Russian TV Network Installs 30 Calrec Consoles

Hebden Bridge, UK (March 18, 2020)—As part of a 10-year HD network upgrade program, All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), which operates a network of more than 80 television centers, is completing the installation of 30 Calrec Brio36 audio consoles into its regional studios.

These 30 television studios are part of a network of more than 80 television centers that are located at regional capitals and produce a wide range of content including news and entertainment programming, often both in Russian and the local regional language. Each studio is installing a Brio36 as the main console, a Br.IO Stagebox to expand the I/O capacity, along with an Allen & Heath ZED16 as the backup console. The Br.IO Stageboxes are being used for wired and wireless microphones, speakers, and wireless monitoring transmitters.

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The project was managed by OKNO-TV, a systems integrator in the Russian Federation.p

Ilya Lebedev, chief of regional TV systems department at VGTRK, said, “The challenge was that we needed an audio console that would work seamlessly across different stations with varying needs over a wide territory. We’d known of Calrec’s good reputation, and our integration partner, OKNO-TV, suggested using the Brio console for our studio upgrades. The Brio is a vast improvement over what we were previously using in these studios, with superb sound quality. In combination with Calrec’s Br.IO Stageboxes, this expands our capabilities and gives us the flexibility and sound quality that we need across various production formats.”

VGTRK owns and operates multiple international, national and over 80 regional TV and radio networks. This includes Russia 24, which is Russia’s first 24/7 news channel, as well as RTR-Planeta, which is VGTRK’s international service that’s available throughout the world via cable and satellite.

Lebedev said, “It was a challenge to work to a single, overall technological ideology, along with common installation processes, across such a vast area and so many companies. This unity of purpose also had to be maintained across this entire 10-year project. But the results speak for themselves and enhance the viewer experience, our ultimate aim.”

Calrec • www.calrec.com