NH Media Adopts IP-Integrated Radio, Visual-Radio and Television Production
Hilversum, Netherlands, 9 November 2023 – DHD audio announces the adoption of an IP-integrated production system at the Hilversum studios of NH Media, regional radio and television broadcaster for North Holland. The recently completed system was designed in partnership with Dutch broadcast and IT solutions specialist D&MS and includes equipment supplied via Media Utilities, Almere.
“We relocated from Amsterdam to Hilversum in 2022 while our sister channel AT5 remained in Amsterdam,” says Edgar van Santen, NH Media Broadcast Coordinator. “The engineers at NH/AT5 must be capable of providing technical support for playout, radio studios and TV infrastructure. We opted for unified technology as much as possible across our radio and TV studios and broadcast infrastructure. We also decided to have our radio and TV studios fully IP-based as this provides more flexibility for sharing resources between Hilversum and Amsterdam. It was important that NH Media and AT5 newsroom journalists be able to operate the equipment without technical assistance.
“All video sources use the NewTek NDI protocol for production networking and all audio is Audinate Dante. We have chosen a NewTek TriCaster for daily news switching in the TV control room. It is an all-in-one machine that’s easy for everyone to understand. We use vMix for streaming, supplemented by Visual Radio Assist for visual radio.
“Audio production in our radio and television studios is via DHD audio mixers, chosen because they are easy to operate. Complex audio setups can be preconfigured so that end users never need to worry about details such as clean feeds, IFBs or voice processing. We also experienced good support from the supplier. The audio mixers are a combination of DHD desks including the SX2 as well as XC3 Cores and TX panels. We designated key users in advance and made them an integral part of the change process. Everything is running smoothly.”
“The NH Media team has created an impressive system which demonstrates the ease of installation, versatility, user-friendliness and space efficiency of our modular audio systems plus the ease with which they can be reconfigured or expanded to accommodate future workflows,” adds Marc Herrmann, Managing Director of DHD audio. “It is also pleasing to see the growing popularity of visual radio as a medium combining the strengths of traditional radio and television broadcasting.”
DHD’s SX2 is a modular mixing console based on a four-fader central module (52-5614). Each SX2 unit is a standalone table-top device which can be chained with others to create a single mixing desk. The central module gives access to the most important audio inputs and outputs. A microphone input and headphone output are also included. Loudspeakers can be connected directly to this unit. Also available is a fader module (52-5620) with six motorised faders. This module allows the addition of a second layer accommodating up to 16 channels. Central and fader modules each incorporate a 10.1 inch multi-touch display showing relevant configuration and operating parameters. SX2 features can be extended simply by adding optional license codes to the DSP core. This allows extra faders, busses and clean-feeds. Functions such as loudness metering, profanity delay and talkback to other DHD mixers are also supported.
The XC3 IP core comprises two high efficiency DSP modules which combine into a single 1U chassis. In combination these support up to 48 stereo faders, 72 stereo busses and 16 channels of AES67 IP audio. IPx expansion modules can be added to accommodate 128 channels of AES67/Ravenna IP audio in/out and up to 512 Dante channels.
DHD’s TX mixers are ultra-compact tabletop touchscreen panels optimised for daily operation wherever space is at a premium. Typical applications include news desks, edit suites and communication link vehicles. Just 256 mm wide, 58 mm high and 272 mm front-to-back, the TX has a 10.1 inch IPS LCD monitor with capacitive touchscreen faders plus six hardware pushbuttons and two assignable potentiometers. Other features include an XLR microphone input, an XLR/6.3 mm jack combination headphone output, an integrated talkback microphone and a loudspeaker. A single network cable up to 100 metres in length connects the TX to a DHD processing core or concentrator. The cable transmits all audio and control signals plus power.
Founded in January 1989 as Radio Noord-Holland, NH (www.nhnieuws.nl/) expanded into television broadcasting on in January 2000, cooperating with Dutch TV station AT5 (https://at5.nl). Both channels transmit via the Dutch terrestrial television and radio networks and online.
DHD audio GmbH develops and produces digital audio studio equipment and systems for professional applications in broadcast control rooms, DJ-operated radio studios, OB trucks, SNG vans, ingest stations and edit suites. DHD also produces routing and talkback matrices, audio-over-IP interfaces and supporting software. DHD devices can be operated directly or under IP networked control. Designed and manufactured in Germany, DHD products are used successfully by broadcasters around the globe.
www.dhd-audio.com
