The French Canal+ Group has opened a new studio complex, using an end-to-end audio infrastructure based on SSL equipment – the first major broadcaster to use an all-SSL audio infrastructure.. The facility will produce content for the Canal+ free DTTV channels – the Itélé 24/7 news operation; D8 (a general entertainment channel) and D17 (music, documentaries, concerts, special series and movies).

The two main studio audio control rooms use SSL C100 HDS consoles, supported by C10 HD consoles as backup and to provide a uniform interface and audio quality when used as a submixer. Three other studio control rooms have a C10 HD main console with a second C10 HD as backup in two studios. Beyond the consoles, the routing infrastructure is based on SSL’s Morse Router and Morse Stagebox, which handle mic and line I/O via Madi and use multiple Alpha-Link Live-R Madi/AES/analogue format converters to connect to the consoles.

‘Beyond the equipment itself, one of the major costs for building a facility is wiring,’ says Canal+ Group Project Manager/Engineer, Jean-Marc Delage. ‘We needed to put together five audio control rooms in such a way that all audio assets could address any console. SSL’s solution was efficient and cost-effective, as the entire hookup was through redundant fibre, so we enjoyed minimal wiring to yield maximum flexibility.’

The audio control rooms were configured such that each console receives its input information via an associated Morse Router or Stagebox. All external rack-mount equipment and CD players, for example, are fed to the Morse Stagebox associated with a particular room. In this way wiring was straightforward and easy to accomplish, while delivering a truly powerful and flexible system that could take a mic input from any studio and route it into any of the consoles.

Canal+ Group is the forerunner in the provision of premium-content and themed networks, as well as in the bundling and distribution of pay-TV offerings. Taking into account its international activities in Africa, Poland and Vietnam, the group has a total subscriber base of 14.3 million. It is also a benchmark player in free-to-air television, with its three national channels and an advertising sales division. Through its subsidiary StudioCanal, Canal+ Group is also a European leader in motion picture production and distribution.

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