Their temporary set looks better than some regions' permanent sets, so not sure there is any great urgency (compare and contrast the hideous mess Leeds had while their set was being rebuilt).
After the power issues that occurred last year you can forgive the contractors for treading carefully.
As has been mentioned, Plymouth is having an extremely extensive rebuild, both in terms of building and infrastructure. It's also piloting new technology (albeit technology based on installations used elsewhere in the bbc). It was always going to take a long time to get right. I suspect many parts of the building are back in use with some of the new technology being used (think they're using Jupiter now for example) and I think their newsroom camera has been replaced with one of the new HD ones.
If you're just replacing bits of infrastructure it can be a quickish job, even a full gallery reinstall can be done in three weeks (as Oxfords was) but the installation was SDI based anyway so it was (almost) a case of swapping bits of kit for newer bits of kit. However a full studio rebuild, where the studio is refurbished, cameras are replaced and a brand new gallery is put in place is a different matter. I believe Plymouth was the last analogue PAL installation in use in English regions, based around the venerable GVG200 (or250) vision mixer.
As has been mentioned, Plymouth is having an extremely extensive rebuild, both in terms of building and infrastructure. It's also piloting new technology (albeit technology based on installations used elsewhere in the bbc). It was always going to take a long time to get right. I suspect many parts of the building are back in use with some of the new technology being used (think they're using Jupiter now for example) and I think their newsroom camera has been replaced with one of the new HD ones.
If you're just replacing bits of infrastructure it can be a quickish job, even a full gallery reinstall can be done in three weeks (as Oxfords was) but the installation was SDI based anyway so it was (almost) a case of swapping bits of kit for newer bits of kit. However a full studio rebuild, where the studio is refurbished, cameras are replaced and a brand new gallery is put in place is a different matter. I believe Plymouth was the last analogue PAL installation in use in English regions, based around the venerable GVG200 (or250) vision mixer.
I suspect it's the civil engineering elements that are causing the delay. I've built facilities larger than Plymouth,
in a matter of weeks rather than months, but with the advantage of totally clean site access. In other words an area where all building and 'bogs and boiler' work has been 100% completed. The Plymouth install will be far trickier, as they're remaining on air there, while trying to refurb both the building and technical facilities. Would have been easier to go to a greenfield site, (just saying ).
Nottingham was due to be next, but I've heard the Beeb have postponed that pending a total rethink on the technical architecture of the English regions. I suspect they're thinking along the lines of a heavily IP centrally based solution, rather like ViLoR the scheme being rolled out for local radio
Nottingham was due to be next, but I've heard the Beeb have postponed that pending a total rethink on the technical architecture of the English regions. I suspect they're thinking along the lines of a heavily IP centrally based solution, rather like ViLoR the scheme being rolled out for local radio
Yep - VILOR has caused a lot of blue sky thinking in the BBC. It's delivering very effective savings AIUI, and if they can do the same for TV I think they will.
IP Production may well be a key element of this. (Cameras in Nottingham, but playout servers, vision mixer, router etc. all somewhere central and linked over IP. If you could co-site the production facilities for multiple English regions you could potentially deliver significant savings...)
Would the mixer control surface still be in Nottingham in that scenario or would it be something more like when Hull first launched with a gallery in Leeds?
At new broadcasting house there was genuinely some discussion about whether the actual vision mixer surfaces needed to be in the galleries. After all, for almost all programmes, no one sits at them and they're entirely automated. There are times, during programming and set up for example, when you do need a surface to work at, but in day to day operation, for formatted programmes it's not really necessary.
).