Latest News
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Jan 2012
dB Broadcast awarded major studio project at BSkyB
dB Broadcast, the Cambridge-based independent system integrator, has recently received a major studio order as part of BSkyB’s continuing development of their state-of-the-art production and broadcasting facility in Osterley, West London.
The Sky Studios building, initially comprising 5 studios, opened on the 30th June 2011 after dB Broadcast installed and commissioned the Broadcast Centre comprising MCR, Playout and its core shared technical facilities - 400 bays and 37 operational desks. For the remainder of 2011 dB continued to work closely with Sky personnel to migrate all the existing services to this new facility.
BSkyB continues to expand and dB Broadcast has recently been awarded a further contract to fit out two additional studio floors and one gallery brining the total to 7 studios. The final studio floor is being made ready for use with an OB van on an adhoc basis. This includes extending the studio infrastructure to the OB wallbox designed for this purpose.
In addition to the Studio installation, dB Broadcast is also delivering the expanded Master Control and core infrastructure systems to enable the integration of these studios into the wider campus.
dB's design team will work with the customer to develop and produce the design requirements and build information, including the purchase of critical-path equipment. dB will also be responsible for the desks and other operational furniture and at its peak, the team will comprise of four engineers and 11 wiremen.
Mike Bryan dB Project Manager says, "This is another fantastic opportunity for dB to work with Sky to deliver these next studios. We are really pleased to be more involved in the complete delivery from the design all the way through to commissioning."
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Jan 2012
dB at Broadcast Video Expo 2012 stand i53
dB Broadcast, the leading UK independent systems integrator and manufacturer will be showcasing the MERlin DVB-T2 receiver module at Broadcast Video Expo 2012. MERlin, which was launched in late-2011, has been designed for continuous off air terrestrial reception of DVB-T and DVB-T2 RF signals and 300 units have already been delivered.
Other selected dB products will be also on show at the exhibition stand.
Aside from product displays, dB Broadcast will be using their presence at Broadcast Video Expo 2012 to highlight some of the major projects they have undertaken over the past 12 months.
BSkyB continues to expand and dB Broadcast has recently been awarded a further contract to fit out two additional studio floors and one gallery brining the total to 7 studios. The final studio floor is being made ready for use with an OB van on an adhoc basis. This includes extending the studio infrastructure to the OB wallbox designed for this purpose.
Work is underway on the installation of the video production areas within the BBC’s Broadcasting House redevelopment in central London, W1. The contract covers the design, procurement, installation and commissioning of all equipment for video production located within the studios, galleries, edit suites, graphic areas, newsroom and local apparatus rooms.
In 2009 dB won a 4 year contract from Arqiva to supply and install Programme Input Equipment (PIE) at 90 UK transmitter sites as part of digital switchover (DSO). With DSO having already taken place in many regions this project will be completed later this year.
Representatives from dB Broadcast will be on hand throughout the exhibition on stand i53 to demonstrate dB’s products and discuss any system or product requirements.
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Dec 2011
dB close to completion of Digital Switch Over PIE contract
dB Broadcast, the Cambridgeshire based system integrator and manufacturer, is close to completing a major contract awarded by Arqiva to supply and install Programme Input Equipment (PIE) at 90 television transmitter sites across the UK as part of digital switchover (DSO). The contract is due for completion in mid 2012.
dB is the UK’s leading supplier of PIE systems and products for monitoring and switching signals at transmitter sites for which dB can customise the PIE configuration to meet the customer’s exact requirements.
They have also been responsible for the installation of PIE equipment where fibre and copper structured cabling and data network hardware was provided between the sites’ incoming Points of Presence and the transmitter terminal equipment. These integration solutions have been for the physical layer RF, ASI and Ethernet.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB Broadcast says, “dB Broadcast is pleased to be part of such a large and prestigious project which is testimony to dB's expertise in providing PIE systems and the quality of the Hawkeye products.”
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Nov 2011
dB Broadcast adds transport stream monitoring to MERlin
Leading UK independent system integrator and product manufacturer dB Broadcast has further refined the recently launched MERlin DVB-T2 monitoring receiver unit.
Having already shipped over 250 MERlin units, dB Broadcast have now added a payload checking option to confirm that a valid and correct transport stream is being transmitted.
A typical payload failure is caused by a modulator fault, which results in a constellation but no payload content. MERlin can now monitor PAT conformance and PID presence against a user defined list of expected PIDs. This option will begin shipping in November 2011.
MERlin is a self-contained terrestrial receiver for continuous off-air reception and monitoring of DVB-T and DVB-T2.
The unit measures Modulation Error Ratio (MER) to indicate RF signal performance and LDPC to determine how hard the error corrector is working to reconstruct the input signal.
