PRESS RELEASE
Set in the stunning surrounds of Sydney’s northern beaches, Network Ten’s breakfast show Wake Up broadcasts live every morning from Manly’s Surf City. To take care of the show’s acquisition requirements the network took delivery of multiple Sony HDC-1700 studio cameras for use in their newly-built remote studio at Queenscliff Beach, the picturesque site from where the programme is broadcast.
Wake Up demonstrates Network Ten’s ability to think outside the box, or in this case outside its normal city studios. When it came to building the Wake Up studio at Surf City, Network Ten knew that it had to invest in technology that could be used both in a traditional studio setting as well as outside broadcasting.
Network Ten Chief Technology Officer Jason Tuendemann explained, “We bought Sony’s HDC-1700 studio cameras for our Brisbane news studio and the new Sydney-based Wake Up breakfast show – it was a major purchase. All of the cameras were also fitted with the OLED viewfinders.”
As part of the Wake Up project Network Ten also became the first Australian broadcaster to purchase the new range of Sony DWX digital wireless audio systems for field use with their XDCAM cameras on the breakfast show and in their Melbourne studio. The purchase was one Ten’s Network Communications Manager, Glenn Carrick, saw as a major advantage for the broadcaster. Carrick said, “We were very impressed with the DWX’s innovative features and high performance. Sony’s analogue wireless systems have always served us well, but DWX is a major leap forward for both studio and ENG use.”
Jason Tuendemann continued, “The HDC-1700 cameras meet all the required specs for Australian broadcasting. The cameras provide excellent picture performance at a very cost effective price whilst maintaining compatibility with the proven HDC accessories such as OLED viewfinders, control panels and large lens adaptors. The new DWX digital wireless systems also provide outstanding audio quality and a host of powerful control features allowing camera operators to easily work with the systems, as they integrate very well with XDCAM cameras.”
Ten’s new breakfast show was devised with the simple strategy of attracting as many viewers as possible. The strategy involves good quality entertainment backed up by the very best in reliable technology and support.
Tuendemann added, “The new studio for the Wake Up show is located at a remote location at Queenscliff Beach near Manly, approximately 10km from Network Ten’s main Sydney facility at Pyrmont. These sites were linked with fibre optic connection to transmit signals back to the main control area. By making use of the Ethernet control available on the HDC systems, the operators are able to remotely control the cameras from the main site – thereby minimising the number of technical staff that are required at the remote studio. This means that staff can operate systems on the breakfast show and then also work on the following Pyrmont-based morning show that starts immediately after, with no travel time required.”
The feature set of the HDC-1700 systems was exactly what was required while not adding additional features that were not needed for this project. With established CCU and RCPs in existing studios, integration of the new camera chain control was minimised and as operators were extremely familiar with Sony studio cameras, there was no additional training required.”
Network TEN also uses Sony MVS switchers, OLED and LCD monitors and XDCAM camcorders to produce and broadcast the Wake Up breakfast show.
Commenting on the benefits of a complete Sony solution for Wake Up, Jason Tuendemann concluded, “The benefits of the Sony products have been their proven reliability to minimise maintenance costs and the strong local engineering support. With these specific projects the ability to remotely control the cameras has also helped to more efficiently use the available staffing resources.”
Wake Up is on Network TEN at 6.30am weekdays.