HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K.—Global News, a leading news network in Canada, has integrated Calrec's Type R consoles into its facilities in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. 

Global News operates 15 local stations across Canada, providing community-based news, weather, and information. The network delivers national coverage featuring stories, analysis, and engaging content on issues both in Canada and abroad. Global News is accessible through 11 different platforms, including the Global TV App, Pluto TV, Samsung, LG, and Roku. 

The sale was handled by Calrec’s Canadian Partner, True North A.V.

The addition of Type R cores, plus a mix of software and hardware control surfaces, into its facilities marks a technological step forward for Global News.

“The Type R consoles replace our old Calrec Omega desks, which we had for 15 years and which were absolute workhorses,” explained Ralph Carstens, systems specialist, audio at Global News. “We saw the addition of the Type R as a bonus in achieving our production goals. It offers remote access and flexibility in terms of I/O integration and it’s a budget-friendly console. When we did a comparison of both consoles, there was also a noticeable difference in audio quality with the Type R sounding warmer and less brittle.”

The Calgary facility has one six-fader panel and one large soft panel. The Edmonton facility has five six-fader panels and two large soft panels, and the Vancouver facility has six six-fader panels and three large soft panels. The cores are largely controlled locally in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. 

“We have the ability to adjust things like levels and dynamics remotely using VPN and the Calrec Assist GUI, if needed,” Carstens explained. “The cores are connected to Viz Mosart, the automation system that allows just one to two operators to control all aspects of news production such as the cameras, playout, graphics, and audio. All the cores handle live local news production. Global National is produced out of Vancouver and all three cores produce top-rated morning, noon, and evening news shows plus cover elections and other special events.”

Carstens added that True North A.V., Calrec’s Canadian partner, was instrumental in making this project happen. "True North is incredibly knowledgeable about Type R, and their response time was phenomenal, putting me at ease in knowing that I could get answers immediately,” he said. 

Kypros Christodoulides, Calrec product specialist at True North, notes that “This project was our first application of Type R consoles in a live TV environment, which made it both challenging and very interesting at the same time. In the end, the deployment was fast and smooth, and the Type R’s provide Global News with a flexible cost-effective solution that meets all its requirements.”

LONDON—The StarTracker from Mo-Sys Engineering is an automatic, real-time optical camera tracking system that has recently been utilized by both the BBC and Canada’s Global News. BBC used the system, along with Vizrt grpahics, during the U.K. general elections; Global News did the same during its election coverage.

This was the first time that Global News used the StarTracker system and paired it with older equipment. With the Mo-Sys system they created a temporary virtual set environment for the election on May 9.

The BBC has been using StarTracker for a while, with the most recent example being its fourth live election event. Coverage of the general election on June 8 featured three StarTracker systems.

Mo-Sys is a London-based company that designs and builds camera robotics and camera tracking for AR and VR for the film and broadcast industry.