Programmable templates are used to check that input RF modulation parameters match the expected configuration and ensure that the correct signal structure and format is transmitted.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB says, “As the first DVB-T2 monitoring device optimised for use at relay sites, MERlin already provided a valuable tool to ensure trouble free operation of RF rebroadcast networks. Payload checking has been added in response to requests from our customers to provide confidence that their content is delivered as intended.”
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Sep 2011
dB Broadcast announces further expansion to its full time workforce
dB Broadcast, one of the UK's largest independent systems integrators, has announced further expansion to both its engineering and wiring teams. Mitch Honey arrives as a trainee wireman, Jack Marshall will be assisting in the design and implementation of embedded software, while Edward Waife joins as a systems design engineer.
Mitch Honey has been handed a place on dB’s highly successful apprentice training programme. Mitch joins dB after gaining an NVQ Level 1 in Performing Engineer Operations and City and Guilds in Electrical Installations Level 2.
Jack Mitchell recently graduated from the University of Leicester in Embedded Systems Engineering. As well as working on the design and implementation of embedded software, he will be investigating new technologies and platforms to incorporate into the dB Broadcast products line.
With dB’s workload having continued to increase in recent months, Edward Waife will add additional expertise to the systems design team. After graduating from the University of Fairfax in Computer Science, Edward completed an MSc in Electronics and Computer engineering at Brunel University, and then spent several years at Harris as a product support and test engineer. At dB he will undertake system design, but specialise in configuring complex IT based broadcast systems.
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Aug 2011
dB Broadcast Commences Migration at Sky studios
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast won a prestigious contract from BSkyB to build the Broadcast Centre technical facilities within their new production and broadcasting facility and this new building, called Sky Studios was opened on the 30th June 2011.
dB Broadcast was appointed to install, test and commission the core technical facilities within the Broadcast Centre, comprising 400 bays, 37 operational desks and 1,000,000 metres of cable. This is now more than 90% complete. This includes the playout system and the first channels were recently successfully migrated from the existing installation to the Sky Studios building, including Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts.
dB Broadcast was also responsible for building the new MCR system and this went live in a stages, with operators moving into the building in April, making them the first operational staff to use the building. The full MCR is now live and equipment migrations are being completed to support broadcast operations.
All the Coding and Compression systems within Sky Studios have been completed by dB Broadcast, the first migration occurred in mid June and will continue through to the end of September 2011. dB Broadcast have been utilising their in-house Ericsson specialists to support Sky with the testing, configuration and migration of these systems.
Another major milestone was achieved at the beginning of July 2011 with Sky Sports News going live from the new building, this relies on a large proportion of infrastructure and facilities (Quantel Ingest and MCR) built by dB Broadcast.
dB Broadcast continue to work closely with Sky personnel to migrate all the existing services and this will be completed over the next few months.
Tom Swan, dB’s director of sales and marketing, said: “This is a prestigious project that included many challenges including its size, 3G HD capability and the migration of existing equipment while keeping services operational.”
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Aug 2011
dB Broadcast wins Outward Bound Trust 2011 Diamond Cup Regatta
Leading broadcast systems integrator dB Broadcast led the way back to port at the 2011 Diamond Cup Regatta having secured overall victory.
The two day regatta was in aid of The Outward Bound Trust. It started out from Portsmouth Harbour and featured 12 high-profile teams from the broadcast and technology industries match racing in identical 40’ yachts in the Solent. The event also included a black tie fundraising dinner at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes.
The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity which raises money to help young people access safe, adventure experiences through which they can raise their self-esteem, realise their full potential and achieve more than they ever thought possible.
David Bird, Managing Director of dB, paid tribute to the work of the charity and revealed that as a teenager he attended an Outward Bound adventure in the Lake District and this was the inspiration for his interest in climbing and outdoor pursuits, as well as his passionate belief in providing opportunities for young people in industry through the apprenticeship and training schemes which he runs at dB Broadcast.
Dave Bird says “Sailing is a team event and the ten crew members from dB, including five novice sailors showed excellent team work to narrowly beat more experienced crews from Elemental Technologies and Lloyds Development Capital. Congratulations to all the crews who took part, a total of about £25,000 was raised for a very good cause”.
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Jul 2011
dB Broadcast continues to expand taking on 3 new staff
Leading UK systems integrator dB Broadcast has further expanded its operation with three new appointments. Ross Amory has joined dB’s management team as Financial Controller, Mark Barnes joins the sales team as Pre-Sales Technical Specialist, and Paulina Franks takes on the role of Materials Manager.
