Qatar TV Taps Lawo for New Audio, Video, Control Infrastructure for OB Trucks

Lawo announced today that Qatar TV has recently ordered Lawo audio, video and control infrastructure for their two new OB trucks. Each vehicle comprises a 24-fader mc²36 audio console plus external and fixed installed DALLIS I/O stageboxes, an A__madi4 Audio-to-IP interface as well as one V_pro8 video processor and router. Overall control of the OB van equipment is performed via a redundantly designed Lawo VSM (Virtual Studio Manager). The OBs are being built under the coordination of system integrator Sony Professional Solutions MEA.

Qatar OB Truck

The two new vehicles bring the number of Qatar TV’s Lawo-equipped OB vans to up to four after the broadcaster had already fitted previous OB vans in 2012 with Lawo mc²56 consoles and VSM. Qatar TV has been a Lawo customer for some time, using Lawo systems for outside broadcast as well as for their new Broadcast Center in Doha, opened 2012, with Master Control Room (MCR), Central Apparatus Room (CAR), 450m² News Studio, as well as 1,013m² Production Studio and Edit Studios. The solutions provided for the studio complex include three networked mc²56 audio production consoles, redundant Nova73 HD central router as well as VSM for the overall control.

Qatar OB Truck

VSM Virtual Studio Manager is an ideal solution to manage production workflows, assuming control from the physical production hardware while providing a seamless transition from baseband to IP. VSM supports control protocols used by all major brands and models of video and audio routers, video and audio mixers, intercoms, UMDs and multiviewers, glue equipment, and other third-party devices.

Lawo’s mc²36 all-in-one audio mixing desk features uncompromised sound quality and Lawo-grade mic preamps, offering unprecedented value for money. A powerful DSP micro-core with internal 512×512 port audio matrix, and integrated I/O make this compact console ideally suited for installations with limited space, particularly in OB vans where space and weight is always a critical factor. As it is natively equipped with RAVENNA/AES67 technology, the mc²36 integrates well into IP infrastructures.

Handling different video formats and integrating audio and video, Qatar TV uses their V__pro8 mainly for audio embedding and de-embedding, but also for format conversion and color correction. As it combines many video and audio features in one tool, the V__pro8 saves Qatar TV a lot of rack space in their new vehicles.

The A__madi4 high-quality Audio-to-IP interface for broadcast, live and install applications is designed for the transport of analog and digital audio signals via IP network environments, and for establishing IP-based audio networks. Based on RAVENNA technology, all Lawo A__line devices are also compatible with the AES67 audio-over-IP interoperability standard, and come with VisCon__navigator (an intuitive software for easy set-up of audio and video streams in IP networks without the necessity for deep IT knowledge) as standard. Beside four MADI interfaces, the Lawo A__madi4 also provides two RAVENNA / AES67 Ethernet ports and eight GPIOs.