IMG
Deploy Customised Communication Displays, Facility Wide
CASE STUDY
Products
IDS Integrated Display Systems
The Application
Solution
Challenge
Staff can now see clocks and on-air indicators for every studio
and gallery on a single screen, anywhere in the building.
Screens inside and outside each studio can display logos and
graphics for the relevant client or production using the studio,
as well as on-air indicators and production timers.
IMG, global leader in sports, fashion and media, recently relocated its sports production, distribution and post-production
facilities to new state-of-the-art premises in Stockley Park,
West London. The HD and 4K ready IMG Studios is now
home to such productions as Premier League Productions
(PLP), European Tour Productions (ETP), SNTV, UEFA Champions League Magazine Show, FIFA Football Mundial, BBC
Football League Show, Trans World Sport, Origin Digital and
Rightster. The purpose-built facility houses four studios, 13
production galleries, 72 edit suites, four sound dubbing suites,
five radio studios, five transmission suites and a Master Control
Room.
In contrast to IMG’s previous premises, which had developed
an ad-hoc studio and production communication system with
an array of separate clocks, on-air lights and cue lamps from
various manufacturers, the company was looking to install
a modern networked studio communication system. They
wanted a solution that could be tailored exactly to IMG’s own
specifications and requirements as well as its clients’, with a
building-wide control system providing dynamic integrated displays in all studios and production areas, as well as its booths
and conference rooms.
Research into how IMG staff needed to communicate and
view information throughout the building revealed that their
requirements could only be fully addressed by the unique
IDS system (Integrated Display System). IDS can integrate
with a wide range of control systems; at IMG, the IDS system
interfaces with a BNCS control system. The 80+ IDS display
screens distributed around the entire facility are all controlled
centrally from a fully redundant IDS Core.
The studios also have individual on-air lights where information
screens are not required; these lights are dual coloured which
adds flexibility to the settings, and all lights are powered over
Ethernet (PoE) which allows a single cable to provide both data
connection and electrical power.
In addition the studios, which are named A, B, C and D, each
feature a corresponding 6ft Perspex letter outside. As well as
being a cool design feature, they are lit from within and the IDS
system controls the colour of the light as an additional visual
on-air indicator.
Levels of redundancy are built in to ensure that LTC clocks
remain fully operational and accurate in the event of a power
cut or loss of connection with the IDS Core.
IDS - Dynamic Communication Display
& Interaction
The dynamic nature of IDS means that a single screen can
display a clock with an RSS feed one minute and transform
into a fully-fledged production timer the next. The possibilities of what can be displayed are virtually endless and every
display on the IDS system can be configured to suit its location
and application at any given time.
“
“
IDS is a very impressive system and there’s nothing
quite like it on the market. It integrates many invaluable features into a single system that is easy to
install and manage, and enables us to display a lot
of information in a logical and aesthetically pleasing
way. It gives us a great deal of flexibility in the way
we work, with intelligent routing and control - for
instance, any studio can be set to work with any
gallery. As we continue to develop our workflow,
there are many more features that we will be taking
advantage of.
Steve Mansell, Acting Lead Engineer – Projects,
IMG
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The new building was a blank canvas that gave IMG the opportunity to build the production system to exact and tailormade specifications, with plenty of future-proofing elements
such as 1080p and 4K capacity. IMG now has a display
system that is easy to control, reliable, and provides crucial
information to production staff at a glance. The IDS system is
easily scalable as the facility expands, and has additional functionality that will be activated as required such as RSS feeds
and streamed video feeds from studio output.
IDS is used by other leading broadcast facilities including BBC
Broadcasting House, the World Service, ITV and Sky.
IDS is an IP based system which uses NTP to accurately
synchronise all IDS connected devices without the need for
running LTC through your facility, seriously reducing the complexity and cost of your infrastructure.
• Clocks and Timing
One of the most important functions in broadcast environments is time keeping. The IDS system can display clocks,
multiple time-zones, up/down timers as well as support offset
time recording while keeping all the devices on your network
synchronised using either NTP or LTC.
• Seamless Integration
The IDS system integrates seamlessly with your infrastructure.
It displays information from and interacts with a wide range of
equipment and control systems. At the same time GPIO and
DMX based control can be added directly to any IDS system
using our IP based I/O expansion devices.
• Information Display
The IDS system can display a wide range of dynamic information alongside (or without) the clocks and timers. The display
layouts are based on your own screen designs and can be
shown on any connected IDS display interface. Your customized information display can include On-Air lamps, tickers,
control interfaces, video streams, URLs, RSS feeds, signage,
branded media, etc.
• Content Management
The information that can be displayed on the IDS system is
becoming increasingly varied and dynamic. The IDS Content
Manager allows you to manage and distribute large volumes of
digital content to IDS connected display through a user friendly
web interface
Global reseller network
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For further details about our product range and where to buy please visit www.tslproducts.com
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E-mail: enquiries@tslproducts.com Web: www.tslproducts.com
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Tel: +44 (0)1628 676 221 Fax: +44 (0)1628 676 299 E-mail: enquiries@tslproducts.com
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