Ross Amory will be responsible for overseeing the company’s finances and arrives with a number of years experience with businesses such as Anson Packaging, CLS Diagnostics and Spicers, Europe’s largest wholesaler of office products.
Ross is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has experience in investment projects, internal audit, process design and financial forecasting and planning.
Mark Barnes joins the sales team undertaking systems proposals and working closely with the company’s products development team to provide technical sales and marketing support.
Mark brings 15 years of broadcast industry experience to his new role and has gained extensive technical and commercial experience during his time at Radamec Broadcast Systems, Adherent Systems and Tektronix.
Paulina Franks will be overseeing dB Broadcast’s range of in-house products such as Hawkeye and Showman in her role as Materials Manager. Paulina will be responsible for the purchasing activities and logistic processes around the manufacturing of the company’s products and managing stores for the component parts and finished products.
David Bird, founder and Managing Director of dB Broadcast, says: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome Ross, Mark and Paulina and announce the expansion of the company to 55 full time staff. Their breadth of experience and expertise will be of significant value at a time when the company is seeing sustained and rapid growth.
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Jul 2011
dB Broadcast launch MERlin at IBC2011
Leading UK independent system integrator and product manufacturer dB Broadcast is introducing at IBC2011 a DVB-T2 monitoring receiver unit, called MERlin. MERlin can also monitor DVB-T, providing a future proof solution for those considering the possibility of DVB-T2 at a a later date.
MERlin has been designed at dB’s Cambridge development facility and is based upon the hugely successful Hawkeye B104 receiver module which is operational within the UK DVB-T2 network.
MERlin is a self contained 1RU unit that monitors key signal performance parameters such as Modulation Error Ratio (MER) which give early indication of signal degradation and Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) to determine the status of error correction. The unit can also monitor RF modulation parameters against programmable templates.
MERlin has been designed for reliability and boots up in seconds (which is near instantaneous when compared to a PC based product). All measurements, tests and logs are performed and maintained in the MERlin unit so it will continue to function in the event of control network problems. A built in Web interface allows for simple remote control and monitoring and an SNMP interface is provided for integration with Network Management Systems. These make it an ideal product for use at un-manned transmitter sites.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB says “MERlin combines measurement capability, technical performance, versatility and reliability at a price which will enable its wide scale deployment at Relay sites in a transmission network. The product has been developed in direct response to our customers requests for a scaleable solution to help them meet their Service Level Agreement’s and ensure their viewers do not experience signal reception issues”.
The first units began to be shipped in July 2011.
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May 2011
dB Broadcast completes refurbishment work for broadcaster’s TV operation in Newcastle
dB Broadcast, the Cambridge-based systems integrator, recently completed a contract to refurbish the sound facilities at BBC Newcastle, as part of the corporation’s regional television upgrade programme.
BBC Newcastle’s Barrack Road facility is home to Look North, the broadcaster’s regional television news service for the North East and Cumbria region.
dB Broadcast replaced the existing life-expired Calrec analogue audio console with a fully-assignable Calrec Zeta digital system. The mainframe and associated PSU’s were installed in the Central Technical Area (CTA) to minimize noise and heat in the Sound Control Room (SCR).
dB replaced the ageing infrastructure between the SCR and CTA. Some existing outboard equipment such as spot effects and a digital audio playout system were retained, but dB supplied other equipment, including a new custom-designed technical furniture, new jackfields and new distribution equipment, together with integration into existing talkback and router systems.
The television facility goes live to air seven days a week so dB provided a temporary sound control room whilst the refurbishment took place and the company worked closely with BBC Newcastle’s engineering department to ensure a smooth transmission to the temporary facility.
The onsite installation took three weeks from start to finish and was handed over on time for the corporation’s operators to undertake their training. The final changeover occurred during a weekend period with completion and full operation ready for the following Monday lunchtime.
Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swan says, “dB Broadcast achieved an onsite time of three weeks with careful planning and by prefabricating the system at the company’s premises near Cambridge”.
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Feb 2011
Snell Kahuna Switchers to Drive Live News Operations for World’s Largest Broadcasting Organisation
dB Broadcast, one of the UK’s largest systems integrators, has chosen Snell Kahuna HD/SD multi-format production switchers as central components in the BBC’s Broadcasting House redevelopment in central London, W1. Installed in each of the four largest studios in the W1 centre, the Kahunas will drive live news programs and support a seamless migration to HD operations for the world’s largest broadcasting organisation.
“Within the W1 development, the BBC is creating a centralised focus for its national and international news operations that will bring the World Service and the domestic news service together on one site,” said Tom Swan, sales and marketing director for dB Broadcast.
