LONDON—Custom Consoles has completed work on the deployment of a large Module-R desk and MediaWall monitor display mount for an expanded master control room at Gravity Media's West London Production Center in White City.
The Production Center is a creative media hub equipped to support onsite and fully distributed remote production workflows. It spans 38,000 square feet, including live studios, production control galleries and editing suites. The facility is equipped with advanced broadcast technology, including high-capacity SMPTE 2110 IP connectivity via multiple ISPs.
The new MCR desk complements over 50 Custom Consoles desks already active in production control rooms and related suites within the West London Production Center. MediaWall provides similar versatility, including easy reconfiguration of display screens and their connecting cables.
"The console desks and MediaWall solutions from Custom Consoles are a perfect fit for our evolving operational needs," said Róisín McKeniry, Gravity Media head of technical operations at the Production Center. "Our new master control room is one of the largest in Europe and was delivered in close collaboration with Custom Consoles. The flexibility of the Module-R desk system and the adaptability of MediaWall have helped us to design a highly efficient future-ready environment that supports traditional and remote production workflows across our West London Production Center."
"We have worked with Gravity Media for many years, supplying desks and MediaWalls for many of its facilities in Britain and overseas, as well as partner-related projects," adds Gary Fuller, Custom Consoles' sales manager. "Among these have been desks and MediaWalls for the West London Production Center ahead of its opening in 2023. Most of the desks are from our Modular-R series. The installed base of MediaWalls at the Production Center includes arrays ranging in width from nearly 2 meters to over 5 meters, housed in the MCR, PCR 3, 4, 5 and 6, the EVS control room and broadcast operations control."
The newly installed MCR desk comprises a 15-bay central section, plus left and right wings with 10-bays each. The resultant U-shaped structure is designed to combine space efficiency with maximum ease of operation. A 13.25 meter wide MediaWall with 7 meter side sections allows a total of 54 55-inch monitor display screens to be accommodated in 15 plus 24 plus 15 surround configuration, plus additional equipment such as loudspeakers.
Module-R is a structured technical desking solution that enables project-specific desk configurations to be constructed from standard 19-inch base sections, rear equipment pods and work surfaces, providing an ergonomically efficient environment for control rooms of all sizes. Module-R has been tested by FIRA to ensure compliance with current ISO standards and is supplied with full cable management plus internal 19-inch racking accessible via removable front and rear cover panels. All rear surfaces and pods are completely interchangeable. Cable entry is via the underside of any leg or base section, supplemented by desktop cable brush strips. Unlike one-piece control room furniture, Module-R desks can be expanded or reconfigured at any time during their working life. Customers can select from a wide range of options including single-, double- or triple-width base units, 15-, 30-, 45 or 90-degree angled corner units or curved desk sections to follow any radius.
MediaWall is a free-standing flat screen mounting solution designed to accommodate large-format monitor displays. Height-adjustable horizontal beams and T-slot mounting enable easy configuration. Integral cable management system takes care of unsightly wiring. MediaWall is configured from 1.5-, 2- or 2.5-meter-length horizontal beams suspended between 2.35-meter uprights and can be angled to wrap around the operators. A free-standing variant of MediaWall, MediaPost is a portable large-screen mount that includes height adjustment, internal cable management and an equipment shelf. MediaPost is fitted with rear wheels to allow easy relocation and will accept flat-screen monitors up to 65 inches diagonal. It can be joined with a horizontal support bar to take multiple screens.
