HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K. -- 28 June 2016 -- For more than 50 years, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has served up an outstanding array of programming to Kiwi viewers -- and for almost half of that time, the national broadcaster has placed its trust in Calrec Audio. TVNZ has just installed its latest investment in Calrec, a brand-new Artemis Light audio console and a Concord processor upgrade on the network's existing Artemis Beam desk.
"We've enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Calrec, going back to 1996 when we brought in two analogue Calrec C2 consoles for our live television production studios," said Paul Hedges, general manager, production services and facilities, at TVNZ. "When it came time to upgrade, we had no doubt the Artemis consoles would meet our needs.
"Calrec's feature set, roadmap for the future, and fit for our productions continue to be very compelling. Plus, we really value the personal relationships we have established over the years with the sales, marketing, and support at Calrec and their distributor Synchrotech in Australia. They have always been quick to respond when we have any support issues, and they've done an outstanding job of meeting our technical and budget needs."
A government-owned national broadcaster, TVNZ serves viewers throughout New Zealand and other Pacific regions with daily news and current affairs programming as well as a broad range of live and recorded entertainment shows.
TVNZ brought in the Artemis Beam for its news studio in 2014 as a replacement for the Calrec analogue consoles, which had delivered almost two decades of reliable daily service. This was part of a strategic plan to expand production capabilities with a new Artemis Light console for a second studio. TVNZ installed the Artemis Light earlier this year for production of a wide variety of lifestyle programs, including live-audience comedy shows and variety shows featuring interviews, product demonstrations, and live music performances.
The Calrec consoles have doubled the resources available to both studios, enabling TVNZ to handle a line-up that would have required hiring additional personnel or purchasing extra resources.
The upgrade to the increasingly popular Concord processor has brought newfound flexibility and power to the Calrec configuration, enabling TVNZ to handle highly complex programs with ease. The network produces an audience-based show that required stems and clean mic splits to be recorded to an external device. With Concord a complicated patch can be set up, tested, and saved for recall week after week, and yet at a moment's notice the production can revert back to a basic show mode.
"The Artemis Light is a perfect complement to our existing Artemis Beam console, bringing flexibility and agility to our operation," Hedges said. "We can change quickly and easily from one production to another with zero downtime and zero patching errors, and the ability to share resources between the studios and save output configurations is invaluable.
"Plus, from our many years of experience with Calrec, we know we can count on absolute reliability for critical programming. Live news production forms a large part of the TV One schedule, and it's vital we have a robust production audio console. Another example is our twice-weekly live lottery draw in the other studio. There's always a lot of scrutiny when people have a chance to win big cash prizes, and a failure on air would be a huge issue -- but we have complete confidence in Calrec."
"We have worked hard for many years to earn TVNZ's trust, and the new Artemis deployments there are just the latest examples of how our technology can evolve to serve a customer's ever-changing needs," said Anthony Harrison, international sales manager for Calrec. "We can't wait to see what the next 20 years holds for our partnership with TVNZ. Whatever it is, we know it will be exciting."
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About Calrec Audio Ltd.
Calrec Audio is exclusively dedicated to excellence in audio mixing for on-air and live production.
A broadcast specialist for 50 years, Calrec has developed a range of digital consoles relied on by the world's most successful broadcasters.
For putting sound in the picture, broadcasters put their trust in Calrec. More information is available at calrec.com.
All trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.
Photo Link:www.wallstcom.com/Calrec/Calrec_TVNZ.jpg
Photo Caption: Steve Houston, audio engineer at TVNZ, works with a Calrec Audio console.
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