NG
noggin
Founding member
First thoughts :
Very nicely lit, pretty good use of space. Screens looked quite nice.
Very average presenter close-up - I can't stand "real newsroom" backgrounds when they are just one person, a Costa coffee cup and a BBC Windows wallpaper... Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot - the background on the closing wide was great, but in close up it is just messy.
On some of the shots the desk looked a bit high/sofa a bit low - Nick was cut off rather high up the chest.
Have they sacked all of their graphic designers? The map used was horrible (white boxes around place names), as are the Live bug (huge, yellow and mixed case), locator (tiny and with the text not sitting comfortably in the strap) The main 2 line captions are OK - but a little spindly in the fount stakes. It all looked like it had been done in Photoshop by someone who had never done TV graphics - and certainly doesn't link into any existing BBC News regional or national branding.
Interesting look behind the scenes - It looked like at the back of the studio there was a duplicate monitor stack, or large projector containing a shot of the stack. Wonder if we'll see this at 1830? Was it poetic justice that it had a black-hole in it as they were talking about digital editing?
No surprise that it is Quantel editing - as used in Norwich, Leeds, Hull and Newcastle (as well as it also being introduced by News in London as well) - they only use Apple screens for cost reasons I think!
Very nicely lit, pretty good use of space. Screens looked quite nice.
Very average presenter close-up - I can't stand "real newsroom" backgrounds when they are just one person, a Costa coffee cup and a BBC Windows wallpaper... Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot - the background on the closing wide was great, but in close up it is just messy.
On some of the shots the desk looked a bit high/sofa a bit low - Nick was cut off rather high up the chest.
Have they sacked all of their graphic designers? The map used was horrible (white boxes around place names), as are the Live bug (huge, yellow and mixed case), locator (tiny and with the text not sitting comfortably in the strap) The main 2 line captions are OK - but a little spindly in the fount stakes. It all looked like it had been done in Photoshop by someone who had never done TV graphics - and certainly doesn't link into any existing BBC News regional or national branding.
Interesting look behind the scenes - It looked like at the back of the studio there was a duplicate monitor stack, or large projector containing a shot of the stack. Wonder if we'll see this at 1830? Was it poetic justice that it had a black-hole in it as they were talking about digital editing?
No surprise that it is Quantel editing - as used in Norwich, Leeds, Hull and Newcastle (as well as it also being introduced by News in London as well) - they only use Apple screens for cost reasons I think!
TVF
TV Forum Team
Im not sure. They could have done a really good BBC LDN style programme from the fantastic new newsroom, instead its a shoddy studio. Theyve kept the old titles?!. Not too bad of look, but could be easily better. Like the new music and shots in the titles.
WT
Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot
I AM BEING SINCERE - That has got to be one of the most intelligent comments I've heard in relation to studio design in this day and age. I can't think of one studio that has a decent MCU or CU these days, in the past great examples of this were ITN's News at Ten and LNN's London Tonight.
noggin posted:
Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot
I AM BEING SINCERE - That has got to be one of the most intelligent comments I've heard in relation to studio design in this day and age. I can't think of one studio that has a decent MCU or CU these days, in the past great examples of this were ITN's News at Ten and LNN's London Tonight.
NG
the bulletins on DTT have indeed been 16:9 - with a brief period of 14:9 at the start.
didn't watch whatever was on after friday's 10.25 bulletin - but would there have been disturbance on DTT? in the event of losing a signal would sutton coldfield revert to the DSAT feed?
I don't think DSat is used for any transmitter feeds - apart from those in the Channel Islands. If the DTT feed is lost - and it is a fibre feed rather than a microwave or off-air rebroadcast - then I think it is lost. However if the opt-kit and local MPEG encoder dies then BBC One London is dropped into the feed chain. However there are two fibre feeds and two MPEG chains at all broadcast centres and transmitters - and the fibre is routed via different routes.
The analogue transmitters are not fed via the digital chains (and that includes DSat which is fed via the digital chain) They are routed via cable, fibre and microwave as well as off-air feeds which differ regionally.
If the main source of the feed disappears then there is almost always a backup off-air feed from a different transmitter available - rather than DSat being used. This off-air chain is designed so that the entire network distribution (and satellite distribution) can fall over -but as long as a feed gets to Crystal Palace all the transmitters (apart from the Channel Islands) will be OK (though rubbish quality the further North you get) There are some transmitters - like Hannington - that receive their main BBC feeds from an off-air receiver - in this case there is a second set of receivers standing by, looking at a different transmitter as a backup.
If Crystal Palace isn't on-air then feeding one of the more Northerly transmitters - will still allow most of the network to keep running.
noggin
Founding member
tvmercia posted:
noggin posted:
AIUI the transmitter routing was switched from Pebble Mill to the Mailbox pretty much straight after the final bulletin at 2225 on Friday. Friends in the patch said that there was some picture disturbance and a drop in quality for a short period. (Possibly some transmitters reverted to an off-air backup from a non-West Midlands transmitter - like Oxford?)
