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Meridian - finally being demolished

(August 2008)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
Why do people insist on putting slide-shows on YouTube? Surely just putting them all on a webpage (or flickr etc) is a lot better way of viewing them


So they can play their own "feem toons" over the top.
IS
Inspector Sands
deejay posted:

I think that went years ago. Last time I passed the complex, there was virtually no branding left on the building at all.

EDIT - having watched the first bit of the youtube 'video' (yes, I'm annoyed by stills montages on youtube too!) and clearly the sundial was still there in June!


There is/was a big Meridian logo painted onto one of the scene dock doors. It could be seen when you went past it on the train
IS
Inspector Sands
noggin posted:

Yep - weren't Meridian's owners also major shareholders in Five at launch? Therefore it made sense for Northam to be a studio operation for Five's shows?


Yes, UNM were and just like their other shareholder at launch, Pearson, they produced the majority of C5's home grown programmes - UNM did mainly childrens and sport (although not the overnight sport which came from ITN) and some comedy (Bring Me The Head of Light Entertainment for example which was an Anglia/UNM programme)
PH
philglossop
Here's the photo and article of what will "replace" the Derrys Cross studios. Currently the home of Foot Anstey Solicitors, they are having a new building built at Sutton Wharf- ironically with BBC South West. In fairness, the studios bear little to the Westward/TSW days now.

http://www.propertymall.com/press/article/18936

Given this is Plymouth- this development will never happen. Laughing
IS
Inspector Sands
philglossop posted:
Currently the home of Foot Anstey Solicitors, they are having a new building built at Sutton Wharf- ironically with BBC South West.


Didn't realise BBC South West are moving to a new building
NG
noggin Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
philglossop posted:
Currently the home of Foot Anstey Solicitors, they are having a new building built at Sutton Wharf- ironically with BBC South West.


Didn't realise BBC South West are moving to a new building


Yep - pity - as Plymouth got a decent studio in the late 80s re-jig, along with So'ton (who got a new building). Norwich were about to get a studio extension when the governors pulled the plug on the funding ISTR (the prep work had started) - and Norwich just got a refurb but retained the existing studio.

However AIUI the BBC TV operations in older buildings are not deemed fit for purpose - and in the case of Norwich could never be DDA (Norwich had lots of small sets of steps and was on a load of different levels)

What's the betting that Plymouth get a smaller studio space... (And one far from the quality of their current one?)
IS
Inspector Sands
noggin posted:

Yep - pity - as Plymouth got a decent studio in the late 80s re-jig, along with So'ton (who got a new building). Norwich were about to get a studio extension when the governors pulled the plug on the funding ISTR (the prep work had started) - and Norwich just got a refurb but retained the existing studio.

However AIUI the BBC TV operations in older buildings are not deemed fit for purpose - and in the case of Norwich could never be DDA (Norwich had lots of small sets of steps and was on a load of different levels)

What's the betting that Plymouth get a smaller studio space... (And one far from the quality of their current one?)



Am I right in thinking that Plymouth got the Quantel/server/16:9 refit that the rest of England got?
NG
noggin Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
noggin posted:

Yep - pity - as Plymouth got a decent studio in the late 80s re-jig, along with So'ton (who got a new building). Norwich were about to get a studio extension when the governors pulled the plug on the funding ISTR (the prep work had started) - and Norwich just got a refurb but retained the existing studio.

However AIUI the BBC TV operations in older buildings are not deemed fit for purpose - and in the case of Norwich could never be DDA (Norwich had lots of small sets of steps and was on a load of different levels)

What's the betting that Plymouth get a smaller studio space... (And one far from the quality of their current one?)



Am I right in thinking that Plymouth got the Quantel/server/16:9 refit that the rest of England got?


Yep - but that is a relatively minor re-fit (in the scheme of things) - and I think it may still have a partially PAL infrastructure. The DSat feed is permanently covered in a PAL footprint ISTR - which suggests that the building hasn't had a full SDI make-over.
DE
deejay
I hadn't realised that the studio at Plymouth was a particularly big one. How does it compare to Soton's Studio-A and Newcastle's studio (which are the two biggest in English Regions) ?
SO
Steven O
Markymark posted:
jrothwell97 posted:
It's no great loss really - it did look very imposing driving past it when I lived in Southampton, but Meridian was only around for one franchise period before being assimilated by Granada. They never really produced much either, so I doubt there would be much lying around there to clear out.


Most of Northam's output in the late 1990s ended up on Channel 5.

For the first couple of years, much of Saturday daytime came out of there live.
Morning children's programming, and the afternoon sports show.


The last programmes to be recorded there were several editions of It'll Be Alright on the Night and Denis Norden's Laughter File, IIRC.
MA
Markymark
noggin posted:

Yep - but that is a relatively minor re-fit (in the scheme of things) - and I think it may still have a partially PAL infrastructure. The DSat feed is permanently covered in a PAL footprint ISTR - which suggests that the building hasn't had a full SDI make-over.


Southampton's output is the same, covered in PAL artefacts, and ringing. It seems to look worse and worse every day. There's also a nasty PAL comb filter in use, that doesn't seem to take any action until a couple of fields into a scene change. Result, chroma dot patterning that flashes up for a frame's worth of time. Looks awful on moving saturated colour.
MM
MovieMaker
When Meridian couldn't shift the building at Northam they decided to at least get the big Meridian logo down. When they were told it would cost 5 grand to get rid of it....they decided it could stay there!

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