The newly developed Broadcasting House will host one of the world’s largest newsrooms. The Kahunas will see heavy service in three fixed-rig studios and one flexible-rig studio, switching all incoming content and clips for the 24-hour World Service and News Channel broadcasts. but will still draw from many sources that exist in SD and other formats – thus making the Kahuna’s multi-format capabilities crucial.
As part of the project, dB is also installing approximately 30 edit suites and Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swan says, "dB Broadcast is delighted to have won this large and prestigious project.
“By using our dedicated team, this will ensure a high quality design combined with consistent quality. The engineering team are also supported by our in-house wiring technicians, and this combination of staff enables us to take on large projects and confidently commit to completion dates.”
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Jan 2011
dB at Broadcast Video Expo 2011 (stand i53)
dB Broadcast, the leading UK independent systems integrator and manufacturer will be showcasing the Hawkeye B104 DVB-T2 receiver module at Broadcast Video Expo 2011.
The B104 module, which was launched in late-2010, has been designed for continuous off air terrestrial reception of DVB-T and DVB-T2 RF signals and deliveries of the product are now under way.
Other selected dB products will be also on show at the exhibition stand.
Aside from product displays, dB Broadcast will be using their presence at Broadcast Video Expo 2011 to highlight some of the major projects they have undertaken over the past 12 months.
Work has now started on the installation of the video production areas within the BBC’s Broadcasting House redevelopment in central London, W1. The contract to design, procure, install and commission all of the video production equipment within the new development is one of the largest and most prestigious undertaken by dB to date.
In 2009 dB won a 4 year contract from Arqiva to supply and install Programme Input Equipment (PIE) at 90 UK transmitter sites as part of digital switchover (DSO). With DSO having already taken place in many regions this project is now over half-way to completion.
Elsewhere, dB Broadcast is currently working on a contract from BSkyB to build the Broadcast Centre technical facilities within Sky’s new production and broadcasting facility on its Osterley Campus in West London, whilst work has been completed on a contract with Siemens IT Solutions and Services to supply the BBC with HD coding and multiplexing services.
Representatives from dB Broadcast will be on hand throughout the exhibition to demonstrate dB products and discuss any system or product requirements.
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Dec 2010
dB Broadcast increases engineering department to meet new contracts
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast has moved to expand its in-house engineering team with two new arrivals.
Engineering Director Gareth Evans now heads a team of 17 full time project managers and engineers.
Justin Jelleyman joins as a CAD draughtsman, while Dan Brennan has taken the position of project support engineer.
Justin is a CAD draughtsman with over a decade of experience in various drawing offices. He started in communications in 1995 and has worked for Vodafone and Orange. More recently, he has moved to broadcast engineering where he has undertaken projects for BT, the BBC and various systems integrators.
Dan Brennan provides support to the division in his role as project support engineer. He works on the design, testing and after sales support of systems such as vehicles and studios. He also provides support to the product division by testing and configuring dB’s range of Hawkeye, Showman and other products.
Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swan says,
“It is dB's policy to grow the company and employ in-house staff rather than rely on large teams of contract engineers.
“By using our dedicated in-house team, we ensure an excellent standard of design combined with consistent quality.
“With the support of our in-house wiring technicians, the engineering team are able to commit to completing large projects on time.”
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Oct 2010
dB Broadcast completes DF trailers for OFCOM
Cambridge (UK) based systems integrator dB Broadcast has recently completed a fleet of 9 road trailers for Rohde & Schwarz, which will be used by the communications regulator OFCOM to check and monitor RF transmissions throughout the UK. Ofcom is responsible for the protection of the radio spectrum from abuse, both intentional and unintentional.
Each trailer features a large composite UHF/VHF Direction Finding (DF) antenna mounted on a 10M telescopic mast which pivots to the horizontal position for travelling in the manner of a yacht-mast. The contract included the design, manufacture and test of all the associated power supply systems in custom-built weatherproof enclosures. The trailer and mast design allows for use in wind speeds of up to 100kph despite carrying a mast head load in excess of 50kg. Many components including the batteries are of military-grade specifications to enable the systems to function reliably whatever the British weather throws at them.
Work on the project started late in 2009 and once the technical solution was agreed, the manufacture, test & delivery happened within six weeks, with the second batch of six trailers going through dB’s factory in just three weeks.
Tom Swan, dB Broadcast's director of sales and marketing, commented: "We are always pleased to demonstrate our ability to provide innovative and high-quality engineering solutions involving disciplines not always familiar to systems integrators. For this project, we provided a bespoke, weatherproof solution drawing on expertise from the mast manufacturer and trailer builder, and using our own in-house expertise in vehicle electrics and custom mechanics.”
