Vista Spyder X20 Manages Content on Three Sets at China State Broadcaster's New US Hub

China's state broadcaster CCTV (China Central Television) recently launched its new US hub in Washington, D.C. with the Vista Spyder X20-0808 video processor managing graphics and video content and feeding it to three sets.

The US operation delivers English-language programming to China and the Washington hub is the latest in CCTV's worldwide expansion -- which includes a studio in Nairobi, Kenya, a European bureau, and a newsgathering bureau and studio in Dubai. CCTV operates 16 national channels in China and claims a global TV audience of one billion.

"Spyder is very well known in the broadcast world as a high-end video processor with a very good reputation in the industry," says Caroline Aldridge, COO and project manager for Oceanside, California's Broadcast Design International, Inc., (BDI) a full-service, international set design and construction company.

"Everything in the three sets can change -- with lighting, video, or graphics giving them a completely different look," notes Aldridge. "CCTV wanted to use the latest and greatest of everything while maintaining a clean, elegant on-air look and lots of silver and gray-toned textures."

BDI teamed with Philadelphia-based Video Visions, Inc to enable CCTV to manipulate PAL video and graphics seamlessly across multiple high- and low-resolution displays. The three Vista Spyder X20 video processors control an array of video walls, LEDs, and flat-panel displays on three sets -- displaying HDSDI-driven titles, logos, graphic elements, breaking news, and interviews.

"We use Spyder often for large video wall arrays," reports Video Visions, Inc. project manager Jeff Pasternak CTS. "It's by far the best processor out there. Spyder seamlessly manipulates graphics or video across the studios despite different pixel counts and resolutions."

One Spyder X20 is dedicated to Studio A's CCTV news center set where it feeds video and logo graphics to a curved Sun Coast 4mm LED screen on the middle of the anchor desk and, across the back of the set, a curved video wall comprising 42" Orion flat panels in a three by seven configuration. In that same studio, it also feeds a 103" Panasonic flat panel (with U-Touch touchscreen control) to the right of the video wall. In the news center's stand-up section, the Spyder also manages content on the three 32" horizontal and one 65" vertical Panasonic flat panels.

The second Spyder X20 is used for the Biz Asia America show and other financial news programming originating from the other side of Studio A. This Spyder X20 manages and controls content to another Sun Coast 4mm LED screen mounted to the front of the anchor desk, an L-shaped four by five video wall composed of 42" Orion flat panels, two Sun Coast 8mm LEDs flanking the video wall, and, to the left, an 85" Panasonic flat panel with U-Touch touchscreen control.

Studio B has its own dedicated Spyder X20 for the monitors and LED screens on its news set. Here, the Spyder feeds a two by five curved videowall featuring 42" Orion flat panels bookended by Sun Coast 8mm LEDs for graphic displays. A 103" Panasonic flat panel to the right displays breaking news. On the left, vertically mounted with the ability to rotate, a 42" Panasonic flat panel can serve as the anchor's over-the-shoulder monitor and display remote guest appearances. A triangular box on the desktop has white LED lighting with the Spyder X20 feeding a Sun Coast 4mm LED on the front of the desk.

An additional Spyder X20 is available in a separate control room for future Chinese-language shows.

Pasternak recalls that he got goose bumps when he saw the image quality on the very high-resolution video walls and low-resolution LEDs. "Spyder is so sophisticated but to the operator it's relatively simple to run," he notes. "After a few training sessions, the operators became fluent: They can preprogram plots, hit cue and step through them or have them sequence automatically. It is impressive to watch people with no experience with the product adopt it and use it to its full potential. Spyder is so user-friendly that they're exploring new possibilities."

Pasternak adds that, "Vista's support of Spyder is excellent. In fact, it's a major selling point from an integrator's standpoint."