Sep 15, 2004 2:42 PM, By Mix Editors

One of France 3’s Studer Vista 6 desks in action at the Tour de France.

France 3, the French public TV broadcaster, has retrofitted its two identical flagship Outside Broadcast vehicles, France 3 Lille and France 3 Lyon, with matching Studer Vista 6 digital mixing consoles. Shortly following installation, the new consoles were first used on broadcasts of the Tour de France and national canoeing championships.

Serving the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, one France 3 vehicle is based in Lille while the other is located in Lyon handling the Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne territories. Both trucks will be used throughout France and other parts of Europe, including Greece for the Olympic Games. At over 45 feet in length with working widths of 15 feet, these vehicles are among the most sophisticated audio/visual mobiles production vehicles in France.

Because the two trucks are identical in spec, they are referred to as “the twins.” Consequently, each vehicle is equipped with a 50-fader Studer Vista 6 console capable of accepting 24 mic inputs, 76 line inputs and 84 AES/EBU digital inputs. There are two stageboxes, each sporting 16 mic inputs and eight line outputs, and connected to the console using two optical cables.

With no additional audio router on-board, the console’s digital router is controlled from the video system. The video operator can switch any audio source to any audio output (direct mic input to a VTR, for example). Using a talkback system from Drake and powerful networking systems, the two trucks have been designed to work together and can share audio sources using MADI optical cables.

Nominated for a Mix TEC Award this year, the Vista 6 features Studer’s elegant Vistonics™ interface, which offers operators a simple, yet powerful work surface. Vistonics employs a custom TFT screen with integral rotary encoders to deliver information and control exactly where the operator needs it--in one place. The Vista 6 also offers comprehensive monitoring and talkback facilities. For more about this Studer and its products, please go to www.studer.ch. For more information about France 3, go to www.france3.fr.

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