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Sep 2010
dB Broadcast wins BBC W1 contract
Cambridge-based independent system integrator dB Broadcast has won a major contract for the installation of the video production areas within the BBC’s Broadcasting House redevelopment in central London, W1. When completed, most of the BBC’s news output will have been moved from Television Centre at W12, along with the entire World Service production operation from Bush House.
The contract covers the design, procurement, installation and commissioning of all equipment for video production located within the studios, galleries, edit suites, graphic areas, newsroom and local apparatus rooms.
There are a number of television studios of different types. The largest studio is 334m2 – double height – and fitted with eight cameras. It is intended to be a flexible studio for a varied range of programmes, and will be equipped with motorised hoists for changing of sets.
The World Service studios will be used for recording inserts into World Service video outlets. The clip studios are designed to be primarily self-operated but will also form a vital part of the daily news output.
As part of the project, dB is installing approximately 30 edit suites and Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swan says, "dB Broadcast is delighted to have won this large and prestigious project.
“dB's large full-time engineering team of 13 system engineers and project managers will undertake the design, build and test of the studios, edit suites and technical areas.
“By using our dedicated team, this will ensure a high quality design combined with consistent quality. The engineering team are also supported by our in-house wiring technicians, and this combination of staff enables us to take on large projects and confidently commit to completion dates.”
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Sep 2010
dB Broadcast increase engineering department
dB Broadcast, the Cambridge based leading UK independent system integrator, has made two further appointments in the engineering department.
Adam Hewes has joined as a Project Engineer, while James Grajcarek has moved from the company's proposals department.
Adam graduated from Ravensbourne College in 2003 with a Higher National Diploma in Professional Broadcasting: Digital Technology and joined Channel Five as Engineering Co-ordinator.
In 2005, he joined The Mill facility as an engineer in 2005, providing support for post production systems and managing installation projects.
He moved on to Digital Vision two years later where he took up the role of Field Applications Engineer.
At dB Broadcast he is currently working on a major contract with the BBC.
James joined dB in 2008 with a BSc degree in Media Technology from Salford University and provided quotation support for the company’s own range of products and broadcast system proposals.
His excellent progress has led to a position in engineering as part of the team undertaking projects in London.
Adam and James take the number of new additions in the engineering department to four in the past two months
Iain Betson and Mike Bryan both joined the company in June, while Steve Carlson was promoted to Project Manager.
dB Broadcast is currently dealing with a number of multi-million pound projects and have moved to increase their engineering team in order to ensure successful delivery.
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Aug 2010
dB Broadcast is selected as one of the strategic SIs for Sky’s new Broadcasting Facility
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast has won a prestigious contract from BSkyB to build the Broadcast Centre technical facilities within Sky’s new production and broadcasting facility on its Osterley Campus in West London.
This facility is a sustainable landmark broadcast facility which will provide studios, technical, and operational space for people in Broadcast Operations, Sky Sports, and Broadcast Technology.
dB Broadcast has been appointed to install, test and commission the core technical facilities within the Broadcast Centre component. This includes the playout, compression and lines processing systems, enabling Sky to distribute their programmes to many platforms - including the traditional satellite feeds, new media streaming, mobile phone services and many more. dB Broadcast is also responsible for the installation of the Broadcast control system, IPTV system and the talkback facilities.
The Central Technical Area consists of a number of apparatus rooms with a capacity to hold 400 bays of technical equipment. At the outset approximately 80% of these will be populated allowing space for further expansion and future technology to be easily accommodated. The Playout area will boast over 35 operational desks, controlling and monitoring BSkyB’s output over the multiple platforms. As part of this complex installation dB Broadcast will work closely with Sky personnel to migrate all the existing services to this new facility.
Tom Swan, dB’s director of sales and marketing, said: “We won this major contract because of our experience in providing similar large systems and because we are one of the few companies with significant experience in encoding and compression as well as playout.
dB Broadcast is one of the UK’s largest independent system integrators with a full time staff of more than 50 and this enables the company to take on multiple projects of this size.”
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Aug 2010
dB Broadcast launches Hawkeye DVB-T2 receiver at IBC2010
Leading UK independent system integrator and product manufacturer dB Broadcast will introduce a DVB-T2 receiver module at IBC2010.
The Hawkeye B104 series module has been designed for continuous off air terrestrial reception of DVB-T and DVB-T2 RF signals. The receiver can be used as part of Re-Broadcast transmitter system or for direct monitoring of a transmitter.
The structure of a DVB-T2 signal is complex and requires detailed monitoring to ensure that the correct format is transmitted. The B104 allows a template to be generated, which is used to compare the received DVB-T2 signal against expected parameters and if they are different an alarm can be generated. Eight fixed templates and eight programmable templates are provided and these are configured using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) or by SNMP.
