TV-1 studio is a 7000sq-ft stage adjacent to the TV-7 control room. As part of the upgrade, the studio was fitted with SMPTE camera fiber. A basic complement of video, audio and intercom capability was provided at each of five broadcast service panels (BSP) located around the perimeter of the studio.

At the beginning of the design process, the layout of the show’s set was not known, so the studio had to be provided with the flexibility required to accommodate any set design. Rather than install large amounts of copper for audio and video, roll-round stage boxes, which allow concentration of audio and video connectivity as needed by the final set design, were provided.

Audio connectivity is provided as part of the studio’s RockNet network. There are 96 mic/line inputs and 48 line outputs available on the studio floor.

For floor video feeds, the team took advantage of the fiber-based capability of the router. Twelve of the router’s fiber-based destinations are supplied to a custom-built optical splitter located on the studio floor. Splits appear on Opticon Quad connectors at each BSP. The stage boxes are equipped with O/E conversion, providing 12 routable video feeds at each stage box.

Six Ikegami HDK-725 cameras, in both studio and handheld configuration, provide the basic camera complement. Lenses range from 60x studio lenses to 11x4.7 wide-angle ENG style. One of these is mounted on a telescopic Techno-Jib 24.

On-set displays are important to the “look” of the set. Custom-built matrices of 60in LCD monitors in portrait mode, including an 8 x 2, 5 x 1 and 2 x 1, allow production to display graphics or incorporate video elements into the show.

Sources to these displays are processed by an Evertz DVT videowall processor. Inputs to the processor are derived from the main EQX router, so that any image, graphic or video element can be fed to these displays.

An 80in touch screen driven by custom software allows Couric to dynamically interact with graphics or live video as topics are discussed.