Building a 24/7 news channel
City Group decided to build a new 24/7 news channel in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The company already had a 13-storey building and planned to develop the facility into a complete television news operation.
A team of experienced broadcast professionals planned the workflow, equipment, studio design, graphics, news production process and the infrastructure required for the channel.
After a detailed tender and selection process, Whiteways Systems was selected to carry out the broadcast system integration work.
Main equipment and systems
The project included equipment for news production, studio production, graphics, automation, video servers and display systems.
Preparing the facility
Before the broadcast equipment could be installed, the building infrastructure had to be prepared.
Sound proofing was one of the main requirements because the building was located in the city centre.
Whiteways supplied the sound proofing materials and worked on the studio infrastructure to reduce outside noise.
Electrical infrastructure including UPS and generator systems also had to be suitable for the broadcast equipment.
HVAC systems were required to provide the cooling needed for the facility.
Equipment installation and system integration
Once the infrastructure was in place, the broadcast equipment installation started.
The teams worked through cable drawings, workflow requirements, bandwidth, storage and other technical requirements.
The system integration team worked closely with the engineering team throughout the installation.
Working through the installation challenges
The studio roof was already occupied by acoustic panels, lighting grids, air-conditioning ducts and electrical cables.
When the Spidercam cabling had to be installed, there was very little space remaining.
Another major challenge was the large 18-metre curved video wall.
The installation team worked through the problems one by one and coordinated closely with the engineering team.
Installation, commissioning and testing
The equipment installation and commissioning took more than six months.
After the main installation was completed, several dry runs were carried out.
Some problems were found during the first dry runs. These were mainly related to workflow and operators using the system for the first time.
The team worked through these issues and continued testing until the system was ready for handover.
Rack installation and cabling
The additional project photographs show the rack installation and cable work carried out during the project.
The equipment racks were carefully organised with structured cable routing and connections between the broadcast systems.
A complete broadcast system
The project brought together the studio, newsroom, video servers, automation, graphics, switching and display systems.
The system design covered the technical connections between the different broadcast areas and equipment.
Newsroom
ENPS provided the newsroom system for planning and news production.
Studio Production
Ikegami cameras, FOR-A switchers, VizRT graphics and LED displays supported studio production.
Media & Servers
EVS video servers provided the video server infrastructure.
Automation
Aveco automation supported the broadcast workflow.
A complete news channel facility
From infrastructure to broadcast operation
Whiteways completed the equipment installation, system integration, commissioning and testing for the project.
The completed facility brought together the main systems required for a 24/7 television news channel.
The project included studio production, newsroom systems, video servers, automation, graphics, LED display systems and supporting infrastructure.