The template parameters include Modulation Error Ration (MER), Low Density Parity Check codes (LDPC), maximum and minimum Transport Stream bit rates, frequency errors and many others. Frequency error is useful at transposer sites to ensure that the transmitter is outputting the correct frequency.
dB Broadcast have already taken significant orders for the DVB-T2 receiver.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB Broadcast says: “The DVB-T2 standard was ratified a couple of years ago and is being adopted in many countries because of its higher bandwidth compared to DVB-T. This allows multiple high definition services to be provided on a single multiplex.
“The Hawkeye modular system provides a simple upgrade path from DVB-T to DVB-T2. The B102 DVB-T receiver is replaced by the B104 DVB-T2 receiver, leaving the system wiring unchanged.”
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Jul 2010
dB Broadcast supply HD DTT coding and multiplexing services
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast has announced the completion of a major contract from Siemens IT Solutions and Services to supply the BBC with HD coding and multiplexing services. This enables viewers to watch programmes in high definition on digital terrestrial TV (DTT).
These services have allowed millions of viewers to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup in high definition for the first time.
The high definition service on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) became the first DVB-T2 HD service in the world with a technical launch at the end of 2009.
Earlier in the year, dB had completed for Siemens IT Solutions and Services the build of the centralised coding and multiplexing nodes (CCM nodes) and these laid the foundations for providing HD on DTT.
In a phased rollout, the BBC’s overall project will eventually lead to at least four high definition channels being available across the majority of UK households, including those from other public service broadcasters, such as ITV, S4C and Channel 4.
Using advanced statistical multiplexing, transmission, and compression technologies and dB’s Hawkeye products, Siemens IT Solutions and Services has engineered the system to avoid any single point of failure within the transmission chain.
The B080 series of Hawkeye modules supports MPEG2, MPEG4, DVB and ATSC standards. The DTT services use more than 50 modules and provide near-seamless switching.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director says, “dB Broadcast is delighted to have been involved with this ground breaking project and I expect many enjoyed watching the 2010 World Cup finals in HD through FreeView.
“By 2012, the vast majority of UK viewers will be able to enjoy at least four channels in HD delivered through their TV aerials”
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Jun 2010
dB Broadcast recruits new Project Managers
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast have increased their engineering team to fourteen with the appointment of three new Project Managers.
Steve Carlson has been promoted to Project Manager, while Iain Betson and Mike Bryan both arrive with significant experience in the broadcast industry.
The company is undertaking several large projects and they will support Engineering Director Gareth Evans in managing the department as well as leading projects.
Steve Carlson joined dB Broadcast in 1997 as a Graduate Engineer and more recently has been a Senior Engineer before being promoted to Project Manager.
Iain Betson worked initially at the BBC before moving into the commercial sector and managing facility builds for the likes of London’s XFM and Kiss 100.
Mike Bryan started his career at the BBC where he managed the delivery of SNG and other vehicles and most recently spent time working in the events industry.
David Bird, founder and Managing Director of dB Broadcast, says: "It gives me great pleasure to announce the promotion of Steve Carlson and welcome Iain and Mike to dB Broadcast. Their breadth of experience and expertise will be of significant value at a time when the company is seeing sustained and rapid growth.
“dB is currently undertaking several multi million pound projects and will be taking on further staff including draughtsmen, engineers and wiring technicians.”
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Apr 2010
dB Broadcast: expert in fibre installations
Six of dB Broadcast’s engineers and wiring technicians have recently qualified under City & Guilds 3666 to install, joint, terminate and test fibre optic cabling.
dB Broadcast, one of the UK’s leading systems integration specialists, has been at the forefront of the industry-wide move from traditional copper wire systems to fibre-optic systems.
City & Guilds 3666 has been developed in conjunction with the UK fibre optics industry and is approved by the Fibreoptic Industry Association (FIA).
Trainees are shown why fibre optic cabling is used, recommended installation practices and troubleshooting techniques.
Following the training, dB Broadcast has undertaken fibre optic installations for two major broadcasters in London and at a number of transmitter sites in the UK.
Sales and Marketing Director, Tom Swan says "dB Broadcast is unique amongst systems integrators in having its own large wiring team and it is a logical step to have in-house expertise and equipment to carry out and test fibre installations.
“This course has given us the expertise to undertake fibre optical installations within an indoor environment as well as the design, testing and commissioning."
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Apr 2010
dB Broadcast completes TV studio facility for West Thames College
Now in its 21st year, Cambridge-based systems integrator dB Broadcast has recently completed a new television studio and associated control room for West Thames College at their Isleworth Campus in West London.