Whether Nottingham have control of the Birmingham Mailbox distribution, or the Mailbox are opting in to Nottingham I don't know. However I suspect the East Midlands sourced bulletins are coming via the Mailbox - are they appearing in 16:9 in the West on DTT? Understandable that they'd want to launch on a Monday not a Saturday - to allow a weekend for switching issues to be sorted etc. I guess it also allows staff to have a short break or to continue piloting at the Mailbox over the weekend - rather than also having to staff Pebble Mill bulletins.
Whether Nottingham have control of the Birmingham Mailbox distribution, or the Mailbox are opting in to Nottingham I don't know. However I suspect the East Midlands sourced bulletins are coming via the Mailbox - are they appearing in 16:9 in the West on DTT? Understandable that they'd want to launch on a Monday not a Saturday - to allow a weekend for switching issues to be sorted etc. I guess it also allows staff to have a short break or to continue piloting at the Mailbox over the weekend - rather than also having to staff Pebble Mill bulletins.
the bulletins on DTT have indeed been 16:9 - with a brief period of 14:9 at the start.
didn't watch whatever was on after friday's 10.25 bulletin - but would there have been disturbance on DTT? in the event of losing a signal would sutton coldfield revert to the DSAT feed?
I don't think DSat is used for any transmitter feeds - apart from those in the Channel Islands. If the DTT feed is lost - and it is a fibre feed rather than a microwave or off-air rebroadcast - then I think it is lost. However if the opt-kit and local MPEG encoder dies then BBC One London is dropped into the feed chain. However there are two fibre feeds and two MPEG chains at all broadcast centres and transmitters - and the fibre is routed via different routes.
The analogue transmitters are not fed via the digital chains (and that includes DSat which is fed via the digital chain) They are routed via cable, fibre and microwave as well as off-air feeds which differ regionally.
If the main source of the feed disappears then there is almost always a backup off-air feed from a different transmitter available - rather than DSat being used. This off-air chain is designed so that the entire network distribution (and satellite distribution) can fall over -but as long as a feed gets to Crystal Palace all the transmitters (apart from the Channel Islands) will be OK (though rubbish quality the further North you get) There are some transmitters - like Hannington - that receive their main BBC feeds from an off-air receiver - in this case there is a second set of receivers standing by, looking at a different transmitter as a backup.
If Crystal Palace isn't on-air then feeding one of the more Northerly transmitters - will still allow most of the network to keep running.
NG
Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot
I AM BEING SINCERE - That has got to be one of the most intelligent comments I've heard in relation to studio design in this day and age. I can't think of one studio that has a decent MCU or CU these days, in the past great examples of this were ITN's News at Ten and LNN's London Tonight.
Much as I dislike many other things about it - BBC World's main presenter shot looks like it has been purposefully designed. I also quite like BBC Three's presenter shots.
noggin
Founding member
The World Today posted:
noggin posted:
Yet again a studio designed for a wide shot
I AM BEING SINCERE - That has got to be one of the most intelligent comments I've heard in relation to studio design in this day and age. I can't think of one studio that has a decent MCU or CU these days, in the past great examples of this were ITN's News at Ten and LNN's London Tonight.
Much as I dislike many other things about it - BBC World's main presenter shot looks like it has been purposefully designed. I also quite like BBC Three's presenter shots.
NG
Whether Nottingham have control of the Birmingham Mailbox distribution, or the Mailbox are opting in to Nottingham I don't know. However I suspect the East Midlands sourced bulletins are coming via the Mailbox - are they appearing in 16:9 in the West on DTT?
Surely even if they weren't coming via the Mailbox they'd be in 16:9 on DTT as the feed to DTT/Satelite would be the same as the one for the East Midlands?
Nope - if they were coming from Nottingham but being routed via Pebble Mill's news gallery (which was still 4:3 analogue) they would go out as 14:9 on DTT. (Satellite could be re-routed in London though)
noggin
Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
noggin posted:
Whether Nottingham have control of the Birmingham Mailbox distribution, or the Mailbox are opting in to Nottingham I don't know. However I suspect the East Midlands sourced bulletins are coming via the Mailbox - are they appearing in 16:9 in the West on DTT?
Surely even if they weren't coming via the Mailbox they'd be in 16:9 on DTT as the feed to DTT/Satelite would be the same as the one for the East Midlands?
Nope - if they were coming from Nottingham but being routed via Pebble Mill's news gallery (which was still 4:3 analogue) they would go out as 14:9 on DTT. (Satellite could be re-routed in London though)
PC
I think the whole new look is very good. All they need to do is sort out the astons, and the whole programme will be excellent. The use of rear-projection for the weather doesn't look too bad, and doesn't look as washed out as it does on other reasons. Will be interesting to see the other side of the studio at 6:30.
IS
I meant the easts output going direct to the west transmitters without any gallery or building in between - Pebble Mill and Mailbox both being bypassed completely
noggin posted:
Surely even if they weren't coming via the Mailbox they'd be in 16:9 on DTT as the feed to DTT/Satelite would be the same as the one for the East Midlands?
Quote:
Nope - if they were coming from Nottingham but being routed via Pebble Mill's news gallery (which was still 4:3 analogue) they would go out as 14:9 on DTT. (Satellite could be re-routed in London though)
I meant the easts output going direct to the west transmitters without any gallery or building in between - Pebble Mill and Mailbox both being bypassed completely
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 25 October 2004 7:19pm