TORONTO, ON – When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation rebranded "CBC Newsworld" and relaunched its primetime show, The National, the network turned to Applied Electronics Limited (AEL) to design, engineer and integrate the display technology for two new sets and studio configurations. AEL, which has used Christie products in its projects for nearly 30 years, selected two Christie HD10K-M 3-chip DLP projectors and two Christie Spyder X20-1608 video/widescreen display processors to help deliver the new on-air look that debuted last fall.
"The CBC approached us looking for a solution for on-air, large-screen applications," says AEL account manager, Chris Randles. "The timeline for the project was extremely compressed – just 60 days. But thanks to the efforts of the manufacturers, we were able to meet this critical deadline."
The CBC has rebranded CBC Newsworld as CBC News Network and focuses the program block on breaking news.
The new set offers viewers a fresh graphical look. The National, with anchor Peter Mansbridge, has been relaunched in a new studio and introduces a faster-paced program.
The new set for CBC News Network features two large DNP rear-projection screens, a 16-foot-by-9-foot screen and a curved 12-foot-by-7-foot screen, fed by a pair of 10,000-ANSI lumens, Christie HD10K-M projectors.
"They are true HD (1920 x 1080), 3-chip DLP projectors built for demanding conditions such as those you'll find in broadcast studios," Randles said. The Christie HD10K-M has embedded edge-blending and color-matching capabilities that make it well-suited for large and curved-screen displays.
Adjacent to the rear projection screens are a 103-inch plasma screen and an array of 46-inch LCD screens fed by a Spyder X20-1608.
"This 16-input, 8-output Spyder X20 model gave us the flexibility we needed. It can be used in many different environments with any display device," Randles said, referring to projectors, plasma screens, LED walls, rear projection cubes, etc.
"Since the Christie HD10K-M projectors also have internal processing, we were able to minimize the number of outputs needed on the Spyder X20-1608 which was a cost savings for the CBC," Randles said. All of the screens on-set display a variety of graphics and backgrounds, as well as story and correspondent clips.
The new studio for The National uses a curved 12-foot-by-7-foot DNP rear-projection screen featuring another Christie HD10K-M plus a 103-inch plasma screen and an array of 46-inch LCD screens fed by an additional Spyder X20-1608.
The displays for The National showcase graphics and in-depth news stories, interviews and discussions with correspondents nationwide in a more transparent and immediate way. A backup Spyder X20-1608 is shared between the two studios to assure redundancy for the 24/7 news operation.
The Spyder X20-1608 is a hardware-based video processor with the flexibility of a universal routing switcher. Its integrated source monitoring enables simultaneous, real-time, full frame rate monitoring of all inputs – ideal for the broadcast environment.
The Spyder X20-1608 provides users with a 20 megapixel bandwidth to blend, window, mix and scale any source format and then routes the signal to any destination device or combination of display devices – quickly and easily.
The Christie HD10K-M, one of 11 M Series projectors, is built on a dual-lamp, mercury platform with extreme feature-rich functionality. Some of this functionality includes embedded Christie Twist and multi-window processing and a dust sealed engine and filter-free design.
"Every project I've done with Christie has been very easy," said Randles. "The interaction between our engineering teams is seamless and they are very responsive to our calls. We have an excellent working relationship."
For more information, please visit www.appliedappliedelectronics.com and www.christiedigital.com
