UK’s First Major High Definition Studio at BBC Studios, Television Centre - 10,000 sq ft of HD

31 August 2006: BBC Resources Ltd is delighted to announce the completion of the upgrade to high definition of Studio One, its 10,000 square foot studio in West London. Studio One is now open for business in both standard and high definition with the latest vision technology to support full HD production, as well as 5.1 sound production.

BBC Studios has supported over 100 series in the last 12 months for a wide range of customers from the independent, corporate and broadcast sectors. Studio One is a very popular studio due to its size and technical configuration - supplemented by talented expertise to ensure customers derive maximum value from the facility. It services a broad variety of productions, from live peak-time entertainment shows to iconic one-off event programmes.

The new Studio One is cabled to support up to 16 cameras, with 4 HD fibre optic feeds from the gallery to the studio floor. It is also equipped with a fully digital Studer Vista 8 sound desk, 5.1 sound monitoring and Dolby E encoding and decoding. Incoming standard definition sources will be up-converted to HD and output can be converted to standard definition if required. HD investment in BBC Studios began in 2005 and has also included upgrades to the studio infrastructure, audio, talkback and comms.

Early in 2007 BBC Resources also intends to convert its Studio 8 (8,000 square foot) to give the fullest range of high definition for Comedy and Entertainment programme makers. Accommodating the time needed for the conversion has proved challenging but is necessary to maintain customers’ expectations for both standard definition and the migration to high definition.

The high definition investment in Studios complements the HD replacement strategy in BBC Resources’ Post Production and Outside Broadcast Businesses. BBC Resources is proud to be able to offer the industry the broadest range of high definition picture acquisition, either on location or in studio and to then partner the entire post production process and mastering for both the UK and other markets.
 

Notes for editors
BBC Resources Ltd is one of the largest production facilities in the UK. The company consists of four businesses, BBC Studios, BBC Outside Broadcasts, BBC Post Production and BBC Costume + Wig. The size and depth of the company’s resources enables it to handle even the largest-scale projects. Major broadcast events BBC Resources has recently facilitated include The FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon, The Winter Olympics 2006, The Election 2005, Live 8, Glastonbury and Children In Need. With a focus on innovation, BBC Resources continually looks to produce technological ‘firsts’ from ground-breaking cricket stump cameras to virtual reality capability. For more information visit www.bbcresources.com

About BBC Studios
A division of BBC Resources Ltd, BBC Studios provides market leading facilities to suit production needs, from SD to HD, live or recorded, complex or simple, 5 star or functional. With sites at Television Centre and Elstree, BBC Studios works with all areas of the media industry and continually invests in the best equipment and facilities to ensure it can offer the latest techniques, reliability and value.

Further information about BBC Studios can be found at www.bbcresources.com/studios

For further information, please contact:

Georgie Hollett, PR and Communications Manager, BBC Resources
Tel: +44 (0)20 8576 2250
Mobile : +44 (0) 783484 5612
Email : georgie.hollett@bbc.co.uk