Trinity Music City
Over the last several years, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has been converting its large production facilities from SD to HD. This year, TBN and integrator TV Magic completed the upgrade of TBN’s Trinity Music City (TMC) facility in Hendersonville, TN, from SD analog to HD.
The goals of the project included the ability to produce high-quality HD Christian and family entertainment, quickly change between setups at the touch of a button, and be the first TBN facility to go tapeless.
The design was meticulously planned for nearly three years. Rooms were reconfigured to make each larger. The design goal was to accommodate a complex, large-scale crew requiring up to 20 technicians in the control areas and also configure the rooms quickly for smaller productions requiring a maximum of four people. Most rooms in the industry are designed for one specific purpose. This facility had to serve small and large in-house productions, outside clients and producers that TBN partners with to create specials. The TMC facility has the most flexible control rooms in the broadcast industry as any outside producer can come in and configure the rooms however they wish with nearly no limitations.
One of the greatest innovations of the TMC facility is the “sliding switcher” design. For some simple productions, TBN wanted the director to also act as technical director and operate the switcher in the center of the console. For other complex productions, the switcher needs to be to the far right side of the console with a TD and then the director in the center of the console. The original plan was to install a Grass Valley Kalypso switcher, but that proved problematic due to the weight and physical size of the control surface. The decision was made to go with the new Grass Valley Kayenne switcher. The facility designers worked in cooperation with Laguna designs and built a console that allows the switcher control panel to physically “slide” to whatever configuration is best. To the design team’s and Grass Valley’s knowledge, this had never been done before.
Workflow has been greatly improved with the move to a tapeless environment. Even though the facility is split up in three different buildings, content seamlessly moves from production to post and back. The EVS system has the IP edit option, so simple show fixes can be made without having to use the already very in demand post-production suites.
The facility is so advanced that video clips played at a dinner recently hosted at the facility for community leaders were all controlled by an engineer while sitting with his wife at a dinner table at the event. He was able to transition from logos to roll ins and back using his laptop to fire macros on the Kayenne and roll clips off the EVS. This was all accomplished with no one in the control rooms.
- Post & network production facilities
Submitted by TV MagicDesign teamTrinity Broadcasting Network: Paul Crouch, jr. chief of staff; Ben Miller, VP eng.; Russell Hall, Eastern reg. dir.; Dalin O’Bryan, chief eng., Greg Malenovsky, eng./audio
TV Magic: Nequin Scott, design eng; Gus Allmann, chief eng; Richard Craig, proj. eng.; Stephen D. Rosen, sales eng.Technology at workApple: Final Cut
Avid: Edit system
Canon: Lenses
Deko: CG graphics
EVS: Tapeless capture and playback
Grass Valley Group: Kayenne production switcher, Trinix router
Ikegami: Cameras
Laguna Designs: Control consoles and furniture
Marshall: In-monitor display independent monitors
Miranda: Multiviewers
Pro Tools: Multitrack audio capture system
Riedel: Wireless comm.
RTS: Cronus comm. systems
Soundcraft: Vi6 house and monitor mix consoles
Studer: Vista 8 air mix console
© 2010 Penton Media, Inc.
