Devlin Design Group

Gains in tech and drops in prices are pushing more broadcasters to adopt video walls in their studios, but stations are learning that designing a digital set also means adopting a different mindset. Pictured: This XR Studio for ServusTV in Salzburg, Austria, is driven by Ross Video’s Voyager and Lucid control system to simplify workflow. Voyager is built on the Epic Unreal gaming engine for hyper realistic rendering.

Video walls continue to dominate studio design trends in the U.S. with ever-broader use framed by the “warmth” of natural materials and local personality. Abroad, newsrooms have been more embracing of the virtual reality sets of which domestic broadcasters are still wary. Above, FX Design Group designed and installed the KHON Honolulu set, which features large video walls.

Recent supply chain issues notwithstanding, newsrooms are embracing LED video walls for their dropping prices, ease of use and improved quality over older, LCD options. Above: WRDW Augusta, Ga., included a large video wall in its new facility, designed by FX, that it moved into earlier this year. (Source: WRDW)

Scripps-owned WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Fla., has debuted a new set from Devlin Design Group. The upgrade coincides with the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a time when many NBC stations take advantage of increased viewership to run additional promotional spots and debut changes.

COVID-19’s social distancing requirements won’t have a lasting impact on studio design and trends like video walls are expanding, vendors say. But remote production has compelled them to offer simple-to-use at-home kits until COVD abates. Above, Devlin Design Group recently delivered the set for the new studio at the Tennis Channel. The set uses LED displays surrounding the studio. The Tennis Channel can use the same set for different programs since the LEDs can display “graphic wallpaper” that can be customized.

Despite pushing newsrooms temporarily into mostly remote production, set design vendors say COVID-19 won’t have a lasting effect on where sets were heading before the pandemic. They say viewers are likely to see more LED panels and walls, virtual sets and augmented and virtual reality usage in news studios. Above, for the TF1 broadcast news studio in France, Planar delivered a 750-square-foot curved video wall.

Having well-designed lights has impact beyond lowered operating costs due to reduced power consumption and how good the lights make the talent look. LED technology is now in its third generation, so many of its previous kinks have been worked out. The latest LED lights communicate wirelessly, are “perfect” when it comes to the color rendering index and handle a range of color temperatures. Above: The athletics broadcast studio at University of Louisville has a PrimeTime GUS 51 LED Fresnel as well as MSLED 20 XB2, MSLED 40 XB2 and 1SLED XB2 lights. Source: PrimeTime.

Black News Channel is constructing a $26 million facility in Tallahassee, Fla., anchored by technology from Bitcentral, Vizrt and Sony. Its engineering chief, Kenny Elcock, explains how interoperability is key.

A step up from past LCD video walls, the new LED technology is increasingly featuring in new news set designs, enabling crisper images and more flexibility.