The contract included the design, prefabrication, supply, installation and commissioning of a 3-camera TV studio equipped with HD cameras and a separate production gallery featuring a custom-designed control desk with 3 operators for lighting, vision and sound control. Other equipment provided for the new facility included a Panasonic HD vision mixer, Trilogy talkback system, JVC HD monitors and JVC tape machines.
Work on the project started late in 2009 and was completed earlier this year. The studio will be used initially to offer students a 2-year Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Media Production.
Tom Swan, dB Broadcast's director of sales and marketing, commented: "We are always pleased to continue our involvement in providing training for the next generation of broadcast professionals. dB prides itself on our established training schemes for engineering and wiring personnel and is pleased to add the installation at WTC to our portfolio of successful projects in the Further/Higher Education sector”.
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Mar 2010
The world warms to dB Broadcast’s Cardinal MDU
dB Broadcast, the Cambridge based systems integrator, has been working to improve the Cardinal range of intelligent mains distribution units (iMDUs) with the addition of an optional temperature sensor.
The Cardinal range of iMDUs was launched at IBC 2009 and has proved popular with dB receiving 1000 orders over the past six months.
The Cardinal MDU provides fully featured web and SNMP interfaces giving easy access to sophisticated remote control and configuration facilities. The optional temperature sensor can be connected to the Cardinal MDU via a serial cable and can be located anywhere in the rack.
Information on the temperature within the rack is available on the SNMP or web interface and includes current temperature, and a table containing maximum and minimum temperatures recorded per hour.
If the temperature exceeds a user configured maximum or falls short of a minimum set value it causes an alarm to be raised on the SNMP interface, web interface or via email messaging.
The MDU can be configured so that it switches off one or more outputs of the Cardinal when the temperature exceeds the user configured maximum. If the rack temperature goes above this preset value, the Cardinal will automatically switch off the power to specified equipment preventing them from being damaged.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB Broadcast says: "We are continuing to develop the features on the Cardinal range and would be pleased to discuss any new customer requirements."
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Jan 2010
dB Broadcast at BVE 2010
dB Broadcast, the leading UK independent system integrator and manufacturer, will be attending the 2010 Broadcast Video Expo with a new range of Cardinal intelligent MDUs on display.
More than 500 units have been ordered since the product launch at IBC2009. Each MDU in the Cardinal range provides 12 separate outputs, an SNMP interface, email messaging, a choice of single or dual inputs and optional current and temperature monitoring all in a 1RU unit.
dB Broadcast also manufactures the Hawkeye range of monitoring and switching modules and the Showman analogue receiver. Both of these products will be on display. The Hawkeye range of monitoring and switch modules continues to grow and is now accepted as one of the market leaders in its field.
A recent UK project included 500 Hawkeye frames with 3,000 modules, which comprised of B080 series, and B049 ASI monitor/switch modules and B102 DVB-T COFDM receivers.
Over the past 12 months dB Broadcast has also completed many projects from studios through to transmission.
In October, dB completed a large contract to relocate BBC London's television facilities to the new Egton Wing adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London..
dB Broadcast also won a major contract from Arqiva to supply and install the Programme Input Equipment (PIE) at 90 transmitter sites as part of digital switchover (DSO).
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB Broadcast says, “Broadcast Video Expo is an excellent show for presenting the company’s products and recent projects. It is also an ideal opportunity for customers to meet the company’s staff and discuss their system requirements”.
The new products will be on show and the systems presented on the dB stand number H58 at Broadcast Video Expo, Earls Court 2, 16th to 18th February 2010.
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Dec 2009
dB Broadcast completes television relocation
dB Broadcast, the Cambridge based systems integrator, has recently completed a large contract to relocate BBC London's television facilities to the new Egton Wing adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London.
The station produces local television news programmes and local radio news for the capital as well as web publishing, regional Ceefax and contributions to the Corporation’s network television news.
The relocation contract won by dB Broadcast included the design, prefabrication, installation and commissioning of a 4 camera TV studio with control gallery, as well as a 2 camera in-vision presenter position for short news bulletins within the newsroom.
In addition, dB oversaw the delivery of a hub transfer area for receiving incoming material for ingest to the video server, ten editing workstations, two non-linear editing systems and a weather graphics system.
The new facility includes the Sienna network news automation system manufactured by Gallery software. This is an Apple Mac based system which comprises of a video server with editing and viewing workstations, playout control, ingest and archiving.
Other major equipment included within the system are the QMDX vision mixer from Ross Video, Zeta digital audio console from Calrec, Evertz vision router and Miranda multiviewers.
