Category
Post & network production facilities
Submitted by
Solid State Logic and Madison Square Garden (MSG) Design Team
MSG Media:
Mike Bair, pres.;
Lydia Murphy-Stephans, exec. VP, prog. and prod.;
Jerry Passaro, sr. VP, network ops. and distribution;
Michael Mitchell, chief eng.;
Joe Malespina, eng.;
Andrea Cummis, eng.
The Manhattan Crewing Company:
Ray Bucceri, chief design eng.;
Michael Ferentinos, proj. mgr.;
Chris Hewson, president/CEO
Technology at work
Apple
Final Cut Studio HD
Canon HD lenses
CENTRIO multiviewer
NEXIO servers
Platinum HD router
Velocity ESX
Riedel Artist 128 intercom
SSL C100 HD console
Sony
HDC-1550 cameras
HDW-M2000/20 VTRs
MVS-8000G switcher
Vinten Osprey Elite pedestals
Madison Square Garden Media retrofits new HD facilities with SSL C100 HD console
Madison Square Garden (MSG) Media in New York has long been a pioneer in live HD sports production. To keep its leadership position, MSG is in the middle of a major two-tier rebuilding of its facilities to offer HD video production of all programming with a Solid State Logic (SSL) C100 HD console as the centerpiece.
Its coverage of Knicks basketball games, as well Rangers, Islanders and Devils hockey games, has been delivered live via cable in the 1080i HDTV format for many years. While the events were in HD, in-studio pre- and post-game programs and most of the graphics elements at commercial breaks (as well as the commercials themselves) were upconverted from SD digital.
The media team was tasked with creating state-of-the-art facilities to move into the all-digital HD future, and they delivered. The new facilities produce programming for two of Cablevision’s regional 24-hour sports channels: MSG and MSG Plus, with overflow into additional channels MSG2 or MSG Plus 2. The new studios are installed within the existing analog rooms but will enjoy a completely new space when construction is finished.
The new HD facilities include a Sony MVS-8000G HD switcher, a Harris NEXIO server linking multiple Harris Velocity NXes and Apple Final Cut Studio HD craft edit systems working on a shared storage network. The primary audio suite features the new SSL C100 HD digital audio console. The best part is that the facilities are all HD compatible and ready to be moved when construction is completed.
The group is basing its entire multichannel audio production on the C100 HD (C140/32) console and its vast capabilities. The board handles current embedded stereo and 5.1 surround audio signals and can easily be used to mix full surround sound in the future. The console also handles all of the audio production for the two in-house studios, where stereo boom mics and wireless lavelier mics are used. The console’s ability to store settings for different shows and configurations has helped the crew save time. This allows a variety of staff and freelance audio operators to sit down and run the board without prior training.
The console is part of an overall strategy for simultaneous, multiroom, networked audio production. Expanding on this, the media team is planning to install SSL Stagebox remote mic preamps throughout the facility once it’s renovated. This will allow the C100 to mix audio feeds coming from anywhere a Stagebox is located, enabling the group to provide bands playing a concert in the main hall with a fully mixed DVD and/or CD by the end of the show that night. This is something the company could never do before.
