Spain’s Televisión de Galicia Goes HD with Grass Valley’s Kayenne XL Production Switcher Technology

Televisión de Galicia (TVG) has upgraded its primary production studio in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to high-definition (HD) with Grass Valley production technologies. As the final phase of a multi-year €1 million (US$ 1.4 million) project, Grass Valley supplied Kayenne XL HD production switcher.

The multi-year HD upgrade project began in 2008, when TVG ordered six LDK 8000 Elite cameras and GeckoFlex modular equipment. In 2010, TVG ordered three Kayenne XL switchers. The third phase of TVG upgrading to HD took place in January 2011, with an additional order for four Grass Valley K2 Summit production clients and four K2 Dyno™ Replay Controllers for tapeless production.

All of this HD technology is based around the production switcher, which combines the Kayenne XL user interface panel with the Kayak HD video frame, transforming the studio into a first class production center. It also makes TVG the first broadcaster in Spain to go on-air with the Kayenne XL in a fixed studio.

“Our aim was to achieve a technically advanced, top-quality HD studio for our key in-house productions,” said Antonio Posse, technical manager of TVG. “We have been a longtime user of Grass Valley products, and always watch their latest developments. Our operators see the Kayenne XL as the most powerful and flexible production switcher on the market, and we wanted it for our studio.”

A key element of the contract is Grass Valley’s support through a four-year service level agreement (SLA). This ensures that TVG has a single point of contact for any technical issues, with 24/7 access to engineers to ensure uninterrupted operations, and spares on site.

“This is a great win for us, and has been great for TVG too,” said Jeff Rosica, executive vice president at Grass Valley. “We have worked closely with TVG over the years and they appreciate that we deliver on our promises with the most powerful and integrated production solutions available, which let TVG upgrade to HD based on their own timetable.”

The fully upgraded studio, including the Kayenne XL switcher, was first used in May 2011 for extended live broadcast coverage of Spain’s regional elections.