TV Center relies on Lawo to create the first ST2110 studio in Russia

A wide selection of Ihre IP video, network and control systems have made possible the new ST2110 studio of the Russian television station TV Center (TVC), based in Moscow.

In what is TVC’s first phase in its transition to IP technology, TVC has embarked on a major technical renovation of its central control room and two additional studios. After extensive market research, Moscow-based integrator DNK chose Lawo.

DNK, in collaboration with TVC and the manufacturer itself, implemented the VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) IP broadcast workflow and control solution, as well as the V__matrix software-defined IP core routing, processing and multiviewing platform. For network monitoring, DNK installed the Lawo smartDASH real-time monitoring and telemetry system for broadcast networks and the smartSCOPE network analysis system, while A__digital64 units are responsible for providing abundant I/O connectivity. The facility has become Russia’s first ST2110 TV studio.

Maxim Krivtsov, CTO of DNK, explains the complete philosophy behind the installation, “Working closely with the customer, we conceived a turnkey end-to-end IP transition project including overall control system, SDN orchestration, IP-to/from-SDI gateways, up/down/cross conversion, multiviewer and a network monitoring system. This was only possible with Lawo’s VSM, V__matrix, SMART and A__line interfacing gear.”

VSM (Lawo) at TV Center

Lawo’s VSM provides a control system for all IP-based systems installed in studios, control rooms and mobile units. The solution is capable of managing the main video/audio routers and mixers, intercoms, UMDs and multiviewers, queues and other third party baseband and IP devices.

For signal monitoring, the distributed IP multiviewer application vm_dmv, based on V__matrix, offers high-quality functionalities for 4K/3G/HD/SD. Lawo’s LVP multi-picture processor enables the vm_dmv multiviewer to display both production (SDI/ ST2110/ ST2022-6) and broadcast (MPEG-2/H.264/HEVC/OTT-ABR) formats on a single screen for OTT/playout.

Reasons for moving to IP

On the other hand, Lawo’s V__matrix software-defined IP platform uses multiple cores and a high-capacity COTS switch with redundant 10GbE/40GbE connectivity as the distributed IP routing/processing matrix for frame-accurate switching. The C100 processing units handle streaming, video processing and multiviewing, with the V__matrix vm_udx application providing SD, HD and 4K format conversion with HDR capability. On the audio side, A__stage64, part of the A__line Audio-to-IP family of interfaces, provides WAN-capable analog and digital audio transport compatible with ST2110-30/-31 and AES67/RAVENNA audio-over-IP standards.

Alexey Brusnitskiy, TV Center’s chief technology officer, says the broadcaster has decided to adopt this system “in order to be ready for the future challenges of TV production and distribution.” Satisfied with the installation, he comments that “IP technology offers the highest level of flexibility and efficiency in workflows, and it provides best possible reliability and security for our productions and our network.”