Work on the project started late 2008 and the facility went live on September 28th this year.
dB Broadcast has spent the past few weeks assisting the BBC W1 team in getting the television station on air.
Tom Swan, dB Broadcast's director of sales and marketing, adds: "The initial vision system is for a 625/50 SD system, but an important requirement was that it could operate at 1080P in the future.
“To support this migration, dB had to select products with an upgrade path to 1080P as well design and build an HD infrastructure. It was also important to provide a system approach that would be familiar to the current operational team at BBC London."
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Nov 2009
dB Broadcast wins Arqiva PIE contract
Leading independent system integrator and manufacturer dB Broadcast has won a major contract from Arqiva to supply and install the Programme Input Equipment (PIE) at 90 transmitter sites as part of digital switchover (DSO). DSO is already well underway in the UK with Arqiva upgrading the entire terrestrial television infrastructure by 2012.
The first full switchover was at the Selkirk transmitter group in November 2008 and this was followed by the West Country. The next region to stop analogue transmission and become fully digital is Wales in late 2009.
Currently more than two thirds of UK homes have digital television, but by 2012 DSO will deliver full-power digital television signals from all transmission sites across the country.
dB is supplying more than 550 bays across the 90 key sites. Prefabrication and testing is being done at dB’s factory and installation carried out by dB’s in-house technicians. The project includes approximately 500 Hawkeye frames with 3,000 modules, which include B080 series and B049 ASI monitor/switch modules and B102 DVB-T COFDM receivers.
dB Broadcast is also responsible for the onsite cabling from the sites’ incoming programme feeds to the inputs of the transmitters and the installation of the IT network, remote alarm and RF monitoring infrastructure. This includes RF, ASI and Ethernet cabling, some of which is fibre.
Tom Swan sales and marketing director says "dB Broadcast is pleased to be part of such a large and prestigious project and is testimony to dB's expertise in providing PIE systems and the quality of the Hawkeye product range.
dB is the UK’s leading supplier of Programme Input Equipment (PIE) racks for monitoring and switching signals at transmitter sites and the company will customise the PIE configuration to meet the customer’s exact requirements.
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For further information contact:
Tom Swan, Sales & Marketing Director tom.swan@dbbroadcast.co.uk
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Oct 2009
dB Broadcast announce two appointments
Leading UK independent system integrator dB Broadcast has created two new posts, coming into effect from the start of October.
Eugene Cooke joins as Business Development Manager with Jerry Lyle taking the position of Product Manager.
The post of Business Development Manager has been created in order to help dB seek out and win new business, particularly in overseas markets.
Eugene Cooke has a large amount of knowledge and experience in the broadcast industry as a senior sales executive and has spent time with Omneon and Snell & Wilcox. He will be aiming to build on the company’s strong contacts abroad, especially in Europe and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the post of Product Manager has been created following a restructuring within dB Broadcast with the aim of placing greater emphasis on expanding the company’s range of products.
Jerry Lyle will be responsible for researching potential new product lines and bringing these products to market. He was previously Head of Development at Broadcast Technology, which became part of Harmonic in 2005, and has worked for dB on a consultancy basis since 2008.
David Bird, Managing Director of dB Broadcast said: “We are delighted to welcome both Eugene and Jerry into the company.
“They will provide valuable experience and expertise which will I feel confident will help us drive forward and meet our business aims over the coming years”.
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Aug 2009
dB Broadcast to introduce Cardinal range of intelligent MDUs at IBC 2009
Leading UK independent system integrator and manufacturer dB Broadcast will
introduce a range of intelligent mains distribution units (iMDUs) at IBC.
The Cardinal range of iMDUs provide fully featured web and SNMP interfaces giving easy access to sophisticated remote control and configuration facilities. The units include email messaging, current monitoring, a choice of single or dual inputs and optional remote temperature sensing, all in a 1RU unit.
The dual input version allows two separate sources to be connected to the unit and switching between them is automatic when an input power failure occurs. The unit can be configured to send SNMP traps and email alarms when faults occur, including loss of input mains power and blown fuses. It includes an error log.
dB Broadcast have already taken significant orders for the Cardinal range.
Tom Swan, Sales and Marketing Director at dB Broadcast says: “Several of dB’s
current projects require intelligent MDUs, which are invaluable in larger systems with a central monitoring system.
“For example, measuring the current on each output enables users to detect failures or meet energy conservation initiatives and monitoring the temperature in the rack can avoid overheating and damage to the equipment. All these results can be reported to the central monitoring system via SNMP traps”.
dB Broadcast also manufactures the Hawkeye range of monitoring/switching
modules and the Showman analogue receiver, all of which will be on show at IBC.