Toronto, Ontario, Canada – July 16, 2008 … Rogers TV, the group of local television stations owned and operated by Rogers Cable Communications Inc., Canada’s largest cable company, announced it has signed an agreement with Lawo North America for delivery of a new 32-fader mc²66 digital production console. The console will be featured in the group’s first HD mobile TV production vehicle. Delivery of the new console is slated for fall 2008, with completion and deployment of the new mobile scheduled during Q1 of 2009.
As Director of Planning and Engineering for Rogers TV, Pierre Fortin oversees capital planning for Rogers TV and leads the Engineering group. Working closely with Rogers TV’s Vice President and a senior management team, Fortin is developing the technological strategy to see the group of stations through the transition to HD television over the next five years. The creation of the new HD mobile TV truck represents one of many calculated steps toward realizing this strategy. The new truck—tentatively assigned the name HD1—will be used for numerous types of production, including event coverage such as the station’s extensive sports programming, conferences, parades, and concerts.
As the audio console serves a prominent role in the production of television content, the ability to accommodate a large number of inputs, mix stems, audio cues, and other audio signals is of paramount importance. The mc²66 console’s audio router will handle all audio routing responsibilities for the entire truck. By integrating with the truck’s video router, Rogers TV reaps substantial cost savings, while also saving valuable space.
In discussing those aspects of the Lawo mc²66 that most appealed to the Rogers TV staff, Fortin cited the following, “The Lawo mc²66 was chosen because of its flexibility and extensive feature set. Given the space constraints we were facing in the mobile’s audio booth, the mc²66 packs a lot of functionality into a relatively small frame without hiding critical controls. The expandability of the system and its ability to tie together multiple systems were also key considerations.�
For any broadcast operation, responsive customer and technical support services are critical—given the level of sophistication and complexity of much of today’s equipment. The quality of Lawo’s support services was an important consideration for Fortin and his staff and, in this regard, played a significant role in helping the Rogers TV team reach their decision to deploy the Lawo mc²66. “Lawo North America has been a great partner,� states Fortin. “They do a good job keeping us informed of project progress and new technological developments. Additionally, with Lawo’s North American headquarters located in Toronto, it makes it easy for us to access support and spare parts as required.�
About Rogers TV
Rogers TV is a one of a kind television channel tailor-made for local audiences. Every year, our stations produce over 15,000 hours of original, informative local programming; reinforcing Rogers Cable’s commitment to the communities we serve. Rogers TV is a service available exclusively to cable customers as part of the basic service of Rogers Cable Communications Inc., Canada’s largest cable company, delivering high quality entertainment, information and communication services to 2.3 million customers in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. For more information, visit www.rogerstv.com.
About Lawo
Lawo is a manufacturer of digital audio networking systems and consoles for a wide range of applications from small to large scale audio production in television and radio, post production, and live sound. Established in the 1970s, the company’s manufacturing center is located in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany. For additional information on Lawo’s mc²66 console and all Lawo products, visit the company online at www.lawo.ca.
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