STV Channel in Belarus Relies on Grass Valley For Live Production Solution

Grass Valley worked with local systems integrator Offtech to identify the best programming solutions for Stolichnoe Televidenie (STV) Channel Minsk, Belarus, to increase the quality and efficiency of its live and studio news productions. After reviewing a variety of options, STV selected eight LDX 80 cameras, a GV STRATUS Newsroom Bundle, a K2 Dyno Replay System, two GV Korona K-Frame V-series production switchers and a 3RU Densité 3 Frame to serve as the monitoring and master control system for ingest, live and file-based content. STV also opted for an NVISION 8140 Hybrid Series router.

The purchase is part of a bigger plan for STV’s growing success, as the upgrade from standard definition (SD), converting the production and playout to a high definition (HD) format, will offer its customers improved professional broadcast-quality results, increasing the numbers of viewers. The upgrade comes at a crucial time as STV is moving forward with a production asset management system for news.

“We chose Grass Valley because they proved themselves as a market leader in technology, while also showing the ability to seamlessly integrate their complete solution,” says Kanstantsin Auramenka, deputy general director of ZAO STV Channel Minsk. “Due to our longstanding relationship with Grass Valley, we know we can rely on their knowledge of quality. We look forward to our continued relationship, receiving excellent pre-sale support from the local office in Moscow and exceptional customer support for our existing equipment.”

STV chose a GV STRATUS system as it combines a full set of production tools in one application. These tools are designed for simplicity, accuracy and speed as exceptional, highly creative content starts with an efficient, flexible workflow. GV STRATUS allows STV to manage its entertainment, on-air operations and news production better, so media workflows stay competitive.

Grass Valley switchers come into play as broadcasters and directors work to efficiently build the production. With the GV Korona K-Frame V-series, STV has the flexibility needed for its news studio. The K-Frame V-series 36×18 matrix supports SD, HD and 4K UHD in quad split and 2SI modes and can handle up to three licensed M/Es plus two additional video processing engines (VPEs) for added keying and mixing power. At only 3RU, V-series fits in locations with limited space but requires no compromises on enterprise features and can be used with any Grass Valley switcher panel. Paired together, the GV Korona panel and K-Frame V-series STV is using give the operator access to all of the V-series capabilities at their fingertips.

STV’s live production workflow will also be improved with K2 Dyno as it is extremely user-friendly with the unique AnySpeed technology which dynamically provides the smoothest playback at any speed from zero to 200 percent. The DynoZoom tool allows for pan/zoom functions to be applied to high frame-rate camera systems including 3X 1080p, 6X and 4K UHD.

“The news production industry is incredibly challenging; we have to deliver big-box performance in a small form factor with all of the connectivity and interoperability needed in that environment. Our aim is to supply ‘holistic,’ end-to-end solutions so creators and broadcasters can find ways to create, control and connect content wherever, however and whenever it is consumed,” says Jan Pieter van Welsem, VP of Sales and Marketing, EMEA, Grass Valley.