The first phase of the operation was completed in 1994 and comprised a 700sq.m production studio, a broadcasting operations centre and the main switching room. This is now to be extended to include two additional TV studios. The project is set to be completed in spring 2005 and will replace the previous studios, located in the oldest part of the complex and dating from 1953.
DAS, a daily evening news magazine, and the Landesfunkhaus Hamburg in Lokstedt are currently using these studios. The new studios are to be equipped with the latest in lighting technology. The contract to supply all the overhead equipment and associated controllers is valued at some 4.8 million euros and has been awarded to the southern Bavarian specialists 'transtechnik Lichtsysteme'.
The two studios will be different not only in terms of size but also in terms of the equipment they will use. In order to light NDR1, the smaller of the two studios, NDR have opted for spotlight monopoles featuring x/y-positioning control. NDR2 on the other hand is to be fitted with lighting pipes of various lengths, with the 'Voyager' control and positioning system forming the heart of the equipment. The modular system takes account of customer-specific requirements and handles the communication between the central console, the lighting control system, the overhead equipment (hoist systems), lighting (monopoles) and the audio/video monopoles.
Studio 1, which is 296.36sq.m, will be equipped with a 12-hoist system that can be moved with electric motors, four hoist rails, 99 spotlight monopoles with the following connections: one 2.5kW, dimmable, one 16 A / 230 V independent channel, one DMX, XLR, 5-pin. There are also eight audio-video monopole with the following connections: two audio and XLR sockets, two video and BNC sockets, one data transfer, two power supplies, nine 10-pin conductor rails for the monopoles and one Voyager controller and associated Ethernet/DMX/ Profibus network. Studio 2 is 731.55sq.m and will be equipped with; A 30-hoist system with trolley and 100 lighting pipes.
According to Michael Tissen, project manager at NDR: "The important consideration when awarding the contract to 'transtechnik Lichtsysteme' was the fact that Voyager controllers are already in use in the other NDR studios and are used daily for producing the national news broadcast 'Tagesschau' and the late evening news magazine 'Tagesthemen' at Hamburg-Lokstedt. We decided to purchase the control system for studios NDR1 and NDR2 from transtechnik Lichtsysteme for reasons of reliability, maintenance and availability of spare parts, but in particular because our lighting engineers will find them easy to use."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
