BSkyB’s Sky News is building a state-of-the-art high-definition production control room in the UK, based around a new Grass Valley Kayenne video production switcher and two Grass Valley K2 Summit production client servers.
The news channel is also building a new production studio and will outfit it with 12 new Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite WorldCam multiformat HD cameras.
BSkyB intends to be the first news channel to go HD in the UK. The Sky News operation is also using several Grass Valley K2 Summit servers, which will work with the Kayenne switcher — integrating directly into the switcher’s control system. This will allow the immediate update of banners, straps and graphics, enabling Sky to continually refresh the on-air presentation in a dynamic manner not previously possible.
The LDK 8000 Elite WorldCam of cameras features three next-generation 9.2-million pixel HD-DPM+ sensors. It can capture progressive HD images natively and switch instantly among multiple formats and frame rates. The cameras are switchable between the 1080i and 720p HD formats and support all 1080p standard formats, including 1080p50 and 1080p60.