VSM gains increased presence in China
Published: ASIA
CHINA: L-S-B has been working to strengthen the market position of its Virtual Studio Manager (VSM) in China, by conducting several new installations and projects. Over the past year the manufacturer has worked in partnership with its exclusive distributor, NDT, to equip both studio facilities and OB vans at Hunan TV, Anhui TV, Tencent Sigma Studio Group, and Jiangxi TV.
Hunan TV, China’s leading entertainment channel, is using VSM in its new HD 12OB Van and new 1,400 sq-m studio complex. Inside the van, the VSM system controls a range of Evertz equipment including an Evertz xenon video-router, Evertz HD2012 video converters and frame synchronisers in addition to an Evertz VIP/MVP multi-viewer system. The replay area is equipped with EVS XT Nano servers and a Telex Cronus 32x32 acting as an intercom system. For the new TV studio, a redundant VSM server cluster was equipped to provide total fail-safe operation. Additionally, numerous hardware panels were incorporated that have configurable LCD buttons capable of triggering a number of events with a single press of a button. VSM is also used as the primary Tally system for the studio and includes several hardware UMDs with dynamic labelling and Tally information.
At Jiangxi Television, a broadcaster in eastern China that currently operates five studios and offers a full schedule of programming, a new HD 2 OB Van was commissioned to expand its fleet. The VSM system controls all equipment in the truck including an Evertz xenon router, Evertz VIP/MVP multi viewer, and Evertz HD2012 frame synchronisers and converters. EVS XT nano servers are used to operate the replay area and these are also controlled by the VSM. The IP-based structure of the VSM system provides the station with flexibility and ensures rapid reaction times in daily operation.
As well as these more recent installations, NDT fitted VSM into two new Anhui TV studio complexes as well as five studios and an electronic field production unit for Tencent Sigma Studio Group back in 2012.
At Anhui, VSM acts as a universal control and monitoring system, onverseeing an Evertz xenon router, two Sony MVS 6500 video mixers and an Evertz VIPX multi-viewer system. The VSM system here is tasked amongst other things with labelling the components and operating as a tally system. According to the broadcaster, the packaging of resources in virtual environments means that whole productions can be transported from one studio to another and all with the press of a button.
Lastly, the distributor has also provided VSM to Tencent’s Sigma Sutdio Group, one of the biggest Chinese content providers on the Internet.
The project consisted of five studios and an electronic field production unit (EFP). The studio complex was used for the first time in 2012 to broadcast the Olympic Games from London with VSM controlling both the audio and video equipment. A Sony 7000 video mixer, a Sony HSC-E80 HD camera and an Evertz video router are used in the video area, while additional equipment included an EVS server in the replay area, a BMD VC80 as a format converter, and a Telex system serving as an intercom system.