Sony Broadcast & Professional deliver complete solution for Al Arabiya

In addition to the news studio, provided by the Professional Services Division of Sony BPE, the project also encompassed a dedicated transmission area for the Al-Arabiya channel, Central Apparatus Room (CAR) and Master Control Room (MCR) facilities.

Launched on the 20th February 2003, the Al-Arabiya news channel will challenge the other news networks and establish the network as a leading news broadcaster in the region and beyond. Sony partnered closely with Al-Arabiya from the concept and design phase of the project through to implementation and commissioning of the facilities. Sony also supported Al-Arabiya prior to launch with operational training combined with on-air engineering support.

"In the Professional Services division we aim to add real value with our solutions and services. This high profile project not only delivered the required technical benefits, but also importantly delivered real business benefits to Al-Arabiya. The launch could not be delayed and it was important that they could concentrate on the demands of preparing their business for delivering news," said Karl Hijazi (Project Manager, Professional Services) Sony Broadcast & Professional.

The entire area of the news studio floor is circular and was designed with the cameras, presenters and set 'in the round', allowing for flexible camera shots and angles. An impressive production control room was provided enclosed in multi-layer glass panels and situated within the studio floor area.

The main control room along with a video wall and journalist area, all on the studio set, provides a very versatile range on screen shots. A large fully equipped audio control room was also provided close to the studio floor and boasts a 48 channel audio mixer. For equipment processing, a dedicated local Studio Apparatus Room (STAR) was implemented fronted with glass paneling and again located within the circular studio floor area.

At the heart of the digital vision system is a Sony DVS-9000 switcher, equipped with three fully assignable 32 button ME banks and an internal four channel DVE (expandable to eight). This was the first Sony DVS-9000 unit sold and installed in the region. Al-Arabiya realised that the natural choice for them was the DVS-9000 as a news production switcher. The DVS-9000 is seen as the natural successor to the DVS-7000, which meets the most demanding requirements of operational and engineering staff.

"We entrusted Sony to deliver a highly professional service and expert integration of the technical facilities for our new 24 hour news channel - Al-Arabiya. Sony understood our technical and operational requirements perfectly and the results boast a truly impressive 24 Hr Anchor News Studio and dedicated Transmission facility," said Ihab El-Baba, Technical Director.

The studio is fitted with four high-end BVP-950P cameras and the infrastructure is already in place for the future expansion to seven cameras. The studio facilities also include four CG channels, weather computer generation, stills and non-linear server playout. The entire studio is fully interfaced to the other technical facilities within the television complex including such areas as the other Studios, CAR, MCR, Transmission and post production areas.