construction this year.
Czech Television's OTN news center occupies a separate building near the Prague headquarters and houses its entire mission-critical infrastructure. The studio sound technology for the four large broadcast studio suites (SK-6, 7, 8 and 9) has been designed and built around Vista systems.
SK-9 has been updated with a Vista X console supporting 52-fader configuration and Studer's Infinity Core engine. Four D23m frames - Studer's next generation I/O-system - are connected via A-Link ports to the Infinity Core, with a D21m I/O system connected to one of the D23m via MADI. This I/O configuration allows Czech Television to utilize only a fraction of the total capacity provided by the four A-Link interfaces, which feature over 3,000 inputs and outputs.
SK-9 is identical to the SK-6 studio suite, which was installed in 2017. Both studios have been designed to be fully redundant through the installation of dual Infinity Cores based on the industrial servers class DELL 440.
SK-7 and SK-8 are still using Score Live digital signal processing (DSP) engines and Vista 9M2 series desks, but are scheduled to also be revamped with Vista X consoles and Infinity Core engines.
The fully redundant and robust system design of Studer's Vista digital consoles have met the stringent reliability Czech Television requires for our main news channel. The Vistonics user interface and VistaMix automatic volume control are just a few of the amazing features our sounds engineers appreciate and continue to use for live events like multi-participant debates.
– Martin Och | Head of Operations | OTN Czech Television