World Service Bureau in Bratislava equipped with Audix ADD3000s.
Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, for the last 4 years BBC WS has operated a small bureau in Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic. News reports, both text and audio, from the bureau have been incorporated in the Slovak mainstream programming emanating from London and transmitted on 6 FM frequencies throughout the Republic.
Following the refurbishment of its sister bureau in Prague last year, the BBC again chose Audix Broadcast to supply the digital audio workstations to upgrade their facilities in Bratislava.
Occupying four renovated offices totalling 150 m2 , the new bureau provides 4 editorial workstations, a small broadcast studio and a Reception area which also accommodates the /Office manager. Via ISDN links staff are able to log on to the Internet and the BBC's servers in London to access news stories and file updated reports. Each PC is equipped with a Win TV card enabling editorial staff to monitor on screen TV and radio programmes. In addition three of the workstations and the broadcast studio have Audix ADD3000 mixers allowing local recording/dubbing of audio material onto PC, 2-way phone-out interviews through a shared hybrid and common access to a single ISDN codec through the ANTS proprietary control software. The workstations are linked to a central processor via CAT 5 obviating lengthy cable runs.
Building work started on the new premises in early May and strict adherence to a tight programme meant that the bureau moved to its new home at the end of June. For Project Manager Roger Francis it meant a series of one day visits to Bratislava (via Vienna), detailed technical discussions through an interpreter and two weeks on site with Audix staff and IT technicians to pull together the complex strands of audio and software technology.
Said Roger Francis," Audix Broadcast's products are continually developing and we are pleased to have been part of that development programme. The ADD3000 provides versatile facilities, with a small footprint where deskspace is limited, combined with rapid installation and the flexibility of software assignable features."
A market-leading feature of all ADD series consoles is their ability to be linked directly with an ATM network, and in the case of the ADD3000, this permits the workstations to be assigned to different DSP frames within a broadcast centre, or to be remoted anywhere in the world linked only via ATM to a DSP frame at the host broadcaster. The user retains full control, signalling, and monitoring, as well as the ability to route local audio sources to the host frame. This innovative technology is ideal for 'hot-desking' within newsrooms, or to furnish reporters on location with familiar and high-quality production resources.
The cost-effective ADD series of digital consoles span a wide range of broadcast mixing requirements, from the modest to the elaborate, and are proving very popular with over 40 installations in the last two years. The consoles can be fully integrated with any broadcast play-out system, interfaced directly with ATM networks, and can incorporate the Audix Broadcast ANTS control and source-selection for automation of ISDN links.
The ANTS software now allows remote maintenance features over the internet as well as audio streaming used for both maintenance and webcasting type applications.